Nauti Kitty high and dry
Nervous as 11 tonne of boat is lifted on 2 straps
17 March 2022 Nauti Time 011
We have booked into the Belleview Hotel for the next 4 nights so we have been packing our bags and getting ready to drop them over to the hotel before we head to the slip yard. Rick has been on a work call so I have braved the depths of our forward port hull to retrieve our bikes. It took a very hot sweaty hour to tackle the stand up paddle board , the asymmetrical sail and the silly mattress (which I don’t know why we kept it on board as I’m sure no one will be sleeping in here!!!) in order to even get to where the bikes are!
So I’ve removed half of the false floor and I’m balancing on what’s left while trying to hold back the mattress and reach into the depths to raise up one of the bikes. It is so frustrating as it continually gets its gears and the flip up stand caught in the other bike and I don’t have a third hand to be able to keep them apart long enough to get one up far enough to raise through the tight fit of a hatch!!! Very challenging.
Rick finally surfaces and I have wrangled one of the bikes up so he can grab the front wheel and maneuver it out through the hatch. The second bike of course came without a fuss. We better enjoy riding or that little escapade will get very tiresome!
Bikes are on deck for transport while our girl is on the hard but we decide also to get Little Puss off so we can continue lake adventures as well. The ever wonderful Mel from eco tours, who also looks after the casual berths for Gippsland ports, has graciously allowed us to keep Little Puss in the secure section next to their tour boat while we have Nauti Kitty out of the Water. Mel has been a fantastic help and so generous. Thank you so much Mel.
So with our bags at the hotel andLittle Puss locked on the dock we head off to the slip yard. I am so grateful there is very little wind as this is another first for me lining up and getting into the slip. As we round the corner there are no hands on the slipway so again those nervous butterfly’s let loose. I get Rick to call the yard and get instructions as we need to know where fenders should be and need some rope handlers on the dock. We finally get through and soon there are people out ready to receive ropes and Rick is madly changing the fenders to our starboard side. All goes well with entry despite perhaps a touch of speed eliciting the yell of Reverse Reverse which I was already doing!!
It’s an anxious time as you see your boat strapped to an almighty crane and lifted from her natural environment to be high and dry. She seems sooooo huge on land and just 2 straps holding her 11 tonne! I catch myself holding my breath. But the team here are awesome and it goes without a hitch. It will be about 2 hours before we can board her on the hard as they will give her a thorough clean with the pressure wash and then set her on the stands. We have left the bikes on the tramps so we have a walk ahead of us to get back to the hotel!!! Something to remember for next time. It was actually a very pleasant walk anyway and only about 1.5 km.
We went and had a lovely meal and a rest before going back to the boat to retrieve the bikes and lock it all up for the night.
The bikes were great fun. Definitely looking forward to doing more riding.
A bit of bike maintenance and tyre pumping was required before enjoying our ride along the north arm. There were so many pelicans enjoying the spoils of successful fisher people. I love pelicans. I think my next painting will be a pelican.
A big day so grabbed take away for dinner and an early night. Seems weird on land and we both have the wobbles big time. The hotel is nice but we’d both prefer the boat!
