22 July 1992 Fox’s Marina
I was up early in the morning and wandered around the boat yard until the engine arrived at about 11 o’clock - what a fantastic service. Lindsay and Jack started bolting all the bits back on to the engine. Glenys and I tried not to worry and did more small jobs.
23 July 1992 Fox’s Marina
The engine was lifted into the boat. We carried on doing small jobs and worrying. We had a message from Glenys’s mum - Brett is ill and the cat has gone missing. We are at our lowest ebb.
24 July 1992 Fox’s Marina
The boat was re-launched. There was definitely no champagne, “Just get it in the water please.” As soon as Glencora was safely tied up, we left Lindsay and Jack working on the engine and drove back to Sussex. We arrived back at the house to discover that Brett was ill with some stomach bug. He’s being sick and has severe diarrhoea.
Ceris had taken our cat, Graz, around to a friend who had agreed to take her in. Our friend had tried to keep Graz in her house until the cat became used to the new surroundings. Unfortunately, the stupid thing had waited for its moment just inside the kitchen door and had bolted out just as the door was being opened. Graz had gone missing. Our friend was distraught over the loss, but even though Glenys went around the neighbourhood shouting for the cat, she can’t be found. We are very upset about this because we’ve had the cat for 9 years and we wanted her to live out her life in a good home. We haven’t told the children what happened to Graz - as far as they know she now lives in a nice lady’s house.
On the positive side, Ceris has spent a week cleaning the house and everywhere is spotless.
25 July 1992 Fox’s Marina
We spent the day at the house packing the remainder of our belongings into boxes, deciding what we could squeeze onto the boat, and what we had to sell or throw away. The house looked like a bare shell. The children were clutching their teddy bears every time that the door bell rang because strange people kept walking in and taking things. The piano went, the washing machine went, and then horror of horrors some people came in and took their beds.
26 July 1992 Fox’s Marina
The rest of Sussex was enjoying a relaxing Sunday morning, I needed some Valium. I did a final rush around the house to check on things - while Glenys went out to the last car boot sale. “Roll up, roll up everything must go.” Oh! and it’s our wedding anniversary!
27 July 1992 Fox’s Marina
First thing in the morning, I zoomed off to Ipswich to see what was going on. I arrived to be told that the engine was installed and seemed to work okay. I decided to go out for a second sea trial. We ran the engine for half an hour and tested it by motoring forwards on the mooring lines. The temperature seemed to be staying low.
We slipped away from the dock and motored away from the marina. We turned right down the river with Lindsay and Jack watching the engine gauges like hawks. Everything was good - the sun was shining and the engine was cool. After a couple of minutes, before we went under the bridge, I decided that I would check the reverse gear. I put the engine into neutral, waited until the boat speed had dropped down to 3 or 4 knots and put the engine into reverse. Bang! We didn’t slow down. I put the engine in forward gear. We didn’t go forward. Panic! No engine again! I handed the helm to Jack and leapt forward to hoist the main. There was a 15 knot wind from the west, so I decided that we would only need the main. Jack put us on a reach across the river and tacked back and forth while Lindsay dived down below to check what had happened.
Lindsay came back up and reported that the flexible coupling has sheared between the gearbox and the propellor shaft. I was mortified because we’d have to get towed back in again. I babbled away trying to justify my actions.
Lindsay went down below to radio to get a tow back into the marina, and no doubt told everyone that the stupid owner of Glencora had sheared the coupling by his total incompetence.
While we were waiting, I had the bright idea that we should put up the mizzen and have a play with it. We turned into wind and I hoisted the mizzen. We now had the main and mizzen up but no foresail. Jack bore away onto a reach towards the river bank. We waited until the depth started to drop and turned the wheel to tack. The boat headed up into wind and then wouldn’t bear away. In this semi-luffed condition we slowly, remorselessly went across the river towards the shallows. The boat wouldn’t respond! We couldn’t bear away to gain speed and we didn’t have enough speed to tack. I couldn’t figure it out. Fortunately the boat yard tender arrived and took us into tow before we went aground. This was my first lesson in the use and misuse of a mizzen sail. The mizzen, with no balancing foresail, was producing overwhelming weather helm and effectively stalling the boat - all I had to do was to loosen the mizzen sheet to de-power the sail. Very embarrassing!
We were towed back into the marina, and Lindsay began the task of removing the damaged coupling and ordering a new one.
The positive aspect of the whole shambles of the sea trial was that the engine seemed to work correctly, although we had only run it for half an hour. I spent the rest of the day sulking and doing more small jobs to take my mind off it.
28 July 1992 Fox’s Marina
The new coupling arrived, and Lindsay sweated and swore replacing it. This was a nasty job with very little room to work. Some of the bolts had sheared off in the coupling and Lindsay had to spend a couple of hours getting the old bolts out.
A gas fitter arrived and checked the cooking gas system and plumbed in the gas for the fridge.
Back at the house, Glenys called in a house clearance firm who gave us £50 for everything that was left in the house. Brett’s illness is getting worse.
29 July 1992 Fox’s Marina
After another engine test, Lindsay reckoned that the gearbox oil was getting too hot so he wanted to replace the oil cooler for only £211. I was past caring about money by this time and wearily shrugged OK.
30 July 1992 Fox’s Marina
I left Lindsey working on the damn engine and travelled back to Heathfield. Brett still had some sort of diahorrea, he had been sitting on the toilet for three days and had hardly eaten a thing. He was so weak that he couldn’t walk. I took him to the doctor who wanted us to supply a stool sample.
31 July 1992 Fox’s Marina
I drove into work, said good-bye to everyone and one of the managers drove me to Ipswich - good-bye 100 mph Cosworth, hello 6 mph yacht. When I arrived at the boat I found that Lindsay had declared the engine 100% and had gone to work on another boat. I spent the morning tidying up ready for the arrival of my family.
Glenys dropped off the stool sample at the doctor’s surgery and followed on with her car and the children. It was a very traumatic journey for her. Brett was swaddled in a towel that was being used as a giant nappy - fortunately he slept most of the way.
So with a boat that wasn’t properly tested, a total lack of confidence in my sailing abilities and a very sick child, we spent our first night in our new home.
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