TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

It had been two years since Layla had been out of the water and it was with some trepidation that I went with my mate Mick Turner for a haul out. We had a stunning sail down, 40 miles south of her home marina, to Port de Peche, the local fishing port. Layla was taken out, inspected, have her anodes applied, her bottom cleaned and have anti foul paint applied. For the non sailors, the big worry on old yachts is osmosis, where water ingresses the hull and becomes a nightmare to remove. It can happen to all yachts, but older yachts are more prone. However, we were in great shape and the hull is almost perfect – not bad for a 40 year old lady. We have anodes attached to the hull to stop electrostatic action on the metal below the water line, such as the propeller. It has not been unkown for props to drop of if the anodes are not doing their job, so we were pleased to see the prop was still there – though we might have noticed at the start of the trip when we tried to leave the marina! Anti foul keeps all the cling ons at bay.

We spent 4 days ashore, they did a great AND cheap job, then we headed back. The wind was gusting 30kts and from 100% the wrong direction, but we blasted it out and Layla is the right sort of boat for those conditions. Nothing worries her, she just takes it on the chin and keeps sailing.

Nontheless the beer tasted good when we got back after a 10 hour mtor beat home.

She is now ready for the big OFF, to wherever the winds take us in the eastern Med.