The Mysterious Island

 

The vernal equinox passes. Clocks bound forward, into British Summer Time, like spring hares. Lengthening days banish memories of dark winter nights.

 Around Dockyard Basin Number One, daffodils skip and dance, to the rhythm of the breeze.

Out on the river, boats return to their moorings. Against a backdrop of trees, yet to don their summer-green finery.

"I have no name," declares Captain Nemo. Fixing "his penetrating gaze upon. . . . .Cyrus Harding. . . .  as though he were about to annihilate him." (In 'The Mysterious Island,' by Jules Verne).

A fate shared by Stargazer. A mounting indignation shared by me.

Replacement names and decals (see 'To Be Or Not To Be.....?' post) were quickly sourced. From the ever efficient Mark at Funky Monkey graphics and Willie at Transworld Yachts. Both friends since Stargazer's original South Coast launch, in 2010.

But genie Gwen (see What's in a Name? post), who is to reapply them, vanishes in a smoke cloud of excuses and 'prior commitments.'

I negotiate, wait, cajole, wait, re-negotiate, wait and wait. Shorebound. Watching as breaks in the wintery weather become more frequent. Opportunities slipping by. The sailing season beckoning.

I attempt to reconcile myself to a relaunch, with Stargazer cast as Nemo. The boat with no name. My indignation rises, from slow simmer to a steaming boil, that this should be our fate . I sight Gwen, at work on another boat. . . . .

Birds sing and the sun beams benevolently, as Stargazer's dignity is restored. Nemo no more. Ready for relaunch. Ready to discover a Mysterious Island of our own.

"To be, or not to be....."

 

Spring suffuses the February air, as the yard crew clamber aboard Stargazer. Securing the crane slings for her annual lift out.

Taylor awakens the slumbering crane. Snorting and belching black diesel fumes, it utters a gravelly growl, as if clearing its throat. The growl deepens to a roar. The strops quiver, sweating beads of moisture. Stargazer rises skyward.

 I can see that last year's repair, to the saildrive gaiter, has held. And that the Shogun 033 antifouling has served us well. After a year afloat, fouling is confined to a thin film of slime.

The crane's gruff tone softens, to a gentle purr, as it swings Stargazer ashore and tenderly lays her in a cradle.

Throughout March the refit is beset by "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune :" Unseasonably low temperatures, high winds and high rainfall. Simon completes the engine service. Rich installs a regulator for the water pump (which, although 'equivalent' to the old one turns out to draw fifty percent more current). Polish and fresh antifouling are applied, between showers. Gwen strips Stargazer's names and Hallberg-Rassy decals. This in readiness to overlay the faded gel coat stripes with vinyl, during a suitable weather window.

Stargazer sits forlorn. Shivering in the yard. Shorn of her identity. March ticks by. Launch date approaches. Without sight of the single still, dry day, above ten degrees, which Gwen requires to work her magic. If we persevere with the stripe work, Stargazer's relaunch risks delay."To be, or not to be, that is the question." 

With ten days to go, until launch day, the decision is made. The cosmetic work is "not to be." A timely start to our shakedown cruise, and the summer afloat which it presages, trumps all. 

Thus began this year's ritual 'prelaunch-panic.' In 2021 it was obtaining rudder bearings. In 2022 it was the sourcing of a boom plug. For 2023 it is to be finding exact replacements for Stargazer's names and decals. In order to exactly cover the shadow marks, left by their precipitately peeled predecessors.

With apologies to William Shakespeare for abuse of Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1