Dandelion

".....I held a dandelion

That said the time had come 

To leave upon the wind...."

Stargazer is afloat once more. The evening sun warms her cockpit. Where I sit, mug of coffee in hand. At peace with the world.

Delayed delivery, of spare parts (seals) for the sail drive, meant that we had missed our allocated relaunch slot. With the crane booked solid, beyond Easter.

But, we are blessed with two still, dry, days. On day one, Taylor (Marina Manager and crane driver) conjours a gap, in his hectic pre-Easter schedule, in which to return Stargazer to her natural element. On day two, I bend on the sails. Alan and Sarah (from Wilkinson Sails) arriving with a set of tapered battens, for the new genoa.

On day three, the March wind doth blow. An equinoctial gale, out of the south. I manhandle the long-life provisions, stockpiled over the winter, aboard. They fill the saloon. And I wonder if I have overdone their quantity.

But, by midday, the mound of tins, jars and packets has been persuaded into lockers. Or the aft cabin storage bins. Followed by my clothes and bedding. The spring relaunch rush is over. Stargazer feels like home once more. My racing mind slows to 'sea tempo.'

Idly, I scroll through a week's backlog of e mails. Including one from Helene, on the Passeport Escales team, who sends a preview copy of this year's brochure.

(See ‘French Connections’ post)

Which features ‘Doug de Chatham’ (yours truly) and a fine portrait of Stargazer, at anchor, on the La Penze river, in 2020.

CREDITS

"Curtains" (Dandelion quotation) by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, 1975.