Back in the boatyard

Our boatyard home for a few weeks

Having spent the last few months getting used to being landlubbers again it was a bit of a shock to the system to find ourselves back living on an 11 m boat and out of the water! We were in need of a rest after all our hard work over the winter months but that was going to have to wait. Thankfully the yard staff had heeded our email requesting a source of water, electricity and a ladder to be set up ready for our return. We immediately got to work to try and clean up the months of desert sand and boatyard dust that had found its way into every nook and cranny both inside and out.

Our neighbour, a Spanish search and rescue vessel

We'd ordered a few bits and bobs for the boat and thankfully a new liferaft, toilet and water heater were waiting for us at the marina office. The old water heater was leaking and the constant repairs weren't holding so we decided it was time for a new one. The old stainless box was removed and reluctantly put in the skip and the new "plastic fantastic" cylinder fitted neatly in its place. It was already getting too hot to work once the sun was up so a few early starts were needed to get the boat polished and the bottom ready for painting. Days turned into weeks but the jobs were slowly getting done. 

       Old water heater in the skip                                              and the new plastic version!

On the move as we were blocking another boat

In search of a chandlery in Roquetas de Mar

Having a break in Roquetas de Mar marina

It wasn't all manual labour. There was also some much needed paperwork we needed to apply for. We'd heard that more and more EU countries were beginning to ask for proof that the boat has the status of Union goods. Apparently a Vat invoice is not sufficient and boats are advised to get an official stamped T2L document. A T2L document can be issued retrospectively by HM Revenue and Customs in the UK to provide evidence that the boat it relates to is of EU origin and thus establish it has the status of Union goods. So with a bit of help from the RYA we duly filled out page 4 of the C88 (status) form, enclosed copies of various documents and sent them off to HMRC with all fingers and toes crossed. Miraculously within a week the form was returned with lovely HMRC official stamps all over it. This will also become handy if/when Britain leaves the EU as it means that at least the boat will have freedom of movement even if we don't! This of course only applies if the boat is in EU waters on 31 October...something else we need to make sure we have proof of...

Being transported to our new place in the boatyard

The good as new old liferaft

One of our last jobs was to dispose of our old liferaft. Of course we couldn't just throw it into the skip in its cannister so we had great fun setting it down next to the boat and pulling the cord. After 16 years and a less than 100% service record the big question was would it inflate....we needn't have worried and in seconds it rose like a phoenix from the ashes! We retrieved some of the equipment which could be reused and the rest went the way of the water tank - into the skip.

        A small suitcase sized cannister.....                                 inflates into a six man liferaft

Applying the finishing touches before launching

Finally we were ready to splash back in the water. Once again we had planned to head west to Portugal and once again we changed our minds and decided to return to Ibiza and Formentera instead. The thought of being inland up the Guadiana river between Spain and Portugal in the heat of July and August along with a scourge of mosquitoes was a big decider. Instead we can look forward to a well earned swim very soon and a break from all this Brexit chat...

Finally the boat gets lowered back into the water