Porto Petro

Altea
Mon 16 Sep 2013 19:02
16 September 2013

We decide to stay. It is calm, so we can fix the halyard and the town is very pleasant and worth another day.

First task is to get J to the top of the 75ft mast. Six stories high and the top of the mast moving a fair bit even though the swell is only slight. Obviously I would have preferred to go up myself, but unfortunately I had to stay on deck to supervise the exercise.

Preparation involved taking the genoa down, so we could use the genoa halyard on the bosun's chair. For safety I also disconnected the topping lift from the end of the boom and attached it to a climbing harness that we had brought along for the purpose. So J is in two harnesses, attached to two ropes, held by two strong men via two winches. Good to go.

When you go up the mast you have to climb the rigging, with the ropes taking up the slack, so it is not just a matter of sitting there. I was very proud of her as she climbed and swung her way up. The view was apparently great from up there. The task was then to feed a mousing line down with a weight on it, I hooked it at the bottom and then we hauled the halyard back down. There were a couple of snags but it all went pretty well. J came back down, triumphant, and safe. And so potential disaster once again turns into a most memorable and satisfying day.

Paul and Francesca went off to explore in the kayak again, and then we were moved on by the marineros. Apparently we were anchored near the weed beds that they are trying to preserve so we were moved onto a buoy in the other spur. It was €30 but at least meant that we could all go ashore without a worry and enjoy dinner, which we did after observing various nationalities live up to their stereotypes. German chaps showering naked together on the back of their boat, and a french chap peeing over the side of his.