Today - officially - we're liveaboards.

Yesterday was manic. Not only did our guests bring their own beds and bedlinen, they packed up the rest of our house for us. Many hands make light work and Chris and I would still have been shifting stuff for weeks had it not been for their help. It was like a production line with people shouting, "boat, garage or skip?" as they filled another bag or box. At one point there was a line of people down the spiral staircase with a conveyor belt of belongings travelling from upstairs as the contract cleaners were due to start up there at midday.

Everybody left us at lunchtime to visit our beautiful boat and then start their long journeys home. We continued into the early evening, emptying, packing and ferrying (literally as DecaDance is on the Kingswear side of the Dart) car loads of our things on board.

One of the unloading sessions was at low tide and the ramp walkway down to the visitor's pontoon was at a really steep angle. I was rescued just in time by a man who spied me being dragged down the ramp by my trolley. I was extremely grateful, but not half as grateful as the owners of the brand new 20 foot RIB moored opposite the end of the ramp should be.

When we'd had more than enough of moving we relaxed in the Royal Dart at a table overlooking the water, a perfect setting to contemplate the start of the new chapter in our lives. Following excellent rib-eye steaks served on sizzling stones we returned to DecaDance for our first night aboard.

Our main forepeak cabin was being used to store the saloon table and cushions, old prop and all sort of other things so we were camping down in the port aft cabin (on the left at the back - it's weird how you quickly get into the lingo). Unfortunately, the tides were such that for much of the night the waves slapped against the vertical transom of the boat and there was a repetitive "slap - splosh" on the other side of our cabin all night which drove me insane. Last time Chris lived on board a boat his bunk was a few feet below the flight deck of HMS Hermes, and he had the added worry of the Argies shooting at him, so he says he can sleep through anything, but even he struggled. Not the best of starts but I'm told you get used to it - I hope so!