Within an hour of
getting out of bed, Nimue was in the slings of the 50tonne lift. The marineros were running around
preparing Nimue for hardstanding, a well rehearsed operation and done many times
before. We had to sign
paperwork to agree that we would not work on the outside of Nimue (not an
unusual rule in Spain, as the locals need the work). Anyway Paolo the Italian boatyard manager
soon wondered over to see what the problem was and advised that he would get his
‘expert’ on rudders to come and see us.
As soon as Chris, the shipwright (and English) arrived, Michael and Chris
were soon in deep conversation about what was believed to be the problem. In fact, by the time I had walked to the
marina office and back, the bottom rudder bearing was out and the problem
identified. The aluminium bracket
holding the bearing had slightly expanded, thus causing the plastic bearing
between the rudder shaft and the aluminium bracket to tighten, so causing the
stiffness. The rudder would
not have failed, but would have only got stiffer!
Fortunately we
carried a spare bearing, so after the aluminium bracket was cleaned out, the new
bearing fitted without any interference.
The bracket was put back onto the rudder, bolted on and tested. With a huge sigh of relief, the rudder
moved with ease and as good as new!!
This just left us
to re-apply filler, epoxy and antifoul over the next couple of days and the job
was done.....phew what a
relief!!
Waiting for the filler to dry before it can be smoothed down and
apply anti-foul.
Sun baked Nimue on hard standing !
As it only cost €9
for hard standing, as opposed to €20 being in the water, we decided to leave
Nimue out of the water and take the opportunity of hiring a car and explore
inland. Chris had recommended the
mountain route through the Sierra Nevada to Granada, which sounded more
interesting than the motorway. As
we twisted and turned through this stunning mountain range, we came
across many towns en route, which are famous for their ‘Iberico jamons (hams)’
and a tourist attraction in their own right. We stopped for our morning 'cafe con
leche' (coffee) and purchased some ‘jamon’ inTrevelez, a pretty
town situated in a high sided valley just below the snow capped mountains,
before heading down into Granada. Unfortunately when we arrived in Granada to
look round the Alhambra, we got to the entrance to find out it was fully
booked. With no chance of getting in and
as time was getting on, we decided head back to Almerimar and leave
Granada for another occasion.
Panda hire car - with air
con!!
Is that really snow?
Approaching Trevelez and the Jamon
houses
More
snow!!! Trevelez
The 'driver' waiting for his 'cafe con
leche'
More Trevelez
Jamon, Jamon everywhere, so not a place for
vegetarians!!!
Almerimar itself
is purpose built, with an artificial yacht harbour and the surrounding area is
full of white plastic sheets under which a major proportion of north Europe’s
winter vegetables are grown. Despite a good beach, Almerimar is
not a particular interesting place to look around and in our opinion, rather
‘soul-less’. However, we cannot
fault our experience with the marina and would have no hesitation in going back
to have work undertaken on Nimue.
We were glad to
get Nimue back into the water, not only to clean her, but to have some relief
from the extreme heat. Most days we
were experiencing 35°C and this only went down to 30°C at
night!
Our next
destination West was to be Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in Morocco and opposite
Gibralter. However, on speaking
with one of the very helpful Port office staff in Almerimar, he recommended that
we should head due South from Almerimar to the other Spanish enclave, Melillia,
as he advised it was alot nicer than Ceuta.
Nimue back in the
water
One of the yacht basins in Almerimar
View towards the boatyard
Almerimar port reception
It's not snow but all that plastic
sheeting!!
Back sailing, but whereare we going to??
See next blog as
to where we ended up.
