We had come to Belfast lough for the winter. There are some great marinas in the lough and we choose Bangor, as the town has some great facilities all within walking distance of the marina.
The first little job that we decided to do is sort out a rattle that we had been hearing, we pulled both lockers apart and we could find nothing that could be causing the rattle, then Beverley had the great idea of looking under the boat with the tough camera and we could see a gap between where the anode was and the prop. So the cheapest service we could do was a lift and clean, so that was what we organised. It was a little bit tricky manoeuvring Salty Lass into the sling, but we did it.
Once we were lifted, Salty Lass got her bottom washed while we looked at the prop shaft and the anode. It didn't take long to see that this was the source of our rattle. So we quickly removed the prop, with the use of an Allan Key and a bar, which we keep in the tools, for just such a job. So we removed the old screws and secured the anode with two new screws which we used Loctite on, so hopefully that will sort that all out. Apparently this is a common fault with this type of anode as the screws wear the anode, and once a rattle has developed, the screw has a greater opportunity to wear the anode. Once Salty Lass was clean and we had sorted out the prop, it was time to return to our slip.
Another reason we had come to Bangor was so that we could sail durring the Autumn and winter months, Beverley's mum lived over at Carrick and it is just a short trip across the lough to see her. It would also mean that our skills would not get rusty, as we would have plenty of practice as we sailed across the lough with our basic manoeuvrers like tacking, heaving too etc.
For most of our sails, the purpose was to go and see Beverley's mum, but on one trip, we also called in at Carrickfergus Sailing Club to join in on their fish supper. It was a great night and it was nice to meet local people and share a meal with them. There was loads at the fish supper and it was great to see so many people supporting the RNLI. When we had come in to Carrickfergus Marina, we had tied the Lass us to the dock, but we had not done all the jobs like attach the power cable and there were a few more lines that had to be secured like the spinnaker lines. These tasks we did when we came back to the Lass. To be honest this is something that you should not do when you have drunk a few glasses of wine. I was on top of Salty Lass, sorting her out, while Beverley sorted out a late night drink and I think I slipped on the power cable a few times. It is a good thing that the life lines are there as I would of gone in without them. Of course Beverley wanted to loose them straight away, she thought it would be funny, but I put my foot down and I said "No"
As the two nights for the price of one deal is active still in the winter, then we stay over in Carrick for two nights and see Beverley's Mum. We have cooked some really great meals on the Lass for her and her sister and it is great to just have a chat and a laugh. Once we have seen Beverley's Mum then it is just a short sail back to Bangor across the lough.
After we had seen Beverley's Mum, we sailed across the lough as the sun went down. It was so beautifully quite out there in the lough, just sailing at an incredibly slow speed watching the sun go down and talking to Beverley about where we were in the lough.
