Today marked a new phase in the Blue Mistress story.

It was time to decide on exactly what the spring refit will involve – jobs, time, costs.

Richard from the boatyard came and helped move us forward – very diplomatically I thought, although he needn’t have been. We agree where we are going with the boat, we just needed to agree the process of getting there.

Basically, we have to ensure the deck is watertight before we can do anything below. So this will be the focus for 2007.

It will involve removing all the deck fittings, including some recent ones, reseating them, replacing and making watertight the lazarette hatch covers, replacing the window ports, repairing grp, stripping and recoating the deck. The mast will be removed and the rigging checked.

She is booked to come out of the water and placed under cover in March, and will need to be dried out (with dehumidifiers) first.

That’s all I’m going to say on the subject for while. It’s grit your teeth and cross your fingers time.