The second part of SV Wave Runner and her crew’s experiences of living on the hard during their sailing adventures in the Pacific, Australia, Southeast Asia and the Med.
We elected to ship Wave Runner from Thailand to Turkey to avoid Somali pirates (Cruising Helmsman, February 2014). So, Wave Runner’s next lift was onto a ship for her Indian Ocean and Red Sea journey. We met her in Marmaris, Turkey, and then spent nine months cruising the wonderful Turkish Coast and many of the Greek Islands.
We hauled out so we could leave Wave Runner on the hard while we took a quick trip to New Zealand – something we did most years to catch up with family, especially my elderly mother, and friends. Wave Runner hosted our son and his family each year. It was such fun exploring different countries together. The kids even did a spot of Ladder Living just to show them what ‘real’ cruising was about.
During one of our haul-outs in Marmaris, we had Wave Runner stripped back to bare steel and a beautiful paint job done. It was a relief to see the steel was in great condition both inside (which we knew) and out. During this time, living on WR was something of an undertaking since all the outside bits were inside sharing our small space.
At times the scaffolding and covers made it impossible to use the ladder, so boat yoga was required. To keep me sane, we took a trip across to Rhodes where we stayed in an apartment – bliss.
Before leaving Turkey, we had had the experts check Wave Runner from bow to stern. They told us all systems were in excellent shape. However, after we’d transited the Corinth Canal, Wave Runner became impossibly heavy to steer, so we arranged a haul-out at the Cleopatra Marina near Preveza using their remotecontrolled travel lift. The lower rudder bearing was jammed up with crud and was effectively fixed by an English engineer.
We enjoyed this haul-out so much that we elected to stay four days, even though the work was completed in one. Maybe not everybody’s choice of venue for a Greek holiday, but I loved it. No anchor watches, rolling anchorages and charter yachts anchoring on top of you, nor wind changes and squalls in the night. The only worry was the extra expense.
Then, on our way to Brindisi in Italy, we found lots of water coming through the stern-gland – the rope stuffing was worn out, so another haul-out.
We left Wave Runner up on the hard to have the stern gland fixed as we had flights and land travel arranged. On our return, we were put back in the water, but the leak continued. They picked us up again, did another fix and then, when they were putting us back in the water for further sea trials, the front travel-lift strop slipped, dropping the bow about two metres – and with me on-board!
What saved the boat was that the strop caught in the bowsprit, stopping it from slipping further. We were in shock and especially worried about the Signora. Poor Wave Runner! Thank goodness she is such a tough old lady and was over the water when the strops slipped.
The damage, fixed at the boat yard’s expense, was not too bad, but the delay was more concerning, as we were on our way to Gibraltar to prepare for an Atlantic crossing and meet up with relatives in Spain.
With ladder living there is never a dull moment. Yards are busy places with boats coming and going and there’s always plenty to watch. With the elevated height, views are often fantastic. There are always other world-cruisers to meet in boats that are bigger, smaller, newer, older – all requiring work and maintenance. Life-long friendships are made.
For various reasons we decided to ship Wave Runner home to New Zealand rather than sail her. In the early days, our passage planning had always focussed on getting to the Med. We didn’t know we would fall in love with SE Asia and spend so much time there, or that Somali pirates would close the Red Sea to us.
Also, we hadn’t planned on an extended stay in Gibraltar. There, we based ourselves in La Linea on the Spanish side. It was cheaper and nicer and just a short walk across the border into Gib. Nice and easy for a road trip to Portugal, flights to the UK and Malta and North Africa and Morocco just across the water. No ladder living there. Those days were over.
All went well with Wave Runner and after a nine-month stay in Spain we had a leisurely sail to Genoa from where we shipped Wave Runner back home. En route to Genoa we spent time in the Mar Menor, the Balearics, Sardinia, Corsica and Elba. Genoa we really enjoyed, although the waters within the marina were very turbulent with superyachts and tourist boats zooming past all day. Fast was the only speed.
Preparing your boat for shipping is quite a job, but we were well practised.
Items we found very helpful for our ladder living, and cruising in general, were our folding bikes, the small aircon unit and a porta-potty. Our model had a little suitcase that could easily be transported, with nobody being any the wiser about its cargo.
I have to say, having a washing machine was a biggie for me. I bought two small twin-tub machines (cheap in Thailand) that could be powered from a small inverter.
The skipper was worried about where to stow the second machine. When I told him I would sleep with it if necessary, it was allowed to stay. BNZ
Kathy Jamieson, SV Wave Runner, now SV Koutere.
