Getting Tara Prepared

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The effort to commission the boat is inversely proportional to the effort put into decommissioning. Fortunately last year Philip Schimert and I did a great job, so it wasn’t too bad.. The girls started with washing the deck cleaning off a year’s grime and scirocco (red desert) dust while I got the boat systems working again. We pulled down the halyards, put the sails on deck, fenders, cushions and SUPs, put the wheels on, fit the Bimini and Dodger back on their frames, and pulled what seemed like miles of rope through blocks. After the first day we were pretty much done. The next morning we thought we would put the jib up, but Murphy had another plan. 

Our headstay foil is attached with tiny set screws and if they’re proud even a mm or two, the jib wont go up. Worse in this case, it wouldn’t come down and the wind was coming - and Tara was still on blocks. Yikes! Marina went up the forestay and tried to fix it and in the end we decided to tie it down around the forestay and do it in the water.

This year they pulled Tara out using a tractor before it went onto the travel-lift. This must be a new machine because previously Tara was too big for the trailer — but it works like a hot-damn. Tara went into the water and we checked all the thru-hulls to make sure we’re not sinking and then off to Preveza, the town across the bay. While I love Cleopatra as a boat yard, the marina sets us up stern-to the prevailing winds and the motion is pretty severe, plus the wave slapping against the hull are hardly restful. Add to that being able to get to the grocery store, liquor store, get bags of ice and tons of restaurants too - making Preveza a winner. The only downside is stern-to using the anchor is one of the most complex maneuvers you can do, and Preveza had a strong cross wind and current just to add some more challenge for the first one of the year.