As of a couple of weeks ago Rosie Free is finally back in the wet wobbly stuff!

Still a little dusty from being in the shed for ages but all major work done and mast up! The kettle was also dusted off and put into action as a handy tool to get the halyards and topping lift down the right side of the spreaders.

The yard put Rosie in the water for me during the week while I was at work, so eagerly I drove down to Norfolk the first chance I could and got started fitting the boom and checking the rig. There was still some final engine work to be done (easier in the water) so this first day wasn’t the shakedown cruise but was a huge milestone.

The following week I got the fantastic phone call with the news that the engine was now wired back in fully and everything worked. It was finally time to schedule the move round to Horsey.

We seemed to have had all the luck with the sun and timing, we had a long standing camping trip arranged with friends and the first day saw us put the sails on after pitching our tents.

Over the long time away from the water I had totally forgotten how the lazy jacks were rigged up. More truthfully that I could remember what it looked like but not how that translated to the bundle of odd lengths of black cord that I’d stuffed in a bag. So the main went on in it’s zippy stack pack bag looking a little floppy.

The schools in Norfolk were still mostly in session so things were pretty quiet most places we went. On the water there were one or two other boats. The weather and company were brilliant.

We arrived at Horsey and moored up easily. I must say, having an engine that works properly in reverse when you want it to really takes the stress out of mooring up.