After one of the wildest winters anyone can remember with 2 hurricanes and several severe storms, Pipedreamer VI is back in Holyhead. We were relatively sheltered in Victoria Dock, but still suffered some superficial damage from contact with the boat next to us, presumably during the worst of the weather.
On 29 Mar we made our way up to Port Dinorwic for a lift and pressure wash, before sailing round to Holyhead the following day. The weather was kind for both trips and the journeys and jobs were carried out in good time. Unfortunately the same could not be said of the following weekend when we again lifted the boat, this time to get her weighed. The weather was wet and windy, hardly conducive to any form of waterborne activity. Nevertheless, with the help of Eifion Owen, the local RORC measurer, we completed the task and now wait to see if our efforts will be rewarded with a drop in our handicap. Either way it has been an interesting exercise - it took the best part of a week to empty the boat - making one realise how much superfluous kit finds its way onto the boat, adding to its weight. Of course, there is a balance to be struck, a compromise to be made, between the requirements of cruising and those of racing. After all Pipedreamer VI is a cruiser/racer!? Perhaps this is a new start.
