Out of the water

In a strong and increasing wind Mango was taken out of the water today.
The wind made it more tricky that it would have been as we had to
extricate ourselves from a tight berth in the process of which the bows
got blown off in the opposite direction to that which we needed to go so
we had to turn her round; but all went well and the yard did a very
professional job of getting us out of the water and on to the hard standing.
This is the 3rd southerly gale we have had since arriving in Gruissan
and like the others it looks as if it will last a couple of days. The
forecast said rain but fortunately it has not materialised as when it
rained a couple of days ago did so torrentially for 2 days. The
southerly gales seem to be related to high pressures in the Med and low
pressures crossing the atlantic rather than, as we are used to in the
UK, a low pressure system crossing us.
As a safeguard against her being moved by the gales Mango is tied down
to a huge concrete block plus some 5 and 10 ltr containers filled with
water. We have scrubbed off the hulls and found where the antifouling
got rubbed off whilst we were going through the canals. Other than the
antifouling the only damage from going through the canals is some
scrapes on the gunnels and bows so we are feeling quite pleased with
ourselves.
The air tempreature is still high so with the wind everything we wash is
drying off really quickly. When ever we feel fed up with the wind we
only have to think what it has often been like in the UK even in the
summer: windy wet and cold.
Our cruising is now on hold until next year.