Katona

This week I took a hiatus from Katona for a few days to pootle up the east coast on another red boat that’s joined the Goodall family: Que Sera, which my brother Tim bought last month.

Besides a diesel engine and the concept of a “hull,” they couldn’t be more different. One can sail across oceans, the other has a log burner; one requires charts and VHF training, the other works with Google Maps and a phone call. Although we did pass through a lock!

We set sail on Sunday afternoon from Kent, up and out of the River Medway to the Thames Estuary and into the North Sea. In the estuary we passed the shipwreck of SS Richard Montgomery, sat on a sand bank with its 3 masts poking out and 1,400 tons of unexploded ammunition from World War II. It was a cargo ship travelling from the USA in 1944, and sank only a year after building:

(Squint and you’ll see the masts.) 4 buoys mark the danger zone, and each year the government surveys it while everyone hopes the bombs stay unexploded…

Back onboard, wind behind us and we were flying. I saw 6 knots (6.9mph!) on the speedometer a few times, and we continued through the night with the flashing cardinal’s marking our way — black and yellow buoys indicating safe water. By this point I felt queazy as we sailed across the waves, making it extra bobby. Come 4am after we secured the mainsail when a shackle broke, I was horribly sick — the painful, acidic kind, and it quickly put an end to my fun.

Cold, ill and tired is the trifecta of not wanting to be at sea, and that morning we (Tim, probably, thankfully) decided to head into port at the UK’s easternmost point. Although part of me felt like it was giving up, my senses came back after a shower and good food. With the wind less than ideal, continuing north would’ve been a lot more of the same; that evening we looked at each other with a nodding understanding that yes, we were cutting the trip short.

On Tuesday we took trains westward after cleaning, and for me that meant back to Katona: last Saturday I left the boat at a yard on the Avon while I wait for the dry dock, and it’s turned into a great little spot with excellent van access.

First up: remove the rubbish. After 2 vanloads it was looking a bit less recently-salvaged, and I spent the next 2 days cleaning tools and sorting the bobs out.

Today I went back to play with 2 new toys: a pressure washer, and a water vacuum. The vacuum feels like it shouldn’t work, it’s magical and so satisfying — hoovering up a line of dust is delightful on any day, but a puddle of water?!

It took longer than I thought, but I managed to clean the front half of the boat inside, removing all the silt, grease and unfortunately some of the insulation (it is a water jet…). I’ll finish the other half tomorrow, but it’s starting to look like a boat I can renovate again! No longer its canal-infested self, it’s nice to think about and plan for what’s next.

Until next Sunday!

- Nick