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Increasingly I feel that August, and certainly the later half of the month, marks the start of autumn rather than the end of summer. And so it transpired with the trip to the island weekend before last.
In the week leading up to the trip I was regularly checking Windy, my preferred weather app. From the onset it was giving strong winds for the Sunday (when we were planning to come home). As the date had been flagged well in advance there was a large number of people interested in coming over, almost a dozen.
As the weekend approached the forecast improved slightly, but stayed stubbornly windy on Sunday. I’ve always made a point of accomodating people’s plans in terms of collecting and dropping them to the island, and it looked like there was going to be plenty of coming and going. Everyone was told that the weather was marginal and I couldn’t guarentee either getting to the island or getting back on time.
Milo and I crossed over on Thursday evening. It was quite calm, but raining steadily as I assembled and packed the boat and didn’t stop that night. So after about 90mins out in the elements it was lovely to light the stove and dry off
After a great sleep I woke to a bright morning. I was to had to make my first collection of the day mid-morning at the high tide and wanted to mount a new outboard bracket on the fibreglass boat I had recently acquired.
The issue was that the boat took a long shaft outboard but I had a short shaft. The mount would allow me to adjust the height. I had high hope, but ultimately the boat has a few issues. Firstly a crack that was leaking, that is easily fixed.
But the real issue was the fact that often on the island one leg of a trip is lightly loaded and the other leg heavily loaded, ie, when I head out solo to collect a group from the mainland. This asks a lot of the boat as with a load it will sit lower in the water, this has a significant effect on the power that the outboard can produce.
The new boat seemed prone to these issues. Solo the prow stuck up a few feet into the air, meaning that the engine was at a sub-optimal angle and far too low in the water so progress was very very slow. Loaded it did pretty ok, certainly was very seaworthy and dry.
After two runs in the new boat I swappped over to the the inflatable, which I felt much more comfortable in. The solution ultimately isn’t clear. A more powerful outboard would help, but comes with its own complications.
On the Friday we got a little work done, installing the last 4 collar ties in the main room. Once this was done we were able to dismantle the scaffolding. It had been there for well over a year so it was great to get the space back and with it a feel for how the room is going to work when finally finished.
With the southside of the roof covered in clear corrugated the room is very bright. It feels like being outside, which is the whole idea I suppose. It’s all a little experimental, and it’s hard to say how well the corrugated will stand up over time.
Another collection from the mainland on Friday evening brought our number up to 8. We enjoyed a cosy night in front of the stove in the parlour.
With the latest forecast in hand on Saturday morning we made the call to return that evening as the wind was only getting stronger for Sunday and some of us had to be back for work (not me!).
So we took it easy that afternoon enjoying the sun, cooking dinner before we left for uneventful crossing back to the mainland. It was the wise call I think.
Ultimately, with all the comings and goings plus the uncertainty over how long we would be able to stay, we didn’t make much progress on the roof. Just the nature of the place, but I was very glad that I was able to get so many people over and back for a taste of the island.