The Island – Two visits in May
I made it over to the Island twice in May, earlier in the month just for a day and then for three nights over the June Bank Holiday weekend.
In the middle of May as the long dry spell was coming to a close I decided to do solo day-trip to the Island. It was my first time visiting on my own and also my first time going for just a day.
It’s a lot of work getting to the island – packing the gear into my car, then a three hour drive, unpacking and assembling the boat, then loading it. And it all has to be done on the way back as well. But, given the calm forecast and convenient tide times, I decided it was worthwhile. I left the house at 07.00 and got home at 23.00, but I got 8 hours on the island.
It was a chance to do a lot of minor tasks that I usually don’t get around to, like tidying and organising.
The crossing to the island was beautiful, perfectly flat calm, and at that point I decided that it was going to be worth the effort.
To get off the island at a reasonable hour I left the boat at the NE point anchored on a loop of rope so I could land and then pull it off shore. It took a few attempts to get it set up right, but it allowed me to leave earlier. You can see the setup in the photo below. The system is called an outhaul I believe.
At low tide
The boat sitting offshore in the morning at highish tide.
I brought a good amount of gear over, including a lot of light, but bulky, items like cushions and rigid insulation as well as the spare outboard. The boat always seems full.
I did a bit of work on the roof in the loft, blocking up the gaps between the rafters and adding rigid insulation. Overall, it was a successful trip, but I probably won’t do another day trip anytime soon. The time on the island flew by.
It looks like the sheep’s wool experiment may have been a failure. But I will come back to this subject another time.
Less than two weeks later I was back, with company this time. I bought a dozen sheets of corrugated in Kelly’s and took them across. Another similar load and I will have enough to finish the roof.
On the Saturday we got straight to work replacing one clear sheet that was put on cock-eyed – not sure what we were thinking, must have been the end of the day – and then added the final row of clear sheeting and then a row of metal over the loft. Meaning we finally had the house dried in. No more rain falling into the house, no more tarps covering up gaps.
A significant milestone, but really need to get the roof 100% finished before we can pat ourselves on the back.
We also made time for some mandatory fossil hunting. And fishing.
The boys hunted crabs and had a shot at fishing with them. No luck, but we will be back at that again I’m sure.
Using some donated cushions I threw together the bones of a couch using a sheet of 18mm ply and some scraps. Nice and solid. It will get wrapped in some red cordura next time.
I moved the sauna and installed a small ammo can stove that I made a few years ago. I lit it and ran it briefly, I think it might be powerful enough to heat the space. Using a basket of rocks was inefficient and not that effective.
And to finish on a very stylish colour-cordinated note. Peter, very much a creative in nature, picked out these few items from way back to curate a beautiful scene, full of green.