How NOT to start the sailing season

It's like the boat-launching Olympics for Greg Manning as he leaps hurdles and avoids cutting corners to cover 1,920 miles back and forth in 15 days to get his yacht safely afloat

- Greg Manning

Fairey Atalanta A142 Sugar Plum, being a mature lady, needs a lot of maintenance. Living in the north of Scotland, she's stored over winter in a building for her protection from adverse weather and to allow maintenance appropriate to the temperature.

Her summer mooring is at Arisaig, a six hour drive from home, and so it's essential that everything needed for her launch and commissioning is carefully checked and loaded before leaving home.

I have an orange tidy tray for the small and unique items and a written checklist of both its contents as well as everything else needed.

In 2019 it was probably the 17th time I have prepared for the long drive and the launch. My friend, Steve, had volunteered to help. It was the first Sunday in June when we set off. Steve is a very practical person and always has his mind on the task in hand; I could not have asked for a better friend to help me.

With the boat's internal sling we launched at Arisaig using a teleporter which is so much more convenient and costeffective than a boat hoist. On the Monday there was only an hour between the boatyard staff being available and the ebb tide, leaving enough water to motor away.