A Princess is on her way home (warning - several pictures)

Avalon

Avalon

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 Sep 2001
Messages
206
Location
Lagos, Portugal
phaon.dnsdojo.net
On Friday we flew out to Bilbao and spent the night in a good hotel.

On Saturday morning the broker picked us up from the hotel and took us to the marina, where we met the owner and went out for our sea trial. All went well. After that we went to the office and completed the purchase. Many documents to be signed in Spanish and English. We moved on to the boat and made ourselves at home. Went to Bilbao by Metro in the evening for pintxos and wine.

On Sunday we took the boat out for the first time and motored up from Getxo to Bilbao, passing under the transporter bridge.

transporter-s.jpg


We moored near the centre of town and caught a tram to the old town for lunch.

in-bilbao-s.jpg


On our way back we headed out to sea for a bit before returning to the marina. After a brief thunderstorm had passed we went out for a 6 course dinner. Waddled back.

On Monday morning the former owner and the broker came round to help us motor round to the lifting dock, where the boat was hauled out...

haulout-s.jpg


..... and loaded on the truck

loading.jpg


The radar arch and props were removed....

arch-off.jpg


...everything was strapped down and she was ready to go....

ready.jpg


We're now back in England, and the boat should be arriving at Poole Yacht Club on Thursday morning.

Many thanks to Javier, the broker at Getxonautic, who was exceptionally helpful throughout.
 
Congratulations Avalon. She looks like a lovely boat and I wish you many happy cruising days on her
 
Thanks for all the kind words. The box on the bathing platform is in fact a giant cold box with two compartments. I think the previous owner used it in connection with fishing, and I had expected him to take it with him. He's getting a sailing boat, though, so there would probably be nowhere to put it. Not sure if we'll be keeping it on the boat; I'm partial to a cold beer after a day on the water but don't need to carry it around in industrial quantities.
 
Lovely looking boat! Many congrat and enjoy :)

PS Don't be too hasty in getting rid of the cool box.....in my experience having industrial quantities of beer aboard is handy when you end up being the host boat :)
 
No sooner said than done....

I got down to the yacht club a bit before 9 this morning to find that the boat was already there - Geoff had arrived just before me.

arrival-1s.jpg


The boat looked none the worse for her journey.

arrival2s.jpg


The travel hoist was soon in position....

arrival3s.jpg


.... and she was off the truck.....

arrival4s.jpg


..... and very soon chocked up ready for work to start.

chocked-s.jpg


She will indeed be getting a new name. She will be called "GROWLTIGER".

Yes, maybe see you in or around Poole. For the winter she will probably either be in the Poole YC Marina or Town Quay Marina in Southampton.

Will probably be ready to relaunch in a couple of weeks. A few jobs to do first.
 
Wow, amazing when things happen according to plan with boats. Well done!
 
Good going!
That's a weird travelhoist, with the crossways beam at the bottom rather than the top. I cannot figure out why they would make one like that because it limits the boat it can carry according to length as well as weight.
 
jfm said:
That's a weird travelhoist
Click to expand...
Indeed.
I can only think of one advantage, i.e. not being restricted in just one direction when lifting a sailboat.
And only as long as the boat doesn't have a high draft, anyway.
I guess there's a good reason why there aren't many of those around...! :)

@Avalon:
Did you take the opportunity to visit Bilbao a bit? Lovely town, one of my preferred in Spain.
Great find anyway, she really looks mint. Looking forward to your "maiden cruise" report!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top