Boat collected and safe home

The transport driver and his gang were great as was the farmer who`s land the boat had laid unloved and untouched for six plus years. His trailor had been made specifically for his own boat a eighty foot sailing barge and was cut and modified to collect our boat (my mates now actually).

The first job was to cut the stauncheons and bowsprit off, along with bodged existing superstructure, to obtain good bridge clearance (no photos of the one low bridge, as I nearly dropped the 1K camera (not mine) finally getting a single Pis*ed photo from facing backwards hanging out the window of the escort vehicle. (How old are you Rob? grow up doing things like that at your age)

The weather on the first day was quite good with light rain in the afternoon and we finished the day (having started it at 05-30 at 21-00 we retired to our hotel and ate a great meal and left early in the morning after a sumptious breakfast back to the boat where we expected the crane to arive at 10-00 ish. we phoned the company and were told that the lift was now off until they had clearance from the electic company regarding the lift (we werent any nearer to their cables than you or I when we walked under them. anyway we waited and were generally given he runaround when we chased them up on the phone (I hate being in other peoples hands and more particularily being let down) .

When the crane hadn`t arrived by 15-00 hours we decide to take "other steps" and phoned around for another company ( bearing in mind that we had, we thought, sorted this lift out by monday this week and were told on the day that all was organised so it was OK to start getting the boat ready as agreed). Long story short we got a crane company who were fabulous and whois motto was Crane hire is not a 9-5 business and they arrive at when they said they would 18-00 and did the lift profesionally and held the boat so that we could cut and weld supports for the journey. by 21-00 of the second day we were fairly tired having been at it for quite some time and we (werent planning too as we had initially expected to travel overnight that night but fatigue got the better of us) we booked into the same hotel as before and slept well.

After another great breakfast and early start we finished the strutting and loading of everything onto the trailer or inside the boat and decided that we should start to "clear" the non motorway bits of the journey earlier that first thought, so we actually left the farm at 22-00 with our "Convoi exceptionel" convoi set ups filly legal I had my yellow flashing light on my Tuf lid/hard hat and my reflective jacket and toe-tector /riggers we said a greatful good bye to the farmer "Tony" who had been a "diamond" and his lovely wife also and set off to our narrowest part of the journey at thr first level crossing. We actually touched the "give way" signs and turned them slightly so the safety vehicle at the rear manned by the transport drivers son and friend ajusted them back to therir correct position (which hey were not and had obviously been "adjusted" before) I remember thinking that at 14-6 inches wide this is a wide load and if that was going to be the start of the journey then things could get even worse.

We made great time and cleared all the local housing, telecom and power lines, which was was made so easy (by Tony) and was why we cut a notch in the keel so that she (the vessel) could sit lower in the trailor. Having done so well Tony the transport specialist decide that we would continue and try to get over the QE2 bridge before rush hour, so of on to the motorway we went and the miles flew by. I am sure that the bridge clearances got lower and lower (they didn`t but I couldnt stop ducking as I watched from the lead vehicle as tony drove the load through and out of each bridge with inches to spare.

We arrive at the bridge with time to spare and had to wait as a safety vehicle of theirs had to take our fee across he bridge and pay it into the office and return with our ticket???? Doh!!!!! what ever happened to the tlephone? anyway we waited an hour and finally we rode the bridge (cor its an awful long way down to the river below and I had visualised the boat falling off the trailor or worse the whole trailor falling into the water, as we crossed. Tony confident and fearless as ever took it all in his stride. So it was off along the M25 the biggest car park in the world and down into Kent ( the garden of England, not with out great beast soon to be sitting in it? :o)) ) .

Our job in the forward safety car was to block oncoming traffic driving into thr side of the wide load so we "pushed cars" right over onto their side of the road, and also to block roudabouts so that the load didn`t have to stop and spent time negotiating around vehicles) We were equipped with all the magnetic lights and signs (on a 4WD RangeRover) and still drivers would flash us to get over, until they saw he following load and then the look on their faces was magic as was their steering deviation! not one of them who flashed us didn`t suddenly state outloud SH*T when the final realisation of what they had just done came to them. Even some of those who passed the load were still complaing to themselves or a passenger that they hadn`t relised thet there was a wide load coming, many were not even looking where they were going and we had to pull over to miss them on the odd occasion. we arrived "home" around 18-30.

Tony backed the vehicle into its new home. I cant believe that I used to drive artics and was still in wonder at just how accurately Tony managed to get the vehicle into the Yard.with a few much needed ajustments because of the tightness of the vicinty, Until after the third ajustment (It was one hell of a long vehicle , one narrow gate and a single lane road to accomodate it) as Tony finally straightened up and was backing into the yard a lady with a dog came walking by and spoke to Nigel the boats new owner saying "good job he got it in on that go or I would have dragged him out of the cab and done it for him!!! she turned out to be Tony`s long suffering wife who had been waiting for his arrival and is actually a fully experienced HVG drive with many years of experience. We did have a laugh when we told Tony what she had said. SOooooo! it was off to the pub and back home for me. The boat is to be blasted today after the kit is tidied and the van emptied out (I shall miss that) and my job as raconteur and tea boy is over for another exciting escapade.