Whilst driving ourselves between mooring points on the Cleddau River in Pembrokeshire, the prop shaft had started making a lot of noise and having had a closer look, the stuffing box and associated stern gland gear was moving around rather alarmingly. Chief concern was that too much vibration could crack the fibreglass around the stern gland, which we assumed could lead to rather a lot of water coming into the bilge, rather quickly. Over a couple of weeks, the vibration worsened, until the bearing on the propeller shaft completely came apart.

With the bearing gone, we really didn’t want to motor very far and yet, we knew that none of the Milford Haven marinas had space for us and none of the local yacht repair yards had a hoist capable of lifting us out. This uncomfortable conundrum was solved by asking (well, begging really) a commercial yard in Pembroke Dock to help us. They don’t normally work with yachts and have no real space to store yachts out of the water, but given our predicament, they thankfully agreed that they would lift us in their hoist and allow us to stay in the hoist for a couple of days. Kids were over the moon as we had to spend a couple of days in a hotel with access to decent wifi.

The part that had failed is a pillow block bearing and stabilises the prop shaft before it exits the boat. We found a new one for a very reasonable £30. Unfortunately to get the old one out and new one fitted required the prop shaft to be removed, something which can only realistically be done with the boat out of the water. We asked the team at Mainstay Marine if they could also do the repair, which they agreed to. We would inevitably had to go to them anyway as the old bearing jammed whilst they were removing it and had to be cut off with a cordless angle grinder. I won’t mention how much the lift and work was combined, though suffice to say that even with Mainstay Marine doing us a very good deal, it was somewhat more than £30…

Having splashed back into the water, we took advantage of a break in the weather and high tailed it North to Fleetwood marina near Blackpool. Here we’ll stay for a few weeks at least whilst we take care of a few more essential jobs, though thankfully none which need us to come out of the water again!

Perhaps my biggest lesson in sailing to date is that you should never plan, as if you do that plan is ultimately the one thing guaranteed not to work out. We had had great aspirations of returning to the UK and then heading South for warmer weather pretty quickly after we arrived back. Several factors have unhinged that plan. Despite our best efforts, sorting out our belongings to go into storage took a lot longer. Though we’ve now done this, it amazing how much stuff you build up and how long it takes to get rid of stuff, particularly if you’re agonising over wether or not to keep stuff. We applied the ‘does this bring me joy’ mantra to storing things, so we’ve probably halved our worldly possessions, but it took a long time to get there.

There have also been the inevitably breakages. We spent quite a while without a generator. In sunny climes, this wouldn’t be an issue, but in a rainy UK, we’ve been running the generator for about an hour a day to keep the batteries topped up. If anyone is looking for a career change, I can fully recommend marine mechanic, they’re like hen’s teeth, so you’d not be short of work. At about the same time, a bearing on our prop shaft gave up. We’re too big for any of the marina lifts in Milford Haven, so have had to reach out to a commercial yard for help. Fortunately they’ve agreed to lift us, but not for a couple of weeks yet.

All this has delayed our departure and with a washer/dryer still to fit on board and frankly shocking winter weather now stuck over UK, we’ve decided we’re not going anywhere for a month or two. Not that we’re staying in Milford Haven as the marinas here are still full, so it will be a trip North up the Irish Sea for us in a couple of weeks, probably for a marina near Blackpool that seems to have space. We’ll be doing this with a washer/dryer still in its wrapping in the cockpit, so it’s sure to be an eventful trip…

After a couple of weeks of heavy pre-departure boat work, a breakfast conversation provided an insight into what we hope home/boat schooling could achieve. The question was what happens if lightning strikes the boat. That start point led to a rabbit warren of other questions and discussion touching on the speed of sound in vacuum, the electromagnetic spectrum, electrical conduction vs induction, electrical resistance and so on.

Having never felt fully engaged ourselves with our own ‘learn by rote’ school experience, we’re hoping that the ability to follow an inquisitive approach will spark an interest in life long learning. Fingers crossed…

We are Alex, Penny, Leo and Sam, a family on a career break from normality to do some global home-schooling, learn a bit about ourselves and this blue dot we call home.

[The Captain nearly vomited after reading this, so if your sense of chessiness meter is spiking, you’re in good company ;)]