Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time…

When Sea Holly was last out of the water we replaced the rudder bearings. We dug a hole, dropped the rudder, no trouble. Just an extra pair of strong arms was needed to put it back in. Since then the rudder had become stiff so we thought we could repeat the exercise and sand down the bearings while anti-fouling on an Ashdown working party weekend. We would then have some help putting the rudder back.

On Friday afternoon we sailed from Portsmouth to Chichester Marina. After a rather lengthy booking in procedure we found our berth and went to find the rest of the working party. We then went to the pub at Dell Quay and had an enjoyable evening meeting old and new faces, no disrespect meant to anyone! During the evening we met David Groves who offered to help crew Sea Holly to the piles - at least we think he offered - with hindsight he may have thought twice!

Sea Holly was nicely on the piles alongside Sandi and Colin's Gliding Kestrel by 09.00. Fizzgig and Lucrece picked up a buoy and we all waited for the tide to drop…….. Then Ian began to dig the hole "mmmmm not quite as soft as expected". Two hours later, with every available man taking turns to dig and giving lots of technical advice (some of it not for publication) on the art of digging shingle and clay, the hole was dug.

So now the simple task of dropping the rudder - did I say simple? Sea Holly was rocked, she was shaken, the shaft was pulled and pushed, WD40 was sprayed and of course the tide was now creeping in - until Hooray! The rudder came out.

However, there was another treat in store as the hole was not deep enough to allow the shaft to clear the hull. Ian's frantic digging with bear hands was to little avail and at last sufficient clearance was made by lots of shoulders heaving up the back of the boat while wooden props and wedges were inserted. At last the rudder could be moved clear of the boat to allow work on the bearings.

Meanwhile David and I were cleaning the hull and anti-fouling. Then Anne-Marie joined us polishing the topsides. Sandi was a lifesaver to everyone providing cups of tea. Sandi and Colin, I understand, had come for the "experience" of a scrubbing weekend. I can assure them this wasn't very normal.

Sanding down the bearings and putting the rudder back was done comparatively quickly so we did manage to beat the tide!

Everyone then tidied up and wandered up to the pub, some of us still a little blue in colour. A very pleasant evening was had by all.

A BIG, BIG thank you to everyone who worked so hard to help us. Now I wonder… We've just been on a boat with a really big steering wheel………must find out when the next working party is!!!!!!

Jean Sandell