Getting ready for winter!

A flat calm day so Mike decided we would take the masts off Peridot before we brought her ashore.  He usually leaves her in the water till later in the year, but as we are hoping to be away soon, he is playing safe.  September can be a wild month!  

Mike beached her and once he had taken the booms and the shorter (mizzen) mast off, he put a rope from the taller mast to a capstan on the shore.  In this photo Mike is taking out the bolt that holds the mast in place.  As I paid out the rope the mast slowly came down and Mike laid it down towards the back of the boat.  A tricky operation, but now that we've done it a few times, we are getting the hang of it!  

In between the times when I was needed, Lottie and I did a bit of beach combing and found some interesting bits of pottery for me and some nice little crabs for Lottie to crunch up!

The sky was very dramatic but it came to nothing.  This afternoon was hot and sunny, so donning my gardening hat I wandered round with the secateurs and pruned and dead-headed and weeded.  It's looking good, so I sat and wrote down the things which had done well and the plants which I want to move or replace next year.  Every year I mean to do this, but I think it's the only year I've actually done it!