May 2017

Mattis was making progress with the new rudder this month. We also scrubbed the mould from the gelcoat on the inside of Jingo, which had been building up over the past couple of years (see before pictures below). Mo completed a VHF (Very High Frequency) radio course, which included Short Range Certificate (SRC) requirements, licence requirements, operating procedure, Mayday, Pan Pan, safety, routine Digital Selective Calling (DSC) and now has a VHF licence. We also bought a liferaft, a Viking RescYou Pro 4 and had it serviced.

12th - 21st May 2017
We headed up to Ullapool, Scotland, where Mattis had a week of work making stems for a 22ft Viking replica.

Stems made from oak

Checking for straightness

During the rest of the time when Mattis wasn't working, we saw Mattis' friends (who also sail), started passage planning for our Atlantic crossing early next year and went for walks in the Scottish Highlands, which were incredible.

Ullapool, Scotland

Stac Pollaidh (612m above sea level)

Ardvreck Castle, Scotland

Scourie, Scotland

Ardmair, Scotland

Windy on the Summer Isles!

We had a lovely time with Dan, Charlotte and their little baby Ella

Since coming back on the 25th May, we were now working on Jingo full time. Mattis finished making the rudder and was now preparing to fit it after installing our propellor. 

After scraping out the old sealant, we let it dry out as much as possible

Other jobs we have completed this month:

• The compass lights are now fully working and have been rebedded
• Installed EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon)
• Now have Ship Radio Licences
• Resecured the lower step of the companionway
• Secured the backs of the seating area to the hull
• Repaired and rebedded the teak fixtures in the cockpit

We fitted the last 3 LED bulbs in the saloon and heads light fittings and we discovered why the starboard light in the saloon was not working. It hadn't been working since we bought Jingo last March and we wondered why there was so much tape surrounding the fitting. There were previously quite a few leaks on Jingo, which we were now fixing and making sure everything is watertight. However, once we took off the tape from this particular light fitting, we realised that it was taped up to stop any water coming out from the leaking light! Inside was completely rusted over, hence the connections did not work. We've now put a new connector and the saloon is feeling more like home with all of the lights working. Compared to the winter months, being on and sleeping on Jingo was a lot more comfortable, we were also starting to cook with our oven once we bought a gas bottle.