Preparation Weeks in Peel

Six weeks of sanding, epoxy, engine repairs and life admin - that's what it took to get Lagertha ready for five months at sea. We'd planned on two. But between a corroded heat exchanger, a replacement wind instrument, a trip to Liverpool for the liferaft, and more than a few evenings that reminded us why we love this island, those six weeks turned out to be exactly what we needed.

On the 12th of April we moved aboard. The boat was nowhere near ready - still a building site inside. We cleared just enough space in the V-berth to sleep, hauled our essentials aboard, and got straight to work. The nights were still cold, but Lagertha has heating and we have our trusty warm duvet. Hopefully the last time we'll need it for a while.

Galley and interior

Andrea's dad Franky is a skilled joiner, and he came over to help tackle the galley. New worktop, altered drawers, a working fridge - the kind of jobs that sound simple until you're cutting worktops on a pontoon in the wind and rain. Good weather matters for more than just morale when your workshop is the cockpit.

So for the rainy days we turned to the inside work - insulating and headlining from the pilot berth through to the aft cabin, and giving the aft head some long-overdue attention. It was still wearing its original 80s decor. Not in a good way.

The results were worth the dust. New headlining, fresh SANICLAD in the heads, a galley that actually works for cooking at sea, and a finished aft cabin we can't wait to use.

Engine and electronics

The engine was next. Adam, our mechanical engineer, came to the rescue. A bigger alternator went in first. But when we pulled the heat exchanger apart for servicing, we found corrosion that wasn't going to wait for the Bay of Biscay.

After weighing up reconditioning versus replacement, we went for a new one - and luckily our local marine distributor Bottomline had exactly the right unit sitting in stock, waiting for us. New injector nozzles, fresh gearbox and engine oil, and after all the heat exchanger drama the entire cooling system got flushed and refilled.

Adam also suggested we fit an exhaust gas temperature sensor - an early warning system for engine trouble. Rob, being Rob, connected it to an analog-to-digital converter so all the engine data now streams through the N2K bus straight onto the chartplotter. Geek.

Mast and deck

Speaking of Rob up high - he also had to climb the mast to sort out the wind instrument. The Maretron ultrasonic had been nothing but trouble. We'd already replaced it twice. This time he installed a Calypso ultrasonic instead, and touch wood it's been behaving ever since.

One hatch and one portlight got replaced too - both were leaking badly. And a hundred small jobs that just come with prepping a boat for five months at sea.

Safety and the island tax

Our life jackets came back from service, all labelled "Lagertha" and ready for the trip - we could service those ourselves, under supervision of Captain Kuba at the yacht club. The liferaft was another matter. Had to squeeze in a trip to Liverpool to get that serviced. Some things are not straightforward when you live on an island.

Anchor chain checked and re-measured - all 90 metres of it. You want to know that chain is right when you're dropping it in the dark at two in the morning with the wind up.

Life beyond the boat

And it wasn't just the boat that needed sorting. Andrea's nurses at the breast clinic brought her yearly checkup forward so she could get her surveillance scans done before we left. The surgery at Ramsey sorted prescriptions for the full six months.

When you've had a life-changing illness and you're heading away for an extended period, there's extra planning that doesn't make the packing list but really should.

Six weeks. Not the two we'd imagined. But by the time we cast off for the shakedown sail on the 24th of May, our friends Steve and Elaine - who'd been away on holiday - had a chance to see Lagertha fully prepared before we left.

Life between the sanding

You can't sand all day every day. Farewell brunches at WineDown in Douglas - bus trips that turned into proper days out with friends. Walks up Peel Hill with the gorse in full bloom. Golden sunsets behind Peel Castle. Many drinks and pizzas at the Black Dog and the Creek.

And the thing we'd been looking forward to all spring - Oie Voaldyn, Peel's annual May Day celebration rooted in the old Celtic festival of Beltane. A torchlit procession winds down from Peel Hill to the beach, where the forces of Summer and Winter meet for battle.

Summer wins, the sun gets handed over, the bonfires are lit, and the trees are burned to mark the end of darkness. Fire dancers and spinners lit up the night, a community choir sang Celtic songs beneath the flames, and this year the Up Helly Aa Jarls Squad came all the way from Shetland - fifty men in hand-crafted Viking suits, the real deal.

Peel is a magic place. The castle, the hill, the sunsets, the community - there were so many moments during those weeks when we thought there couldn't be a better place to live. And now we're about to sail away from it for a while. We'll be back.