It has been a quiet winter for Spellbinder after the 4,500 nautical miles she covered last year. There was some maintenance to do: the sails came off in October and went for laundry and repair; the stack pack got a new, oversized zip; I exchanged all her batteries, replaced a solar panel and she got a new cooker.

Replacing batteries these days is more complicated than yesteryear. There are new, lightweight lithium ones on the market, which bring other advantages but which require careful installation and new chargers and in some places cabling. They are much more expensive, and the sums didn’t add up for me. Nor did Absorbed Glass Matting (AGM) and other types. On the basis that the previous ones had served faultlessly for 7 years, I went for the same Rolls wet lead cell type, exchanging them one for one.

Different colour, but same type. They are Canadian, reassuringly expensive, and good quality. I’ve never needed a generator in my travels: I have enough solar panels, 2 alternators and a towed generator for my needs. Exchanging them was a preventative measure; they were fine, and working well, but were reaching the end of their lives.

The solar panel on the foredeck had disintegrated, so Mike from Ocean Electronics replaced it with a bigger, better one with a new Victron controller, which allows Bluetooth access so I can see what precious amps are going in.

The new galley was a bit of a treat; Jonty and I got convinced by the GN Espace sales blurb at the Southampton Boat Show. The old one was fine, but a bit slow and uneven in its cooking. The new one is far superior, with 3 burners, and I hope it will bring the gastronomic standards of the galley up still further!

With all these repairs and improvements done, Jonty and I set off for the annual trip to Bosham, drying Spellbinder out against the Quay and washing her off, cleaning and maintaining her prop and changing her anodes. It was good to see sailing friends Lionel for lunch and Merrick and Emma for supper in the Anchor Bleu.

We managed to put the mainsail on too – a bit of a pig of a job, as you need to slide it in together with the stack pack.

We headed back at the next High Water back to Gosport, getting in at 0200. A few days later Sue and I had our first proper sail of the season – anchoring in Osborne Bay then heading to Cowes for some shopping, with Tom and Ambre as very able crew.

We’ll be sailing locally in April and May, then plan to head to Ireland and Scotland over June, July, August and early September. Let’s hope it’s a better summer weather-wise than in 2023…