Splash down - 49° 38' 48" N 01 35' 47" E

By Kate and Sean -

Wow, today actually came!  There were times when we didn't think it ever would and we would be living in anticipation forever! A major milestone in the Chinook journey. Today she was transported from the shipyard and popped into the water! 

It was supposed to happen yesterday, but the weather gods do not always bless us with perfect weather. It was literally blowing a gale. Waves were crashing over the breakwater of the outer harbour flinging spray high into the air.  It would have been a great day to watch the waves smash on the lighthouse at Goury - one of those famous stone lighthouses you see half obscured by waves. We had caught the night ferry back from Portsmouth and even in the inner harbour, it had trouble offloading.  

Definitely not the day for splashing a boat!

This was the weather for the proposed splash.
Hmmm, now why would they postpone it?

But thirty hours later, it was a perfect splash day, with almost no wind and we even had some sun. Chinook was at the Garcia boat yard and needed to be transported the one kilometre to the commercial dock at the Port of Cherbourg.  Now, for a boat with a lifting centreboard, this is a straight forward exercise!  On a trailer hooked up to a tractor, she ambled her way down the road past the yard manufacturing wind farm turbines and by the ferry terminal.

Cruising down the road to the dock.

She was parked under the monster travel lift.  This little beauty will lift 300 tonnes so we were confident it could manage our precious 15 tonnes of aluminium.  The Garcia delivery team carried out some checks on the centreboard, marked the centreboard lifting lines at up, down and halfway and touched up the anti-foul.  We were able to admire our Volvo 4-blade folding prop that had been a last minute addition due to the supply chain issues.  We are delighted with this - an upgrade from the standard fixed prop!

In the slings doing final checks on the centreboard

And down she goes

Sitting in the slings, checks were carried out.  The bow thruster nudged her bow from side to side and the engine was started and checked for forward and reverse.  We were very happy to see big smiles on the faces of the Garcia team!

She floats!


Looking right at home with the French Navy gunships!


No excitement here!

She is not yet ours.  She will hang out here with the Navy while Garcia finalize the set up and carry out trials to ensure everything is working as it should.  She will then head over to H Dock in the Port Chantereyne marina.  You can check out where she is by clicking on the Where are we? tab on the home page of our blog.  

Our official handover is 11 March.  Bring on the adventures!

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