Adventures on Xiphias

Spring Clean

Royal Southern YC, Hamble

After lying on her mooring at the Royal Southern Yacht Club all winter, I motored the

Xiphias in slings getting a good scrub

boat up to the river Hamble to Deacons boatyard where the friendly chaps hauled her out of the water and gave a good blast to clean off the accumulated filth. She will be choked up, giving me the chance to repaint the anti-foul onto her underwater parts. It will also be the chance to service the engine and saildrive. Whilst she’s out I will also have a heating system put in.

A sparrow hawk with kill

As I walked from the boat yard to the railway station, a five minute walk, I chanced upon a Sparrow Hawk with a pigeon she had just killed. Too big a load to fly away with her prize, the bird of prey held onto her meal even though I was standing just a few metres from her. At first I thought the bird had an injury. In fact it had lunch which it was merrily plucking by the side of the pavement. Gruesome, nature red in beak and talon!