OVER THE TOP

After rounding the remote north coast of Scotland, the Aquastars head south to close the loop... but time is running out

- Phil Carter

Until an hour ago our charity fundraising attempt to circumnavigate Britain in 26 days was going swimmingly. Wed made it from Brighton to Wick, a few miles south of John o Groats, in just 11 days but coming out of Wick harbour this morning, my Aquastar 38 April Rose came to a shuddering halt on a submerged rock. We managed to get back to the marina alright but heavy vibration from the bent propeller means we aren't going anywhere until it’s fixed not an easy task in somewhere as remote as this.

The harbourmaster arranges for a mobile crane to come and lift April Rose and within a couple of hours she is perched on the harbour wall. The port propeller and P-bracket are badly bent. There are some minor scuffs on the hull and a two-metre section of the wooden sacrificial keel is missing but the main GRP structure itself is still sound.

The nearest propeller repair shop is in Buckie some four hours drive away. They can repair it in a day provided we can get it to them by 0800 tomorrow. A local farmer with a van agrees to pick it up this evening and bring it back once it’s fixed for 500 cash. In the meantime a local marine engineer manages to bend the damaged P-bracket back into alignment using a hydraulic jack, a heat gun and a kiss” from a lump hammer! Unable to remove the propeller from the shaft without a special puller, I resort to undoing the shaft at the gearbox end and taking the whole lot out as one just in time for the farmer to collect it.

By 1900 the following day the propeller and shaft are back alongside the boat looking as good as new. The shaft slides neatly through the P-bracket, stern gland and, with the aid of a firm whack, into the coupling. Thirty minutes later the shaft is connected, the rudder refitted and we are on our way to the pub for a well earned beer.