FROM LOCKDOWN ΤΟ LOCK MANIA

Nic Compton and assorted crew members lock into the French canal network from the Channel to the Mediterranean

- Nic Compton

One thing everyone knows about taking a sailing yacht into the French canals is that you have to take the mast – or masts – down first. Yet, while we had got everything else ready – extra fenders, long mooring lines, folding bikes, mast crutches, and even the required navigation qualification – the one thing we had never done was actually take the masts down. This might seem a straightforward procedure, but when you have a 40-year-old boat with free-standing, carbon-fibre masts which have probably never been lowered since she was built, nothing is straightforward.

These were the thoughts going through my brain as the crane in Le Havre tugged on the mizzen mast – 500kg, 600kg, 700kg, 800kg. STOP! By now the coachroof was bulging and the whole boat seemed to be lifting out of the water. Clearly something wasn’t right. The crane eased off. Luckily, the crane operator was a Mini-Transat sailor himself and had lowered and raised countless carbon-fibre masts. Between us, we worked out that the stainless steel plate had to be removed to release the nylon wedge which was holding the mast in place.

Once again the crane lifted – 500kg, 600kg, 700kg, 800kg. STOP! And still nothing happened. Then I jumped on the coachroof, and with a shudder the mast came sliding out and the boat settled back in the water. We could all breathe again. Now we knew what we were doing, the main mast came out much more easily, and two hours (and 200 euros) later, both masts were sitting snugly on their wooden crutches. We were back in business.