So, the pilot is booked for Sunday 8th Oct to lock out of Portishead at 0700 and catch the rising tide which should hopefully whizz us up to Sharpness so we can arrive there at high/slack water allowing us an easier locking in at the top end. I have three willing crew, me and said pilot so we should be in good order.

Since removing much of the electrical infrastructure, masts and so on there was much which had been disturbed so I need to go through some of the essentials in order to make sure we are ready to rock. One of the big unknowns was the fuel (again). After my nightmare scenario of dirty fuel off Longships while coming around Land's End and being nudged by the pilot to check the fuel I suspected we may have some crud in the tank so I was prepared for the worst. With about 80 odd litres of diesel still remaining in the tank it wouldn't be a pleasant job. And the smell of rotting diesel bug and diesel together makes me want to barf...

It did not start well. As I opened the drain for the sludge trap... .... .... .... .... .... nothing. Not even a dribble. Generally this means there is so much crud that it has blocked the valve. 'Yay' I thought to myself. One long shanked thin screwdriver later and the blockage had been shifted....

Surprisingly the diesel seemed to run pretty clear after the initial sludge was cleared. On opening the inspection hatch it would appear that the tank is in pretty good condition. There is some light rust patching on the baffles but the sides of the tank weren't covered in sludge or slime and an exploratory finger into the diesel to check the bottom of the tank yielded a solid and non slippy surface. Thank whichever deity you pray to as this just saved me one mahoosive pain in the unmentionables job.

The inspection hatch to the fuel tank. So far so good...

Light rust scale on the baffles but overall the tank is in good condition and the day spent pressure washing the insides and desludging in Penzance over a year ago has paid dividends.

I have charged the air system in preparation for starting the engine, the generator will be next on the list to fire up to make sure I can connect the electric bilge pump, then fire up Big Bertha, reconnect the radio antenna to one of the VHF's (although I have a spare handheld just in case), the nav lights are working as is the GPS so I think we are almost good to go. Will throw some more diesel in her, top up the oil, clear out the wheelhouse in case the weather is less than sparkling and set up a tea making station if I can clear enough of the skipper's cabin.

The chap who did the Zeelandia film from BWFilm will be coming along to film the shenanigans/hilarity so expect arty shots and hopefully carefully dubbed audio which doesn't include me swearing like a RN Stoker... (have a look at what the Bristol Pilots have to deal with on a daily basis here - https://www.facebook.com/itsbwfilm/videos/1337262659686276/).

More updates as we get closer to the time, until then shippers, fair winds and blue skies...