It is now over 2 years since we left Moondance moored safely in Ieper Harbour. Now we have plane tickets to Europe, leaving Melbourne on 17th March, so we are looking forward to another year of cruising in 2022. In the photo above you can see Silk Purse on the left and Maria of Zaandam on the right, owned by our friends Barrie & Carol and Tim & Jo respectively. One of the many reasons that we are very happy and we feel lucky that our boat has been in Ieper during these panademic years. Here is a bit of a run down on what happened to Moondance in 2020 and 2021. Those that follow our blog closely may know that we were unable to return to Moondance in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. And also that when Davy our boat technician and his team removed our old kitchen in February 2020 he found mould, dry rot and water damage which affected our walls and floor. But we told him there was no rush as we wouldn't be returning anytime soon. In March 2020, before packing up, they worked to sand, degrease (3 times) and prime the floors and walls. In February 2021 Davy and the team returned to the boat and completed the foam insulation for the walls and the floor of the kitchen. After we realised that the floor had been raised a small amount, we decided it was time to replace the ceiling as well to get some extra headroom. Of course removing the ceiling led to more unpleasant discoveries. In the end we decided to delay our departure from Australia until we had our COVID-19 vaccinations. And later decided to cancel our 2021 cruising plans all together in case we were unable to return home to Australia for Christmas. So again we told Davy no rush to complete the work. In October, Davy and his team returned to clean the boat. It was filthy after sitting idle for over 2 years. Before: After: Unfortunately Davy has had some bad luck health wise having had an operation on his knee and later on his back. But he is still confident that he will have the kitchen and other small jobs completed before we get back in March.
Thanks to Davy Eeckhoudt for the photos.
1 Comment
PAM KERSHAW
20/12/2021 07:23:46 am
Thanks Deb! What an adventure! Looking forward to virtually following you around Europe next year. Pam
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