Monday 30th July : Launch Day!

Finally, we get to the day we have been looking forward to since last October - launch day! We had an inauspicious start when the crane which had been hired to lift Kered onto the transport developed a fault and simply refused to lift ( we were told later that a load sensor had failed ). Anyway, a second ( and much larger ) crane was despatched to the Discovery yard, and Kered was loaded on to the low loader just after lunch.


Kered being lifted off her trolley..............


............and lowered gently on to the low loader bed.


The journey from Marchwood to Saxon Wharfe starts.

Launch was due to take place at Saxon Wharfe on the River Itchen, about an hour away for the low loader. We had a slow drive following the truck and Kered was unloaded very efficiently by the Saxon Wharfe staff.


Unloaded by Saxon Wharfe's giant ( 200T ) travel hoist.

There were a few jobs to do before the launch itself and it was about 15:00 before Kered was put in to her natural environment. She was held in the slings for a few minutes so that the Discovery team could check all the through hull fittings for leaks, then gently pulled down the pontoon and tied up for the night.


In her natural element now - still held in the slings to check for leaks.


Tied off for the night at Saxon Wharfe ready for mast stepping the next day.

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