As always, getting the boat ready for winter took a lot longer than planned so that instead of having a leisurely sightseeing stroll around Valletta, we only just made it to the restaurant for our 8pm booking.

One of the main chores of the day was to get the sails off ready for valeting and any minor repairs required along with the cleaning of the stack pack. However, the screws on the mast plate had seized and these need to be removed before the mainsail can be taken off. So, yet another job to be sorted by our new caretaker, Peter. We also found out over the last week that the lights at the top of the mast and the deck light had failed. They were working at the start of the holiday so we are assuming the problem with the masthead lights is a connection issue. Liz went up to have a look. The deck light is probably a replacement bulb although, of course, it’s a sealed unit so not exactly a £2 replacement!

After that, we also needed to wash the various lines, put the metal springs on the stern ropes and take anything off that could provide more windage. During the day we were entertained by various fly pasts from the Red Arrows and members of the Maltese Air Force as part of the national airshow.

We finally finished everything off, showered and jumped in a cab to go into Valletta. As you can see from the map below, the marina is one side of the Msida Creek and Valletta is on a promontory.

Malta is actually a group of islands with Gozo and Malta being the largest. We are close to Valletta, the capital, just a short dinghy ride but a longer car or bus ride away. We have now left Nimrod safe and secure in a guest berth on the breakwater, awaiting her move to her winter berth further into the marina.