While Slingshot's owner Keith may be enjoying the sun and warmth of Singapore the rest of us in the UK are getting the first taste of a cold winter ahead. It's the time of year when many GK's come out of the water for for maintanence and to try and get through some of those jobs we all put off.

Like may boats, Genghis Khan has had her mast un-stepped so that I can replace the standing rigging as after ten-years it is starting to show it's age. Also replaced in the last couple of weeks have been the very crazed and leaking windows, a relatively simple job that I am happy to talk you though if you wish.

While checking the rigging on Slingshot, Keith was horrified to see the state of his bottlescrews and sent in the photo below. Hopefully this will provide a stark reminder to check yours before you get a nasty surprise in a gust!