Friday 5 April 2019

So much has happened and yet so little.

The marina at night with the new hotel's lights on display

We woke slowly, with the expectation that we would have technicians with us by 9:30.  However this turned out to be 5:00 in the afternoon, but at least they came.  Further work on the AIS, but as yet no final resolution.  They also serviced a couple of parts that the boatyard had not done, and hopefully fixed the leaking fuel tank. This has plagued us for 2 years, since we broke a seal on the fuel tank, following poor advice when we first bought the boat. We have suffered diesel spillage when the boat was healed over, and endured the smell of diesel as a result.  It seemed like a miracle when the guy looking at it said he thought he had a gasket that would fit perfectly.  It did, but we will not know if it has truly fixed the problem until we go to sea. Fingers crossed.

While we were waiting this morning we continued with the cleaning of the boat and we are progressing steadily. I blame Tricia’s exposure to Robin Knox Johnson, who has very strong opinions about the cleanliness of a boat, for the lengths we are going to! Just over half of the saloon is done to the required standard.

While I was engaged in this, Tricia set off to the supermarket, armed with the correct terminology to ask them to deliver. I think it was a bit of a performance, but, an English speaker having been found and passport details taken, the shopping was selected and later duly delivered.  The weather has been disgusting even by our standards today, with strong winds (gusts to 35 knots) and occasional rain showers. Of course the delivery arrived while it was raining, but we managed to transfer it into the boat quickly, and can now expect to eat and drink for several days.

I hope there is no local shortage of water, as we have used a lot purifying the tanks.  We have had to put chemicals in, fill the tanks and leave them for 12 hours, then empty them, refill and rinse through with clean water, empty again and then refill for use. The hose has been running all day.

The only other excitement of the day was a large Norwegian catamaran being towed into the harbour by a rescue boat.  Given the weather forecast, I was surprised that anyone was out sailing today.

Distance covered today	0	nautical miles
Trip distance covered	0	nautical miles
Distance covered 2019	0	nautical miles
Steve (and Tricia)