With 9 days to haul out we have more than enough time to get the things done on the boat that we want to do. We both agreed and looked forward to taking it easy for a bit. This traveling lark takes it out of us.
After writing yesterdays blog I spent some time organizing all my various to do lists into one so that nothing would get missed. I also fired off some emails to the folks replacing our old, rusty (left in Palmerston) chain to get it here before we left. Helen started cleaning. Once my list was done and breakfast consumed I took the dinghy ashore to discuss options for coming alongside the dock. Outside the marina office I bumped into Ruth from Albatross III who we’d met from time to time across the Pacific. I also ran into Brian from El Regallo who was passing by. For dockage, we were given a couple of options along the cat dock finger which I left till later so that Helen could be involved in the choice. What I did determine was that we had to wait until early afternoon before the tide would be high enough before we come in.
Now that I knew we’d be on the dock that day it was off to meet the folks doing work for us to see how things were progressing, to let them know we were in town and see if they needed anything from us.
First stop was the upholsterers where we’re having a new table cover made and the helm seat made more comfortable. They had recently started work on the old table cover. On looking at the underside they’d noted it hadn’t fitted properly. The best thing to do would be to get the table top to trace an outline. I said I could bring it round in the afternoon once we’d docked.
Next stop was the sail maker who happened to be right round the back. I decided to drive around so I would know for future reference how to get there although I could have just walked out the back door of the upholsterers. Here we discussed where we were with things. While we were on the move I’d contacted them about our main deciding to increase the sail area by going for a flat topped sail. He wanted to visit the boat to take some more measurements but is now glad we’ll be on the dock. He’ll be visiting later in the week.
I next parked the car in the free car park near the marina and walked into town to find somewhere to fix my watch strap. I eventually found a jeweler who could facilitate a call to Casio to see if the repair could be done and how much. I left them my details for their call back to me.
By the time I was back on the boat Helen had almost completely sanitized every surface in our cabin. In mind mind the boat was already fairly clean but Helen, while tolerant of all sorts of grubbiness outside of the home, likes to live in spotless conditions and the bedroom come first. She’d done a good job.
We agreed to have sushi for lunch and pay a surprise visit to Sea Mist who are still here as a result of John injuring his knee just after we left south. We grabbed our sushi and drove round to the park near where Sea Mist is docked to eat it. I managed to flip soy sauce and wasabi all over my legs which left me less than pleased. I didn’t mind the mess but it meant I had less to dip my sushi into. Helen kindly gave me some of hers.
Next stop was Sea Mist. John, Cheryl and Ian were all there and it was good to meet up. We spent a couple of hours there talking about all sorts of things including possibilities of a wedding for someone we all know in May in Fiji. More details on that when it happens.
Time was passing and the boat had to be moved so we pulled ourselves away and headed back. The berth we chose was the one (of the two available) furthest from the finger access. Further to go but less foot traffic going past the boat. We would be right opposite Albatross III. While we were dinghying past we asked Rob and Ruth to stand by to lines as we came in.
As soon as we were aboard we raised the dinghy and checked the boats systems. All seemed well. The tide was still coming in so the prop wash was less apparent than normal when I tested them. Everything seemed to be working well so we set up the lines and fenders. We then cast off from the pilings and headed out into the river.
It was here that it became apparent that our props weren’t grabbing the water as they should. I’d noticed earlier a lot of barnacles on the hulls. Almost certainly, our props are festooned with them after three months up this river. On the upside we were near to high tide and the wind wasn’t too strong. I’d just have to be a lot more careful as we didn’t have the push to get out of any mistakes. Just in case I did ask Helen to make sure the anchor windlass was in operation. It was ok and we didn’t actually need it in the end. Always good to be sure our backup options are working before they’re needed.
Our berth was between the finger and the shoreside bushes. Not knowing what the weather would be like when we had to leave I decided it would be best to reverse in which was more awkward. The conditions were good enough to allow me to do this even with the handicap of the barnacled (presumed) props. It did turn out to be more awkward than I anticipated. The margin between us and the other boats I had to pass and the bush was not a lot and I sorely missed having sufficient torque to twist the boat neatly but we managed it. As ever, folks aboard the boats there came out to help and push if necessary. Not a lot of pushing was necessary and I was able to use the incoming tide and wind to our advantage and we eventually made it in without too much fuss.
Once alongside the dock we adjusted all the lines so we were happy and connect to dock water supply. Over the last couple of months we’ve had the watermaker self cleaning and our on board water supplies were low. Once connected I tried using the shore supply to feed the water maker but it wasn’t providing the flow necessary and the water maker was cutting out with a low pressure alarm as if the input was blocked. Part of the problem is I’d put clean filter in before we left so the internals were passing water easier and faster than before. I also figured that during the day the water pressure would be lower than perhaps in the evening. I abandoned these efforts and let Helen do her first wash.
While she got on with that I started unloading the car. I also picked up a parcel from the marina office which contained some spares for the generator. I want to switch out the heat exchanger as the thread for the sacrificial zinc is mauled and I believe it may have flow issues. I’d ordered a replacement from the US as it was half the price. As it had arrived I called the local Onan guy who we’d had aboard in January and booked him to come on the boat. He’s now due aboard either Friday or early next week.
Having half emptied the car we now realized it was past five and we were knackered. We called it a day there and then and decided to go out to the supermarket, buy in a few more bottles of wine for Fiji (something we’ll be doing every day now) and pick up a chinese takeaway. This was eaten on the back of the boat. Our sample bottle was sampled and enjoyed and we now know what we’re buying today.
After dinner I again tried the water maker. This time we had sufficient pressure to feed it from the dock supply and filled the starboard tank before stopping it so we could shower. The really neat thing is that our water tanks are now filled with water down at around 2-3 parts per million which is very, very clean. Fortunately our foot pump in the galley draws from the tanks while the rest of the boat draws from the dock supply. That means we have abundant water to shower / wash but have easy access to almost pure water to drink. Lovely.
In between all this I know we did one or two other things but I forget. It hardly changes the picture of the day. It was not the relaxing day we’d promised ourselves except for the couple of hours aboard Sea Mist. I didn’t get to drop the table top off to be traced and now, today, I have the job of cleaning the props. Yach.