On the insurance front we have ‘over-progressed’. No funds were received on Thursday so I let the insurer know asking them at the same time how much they’d sent. Being in Europe they came back that night saying they’d sent [...]]]>
On the insurance front we have ‘over-progressed’. No funds were received on Thursday so I let the insurer know asking them at the same time how much they’d sent. Being in Europe they came back that night saying they’d sent an amount over twice what I was expecting. This was a surprise. At some point this would have to be corrected but I thought it would be better to receive the money then figure out how much to send back. On Friday we received an amount somewhere between what we were expecting and what they said they’d sent. With cash in the bank I let the insurance company know I was now confused and put it back in their hands to explain. I have since started to make the final payments to the suppliers who’ve finished their work.
There’s still a few things being worked out with Dignity and the things we need to do to complete the sale keeping everyone as happy as possible. It’s a big moment for everyone. I remember back to our own moving aboard Dignity in 2008 and the stresses involved. What really stands out in my memory from those days was the unconditional support we received from folks around us. Our friends Jim and Anne on Bees Knees and Tom and Pat on Lone Star are strong in my memories. There’s a saying within the cruising community (and outside) that you simply pay it forward. I really hope we will have a chance of paying it forward, in a small way, to the buyers and get them started on their own dream.
This concept of paying it forward figures large in my mind at the moment. On such a vastly important matter, my life no less, we have received such unconditional support from those around us. There is no adequate way to ‘pay’ this back. I wonder how, perhaps, I can pay forward this gift.
On Friday I had a comprehensive blood test performed. It had been due on Monday but the hospital had agreed to bring it forward to Friday so we could know before the weekend if I was fit to travel to Brisbane next week. One of the possible complications was a collapse in my blood cell counts which was why I went through the harvest. It was really heartening that the hospital was not only willing to adjust the timetable to meet our needs but even put a 
priority on analyzing the blood simply to allow us to book our tickets. In the afternoon, one of the oncology doctors called me up and simply said, “Go and buy your tickets, everything looks good.” Flights are now booked and a car rented.
On Friday evening we went into Melbourne to meet our New Zealand friends, Lew and Tracey, who serious blog readers may recall us meeting early 2011 on the Otago Rail Trail. They’re over here on holiday and for Dr. Lew to attend a medical conference. They’re both very close to our hearts as, among other things, they also offered to help out when I first became ill.
We drove into Melbourne and walked around the South Bank for a while before heading to their hotel. We shared a couple of bottles of bubbly in their hotel room before going out into the city to eat. We ended up back in their room for tea and more chat and left after 11pm. It was really, really good to see them again and catch up with our lives. Good news is we’re meeting them again tomorrow.
On the way home Helen, being the DD for the night, had a first ever experience. She was breathalyzed. 
She also passed her test.
This morning we had the delight of going to see Roz, Sarah and Russ’s daughter, playing netball for her club. She scored three goals herself and, more importantly, really played a solid team game often passing the ball to others than taking more challenging shots herself. Her team won which made it all the better.
It was really special for us to be involved with the family in this way. Even if it was a bit chilly.
]]>I also made some progress with the SSB install. With Helen’s helped we fished most of the distance between the tuner and the main unit. I’ve also run the anternna wire out to the transom compartment ready to be run outside to the antenna. Today I reckon we should be able to get things hooked up and begin testing. I hope to finally get my email over short wave going. The last time this was working was during our previous life in Berkeley Heights NJ.
During the day we took a break and met Des and Sue (from Desue) at a local hotel where there was an art exhibition. I mainly talked boat stuff with Des while the rest wondered around.
Last night we had Pat, Tom, Ann and Jim over again to say goodbye to Pat & Tom. They’re finally leaving today. We’ll probably see them around but this is (they reckon) their last one here before heading off for the Virgins. Perhaps we’ll again meet up down the islands.
]]>Today we’ve prepped for our forthcoming travels. We’ve done our shopping and I’ve checked out of customs. We’re now flying the yellow Q flag which means we can’t go ashore until we’ve checked in somewhere. Tomorrow we’re planning to leave at first light and head for St Kitts with a possible stop at Statia if we need to cut the trip short.
Tonight is curry night. We have some leftover turkey so it’s going to be turkey curry. No wine or beer tonight due to long trip tomorrow and we want to minimize possibility of misery on the journey.
Here are some pics of recent days.
We’re going to move back into the Lagoon under the 8:15 bridge opening then do some shopping. This afternoon we’re having Pat and Tom from s/v Lone Star and Jim and Anne from s/v Bees Knees over [...]]]>
We’re going to move back into the Lagoon under the 8:15 bridge opening then do some shopping. This afternoon we’re having Pat and Tom from s/v Lone Star and Jim and Anne from s/v Bees Knees over for a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner. Should be nice.
Tomorrow we’ll head back out of the Lagoon, do our final provisions for a while, check out at the port and prepare for a dawn departure on Saturday for St Kitts.
]]>This means we won’t be heading to St Barts tomorrow but we are keen on sailing so we’ll probably head to Grand Case (uphill from here), do some snorkeling then stay the night before returning to the Lagoon on Wednesday.
Today is my mother’s birthday. We’ll be going out for dinner tonight – location as yet to be determined.
]]>Back on the boat the unit was finally installed. Evening meal was grilled chicken, mushrooms and salad. Came out very well – even if I was chef.
Here is a pic of the grill.
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| From 2008-11-22 |
Today we’re going to see the latest Bond movie with Pat and Tom. There are a few boat chores to do. I won’t bore you.
Tomorrow is Mum’s birthday so we’re thinking up what to do then. I’m also itching to get sailing again. Looking like we’ll head off on Tuesday and go to St Barts.
]]>Today is going to be clean up in readiness for my parents arrival this afternoon. The waters are dead calm so we’ll be dinghying them from the airport directly to the boat. That’ll be fun for them.
]]>Helen returned from the dentist with incredible relief to know that the shipment had finally arrived. About midday Tom and Pat showed up to help out. By about 2pm we had everything loaded. Eddie, who had called a favour to get us the dock we were on was keen to keep the time as short as possible so with gear strewn all over the boat and deck we cast off to make the 2:30pm bridge opening. As with the previous day the bridge did not open at this time. It turns out it won’t be opening at 2:30pm for about a week. So Helen and I found an anchorage nearby to work on the boat and await the 5:30 opening. The problem with anchorage we found was that it was quite weedy and scummy so when we finally weighed anchor we got a lot of muck on deck. We made the 5:30 bridge quite comfortably and anchored back in Marigot back almost where we were before.
That was Friday. What’s happened since? Washing machine has been primed and used for two washes which delighted Helen to bits. One pair of solar panels has been installed with help from Tom. Eddie has mounted the charge controller and will connect to the batteries tomorrow. The solar install has stalled as I’ve run short of screws and rivets. Tom and I used more than Eddie planned on so the second pair can’t be fully fixed on.
Stalled on this job I went back to complete the work on the dodger rails. I took all the parts off the bottom rail, applied 5200 marine compound and screwed it all back in. The top rail is unscrewed but I ran into a problem. I need advice so I’ve stopped there.
I’ve also been troubleshooting a discovered problem with one of the drive batteries. It reads a lower voltage than all the rest which implies there is a problem. I have my car battery charger which I applied this morning to the one battery in isolation while we had the genset running for the washing machine. Results are inconclusive as I really need to run my measly 25A battery charger for about 10 hours to do the 200 Ah battery justice. We may have to go to a marina to do this. Some thinking to do. My parents arrive next Wednesday for a three week stay. If we’re going to stop at a marina, that would be the best day. We’ll see. Another chat with (Saint) Eddie as if we find the battery really is hosed we’ll need to get it switched out very soon after – probably the following day before we leave the marina. That will require some planning as the battery change job will be a royal pain.
Helen has done a fantastic job organizing the boat while I’ve been doing my work. It’s beginning to feel like home.
Tonight we’re cooking dinner for Pat & Tom to thank them for all their help. Tom was down in his bilge today. I offered my help but he was ok. If we can’t pay it back we’ll just have to pay it forward. Pat and Tom will be off to the Virgins next week so we’ll be sad to see them go. This is the way of cruising friendships. Chances are we’ll meet again. Tom is keen on being around Antigua for the April Regatta. That may be a good thing for us to go see too. Time will tell.
]]>Once the rail was dry fitted (ie screwed on but not sealed – I have to take it all off again and seal all the holes) we headed off to have ‘cocktails’ aboard s/v Lone Star with Tom and Pat who we’d met earlier in the day. A simple evening with beers cheese and biscuits with excellent open and friendly company was exactly what we needed. Tom offered to help out on some of the ongoing installation work which I’ve gratefully accepted.
Thursday. Helen took the bus to Philipsburg hoping to find some plastic storage crates. She was able to find some more baskets but came up empty handed with the crates. I was left to harangue the shipping companies to try and get a delivery time communicated. Success. We were notified in the morning that it would be delivered around 2-3pm. The quay that Eddie had arranged for us to have the gear delivered to is in the Lagoon so we had to aim for the 2:30pm bridge opening. Pat and Tom had now extended their offer to help us load the boat which was fantastic. I picked them up in the dinghy at 2pm. By 2:15pm we were on our way to the bridge.
At 2:45pm with the bridge still not open things were not looking so good. Eddie’s partner happened to be having lunch with the lady who operates the bridge so he called her to find out what’s up. Turns out the bridge was not getting any electricity from town so we had to wait til the 5:30pm opening. At 4pm we also received word that our shipment had not yet been delivered so a call was made to the port. Turns out they had sent us a couple of emails to ask for a phone number to call if the delivery guy had problems. Of course – these emails were missed as we are not exactly working real time off the anchor. Why they didn’t ask for this information some time in the last 10 days I can’t imagine.
It was now too late in the day to arrange delivery so it’s now scheduled for Friday morning. Exact time unknown. Given there would be no gear shifting that day I took Pat and Tom back to their boat – they would return to Dignity in the morning. At 5:30pm the bridge did open, we passed through and made our way to the dock to stay the night. The land side of the dock is not pretty as it is a building yard. But we had our backs to the lagoon. With the right music and good food the evening was wonderful. Full of hope for Friday. Full of thanks for the people we have met so far. Eddie, who seems to know everyone on the island, continues to be a source of great help and support. Pat and Tom’s friendship and help has been fantastic.
So now it’s Friday morning. We await the 7:30am cruisers net to hear about the weather, who’s arrived, who’s leaving, any security issues, buys and sells and any general chat. We suspect we may end up having to sell one or two things from our shipment to save space and in recognition we don’t need as much as we first thought.
]]>This morning I listened into the cruisers net for the first time and announced ourselves as newcomers. The upshot is we’re off to a neighbours yacht for cocktails later. It will be [...]]]>
This morning I listened into the cruisers net for the first time and announced ourselves as newcomers. The upshot is we’re off to a neighbours yacht for cocktails later. It will be good to start making some new friends. We’ve started to feel a little isolated so we’re both looking forward to this.
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