Well it is now Monday
the 3rd Dec and we are still not ready to slip the lines. Due to a problem with
the fridge pump we have been delayed. The knock on is that I was not able to do
my provisioning of perishables which will take at least 2 days, so it looks like
we will be delayed until Thursday, such is the way of cruising.
We have not been idle
though. Yesterday Roger went up the mast, I was tempted to do some serious
bargaining at this point, but as he had been up there for 2 hours I thought
better of it. Actually, it was the first time I had taken him up the mast and it
worked very well. We had rigged up the anchor windlass to take him up and I
lowered him down by hand. I think we were both pleased it worked so easily as it
can be a problem, a little woman trying to haul her man up the
mast!!!!
After he had fitted
the new LED tri-colour/ anchor light and checked the rigging we then set about
re-stowing the anchor and chain. We had laid it along the dock to mark it off in
5 and 10m intervals to help us identify how much chain we have out when we
anchor. I forgot to mention that the temperature was up in the high 70’s, so we
were both hot and bothered. Nothing for me to do, but shower and have some well
deserved retail therapy!!!!!!
Anyway, the week
seems to be starting well, with a new pump being fitted as I type and a spare
ready to be collected. Once the fridge has been tested I will then go and buy
all the perishables. This is quite an operation in itself.
Think about your
weekly shopping, now multiply it by 6 months supply and you have some idea of
the quantity we are looking at. However, it doesn’t stop there. I also have to
take into account shelf life, how it needs to be stowed, how versatile it is, as
the same menu each week for 6 months is not an option! Labels have to be removed
from all cans and the cans marked with their contents. I then have to split the
packs of meat etc. vacuum pack as separate portions, which will then go back to
Publix, the local supermarket, who deep freeze them for us. This is such a
luxury as it means I can leave them in their freezer until we are ready to sail
and they then last longer.
Last year Roger went
a little mad on the cheese (we threw away a carrier bag full at the end of our
trip) so this year I’m doing it!!!
It never ceases to
amaze me how much stuff Beaujolais just seems to swallow up. We bought all the
dried goods and cans last week and surprisingly it all stowed away, despite
being almost double the quantity of last year’s supplies.
We learned so much on
our last trip and it is paying off now.
Well I must close
this blog entry now as it’s time to shop!!! Hasta
luego.
