Saturday 16th January (Lini’s Journal)

Brindabella's Web Diary
Simon Williams
Sun 17 Jan 2010 02:04

 

   With our departure planned for midday Si was already busy on the internet paying tax when I woke. Before breakfast I hand washed everything worn since the big wash on Thursday then while Si ripped up the beds to fit the autohelm which arrived at last, I began replacing the boat name on the dinghy which was peeling off. Even along the pontoon I could hear things were not going well onboard. The worst problem with jobs on boats is you can either put your head or hands in confined spaces to work but not both. Things weren’t going well my end either with stencils that wouldn’t stay put on the curved surface and paint that didn’t seem to like the heat. Worse was still to come though and later when I tried to remove the stencils they were welded to the paint on the dinghy. Aarrhhh!!! I had to pull the whole lot off, scrape off the paint then try and pick the paint off the stencils to reuse them. Some of them were so out of shape, in the end I cut up and joined other letters to make a new set. Needless to say, with Si still having lots to do as well, we didn’t get away today, but at least the new autohelm is fitted and there is no hurry to be anywhere by certain dates now.

  We abandoned the dinghy until tomorrow and had sundowners with pork chops in mustard and cream sauce bubbling away in the Remoska on the cockpit table next to the golden glow of the oil lamp. Nicely unwound, I steamed vegetables then we ate with a lovely mild evening breeze blowing and Whittard’s Tea Dance playing in the background.