After a day inside yesterday and the wind eased this morning, I decided it was time for my first solo adventure in the dinghy. A cruise ship must have arrived today in St. George as a truck load of tourists was deposited in the marina where they were decanted into kayaks and disappeared out towards Venezuela! Bon Voyage! I gathered keys, oars and the killcord and was just heading up on deck to check I could still start the outboard, when a Hallberg Rassy 49 came into the berth beside us. The gap between us was now very narrow and the wind had increased, bobbing the dinghy all over the show. After attaching the oars and trying the outboard I had coffee with Gayle our new neighbour while husband Kirt zipped off to clear customs. Help was offered to guide the dinghy through when the wind dropped and confessions expressed that she too was inexperienced taking the dinghy out.

   The wind showed no signs of abating so I switched to plan B and pulled the cockpit floor up. Yuk! It was not a pleasant job degunking the months of crud that lurked below. I then spent the rest of the day scrubbing then polishing the cockpit and aft deck and then regrettably had to lock the dinghy back up for another day.

   From the marina bar great live music drifted across as I was packing up. The more I heard of tracks from Santana, Eric Clapton and Sting the more I listened until I bucked up courage and went over to investigate. It is never easy for a lady to walk into a bar alone but grabbing a beer I found a comfy seat and two great guitarists treated my ears while I hydrated my weary body! The interval was also great as I chatted to a guy who had lived in Sweden and I relived our wonderful adventure collecting Brindabella from the Rassy yard in Ellos two and a half years ago. In this hot humid evening the talk was of icy decks, chilling winds but oh so stunning scenery.