Thursday 3rd June (Lini’s Journal)
Brindabella's Web Diary
Simon Williams
Sat 5 Jun 2010 10:50
cleaned and I was on my starting blocks waiting for the tide to rise.
Luckily some crew from ‘Hetairos’ passed by and I was able to ask for
a hand onto the wall. They too wanted a favour and asked if I would
boat sit as it was Henry’s birthday and all the crew wanted to go out
to celebrate tonight. I had been promised a Skype call from Bob this
evening (a rare occurrence) so agreed only if they had a good wifi
connection.
It’s always difficult to know just how high to load a supermarket
trolley, bearing in mind its contents has to be carried home on the
bike: Today I overdid it! In went the rest of the non-perishables, the
meat and cooking ingredients, then enough of the longer lasting fruit
and vegetables that I (mistakenly) thought I could carry. My efforts
to pack everything in my bags as efficiently as possible weren’t
really helped by the lovely lady who offered ‘assistance’. Outside I
repacked what I could with the trolley running downhill then attempted
to load the extremely heavy bike bag and three canvas bags onto the
bike which also had ideas of escaping. With congratulations from
chatting locals I made no attempt to cycle and pushed my trusty Brommy
back.
There was a lot of preparation to follow as I trimmed fat and
sliced meat wrapping it into meal sized portions. I packed these into
my box and put it to freeze then plugged in the Remoska cooker. By the
end of the afternoon three meals of hoi sin beef and two of chicken
Tikka Masala and a fat free alternative were cooling in boxes ready to
be frozen. I’d dried all the moisture from the fruit and vegetables
and started the lengthy process of paper wrapping and sealing what was
to be refrigerated.
Just after 7pm I stepped onto the beautiful mahogany ‘Hetairos’ and
looked into the distance, past polished wood and gleaming stainless
steel, to her stern which seemed a mile away. I went below where the
crew were enjoying pre- dinner drinks. The owner had her built
eighteen years ago for his family and with six permanent crew it is
sailed to wherever he would like to visit next. They leave tomorrow to
meet him in Iceland then on to Greenland and Norway. I set up my
laptop on the crew table overlooking an enormous galley with an array
of full sized appliances all built into mahogany cupboards. The rich
wood continued through the boat with reproduction fittings and even a
wood burning stove in the saloon I was told. I fought off urges to
have a sneaky look around.
Bob and I chatted on Skype for over an hour catching up on the
last six weeks, his amazing holiday in Japan and his plans to return
to studying. Hoping it wouldn’t be another six weeks until we talk
again I delved into my bag: I had photos to sort, blog to write and
mountains to read in case it was a late night boat sitting. The first
crew back wasn’t too late however and while I finished my wine we
chatted about her job as chef on board. It was only just past midnight
when I went to bed; an early night by this week’s standards.