Saturday 6th June (Lini’s Journal)
Brindabella's Web Diary
Simon Williams
Sun 6 Jun 2010 19:21
ahead of me. I fired up the laptop in the hope of family Skyping and
while I waited for the tide to rise I declared war on the mess inside
Brindabella: It was going to be a lengthy battle! Emotional
revitalisation came when Julie Skyped and lucky for me, all her family
turned up. I was able to talk to my mum, brother-in-law, nephews,
finance and girlfriend and the adorable little Liam. I was still
smiling when I cycled off for last minute perishable provisions.
Today’s load was no smaller than the last expedition and once again
the Brommy did me proud carrying infinitely more than I could. Inside
the boat I didn’t know where to begin; the veggies needed sorting but
there was no room until I stowed the bike under our berth and the bag
under the foreberth. I quickly threw the chilled food in the fridge,
summoned all my strength to stow the bike, packed away the bike bags
and got the foreberth back together then emptied all the veggies out
in the saloon. Condensation had now filled all the bags of vegetables
as nearly everything here is imported and refrigerated. Packed wet
they would rot very quickly so I spread everything around the cockpit
to dry out. I had forgotten how long it took in Gran Canaria to
carefully sort the veg order, separate anything with blemishes, wrap
everything in paper and pack into preserving bags with as little air
as possible. Our efforts were rewarded with veggies that lasted months
but boy was it a lengthy process. It took me hours to pack and sort
everything today but it was most enjoyable as I chatted to Dan and Ami
on Skype while I did so. I won the jack pot: Skype chats with all my
lovely family and some of Si’s within two days . The bad news was the
meat was still soft in the freezer so I couldn’t move it to the fridge
ice box, turn the freezer to fridge mode and put the veggies in. I
moved everything to the shade on our bed which now resembled a market
stall.
As Si’s ETA rapidly approached I became more and more desperate,
now having to prioritise jobs on the list. I finished cleaning through
the boat then cleaned myself before filling the water tanks again.
After my super efforts with the deck brush earlier in the week,
Brindabella was now covered in presents from the kiskadees but there
was no time now to make her beautiful again. I finished baking Si’s
cheese and onion quiche and made some falafels to have with
sundowners. It was like a sauna inside the boat with the Remoska
adding to the heat of the fierce afternoon sun. The galley had a quick
tidy and very soon after a weary looking traveller came strolling down
the marina. Lini is a complete and happy bunny!
Brindabella once again disappeared under a mountain of bags, boat
spares, English foody requests and clothes: We began a stowing frenzy.
Si was exhausted after his busy week, travelling and time difference,
and I now felt a tad weary as well. I cooked dinner and we toasted his
return home before a well earned early night ready for our departure
to the Azores tomorrow.