Turning a corner

DecaDance's Web Diary
Chris White and Jeanna Coleman
Wed 15 Dec 2010 19:49
Position: 37:06.6N 008:40.5W - Lagos Marina (still)
 
 
Things are looking up on board the good ship DecaDance.  Chris chased up the dishy electrician yesterday, who had phoned us on Monday but we didn't notice the missed call.  He's fixed the bow-thruster, sorted out the interface problem with the chartplotter to the laptop (it was a firewall setting which I think I might have changed - oops) and they also installed our cockpit speakers so we can blast out tunes on deck now.  We have finally started to fix things at a faster rate than we're breaking them (although I hope I haven't just tempted fate).
 
 
Yesterday morning, one person, Rob, confirmed he has booked his flights to join us as crew, and this morning the owners of La Belle Poule (Chris chatted to them in passing once and stuck the feelers out, when I walk pass I always wonder why someone would call their boat The Pretty Chicken - or more accurately, hen) sent over a young lad who is working for them, Stewart, who also wishes to join us.  Stewart is a commercially endorsed yachtmaster who has sailed the Atlantic twice, which is pretty good going for someone who looks about twelve.  So we're set to go at the end of the week, weather permitting.
 
 
Yesterday, I decided to brave a haircut, something that has been a bit of a worry since I left behind the expertise of Denise at Passion 4 Hair when I moved to Devon, and is more so now with the added complication of the language barrier.  My three words of Portuguese don't stretch to ,"Could you chop into a bit more?", or "Please don't gel the back of my hair, I don't like it when it sticks to my neck."  The hairdresser was very nice, although full of cold, bless her.  Her English stretched to repeating the phrase "More short?" until I finally said no, and the final result was passable, although I should have said no slightly earlier.  She gave me a really relaxing head massage when conditioning my hair which was much appreciated as I've started to grind my teeth again since arriving in Lagos, something I haven't done since we first moved onto the boat.
 
 
It was the marina Christmas dinner last night in the West Bar and a welcome excuse for us both to dress up.  I wasn't sure whether the gaps in the pontoon or the cobblestones were going to be worse for my heels (the first time I've worn any since our leaving party).  It was neck and neck, or rather break neck, and I was hobbling at the end of the 10 minute walk.  The organiser, Fiona presented us with a glass of champagne on arrival and Nige (no 'el') and Martha came over and introduced themselves, probably because we were just about the only ones in the group who don't yet qualify for a free bus pass.  Nige and Martha stood out from the crowd, not just due to their relative youth, but because Nige was wearing a kilt and Martha is best described as a Brazilian bomb-shell.  We sat with them during a delicious meal of chestnut soup, chicken or sea-bass, and chocolate brownies.  They have a catamaran, Angel of Rio, and they're doing pretty much the same route as us for the next eighteen months, minus the Canary Islands.  There was a great atmosphere in the restaurant and everyone was really friendly, including the staff.  After the meal we all moved onto the South Bar and we bumped into Peter and Ayli from our first night here.  They've invited us to their apartment to watch the final of Strictly on Saturday if we're still around.  As much as I love Strictly, and their company, I hope we'll be gone by then.