The boat is progressing gradually. The wiring is nearly done - we actually saw a chart up on the Garmin plotter in the cockpit. It looks as though it really is going to be easy to use.

Engine matters

Today the generator was running and it was very quiet indeed which is good news for us when we have to start it up mid Atlantic. The Perkins engine man came and fixed the idling problem. Elemiah went out for a test run under engine and that was fine.

Curtis is a hero with the propellor

The team decided that the propellor should have its pitch changed and so Curtis dived in and changed it. We don't know how he managed it as although it was a very hot day, the water here is very cold still as it comes straight from the Labrador current and iceberg land. Unfortunately we don't have a photo as Ian and I were out shopping and didn't see it. I am really glad it wasn't me that had to go in.

More awnings

Michelle and Brenda came back with the awning and it is now looking good. It just needs finishing off. We marked the places where the grommets should go and that should be finished tomorrow. It proved how effective an awning could be as none of us wanted to come out from underneath it. It is much cooler underneath it and will keep us cool in the Mediterranean. Michelle also took away the dodger for last adjustments. They should be ready to pick up tomorrow.

The mainsheet block problem

John from Covey came up with a much better idea than ours for fixing the mainsheet block problem. He brought a D ring with him and we worked out that we could attach it to the side of the hatch. The mainsheet itself was catching a bit on the edge of the hatch and so John took the D ring away and had a new stainless steel fob welded onto the side of it. This means that the mainsheet will no longer rub on the hatch - saving the beautiful varnish - and it will run over the smooth stainless steel which should eliminate most of the chafe. It will also run onto the winch much better so we won't get riding turns. Meantime, Morgan moved the Garmin satellite signal receiver somewhere else so that it won't get bashed either. A great solution all round

The gennaker

Sandie from North Sails is back from his trip to Bermuda and he was all for taking the boat out and trying out the gennaker with its lovely angel. Unfortunately we couldn't as we were lacking the right blocks. Sandie is going to get those tomorrow and so with any luck we will actually go for a little sail in her and try out our beautiful new sail.

Photos

I am having a bit of a problem making the photos the right size for emailing and storing on this blog. We are trying to fix it and Marcus is going to change the photos that are already on the blog. This means that the blog should pull up more quickly as it is taking a bit of time to open at the moment. Also, I don't think some of you have realised that the photos are actually there in the blog. I will try to put some photos on tomorrow when we have sorted out the previous ones.

Rosemary and Ian