May 29th 2008

Elemiah's Atlantic Adventure
Ian Cole and Rosemary Bointon
Sat 31 May 2008 12:04
I bought a book today and it talks about achieving your dream - through every sail change, every new tack.   Ours is being achieved with every EU label and each update on the mechanical problems of the low loader.   Poor Elemiah is still not in the water.  First the low loader broke down and that caused a week's delay.  It's the only low loader in Nova Scotia sufficiently big to transport the boat from the yard to the slip where she will be launched.  Then the guys at the slip had a previous booking for putting another boat in the water and anyway the crane for putting the masts in wasn't available.  Hopefully on Monday all these factors will come together and Elemiah will wend her way through the side roads of Nova Scotia to the slip in the heritage town of Lunenburg and slide gently into her natural element. 

By then all the labels to comply with the European Union's recreational craft directive will also be in place:

"Cockpit lockers to be kept closed when underway".  'Gas to be turned off at the bottle when not in use.'

And then, we will be able to start our part of the work on getting her ready.

It has been very pleasant to take life gently for a few days although we haven't been wasting our time.  Today we had a lesson on how to download the weather forecasts onto our computers and overlay it onto a chart. Sandie from North Sails is just brilliant at it and we have learned so much from him.  We thank him very much for his time

Even so until I can work the programme instinctively, I know that I am going to prefer looking at the sky.


An aside on cedar buckets.

The designer of Elemiah maintained that simplicity afloat is the surest guarantee of happiness.  This simplicity was for him epitomised by the use of a cedar bucket instead of a marine toilet. 

It is quite clear that we are guaranteed happiness because Covey Island is making us a cedar bucket, although I hasten to add that we will also take advantage of two heads equipped with proper loos and connected to holding tanks - so as to comply with that pesky RCD.

Not that the RCD says anything about baths and one of Elemiah's forebears the famous yacht Ticonderoga, had a bath so we sort of have one too.

From patiently waiting


Rosemary and Ian