Getting ready and trying to leave.

Tashi Delek
Mike & Carol Kefford
Mon 21 Nov 2011 14:16

We had intended to leave last Friday (18th) but had found a problem with our Chart Plotter (Sat Nav for boats).  It was not showing any detail and detail is the point of the thing so we investigated further.  Long story short is that it needs a new motherboard if we are to leave here within the next three weeks, and that has to come from Spain.  Grrrrr.

 

Now back to the SSB Radio.  These are enjoyed by  card carrying geeks only.  The rest of us either don’t have one or tolerate it as a necessary evil with which to communicate beyond the 20 mile range of the normal (and much easier) VHF radio.  Safety being our watchword we decided to try and tame the beast and learn whatever we had to in order to use it.  With several email exchanges with our incredibly helpful teacher we are now up and running and ‘on the net’ along with many other boats making the crossing this year.   We check in at 8am every day to give our report (Fri - still in Marina Rubicon waiting for a part, Sat - still in Marina Rubicon waiting for a part,  Sun - still in Marina Rubicon waiting for a part,  Mon - still in Marina Rubicon waiting for a part ) and listen to where the others are.  Some are underway but the majority still seem to be on various islands getting ready to move.  It is tremendously reassuring to know that there are so many others out there and to be in touch with them.

 

As always in a marina everyone helps each other out.  There is a real sense of anticipation building here while a lot of yachts are getting ready to cross.  We were delighted to meet up with our friend Brad on his very lovely yacht Evergreen that we had first met parked next to us in Turkey last year.  As always Brad was a fount of knowledge and generous assistance.

 

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.We were able to reciprocate and helped to set up and programme his SSB radio for him. 

 

Our main contribution to the marina at large was our tank full of contaminated diesel that had turned to jelly while we were away.  As always proactive, Mike had found the problem when doing the engine checks and the sticky gloop had got no further than the primary fuel filter.  The guys in the workshop here were fully kitted out to drain and clean the tank then filter the diesel and put it back.  They almost seemed to be expecting to have to do it and when they told us how common the problem was with fuel from Gib and from Morocco we understood why.   This caused a flutter of activity round the marina as everyone who had come via Gibraltar checked their tanks.

 

We hired a car and spent a day in the capital Arrecife to top up on provisions and fresh rations for the trip.  This put Mike in the stressful position of shopping in a Lidl while close to Ikea.  Two of his least favourite environments, but we do have to keep admitting that both places have just the stuff we are looking for over and over again.

 

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Final shop was Euro Spar for meat, fish and a few of the more unusual bits and pieces that Lidl doesn’t have. 

 

We bought chorizo, salami and slices of the very delicious Iberico ham which all last very well.  We kept walking past the whole hams hanging and um’d and ah’d about whether to buy one.  We had been spurred on by sight of Brad having one hanging in the galley as he set sail and it made a lot of sense and seemed like a fun thing to do in this part of the world.  So we found a smallish one (!) and installed it next to the knife rack for easy access.  We haven’t quite got the incredibly thin slices that are traditional but it is really tasty so a bit of a chunk doesn’t really matter.

 

 

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