36 01.571N 014 18.085E Island of Gozo, Malta

Pipedream
Tue 30 Aug 2011 17:24
It was only something like 11 miles but it sure felt good to move the boat again! Converting the boat from a house/ erector set back to a boat again always takes a while. We finally got away from the dock around 11 AM. We put up sails but had about 18 kts on our nose as usual. The prop and engine sounded good. No major leaks in the steering system. We are still smelling some exhaust fumes below and Michael is constructing a better patch for the exhaust water catch box. I used a plastic coffee container and GE RTV the first time, we are now going with an aluminum beer can and two part gorilla epoxy. At least we know where it is. George originally fixed it on the way across the Atlantic. Not sure what he used but it lasted three years of almost constant use. The boat yard guy must have disturbed George's work when they were working under there. Wish I would have remembered it and just changed the box out when it was all open. Dah...

We had a great docking, backed in and got it the first time. Michael is a quick study and can fix stuff to boot. We went over to the ferry dock to catch the tourist bus around the island but missed the last one for the day. An enterprising cabbie pitched us on a private tour in his Mercedes limo. It was great. We did the whole island in about two hours including stops to see this and that. Saw the 7000 year old temple ruins here... not as good as Malta's. Went to the Citadel and the Cathedral... who could ask for anything more. More... I asked our driver how they ate the prickly pears that are growing all over the island. After describing how he did it he stopped and picked us a bag full. We have two soaking in water to remove the fuzzy prickles right now. More to follow.