Thursday 9^th July – Grand Harbour, Malta (Sails and fuel)

35:53.221N 14:31.217E

This morning we didn’t even think of trying for a lie in as the sailmaker was arriving early with our genoa with its new sun strip.  We just finished breakfast before he arrived; we chatted for ages with him – he is full of information about all things sail and cockpit enclosure related.  He had to leave as he is taking his own boat racing this weekend and needed to get it prepared.

Before we left the UK we asked the marina to source some fuel for us – the marinas here do not have fuel berths, instead the fuel is delivered to order by tanker – and so a little later, the owner of the nearby chandlery arrived at Pyxis to arrange for a fuel delivery. 

At lunchtime we sat in the cockpit with a book and melted in 35+ degree heat with only a slight breeze.

Mid afternoon the fuel arrived - by quad bike.  OK, the quad bike was towing a large fuel tank with long hose to reach down the pontoon, pump and meter but nevertheless slightly smaller than the lorry we had been watching for.  So, this afternoon we filled up all our jerry cans and topped up the main tank after our marathon trek to the Aeolian Islands.

In between these activities we tackled some other housekeeping tasks taking time-out to keep going upstairs to cool off. 

This evening it has cooled to 28 degrees but there is still little breeze to cool us down.