A bit like London buses!!....no blog for weeks and
then two contributions on the same day!!...but before we get to those let me say
what a wonderful job Bob & John have done with the teak work, scrubbing,
bleaching, sanding and re-finishing has brought the cockpit up like new!....many
thanks for your hard work. Not to be outdone Terry has scrubbed decks and
polished the hull ably assisted by Eric to have Renegade looking pristine. Now
to my ship mates:
From Bob the 'Boy'
Well here we are in April with only some
40 days until the start of the big trip and meanwhile a practice overnight
trip down to Bucklers Hard & weekend in the Solent with lots of MOB,
emergency steering, reefing, anchoring, drogue deployment drills along the
way; Planned dep 22.00 hrs Friday the 24th April (staying at Bucklers Hard
for the Beaulieu boat jumble - http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/ipus/beaulieu/events-boatjumbleSince the last update a considerable amount of work has gone
into getting the good ship Renegade ready for action. Work completed includes
fitting of a NASA AIS, stripping and re-treating all the teak woodwork,
unpacking and repacking the entire boat, purchase and fitting of a number of
essential items including (deep breath) toilet roll holder, toilet brush, soap
dish, wet gear hanger (4 hooks); plus teak spice rack & kitchen towel holder
for galley.....this is to ready us for the arrival of Gail our only female crew
in Lagos (the only one brave enough to put up with 3 old
salts!!).
Our Skipper has gone through all the Rally
requirements in detail and has ordered a couple of the detail Imray charts of
the Portugal coast (we now have more charts than Amazon!!!), plus from chandlers
final bits including (another even deeper breath) Sail repair kit, 2 red smoke
flares for grab bag, 12V long lead searchlight, from Halfords 2 x 25ltr water
containers (special offer) & small portable fire extinguisher to go next to
the galley stove.....I swear Renegade is 6" lower on her
marks!!.
In addition our skipper has had a birthday -
unfortunately only people with "top secret" government security clearance is
allowed to know the number of years.
More later - Bob the Boy
!
From the "Bilge Rat" - alias 'Power
Man'
Feeling under orders and perhaps because John, THE ELDER and
THE BOY work considerably more hours than myself, but still found time to
enhance the teak finish in the cockpit area superbly. I submit this short
effort for consideration......
Once again on short intervals
achieved, the "skipper with sand in his boots" has performed wonders to have
"Renegade" fully equipped. Ably assisted by "the Devilish Black Sheep"
i.e. Eric (otherwise known as the 'nose' who has instead this year chosen to
sail by liner....now which 'Queen' what was it...., the yacht has had all
equipment sorted, stowing rearranged, so everyone knows the locations
immediately, or maybe SOMEONE won't remember anything?, but, well
done.
Tony, our skipper returns from Saudi on the 22nd (or else!!), the
24th sees a quick lift and bottom tickle at Brighton before an evening departure
for Beaulieu Testing of equipment and procedures will be carried out over
a long weekend, encompassing the Boat Jumble.
A recent email from Tony to
the crew, state no more Saudi trips...... I invite you all to follow
progress and see how long that statement holds true. ........
Final word from
Skip!
Ladies & Gentlemen (aka crew),
Many,
many thanks for the cards that arrived perfectly on the said day.....just to
remind me how old I really am!!
A further Birthday present was having my
steroid injection into the 'duff' ankle....did I say good news!!... so am
now 'leaping buildings at a single bound'....well nearly!!....also had my
Tetanus shot (only one not in date).
Carol gave me subscription to PBO so we
can have reading material plus 3 good DVD's ('Taken' with Liam Neeson; 'Body of
Lies' with DiCaprio & Crowe and 'Flashbacks of a fool' with Daniel Craig)
...this is for those long boring evening at sea!!!!.....course we can do re-runs
on Master & Commander!!
Oh and I put the 'Tuna' fishing tackle on
board.....look out you mackerel!!
Look forward to seeing you all soon......time is
short!
Tony (sandy skip!!)....but not for much
longer!
