Getting there gradually

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Wed 28 Apr 2010 19:19
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday - 26th, 27th & 28th April

Monday 26th April
Pretty hectic day as we found ourselves trying to get on with our tasks with 3 different companies working on board simultaneously and to make this more interesting the 3 blokes putting the engine back together had to remove the steps leading into the saloon.
Finally managed with help, to chase all the cables into the solar gantry which was a great relief as we had wondered if it wasn?t going to need some alterations made to it. The list of things to do is certainly getting shorter and we are looking forward to getting off sailing as soon as possible. John and Vanessa from Meand?er came round for a meal and they have very kindly offered to transport our genoa sail to Rhodes and send it via DHL back to England. It is surplus to requirements for the next few years and we do not have the room to carry it along with everything else. We could have sent it from here in Turkey, but the price increases by a staggering multiple of three.

Tuesday 27th April
I managed to complete all the wiring inside the boat for the two solar panels and the wind turbine as well as the charge controller device. Sarah went up the mast to run two halyards whose mouse lines had frayed and broken during the winter storms. This involved dropping a length of fishing line all the way down with a small weight on the end, which we then attached the end of the first halyard to lead through. All went well with the first one but the second one jammed on the way down and as Sarah had now been at the top of the mast for nearly two hours we abandoned the project and she came down for a rest. After lunch we tried again from the beginning and this time all went well and Sarah returned to the deck only minutes before a huge electrical storm blitzed the area with spectacular thunder claps, lightening and a short burst of very heavy rain. For sure the top of a 20 metre (60ft) mast was not the place to be! Chris and Steve from Scott Free were craned in today and they came round for a few beers to celebrate being afloat again.

Wednesday 28th April
Quite a lot of jobs completed today and certainly one of the most rewarding has been the final connecting up and testing of the wind and solar power systems. One of the least pleasant was replacing the pump in the aft heads toilet! Sarah busy polishing up the cabin top and deck area getting the final winter grime off to be replaced with a proper shine....
I rejoined the early morning walking group on Monday and my knees are beginning to complain about the steep walk every morning up the very rough and rocky track leading up the hill behind the marina.

Some photos now posted at www.rhbell.com