Alongside RSAYS, Outer Harbor
Wind: S F2 - slight breeze
Sea: calm Swell: nil
Weather: sunny, warm

Another week passes without Oli, and slowly, slowly I am adjusting to the new normal and getting on with things.

This last week I have kept busy with the usual maintenance chores, in particular de-rusting and painting the lazarette. That is now complete and this week's job is preparing the cockpit coaming and the adjacent side decks for painting. This area of Sylph is awkward to get at and as a consequence does not get attended to as often as it should, nor is the preparation as good as it needs to be for a long-term fix. However, this time I am spending more time de-rusting and prepping the metal prior to painting so that hopefully it will not need further attention for at least a few years.

I have also done a little bit of sailing. My friend and fellow Squadron member, Rob of Inukshuk, invited me to crew for him in the Adelaide to Port Lincoln race as his regular crew pulled out at the last moment due to family matter. The race started at 1500 on Friday and we finished in Port Lincoln on Saturday evening. It was mostly a pleasant sail; however, due to fading winds and sloppy seas, and perhaps a somewhat less than gung-ho crew, we decided to retire rather than flop around for several hours with only fifteen miles to go to the finish line.

As our berth in Port Lincoln was some distance from the yacht club and because we were planning on heading back to Adelaide the next day we chose not to participate in the post race party, but instead enjoyed a quiet meal and drink on board Inukshuk. The sail back to Adelaide proved even more pleasant than the race, with a relaxing overnight sail having us back alongside the Squadron at around 1100 yesterday (Monday) morning.

For now my plan is to continue with the upper deck maintenance and once that is completed I hope to go for a short sail around the Gulf of St Vincent.

All is well.