Hammamet: Eau d'diesel

Wanderingdragon
Stephen & Anne
Sat 20 Aug 2011 18:26

36.22.39N 10.32.69E

 

Friday must be a better day. We started by going to the fuel pontoon to fill up with diesel. We are now topped up and full. We came back expecting a restful day however we spotted another flying cockroach. We spent the rest of the day taking the boat apart and cleaning / spraying everything hunting for the little “angels”.

 

The life raft was returned and looked to be packed ok, however we could hear the gas cylinder rattling inside (against the case??). We have lost faith in the Tunisians servicing our life raft so we will have it re-done in Italy. We will report back if our paranoia is confirmed or we have just wasted more money on an unnecessary life raft service.

 

Finally we paid a much smaller fee than agreed to the not very professional Tunisian company who had made a poor quality spray hood for Wanda. It was a long tale, but in summary they ruined a good design by taking short cuts to save a small amount of money. We have decided we can re-use the stainless steel frame but will make our own spray hood this winter.

 

Koshka was normal today (sleeping), not sick or showing any other signs of diesel poisoning. In the evening he was exploring the deck, eating well and generally happy. He still has that slight "eau d'diesel” smell which is confusing Yoyo!

 

On Saturday we continued with our jobs to prepare Wanda for a longer passage (and to think we believed we could be ready for Thursday!). We started the day early by walking to the beach. Although this sounds as though Stephen was romancing Anne, in reality he was wave spotting to help with our forecast! We carried on with the “odd” jobs; fitted the life raft to the stern pulpit, cleaned the decks, filled with water, fitted the running back stays and gibe preventers. It was hot and humid today hence even these simple tasks were exhausting.