Friday 9 January

Innika and Mike dropped by with some big zips that she did not need.  Other than them I did not speak to anyone else all day or leave the boat.

I have done the washing, cooked and eaten properly for the first time since Monday.  It was a day to wind down after a hectic week.

In the evening I treated myself to a DVD – The Golden Compass, which I enjoyed.

Saturday 10

Another day on the boat without speaking to anyone, I need this, but am grateful for the music on the computer.  The only problem is that I have some books on there and they keep turning up on ‘shuffle’.

I sewed one of the zips into the sprayhood, where it was still undone waiting for the modifications.  There is no necessity to do the rest now.

It is very windy and even with the computer consumption I had enough to make water for an hour and the batteries are still 98%.

The autopilot not working was not a big problem, but still a nuisance.  I had the windvane instead of the autopilot and could get wind information at the wheel and course and speed over the ground on the chart plotter.  I tried the wires in the panel, but nothing seemed wrong there.  I unscrewed the binnacle front and had to cut through the sealant, but all the wires seemed ok there, too.

Back to the panel, I took the fuse out, it was fine, so I put it back and the problem seemed to be solved.  I now have the information on the autopilot, not to mention the autopilot also works and I have depth.  Although I know I did not have to have all this, it is so much more comforting when I do.

Perhaps I will track down my log, which has not worked for longer than I can remember.  I think without the log my true wind is under-reading, but the apparent wind is ok.

I did not have enough sealant to reseal the front.  I did not want to use permanent sealant, it would probably cause more problems later, so I used duck tape.  Not pretty, but practical for the short term.

Sunday 11

Not a lot has happened since I last updated and I do not expect a lot to happen today, so I will send this now just to get back into the Sunday habit.