Thurs 25^th, Fri 26^th and Sat 27^th Nov.

As forecast there was at last a breeze this morning that meant we could go out sailing and see if PG’s work had solved all the issues.

Steve from SF came along to help and around 10.00am we eased our way out of the marina and in no time were flying along at a respectable 6 knots close hauled. The news was mostly good, however there was still some creaking still coming from the aft cabin doorway which was a problem area for access.

We tacked and now on a port tack the noise increased. Nothing like it used to be, but not quite what we had hoped for! Poor PG spent some time below as the boat pitched through growing seas and a rising wind trying to locate the source of the noise, which was not easy for him as he gets very seasick down below due to an inner ear problem.

We returned to the marina where he set about improving the situation and then about an hour later, Steve, PG and I took Serafina out again for a second trial. The wind had got up now and we had a great but rather too brief sail as it was obvious that there was nothing PG was able to do to solve the problem. We returned a little disappointed all round and PG spent the rest of the day putting the ceiling panels back (with the correct adhesive this time). Sarah had meanwhile been visiting the chandleries and seen a sail maker about making a couple of items for us.

In the evening we were invited on board SF for dinner and Mexican Train – a ‘to-be-completed game’ where we are not winning....!

On Friday PG turned up for the last time to finish off the ceiling trims and a few other minor jobs around the boat. He left us at lunchtime looking very miserable as he was so upset about failing to solve all our issues. (Short of sailing back to Sweden there seems to be little that can be done at present – The problem is not at all serious, but just a little frustrating and would require major surgery to resolve possibly.) Nevertheless, we have been very impressed with Najad’s new management’s enthusiasm for righting previous errors.

We secured Serafina with additional lines and springs in preparation for the storm we have heading our way over the weekend and the start of next week.

Saturday was very much an administration day as Sarah spent the entire day in front of her computer planning menus and shopping for four persons for four weeks. I too found plenty to do but did have time to follow via the internet, England losing to South Africa at rugby. Worse still sounds like I will be getting some emails from Australia shortly unless our cricketers pull off a small miracle!

Another warm day (26 degrees) and it seems so odd seeing the city putting up their Merry Christmas bunting in the sunshine (particularly when we are hearing the woeful stories of the UK weather). The wind picked up on Friday night to give us a little foretaste of what might be coming. This marina is not too good a place to be(but there are few options on this island) when the storms blow up from the south so we are all bracing ourselves (and our boats) against the sea surges and strong gusts expected.