Showing category "Getting things sorted" (Show all posts)
As life's pleasures go, food
is second only to sex. Except for salami and fresh bread after a long day’s
sailing. Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced.
The trick therefore is to
ensure one has sufficient preserved meat for a few months at sea!
So what do you do?...you buy
a 3 kilo slab of the stuff and then try and work out where you can hang it
without getting concussed when it swings through the cabin on a 30 degree heel.
Unfortunately concussion is inevi... Continue reading ...
Close to God
You know I wasn't aware of it until I
attempted it but it appears I have a little salt water in my veins. Apparently
our earliest known ancestor from Australia was a crew member on a
passenger/cargo ship based in Sydney (he died in a rescue attempt at sea
leaving behind a wife and 3 kids – the state offered one crown in compensation),
and we also had a great, great grandfather who was a steam boat captain trading
on the Murray......apparently even my father was a water baby....he designed
... Continue reading ...
Taking stock
Thought it was time to take
stock of all that has been achieved and that which remains to be done!
You may remember our
exceptionally long list of things to do, check and buy…well somehow (almost magically)
the list increased…. You see when you start with the ‘lets antifoul the boat’
point on the list there lies beneath it a range of sub categories and points
that need to be attended to at the same time. Similarly the ‘let’s install
additional solar panels and radar equipment’ ... Continue reading ...
Ho Hum
The weather’s been brackish
the last few days….. not sure whether that’s a weather term but it’s appropriate
for my current mood. The wind has been constant, grey skies and damp rather
than wet….It’s not the kind of weather that inspires focussed and productive
activity aimed at gearing us up for our journey… so I’ve been dabbling instead.
I’ve attempted a few things
that need to be done…like removing the mouldy smell from the aft cupboard (yes
we already have mould) and ... Continue reading ...
A note on change
Over the last 4 months I’ve
gone from well-paid and talented HR professional (even if I do say so myself)
living in my own home with 2 horses, 2 dogs and fully maintained company car
with a circle of close friends who shared my hobbies, to a completely ignorant,
nautical dwelling, grotty yachty (common term for boat people not arriving
illegally to Australian shores).
Instead of crawling out of
bed, spending half an hour in the bathroom, straightening my hair and applying
my face, then do... Continue reading ...
Totally wired
We have wiring!! And it’s connected!! Our brand new and
rather spectacular Lowrance broadband radar is up and running!!!
Sonar is connected as well and our new charts are locked
and loaded. It’s a damn incredible piece of technology… the radar can be
superimposed on charts, so not only can you see what’s out there, you can see
where it is on a chart.
The display lets you split the screen and watch the sonar
at the same time… so you get a very cool submarine ‘ping’ thing going ... Continue reading ...
Freedom
Well we’re free…. As much of
the critical work that needed to be done while Hafskip was on hard stand has
been done! 7 straight days of hard labour! Lost a lot of sweat and scratched a
lot of mosquito and midge bites in the process but it does feel good to have
had the chance to get underneath our boat and know her a little more
intimately.
We had more that we would
have liked to have finished but given how tricky it can be to sand, grind,
drill, solder, thread wiring, mount stainless st... Continue reading ...
Levitation
After nearly a month on the
mooring we’ve finally made it into Dry dock. This is where the work really
starts!
Hafskip is in desperate need
of an antifoul and we’ve had to wait for a high enough tide to get us into
Edges Boatyard. I don’t think we really appreciated this until we actually
navigated the narrow channel through the mangroves to get there, at one point
there was no more than 10 centimetres under the hull…but Ralph kept his cool
and we gently docked in the tiny slipway (... Continue reading ...
Storage, Sewage and Salmon-tail catfish
One of the basic realities
of life on board a boat is a limit to storage….this impacts on our voyage scope
and extends to everything…food supplies, fuel tanks, batteries, water capacity…and
even the toilet has a limit! So one of our key tasks is to increase storage/capacity
where ever it’s possible…or make sure we can ensure continuous supply! (NB:
please exclude the toilet, continuous supply is assured here)
In terms of fuel for the
engine and gennie we bring diesel on board and... Continue reading ...
Careful placement of dominos
Lucky the weather has been a
tad lack lustre over the last couple of days…it’s helped getting some route
planning done…. What does that mean?....research and more research is what it
means. We’re up on hard stand next week for a about a week doin’ the tough
stuff…but after that we really do need to be heading north to be sure we can
position ourselves nicely for a coral sea crossing which would see us in Papua
New Guinea by October.
Why October?.. Quite simple
really….we want t... Continue reading ...
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About Penny
Penny |
Have Boat - Can Travel |
Find me on facebook http://www.facebook.com/penny.goldfinch
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About Ralph
Stay in touch via facebook http://www.facebook.com/ralph.kluge
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