Preparation for a Pandemic Passage | Can We Leave Yet???
Ahoy, Captain Cornflake here. And yes, you better believe it, we’re back!! Wow. What a summer. A lot of work and family time whilst the old girl sat in Rosslyn Bay.
Put your hand up if you are sick of being in a marina!
Good news is, we have returned!! Neck deep in boat work, but returned none the less!
Welcome back to yachting. We had a list of projects and checkups about a mile long. As usual everything took about 10000000 times longer than expected or revealed new things to be done so we spent a good month getting through everything.
#1 Spa Day
Now everyone likes a clean bum and our old girl is no exception. She was due for a good blast and new antifoul as well as a few other bits and pieces. Let me tell you, watching your own boat being hauled out (while we were on it mind you!) gives the heart a good workout. There is something so unnatural watching a yacht drive across solid ground. All went smoothly (Thank God!) and we made the splash again in no time.
#2 Nice Pipes You Got There
Anyone who sailed with us last year will know of the dreaded drinking water situation. You see, we have a great water filter however the foot pump to access said filtered water was a nightmare.
I am pretty sure we were dehydrated for the most part of last year.
Filling water bottles took up way too much of my day so as you can imagine an improvement of this system was high on my priority list. Our new tap not only looks the part but powered by our new 12V pump it has a steady stream grown men only dream of!
#3 Who Ya Gonna Call?? Mould Mite Busters!
Yes, you read correctly. Mould mites. Our lovely return present after the summer. Just as we thought everything looked great, no signs of mould or leaks, we found these sneaky buggers. All they needed was a little bit of mould in a food container and BAM they had moved in. They are nearly microscopic so you just about lose your mind watching specks of dirt waiting for them to move! Don’t worry though. I beat them.
It took enough vinegar to kill man but I beat them.
#4 If it’s Broke, Fix It!
I actually broke the old cockpit table rolling my ankle on a coconut at the Percy Islands last year. How am I so uncoordinated?? Luckily one of our Richard Street sponsors are revamping their house and had some old drawers on hand. These two stingy yachties jumped at the free timber and figured they could make something work.
My dad’s a manual arts and graphics teacher so this is in my blood right?
Luckily my captain is also one handy guy so lo and behold our sexy new table.
#5 Excuse Me, Do You Have Any Toilet Paper?
If you had run into me at the checkout a few weeks ago I would have fit the perfect description of panic buyer. I was the person with 2 packets of pasta, 2 bags of flour, 2 packets of rice, toilet paper and any dried foods I could get. You know how long it takes to provision a yacht for a few months at this pace? Tell you what my dedication paid off!
I think I would have been arrested if they saw the amount of groceries I had acquired by the end of it all but we successfully smuggled them back to Yeppoon.
I physically couldn’t fit any more food on board if I tried so I would say, job well done! Now, what’s for dinner?
#6 Makeover Time!
That’s right, it was finally time to get rid of the last bits of red. We just aren’t red people and this had been playing on our minds for a while. So it was out with old and in with the new – new black stripes and a new name to go with it.
Let me introduce you to Flying Nimbus our floating adventure vessel.
After a rather long speech, the tossing overboard of a lot of champagne and of course a drink for ourselves we have been given Poseidon’s blessing and the boat finally feels like ours.
#7 Batman Needs a Robin
Old Nimbi was also in need of a new side kick. Poor Briggy Boy, our beloved inflatable tender had to go. We were putting his life at risk with every fish we caught. One spike or hook could end it all.
So introducing the newest member of our crew: The unspikable, stable, rigid beast of a dinghy – Polly. He likes long drifts down the beach, the wind in his hair and doesn’t mind a rough ride.
Well there you have it. Boat jobs are one way to quickly pass a few weeks in lockdown. Could it be that we are finally ready to go?? Obviously the pandemic is still an issue but I bet our social distancing will be better than yours! I wonder what these next weeks will have in store for us…
Until next time.
Xx
