Wrapping Up

Wrapping Up.

I have four weeks left at the shop!

The 14 th, 15th November is the date we have set as earliest date of departure for Simonstown. That will leave us less than 12 days for final preparation in Simonstown. So all of a sudden the heat is on.

The boat is ready to go back into the water, any high tide this week.

The engine is back from the engine guys. The solar panels have been tested and is working fine. The autopilot has been dropped from my study upstairs, to the dining room downstairs. It seems to have survived. I gave it a checkout and it is working. Time will tell.

The leaky cabin windows have been reseated and is keeping out the rain. Tanya has washed the ropes and lines and halyards! Yes, Tanya. Jamie and I have fitted the chafe protection strips onto the mainsail. That's to stop the spreader tips working their way through the sail on the run up to St Helena.

I am still waiting for the extra spinnaker halyard bracket from the spinnaker halyard bracket guys. And waiting for the spinnaker from the spinnaker guys.

Still to go in are the two 102 amp batteries. (they are in Humansdorp.....still at the battery shop guys.) And one more solar panel. All the wiring is done. That was the big job.

Within the next week we must get the boat out of the canals in front of the house, under the bridge, step the mast, get the boat out of the river, over the bar and through the surf, and back into Port St Francis. Then I can relax a bit. Before I tackle all the house jobs.

Tanya has rented out the house for December. That is to fund the costs of the family going to St Helena on the mailship and for my trip back. Only pity is I had to pay for all that now, and we only collect the rent cheque in December. SERIOUS cashflow challenges. Meanwhile I must do some work on the house too.

To pay for our accommodation on St Helena, Tanya started to clean out the garage and all the cupboards inside the house for a huge jumble sale next to the road coming into town. Result.... The accommodation is almost paid for!

Still to find a new home is Rosie's Optimist dinghy. If that can go, we can seriously upgrade our cottage on St Helena. And there is still my marina berth for sale. That has to go badly, I need the ash to plug some other holes which the boat has made.

My study is getting crammed with boat gear. The yacht is totally empty of lose gear. All in my study. Everything which must go back on, is up here so I can check it out and decide if it has any role to play on board. WEIGHT, WEIGHT, WEIGHT.

I can just see the boat settling deeper in the water by the day.