Not much to tell at the moment we have been through the medical issues. Nancy has had the operation on her wrist and all is well there still sore but good. I have been checking things on the boat and doing some repairs which one has to do. Some of these jobs are not the most pleasing although very challenging, sometimes the air is a little blue. Like today replacing the tap/shower unit in the port aft head. To beat the system you need to be a contortionist and have very small hands and spanners to get into the small place to remove and replace the unit. I do not have either and patients, let's not go there.
Well it took the whole morning to replace this unit after installing I found that some of the old fittings leaked so over to the chandlers to give more donations and purchase the required parts. Yes I say donations because equivalent parts looking very similar that you buy for your house would be half the cost at Bunning's. But because it is marine it doubles in price so the rest must be a donation to the store owner.
This was my effort for the day besides a few mega chores like changing lights bulbs in salon light fitting and engine instrumentation.
I have a list of jobs before we sail at the end of April but one of the big tasks are studying the notes of other sailors for the passage of circumnavigation of this wonderful country. As I have said before it is a bigger challenge than what we achieved sailing from the Caribbean to Oz. Crossing the Pacific generally you know where the wind is coming from. We did experience storms but Oz can turn it on down the west coast like no other. There are large tides and large and fast current flows that have to be timed so that we have them working for us not against us.
I have copied down notes with permission from Craig, of their voyage around Australia, they are currently in Sydney and have completed the around Oz this last 12 months.
Local knowledge and others experiences is a major part of sailing, what can be learnt by others is very valuable. The fact is for the safety of all the final decisions are made by the skipper and the skipper should ensure that he/she has all the available information to make such decisions.
Safety is the biggest factor in boating and when we look at our boat we think of what we are going to do and what we really need to do it. We have two Epirbs on board and one is due for a battery replacement. We are only required to carry one Epirb. The cost of replacing the battery and getting a certificate to state that it has been changed is around $325:00 we can buy a new Epirb for $389:00. The thing is because there is a period for the battery to be changed companies can charge what they.
It's all looking well so far for our departure at the end of April. Nancy's wrist should be almost back to normal. Come to think of it Nancy and normal in the same sentence is an oxymoron. No just kidding. We are both looking forward to the challenge and are excited to venture into new sailing grounds and at the same time to catch up with people along the way.
Cheers
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