Day 23, Year 6 Boat Work, Boat Work
Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Weather: Sunny AM, Overcast PM, Rainy Evening
Location: Tuzi Gazi Marina, Richards Bay, South Africa
It was a good day. Ed on Constance did some research and found a place here in Richards Bay to repair our alternator-no guarantees that they will be successful, but at least we have hope. Mark delivered our alternator and Ed’s this morning, so we will just have to wait and see what they can do. I worked on photos while Mark went to town, but when I went outside to check on something, I saw that it was a beautiful, sunny morning and that prompted me to get outside to do some boat work. By day’s end I think Mark and I together got about a third of the stainless cleaned and polished. When Mark returned from town he also launched into a massive project of removing the stainless steel bow protector that we had put on in Thailand to protect the bow from nicks from the anchor. Unfortunately, when it was put on not enough caulk was used and water has seeped between the boat and the protector and caused ugly rust stains to run down the front of our bow. Removing it was quite a project, but Mark got it off and I cleaned and polished all of the stainless on the bow of the boat with Mark’s assistance. We are now ready to reinstall the protector. Hopefully the rains that came this evening will let up by morning and we can get that job done.
I have been dreading to think about Christmas but the time has come that I must face the fact that this will be our second Christmas away from family. It is time to order gifts and have them sent. So we also spent time searching the internet for things for the grandchildren and we spent time searching for a place in the Caribbean where our children might come to meet us. Both Christmas shopping online and research on the Caribbean will be a continuing process, as will the cleaning and polishing of stainless, but early tomorrow morning, weather permitting, we are going on a walk with a few other cruisers. The young man who works on boats here, Hebron, will meet us at 7 am and we’ll do the bird walk in this area with his guidance. So we are going to mix a little play with work tomorrow. And if the weather is good on Thursday, we are driving north to the iSamangiliso Wetland Reserve. So much to do, so much to see, and so little time.
