As we are loaded into the water on the travel hoist, a wonderful New Zealand care package arrives from Pippy's daughter and son in law, Nicci and Anthony Davies, containing Anzac Cookies, Twinings English Tea Bags (can't buy them here!), wonderful NZ design tea towels, a Yabba Telephone Card and a "Bellbird Card" which plays the sound of the bell bird when it is opened! This definitely softens the blow of having to be towed back to our marina due to a faulty starter motor, and using the emergency steering! We munch away and play the Bellbird as we ready the mooring lines and love the feel of floating again! That is Lizzie in the photo with Richard and one of the tea towels!
The next 9 days are a blurr of activity on the marina as we complete the final tasks to ready Matelot for her first passage.
The rig is checked and tuned.
The new sails are fitted but due to last minute drama have to be left behind temporarily.
They are fantastic, made of the best off shore fabric from Germany!Kim McFadden pays us a flying visit from London! She is the first of the younger generation to come and stay. She loves the new hairdo she gets in Isola and thinks the Kiwi design tea towels are fab!.
The fault in the starter motor is repaired.
The newly painted and corrosion protected steering quadrant is returned and refitted.
Richard gets a hand stitched (by Pippy and Lizzie) cover for the outboard.
The full service and engineering on the engine is carried out including new seals on the salt water pump and new impeller.
The anchor windlass is checked and rewired.
Richard purchases a new anchor and 50 meters of chain and warp. The chain is laid out on the marina and spray painted to mark off each 10m.
Ross gets the oven reassembled and it works! This is a major for me. He also installs new nav lights and fire extinguishers amongst other things!
Lizzie keeps the food and drinks coming!
We are looking forward to sailing in to Venice with these guys - they have been awesome and we want to share this special moment with them.Pippy makes several trips to Porto Roz getting the right C-Map card for the Adriatic and Greece.
At E250 a card they are essential but horrificaly expensive.Lizzie pumps the dinghy up and it is checked over - no problems there.
The sea trial goes well with Felix running the engine at 3,000 rpms as we leave the marina! Felix gives Richard wonderful advice and information on managing and running the boat!
Finally! We have a name and Felix applies it to the stern!
2 comments:
Don't worry about the money! To put your mind at rest (to some extent) you could not have purchased Matelot at a better time. Since you purchased the boat the NZD has dropped markedly and I am picking it will sofetn alot more yet. Sooooo when you come to sell her (?) you will recoup on the exchange gain! That's the theory so enjoy!
Hello there Jordo! thanks for the encouragment. Living within our means is always going to be a bit of a stretch but we are getting better at surviving on less! We have to as you say the NZD is dropping and that is our living money going down... xx
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