Hello Everyone, well it is now Thursday evening two days before departure. We have a load of washing in the machine at the Darwin Sailing Club and a load of items and food to stow aboard after a very busy day rushing around Darwin doing that last minute shopping in a rental car.
Tomorrow we clear Customs and Immigration - a team is coming to the Club especially for the Rally. Tomorrow is also Show Day in Darwin and a public holiday so most businesses will be shut.
Weather has finally settled down we hope after several days of very strong winds. At the moment it is quite calm. However going back to the boat in the dinghy last night and coming ashore this morning was quite an adventure in itself and was the dinghy equivalent of crossing Cook Strait. Despite this wind, the weather is very nice, fine, sunny, average of 32 degrees C.
On the social front, we had a Kiwi roast dinner on Monday night on Pied a Mer, with Catala in attendance and the Aussies from Keishi, including two year old Jack. Joanne on Pied a Mer did a great roast pork with crackling and Barbara did a leg of lamb with roast potatoes and pumpkin.
Tuesday afternoon was the formal briefing at the new Darwin Convention Centre. The host from Sail Indonesia in Jakarta failed to appear having missed his flight and his Aussie rep fronted the presentation although not with style. The best presentation was from the Sail Malaysia rep who was enthusiastic, funny and informative. So everyone is looking forward to the Malaysian leg.
Big jobs still to be completed tomorrow include putting a new seal in the top of one of the hydraulic backstay rams (a story in itself getting the seal - we got the last one in Darwin), putting up the genoa and a new cap at the top of the furler (meaning P has to go up the mast again), unblocking the toilet salt water flush inlet pipe which is full of weed - there is a lot in the water and we have had to unblock intake pipes regularly, installing the new pump for the anchor washdown (old one cost the same to fix as to replace) etc etc - but yes we will be ready to depart 1100 hours on Saturday.
Peter and Barbara
