WAITING IN ONE PLACE FOR FAVOURABLE WEATHER

Port Stephens is lovely. It is doing a great job at keeping the faithful crew of Sea Trek III safe while the huge seas roar outside of the entrance. According to the literature Port Stephens's size (surface area) is greater than Sydney Harbour's. So we are holed up.

                                     

                                                THE VIEW OUTSIDE THE GALLEY

Apart from watching the territorial habits of the two barely visible birds on the shoreline, what else do we do while waiting and waiting?. For a start we are learning to recalibrate ourselves and are trying not to look at the clock. This is hard for Glenn who becomes restless without a routine. For a while he was a very regular watcher of our solar panel amp meter reporting on the current level of charge. Now he is beginning to be more relaxed and useful and is self initiating fixing and organising things. There is a cruising theory called the " black box". Sailors need to contribute to their yacht's box by doing the hundreds of little tasks needed to stay afloat, and thus avoid the "domino effect" situations developing. (ie: inconveniently sinking). For me this means keeping healthy by defeating black mould within the interior. This is a continual battle in the moist sea environment.

                            

                        THIS AREA IS UNINSULATED AND INSIDE A GALLEY CUPBOARD

Glenn came down after adjusting some flapping halyards and heard me humming loudly. I do this unconsciously when I am happy but I am embarrassed to realise that this sort of cleaning job brings me so much joy. Out comes my trusty spray bottle: 500 mls of white vinegar and quarter of a teaspoon of Oil of Cloves (about 1 or 2 mls). Before long the growth has received a vigorous and savage scrub. And yes the cupboard now looks happy. ....and I start to sing like Doris Day in a movie scene.

                             

                                                A HAPPY SMILING CUPBOARD

At Newcastle we swapped our Cruising Helmsman magazines for some really old versions. Glenn was very impressed with the food storage ideas. It just so happens that I have been secretly carting around a 2,500 mtr roll of canvas makers waxed thread that I bought years ago at a bargain price. It didn't fit into the needles of my sewing machine and has been totally useless. It has also sailed with us to Tasmania and back and has found itself onboard yet again. It has finally proved it's worth.

       

                                                    USING UP BITS AND PIECES

This is our new vegetable and fruit hammock. It has taken me three days of fiddling and adjusting to achieve The end result. I have seen these hammocks in all of the real circumnavigations publications, but have never actually seen one of them at Whitworths. Mine is of course mould resistant.

                                

                                              AIRY POSITION AND JUST SO NAUTICAL

   

                                       

 

Oldsmobile Story:

Glenn wishes to thank everyone for their positive feed back, emails and texts about the Newcastle Oldsmobile Safari. He will shortly be publishing the sequel to this: entitled THE DEATH OF THE 1948 OLDSMOBILE.

Where we are.

http://skipr.net/where-is/boat-pages/?boatid=1122