We departed Perth at 06:30 and arrived in Darwin at 11:30. It was stinking hot as usual. We took a cab to first pick-up the boat keys from Wayne, then we headed down to the boat. After unpacking, I pumped up the tender, switched on the fridge and freezer, checked the bilges, and fired up the engines and checked the electronics.
I had three bags full of boat stuff and I had a huge list of boat jobs to do before leaving the marina. First on the list was to touch base with Luke, borrow his ute keys and load all the fuel drums into the back of the ute for a fuel run.
I had 9 x 20 litre diesel jerry cans, 3 x 24 litre dinghy petrol fuel tanks and one empty 9 litre gas bottle to fill. After filling these, we went to pick up my generator that had been recalled by Honda to have the inverter replaced.
Next stop was the bottle shop for a few slabs of VB. We then headed back to the boat, and I quickly stowed all the fuel and gas bottle. Then we headed back to the ute and headed off to the supermarket for a food run.
While she was busy with the food, I first got each engine sorted out, then made the beds in the rear cabins. I then cleaned out the old food room and then replaced the oil in the water maker. When I was satisfied with this room, I went outside to check the dinghy for leaks, and it seemed fine which was a relief.
Next on the list was to test the outboard. Thankfully it started first pull and the impeller was intact and working fine. After this I was up on the roof removing the cyclone ropes off the main sail, opening the boom bag and removing all the covers.
I then asked Claudia to help me put the genoa back onto the furler. She got her first taste of hard yakka sailboat work. In no time we had the genoa back on and furled. The new furler swivel seemed to be working fine and there was no hint of halyard wrap which was a relief.
Next on the list was to test the windlass and I was shocked to see how rusty the chain had become, but it was only cosmetic. Next job was to test both toilets, test and flush the plumbing and to fill both water tanks.
A bloody mud lark had made its nest under the radar 15 meters up the mast and the deck was filthy, covered mud and bird shit, with sticks and other material all over the place. So, I had to climb up the mast with the hose, remove the nest and wash all the mud and bird shit off.
I spent the rest of the afternoon scrubbing the decks and getting
the boat spotless.
After dark we had a quick bite for dinner and I was up until 01:00 reactivating my satellite phone, testing the AIS. Replacing batteries etc.
No comments:
Post a Comment