Mike gets up then comes rushing down to look for the camera as a sea lion has just arrived in the cockpit and is in the process of arranging himself on one of the large side cushions. We want to photograph him then shoo him away before he makes a mess of them. As we go upstairs I can hear lots of flapping and flomping and by the time we open the doors there is a splash and he has disappeared over the side. Obviously when Mike opened the curtains he disturbed him.
We manage to get some very intermittent internet connection for a while before it disappears completely. The rain is still extremely heavy at times and there are grey skies all around. I don’t know if the weather interferes with the connection – probably not. It’s probably just a crap service. Mike is eager to get some welding done (the helmsman’s seat and the pin for the outhaul block) and get the gas bottle filled with propane, so he and Jim get a water taxi into town.
Half an hour later he calls from shore and says everything will be ready in a few hours and that they are going to stay there until it is. I know this is an excuse for some beers and lunch but it gives me a chance to do a bit of cleaning (not much as it turns out) and some girly bits (you know legs etc – you don’t need the details!).
It’s so muggy with all the rain and the damp cockpit means – you guessed it – tiny dead flies everywhere. I think they just land and drown. The rain doesn’t die out until mid afternoon so I can’t have the windows open so I spend most of the time (after said leg attention) flopped around, sweating, and relaying messages via the VHF from various arriving boats and rally control, who, only having hand held radios, can’t hear them until they are nearly here.
It’s nearly 4 pm when Mike and Jim arrive back. Actually I don’t hear the water taxi arrive and just hear a huge crash. I fling on a sarong and dash upstairs thinking that we have a smelly stowaway but it turns out to be Mike practically throwing the full gas bottle onto the boat. Getting onto Jeannius from the water taxi proves to be difficult as the sea is pitching about and throwing the two boats around at different heights. Mike narrowly escapes a tumble when he steps from one boat to another but Jim is not quite so lucky. As he steps from the taxi, Jeannius lurches down about three foot, the taxi doesn’t, and he crashes onto the steps of the boat, just about saving himself from falling into the sea, although his bottom half does go in. Mike helps to haul him up. He lands on his arm (saving his face and head from hitting the steps) and will probably be pretty sore tomorrow.
We all have an afternoon nap. I’m amazed I can sleep again as I seem to have done nothing else but nap all day, then it’s dinner, TV and, oh, bed!
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