Calypso's Journal: A rush against time

Another scene from the patio

We have ten days left to put our dear lady back together and depart Indonesian waters! The time limit is imposed by virtue of the fact that our visa runs out in early October and we don't want to have to take another trip over to Singapore.

The list of things we still have to complete is somewhat daunting; we've been working solidly every day in an effort to knock things off this list. Slowly but surely, bit by bit, we're making some headway but it's all a bit scary; there's just so much to do.

Each and every night, we return to the house exhausted and weary but feeling positive as things are definitely progressing. However, trying to find everything poses other challenges. For instance, we took all the pins holding the mainsail onto the mast's bat cars and stored them in one of the drawers but during my absence, friends helped clear out the boat so these have now been relocated, but to where?!? We've got the main back into position but with very temporary securing wires.

The genny is back up, the AIS is almost installed but we're waiting for an antenna splitter. The new grab rails and mast granny bars are implanted back onto the deck as is the cradle for the life raft. The wonderful new teak decking has been fitted onto the cockpit seats and treated. It looks ever so good now. All in all, she's definitely looking more dressed as the spray dodger, bimini and canopy are now back in place and loads upon loads of 'stuff' is rapidly filling up the interior. During all this, I'm desperately trying to vacuum and clean but, just as soon as I do, the newly bared counter tops get filled with tools again, the clean and dusted surfaces get another layer of dust (just one more thing I have to sand or grind dear) and I sometimes feel as though it's two steps forward and one back but we'll get there.

Thanks to Harry we've be able to use his car and driver to help get our things back on board; not something we can easily accomplish on a motor bike. And another huge thanks to Otto and Manis for everything they've done for us. No words can describe!

Harry and Patti have returned to Japan so we have a few days to rid their home of everything before saying a fond farewell to this beautiful location and 'my' cat. I'm going to miss that little guy; the most incredibly chatty feline I've ever come across. The opportunity they gave us to live so comfortably in their home was an absolute godsend. A thousand thanks.

PS: Just before posting this, news came that we may be given another brief trip to Singapore. Not that we want to stay another month, we really need to push on, but a couple of extra weeks would take the intense pressure off and also allow us a couple of stops at islands on the way out. Perhaps towards the end, we could sit back to take a breath and break for a moment. How wonderful! This would give us an opportunity to move back aboard and test everything more thoroughly before heading off. Let's hope it happens.

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