Life on the Hard

As we continue our life up on the hard, Paul is really getting stuck into all the outside jobs in preparing the bottom part of the hull for the new anti-fouling paint.  

In this photo, he's making "oops" repairs to the stern section of the keel which I managed to knock off by backing up into a reef one day (got a few in the front of the keel too).  It's not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last.  Any cruiser who says they've never kissed the bottom is either not telling the truth or simply hasn't been anywhere.  Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

He's fibreglassed, epoxied, faired, ground and sanded all the dings - a clean, smooth-bottomed boat is a must for maintaining good speeds.  With the heat and humidity running at incredibly high levels each day, it's somewhat draining but he just keeps at it.

We've also taken this opportunity to have our overly rusty chain and anchor taken away to be de-rusted and galvanised but in laying it out for collection, he managed to drop the anchor on his bare big toe then immediately the next day, dropped a huge log on the exact same one.  Ouch!  No rest for the wicked though, he pushes on.

 
Meanwhile, I have it easy in comparison.  I run around in our little Noddy car getting bits and pieces and have been re-organising cupboards and lockers that I packed up in too much of a hurry back in Jepara.  

It's mango season at the moment so here's me making my mango chutney to bottle - there can never be too much mango chutney aboard Calypso.

After a year in Indonesia where we could not get any wine, we have found a shop here that sells a few varieties of Australian wine (sorry SA but desperate times etc....) so we've been able to indulge a little which is a major highlight.  They even sell ham and bacon!  Mind you, it's all kept in a small glassed off room at the back of the store which even has special shopping baskets for non-halal items (don't dare mix them up!) and signs everywhere to state that no Muslims are allowed to be served.  I'm happy; bacon! wine! what's not to be happy about?

This marina is one of the stops for the Sail Malaysia Rally which is on the go right now.  When we pulled in a couple of weeks ago, there were very few sailboats.  What a different scene now.  It's chock-a-block with even a few anchored outside the entrance.  We've been invited to all the social functions which is great as there are even a few boats that we've met previously.  It's always nice to meet new cruisers but wonderful to bump into old friends too.

Last week vs.....                                                                         this week.....

We've had quite a lot of heavy rains so, at long last, we've managed to rid ourselves of all the layers of thick brown teak dust we acquired back in Java.  Even the halyards are looking respectable again.  I'm told, however, that we left there none too soon as they've experienced a few storms of late.  Our experience of stormy conditions there is something we'd rather not repeat.