Up at 7:45 AM. Breakfast at 8:30 AM.
At the 9:00 AM Rally broadcast we found out that Custom's and Immigration will be coming to our marina Monday between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM for us to clear out of the country; and that the Skipper's meeting for the leg to Bali will be Monday also at 4:30 PM.
At 9:00 AM Joel went 'next door' to Polaris to help Michael install his new VHF radio. It was successfully installed except for one connection which will rectified when Michael returns to the boat in Cocos Keeling (He's flying home to Germany tomorrow).
I called home at 9:40 AM (it was Friday night in Tampa)and talked to Janet, Andy, Patti, Diane and Bill who were at my house celebrating Janet's, Diane's and Bill's birthdays.
Andrew Bishop, the World Cruising Club Managing Director, stopped by to conduct a survey of our thoughts on the Rally so far. A very positive interview. We referred to what the Rally provides as 'concierge sailing.'
Lunch at 12:15 PM consisted of hamburgers cooked on the grill; kiwi; and chips.
Joel and Jeanine napped from 1:45 PM to 3:30 PM or so. I cleaned the cockpit and grill during this time period after watering the boat.
I typed the latest log from 3:00 PM to 3:30 PM; and then Jeanine and I took a taxi to Woolworth's to provision. We needed more canned fruit and vegetables and some perishables - steak, chicken, eggs, bacon, etc. We're stocking up on canned goods to last us all the way to Africa (until November 12), as provisioning in Bali, Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling is marginal. A lot of cans, over 200 of them. Not sure where I'm going to put them all in the boat.
While we were away Joel installed a new 12 volt cigarette type socket adapter in the cockpit table; attached the new fishing pole bracket; installed the preventer block at the bow; and fixed the cockpit table light.
When Jeanine and I got back to the boat Joel was entertaining Russ and Laurie from Nexus. We joined in and after they departed at 8:00 PM Michael, Jan and then Peggy joined us from Polaris for some drinks. They brought a bottle of 'Jameson' with them. Very good whisky. Michael and Peggy and Jan were all raised in East Germany and it was fascinating hearing some of their stories about life before the 'reunification' of West Germany and East Germany. That's one of the principal benefits of joining a rally. You meet people from countries all over Europe. The boat registrations in the Rally include: United States, Great Britain, Argentina,France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, Slovakia, Canada and Norway - 12 countries. But the nationalities are more than that, with crew from other countries besides the countries I've just listed: the Philippines and Holland, for example.
A late dinner at 9:30 PM: T-Bone steaks, blackened and cooked on the grill; sweet potato cooked in the micro wave oven; and garlic bread cooked in the galley oven.
No time for a movie tonight. Lights out at 11:20 PM.
Brian Fox