Ten days is enough for any man , the continuous rounds of showers, drinks
parties , lectures was getting us down .Pleasant as it is there is always an
underlying feeling of anxiety about the enormous challenge facing us –have we
got enough of this and that and the blunt severity of the safety lectures began
to eat in and by the time Sunday rocked up we were all pleased to get out sea.
We had, as ever, met new friends and had a hilarious crew supper where
Spriggsy led the conga with his old mates Girls For Sail_ old habits never die.
We all liked Las Palmas and our tour of the vineyard was very off the
wall, the coach driver managed to get lost and we were perched on a precipice
with horrendous overhangs , when eventually found the place the poor guy seemed
rather disorganised and talked more about his rabbit problem than his grapes-we
had an excellent tasting session but it had not dawned on him that we might be
interested in buying some of his wine and the whole thing became rather tortuous
but charming.
Have we got enough, is the pope Catholic? Of course we have enough this is
a Hutchy boat after all. Boat purchasing did become a bit of a problem, every
nook and cranny on Fenella had been filled but still the skipper would sneak off
with his wash carrier bag under the pretext of a third shower for the day , he
would return to the boat some two hours later with that big smile and an armful
of new goodies and tasty snacks. Gilly stop grocery shopping now, we have enough
on board.
the sailing characteristics of the new ship are interesting and the noises
at night can be worrying, initially there was a rumour going round the crew that
the skipper had half a dozen migrants in his hull. I new that was a lie as when
searching for a new jar of coffee in the OWNERS HULL I could not help noticing
that the Skipper had still not unpacked or packed his personal effects so where
was anyone going to stow away.
the routine is settling down now that we are four days out, Spriggs sleeps,
Hutch sleeps, Jenner sleeps , Tim leaps around the tramp and Rouse
reads!!