Tuesday 4 June, MD day 10: Last full day before travel.
One thing we were worried about while living on board in the yard was running the fridges. Our old keel cooling system seemed to work ok when out of the water, sort of. But the new Frigoboat coolers are different, it’s highly discouraged to run the system when out the water. Our dilemma is solved when we find an ice machine in the marina lounge that makes large blocks of ice. We buy two blocks of solid ice, one for the freezer and one for the main fridge. This seems to work just fine, allowing us to turn the fridge and freezer thermostat to only come on occasionally.
At 9am we head to the marina office to drop off the boat key. They confirm me may leave the boat connected to electricity, as long as someone is looking over it. And best of all, there is no charge. So we decide, with Ray’s help, that we will after-all place a dehumidifier in the boat while we are away. We are desperate not to have a mildew problem when we return in October. By 10am the yard crew have arrived, chocked the boat and removed the travel lift. We are right up in the far corner of the yard, surrounded by tall trees. Cloudy Bay should be very cozy here for the next four months.
Having stubbed my broken toe two or three times since yesterday, we decided it’s best for me to have the protective hard shoe after-all. So another trip back to the orthopedist.
And while there, Glen nips into Walmart and buys a household dehumidifier plus a garden electrical extension lead. Once back at the boat he feeds the lead through the galley sink and out to the electricity post. And the dehumidifier gets placed on the galley draining board with a hose into the sink where it can drain all the humidity that it removes from the air.
I then continue to sort out clothes, cleaning inside the boat and starting to pack. Meanwhile, outside, Glen gets the new tarpaulin placed over the boom and tided down to the life-lines. It seems to work well, but will be vulnerable to the wind. After his work day, Ray arrives with the forklift and removes the dinghy from the davits. That gets placed on wooden blocks under the boat, covered in a tarp and locked to the propeller shaft. Another job done.
Finally, before evening rain, we get the last of the sheets, halyards and ropes dry and stowed in the aft lockers. It’s really rope city in there right now. Not an inch to spare.
In the evening, while I continue to pack, Glen heads to one of the marina lounges to do on-line check in and more online training for his motorcycle test. Then late again to bed. Seems we are getting later and later each night. This is our last night with Cloudy Bay, till October.
