Friday 19 May
Another chores day, to spruce me up ready for tomorrow’s inspection. Skipper hosed me down and refilled the water tanks [this is a win-win strategy, as it combines cleaning away salty residue that otherwise scratches decks and windows, with the necessary running off of any stale water, without feeling it’s being wasted; then clean fresh water is run through the carbon filter into my tanks: aluminium + chlorine = sediment deposits that block filters in taps and pumps]. He also gave all the ropes a good soaking as they become very stiff with dry salt, and emptied the sail locker deep in my bow to dry it out, and drill holes for ties to hold bits of kit in place: one of Mate’s better ideas, he had to admit.
Mate spent ages in the laundry room (or sitting outside in the sunshine in the pretty courtyard, enjoying an ice cream and the current issue of Hello), and then spread it all around my outside line to dry. Between them they took down my lovely red gennaker, as it does not have the UV protection of the other sails, and stowed it in the newly dry and tidy sail locker. She then caught up with some admin while Skipper took a late nap.