A Few Hiccups...

...or the best laid plans of mice and men

Did I say we were whittling down the chore list and were “on schedule” for our departure? Did I really say that … out loud? Shame on me. I know better. Neptune was obviously listening and as a result, we've had a few hiccups over the last day or so.

The life raft was sent out for certification and though it might do for another year, it was in rough shape and marginal. We've never needed it, but we'd hate to find out it was on the wrong side of “marginal” as we were climbing into it. We bought a new one (ouch!) and it was just delivered. It fits in the current mounting cradle, but needs a new harness. Put that on the to-do list.

The ditch bag is ready to go, but the handheld watermaker didn't operate properly, so we sent it out for repair. Bad news … it's fubar'ed … new one on order. (double ouch!) Waiting to get confirmation of the shipping date, but it won't hold us up as a friend in Port Lincoln is going to accept delivery for us. It hurts the budget, but not the sched.

Ah, but the biggie … after all of David's hard work re-insulating the fridge and re-doing the galley … the compressor on the fridge/freezer gave up the ghost yesterday. It's a goner. Adler-Barbour is no longer making that model and getting replacement parts is a challenge. It does not appear they're available in Australia, so we're looking for alternate solutions including the possibility of a small 12V camping type fridge/cooler that will get us by for a few months. We need to be somewhere long enough that we can have parts delivered and David has the time to work on the replacement fridge. Right now the schedule to go across the Great Australian Bight is more time critical than refrigeration. We don't have an extra month to spare.

Okay, Neptune, you win. We will go with the flow. We will work hard and get ready, but we promise not boast about anything. We will get things repaired and prepared. We will be patient (as if).

Man, you'd think we lived on a boat or something!!