On a previous blog, we mentioned the story of how we had met at the Weather Bureau in South Africa. Well, during those initial days, we also met Olga, who was among the first women student meteorologist too and we have remained friends every since. Sadly, Olga lost a loved one to COVID-19, someone who Elaine has many fond memories of. May she rest in peace. Our condolences go out to Olga and the family at this terrible time. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.
After a phone call to Olga, we tried to set the awful news aside, definitely grateful for the distractions of enjoying a chat to Anne off Time Bandit following their safe arrival in the Maldives and to Craig off Il Sogno, who is still in Malaysia, like ourselves.
Afterwards, Elaine decided the best distraction for her was to paint and spend some time on her special project, while Roy got stuck into the generator repairs, but as Murphy would have it, after one problem was fixed, another materialised, requiring more parts to be ordered. It seems the universe has conspired against us and removed any hope of us setting sail anywhere, anytime soon. It doesn’t help matters that Customs is closed for the Chinese New Year and our solar controller and engine mounts are yet to be cleared.
Yesterday, while Elaine continued with her painting, Roy tackled the next yacht project, given that the parts required for this repair had arrived too; fixing the leak in our one water tank. Since our tanks are made from polyethylene, the only thing that sticks to polyethylene is polyethylene, so, first step was to seal the crack by melting polyethylene rods along the seam. Once that was completed, we had to reinforce the area in order to spread the weight of the tank in the locker to prevent the crack reopening again, when filled. All we can do now is hope that this repair is more robust than the others we’ve tried and that it lasts! Roy also helped Ben, off Kalou, to get all their sails down for maintenance and repairs.
Today we woke to another gorgeous sunny morning, with a light breeze. Being Valentine’s Day, Roy cooked Elaine breakfast as a treat and is now cooking up a storm in the galley for our romantic dinner for two later.
Prior to the latest lockdown, we’d hoped to return to the E&O hotel, where we’d enjoyed a fabulous Christmas, for a high tea or a romantic dinner, but, although in-house dining was permitted again from Friday, we decided against that idea, based on the number of COVID-19 cases still in this area and cases continuing to remain high across Malaysia. Staying onboard was simply the safest option!
In between his yacht projects and cooking exploits, Roy has also been feverishly working on his latest enhancements to the Anchor Plus application; definitely been a challenge, but he eventually had a breakthrough today. Elaine, however, whiled away yet another day in Straits Quay marina painting again; something that has become very therapeutic actually.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. Enjoy the precious time with your loved ones whom you can spend time with now. Hopefully this time next year, we’ll all be able to spend time with loved ones we’ve been unable to see because of the pandemic.
