Saturday morning was “operation gas bottles”, which involved the safe disposal of our oversized Malaysia bottle, emptying out our gas locker of all our other bottles, giving the area a thorough cleaning, since this locker had been open for more than a year due to the size of the Malaysian bottle, then returning everything back to normal, including being able to return the cockpit cushion to its rightful spot - it’s all the little things that are helping us feel like our lives are returning to normal, albeit slowly.
Roy then started the repiping of the fuel polishing system on the starboard fuel tank to mirror the port side, completing the installation today. It was a good job he decided to reposition the uptake pipes; the sediment that was removed from the starboard tank today was alarming. Strangely enough, though, the port tank was absolutely fine.
A barbecue under a beautiful clear, starry night, our first in weeks, wrapped up a very busy day.
Although we woke to glorious sunshine this morning, before Elaine could get out of bed, Roy was running around closing hatches with Elaine wondering what on earth he was doing. Seconds later the heavens opened; a storm had crept up from the west. Fortunately it passed and we had another hot, sunny, windless day; the perfect opportunity to enjoy our gift of exotic fruits with breakfast.
Afterwards, having completed the repiping of the fuel polishing system on the starboard fuel tank, Roy then removed the old battery combiner on the port engine and installed the new one, in preparation for our lithium battery solution.
Besides being the gofer, as needed, Elaine busied herself with a few “special projects” for family and continued work on her passage planning, a task that is definitely taking longer than she expected, since she keeps finding new, relevant information.
By mid afternoon, though, we’d both had enough of the heat and headed ashore to the Ao Po Grand marina swimming pool and a cold beverage, both doing the trick on cooling us down.
Once back onboard, Elaine enjoyed a chat to her sister in Ireland, before a Pad Thai dinner, complements of Roy and a movie sealed the day.
