Taka Trois 'on the hard'
Patrice has a T-shirt that our daughter, Carly brought back from New Zealand which says the following:
“Sailing [sā-ling] obsession. The fine art of getting really wet, really cold, going nowhere really fast, while spending really large amounts of money.” We can attest to the truth of this statement.
It’s D-Day, our original estimated day of departure, but instead of sailing merrily off to Spain today, we’re ‘going nowhere and spending large amounts of money.’ Taka Trois has been hauled out of the water onto the hard for the day due to a mysterious blockage at the bottom of one of the generator’s hoses which apparently cannot be fixed while we are in the water. Translation: more aggravation and another hefty expense. Urrrrggh! Thank heavens we’re not ‘wet or cold’ today as that would add insult to injury.
As predicted, we are still waiting for several workmen to finish installing and in some cases re-installing various pieces of electronics, equipment, a new sail and we were informed this week that the canvas maker will not be able to complete our order (placed last June!) for side and back panels before he leaves on his annual vacation. My ruse to throw a party last Thursday as an incentive to the workmen obviously didn’t work. However, the rum punch did help to ease our frustration. It was a rollicking good time and thankfully the canvas maker didn’t show up because I think he would’ve gone for an unexpected ‘dip’ in the murky waters of this port.
Truth be told, even without these last minute problems we would not have been able to leave today as Michel, our personal weather router, or weatherman, has not yet given us the green light to cross the Bay of Biscay. We’re told the earliest window for crossing might be 3 days from now, Tuesday, August 7th, an auspicious day as it is our daughter Claire-Elise’s birthday.
So we’re enjoying a few more days here in La Rochelle, using the extra time to spend more time with our friends here, finish up projects, stock up on more provisions and test some of our new toys; the solar panels, the hydrogenerator, the de-salinator, the satellite phone and my personal favorite, the bosun’s chair, which is used to hoist someone up the mast if needed. I volunteered for the job and was treated to a fantastic view of the port here.
“Sailing [sā-ling] obsession. The fine art of getting really wet, really cold, going nowhere really fast, while spending really large amounts of money.” We can attest to the truth of this statement.
It’s D-Day, our original estimated day of departure, but instead of sailing merrily off to Spain today, we’re ‘going nowhere and spending large amounts of money.’ Taka Trois has been hauled out of the water onto the hard for the day due to a mysterious blockage at the bottom of one of the generator’s hoses which apparently cannot be fixed while we are in the water. Translation: more aggravation and another hefty expense. Urrrrggh! Thank heavens we’re not ‘wet or cold’ today as that would add insult to injury.
As predicted, we are still waiting for several workmen to finish installing and in some cases re-installing various pieces of electronics, equipment, a new sail and we were informed this week that the canvas maker will not be able to complete our order (placed last June!) for side and back panels before he leaves on his annual vacation. My ruse to throw a party last Thursday as an incentive to the workmen obviously didn’t work. However, the rum punch did help to ease our frustration. It was a rollicking good time and thankfully the canvas maker didn’t show up because I think he would’ve gone for an unexpected ‘dip’ in the murky waters of this port.
Truth be told, even without these last minute problems we would not have been able to leave today as Michel, our personal weather router, or weatherman, has not yet given us the green light to cross the Bay of Biscay. We’re told the earliest window for crossing might be 3 days from now, Tuesday, August 7th, an auspicious day as it is our daughter Claire-Elise’s birthday.
So we’re enjoying a few more days here in La Rochelle, using the extra time to spend more time with our friends here, finish up projects, stock up on more provisions and test some of our new toys; the solar panels, the hydrogenerator, the de-salinator, the satellite phone and my personal favorite, the bosun’s chair, which is used to hoist someone up the mast if needed. I volunteered for the job and was treated to a fantastic view of the port here.
Despite our delayed departure for Spain, there is a expectant buzz in the air aboard Taka Trois this morning as both Patrice and I feel that the end of this seemingly ENDLESS time of preparation is near. At the very least, at the end of today we will have moved from our place on dock #10 to a new place on dock #15, the visitor’s dock and several steps closer to the exit of the port. Fora Marine, our boat manufacturer whose space we have been occupying for the past three years needs the old place for a new boat. Yep, it’s definitely time to move on. Stay tuned…
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