It is very cold in Hobart.

BRRR!

No longer a gentle autumnal feeling; this is the real thing.  So yes…we will be cold on the boat.  But I am feeling more confident because I have unpacked my clothes and stashed them away in various convenient shelves and hanging spaces and I have many sets of thermals to wear so all will be well.

We have also started to sort out the food on 2XS so we can go on our last supermarket mission with some sort of useful information in our heads.  Some of the food has been evicted and is now sadly languishing in a big cardboard box, waiting to be donated to some unsuspecting family member.  A very big bottle of pickles; many half-used bottles of arcane sauces not really suited to boat cooking, a third large jar of peanut butter.  Quick and easy is what we need.  I am watching Jamie Oliver as I write; he is whizzing some sausages in a blender and turning them into…sausage meat.  This is going to be used to create a fabulous pasta sauce; now he is zesting half a lemon.  Lovely cooking but…not sure if we will be able to achieve anything of this sort on the high seas…Tins of tomatoes, baked beans, tuna, cup-a-soup for lunches, that will be our style for a while.  This is not quite true, ofcourse.  We managed to cook lovely meals last year, when we were stopped on anchorages or on marinas.  Some of our thoughtful friends and relations have given us chocolate, always sustaining, and Ann-Marie has very cleverly given us a seed sprouter, to protect us from scurvy.

No not leaving tomorrow…probably Tuesday, possibly Wednesday… My brother Pete says some terrible weather is coming to the East Coast of Tas and that when we see the weather map, we will huddle in Hobart until the weekend.  I will keep you posted…(Terrible weather for us, that is; weather which brings a smile of total joy to my big strong surfer nephew Will!!)