Gorillas – rain and wind – mould and damp – 2XS fans - family dinners
Last night we were lying happily on the couches watching a program about gorillas on the ABC. We saw bright lights going right past the windows and went out to look – a party boat!! A very big cruiser, with Lady Gaga playing loudly, and inside the cabin – bright young things, dancing! Pete lost interest quite quickly but I stayed outside in the rain to see what they were doing. The boat backed up to a landing at the fancy restaurant next door to the yacht club, and the bright young things poured out, singing and dancing, and occasionally shrieking, to continue the festivities. We thought it all looked like great fun but were perfectly happy with our couches, TV, gorillas…
As we were going to sleep, the rain, and the wind, increased in strength. It was like bobbing around in a warm dry cocoon inside a waterfall. I was quite happy and felt very secure and cosy, but Pete felt the need to go and pitter-patter around on deck, securing ropes and getting another fender out of the hold. The rain became positively torrential, and I expected he would come back in drenched, but no. He said, quite happily, “I climbed into the hold and pulled the hatch cover down until it had eased off a bit.” It wouldn’t have been pitch black in there – he was wearing a head torch. But it would have been absolutely horrid! I don’t like going down into the hatches in broad daylight with the cover wide open…
The lovely girl I was talking to at the Manly laundromat told me some funny stories. (Yes she was right; I did wait quite a while for Pete to complete his adventures in Brookvale boat shops…lucky I had a (damp) book to read, and a nice person to talk to.) Recently she did some cold calling for a friend, trying to update client information about boats. She works in marketing, and usually cold calling is a nightmare – people hang up very swiftly, or shout and swear and then hang up. But this time, everyone she rang wanted to talk and TALK…men and their boats… They wanted to tell her about their own boat, the boat they used to have, the boat they wanted to get in the future. She was being paid $1 per phone call and she could see her hourly rate going down rapidly as the minutes added up for each call.
Something to think about if you are going to live on a boat…the bed gets damp…and musty…and mouldy…I spent a jolly hour or so looking up info re this with my friend Google. There are whole forums devoted to this topic. One man wrote, “The only thing for it is to move to a warm climate! I wish I had been born rich instead of good-looking!” But we know from experience that a warm climate just makes things worse…mustier and mouldier…
So this morning we set off, in the rain, for Bunnings. Pete had the idea of constructing a lattice of big solid wooden slats under the mattress and drilling holes in the wooden surrounds of the bunk to allow air flow. This should fix the problem once and for all – I will keep you posted!
It is always interesting, living on a marina. I am surprised how many people wander along our arm of the floating pontoons to look at 2XS – there are SO MANY yachts all around Sydney, in all manner of marinas, and many of them are catamarans more glamorous and remarkable than this one. For example, today I watched a very stylish, big cat glide past, with stylish young people on board, and, tied onto the tender, matching pink and blue kayaks, brand new… But we often look out the window and see people earnestly examining this boat. We usually invite them aboard and they always exclaim in delight at the space and beauty of 2XS, although we are nearly always in one big mess. Today, for example, Pete has been a very busy carpenter on the deck and the whole of our cabin was, until a few minutes ago, full of sawdust. And usually the dining table is full of computers, screwdrivers, wrenches, boating manuals and the beautiful little book Anne-Marie gave me for a farewell present (I think she expected me to write delicate poetry in it…) and which Pete uses every single day to make copious technical and practical notes.
The first two days of this long weekend there was a regatta on, for juniors. We had several visits from some very confident children, who invited themselves aboard. Natasha was the leader of the pack. She kept returning – “This is my friend, Maya. She has come to meet you, Pete and Marguerite, and to look at the boat. I’ll just show her around, if you don’t mind.” We didn’t mind at all. She was about ten, and was wildly enthusiastic – four cabins! A shower! A toilet! Isn’t it lovely? When she left, she said to Pete, “I will never be able to afford a boat like this. You would have to be a millionaire!” So funny…really, all of the boats here at Middle Harbour are big and glam; 2XS is big-(ish) but looks a bit more battered-by-the-sea than the other boats. And I suppose there is the added attraction of us getting on and off all the time. Too thrilling for words!
This afternoon Chris, my brother and neighbour-across-the-bay, paddled across from Clontarf to help Pete with his broken boom-piece problem. So lovely, having family so close by. I stayed inside, trying to download podcasts, with limited success, while they scampered around on the roof in the icy wind and sleet, oblivious and happy, getting things fixed. It is getting dark...colder…windier…and in a few minutes we are happily driving over the Spit Bridge to have yet another lovely meal with Chris, Karen, Kate and Max. How lucky are we??
Last night we were lying happily on the couches watching a program about gorillas on the ABC. We saw bright lights going right past the windows and went out to look – a party boat!! A very big cruiser, with Lady Gaga playing loudly, and inside the cabin – bright young things, dancing! Pete lost interest quite quickly but I stayed outside in the rain to see what they were doing. The boat backed up to a landing at the fancy restaurant next door to the yacht club, and the bright young things poured out, singing and dancing, and occasionally shrieking, to continue the festivities. We thought it all looked like great fun but were perfectly happy with our couches, TV, gorillas…
As we were going to sleep, the rain, and the wind, increased in strength. It was like bobbing around in a warm dry cocoon inside a waterfall. I was quite happy and felt very secure and cosy, but Pete felt the need to go and pitter-patter around on deck, securing ropes and getting another fender out of the hold. The rain became positively torrential, and I expected he would come back in drenched, but no. He said, quite happily, “I climbed into the hold and pulled the hatch cover down until it had eased off a bit.” It wouldn’t have been pitch black in there – he was wearing a head torch. But it would have been absolutely horrid! I don’t like going down into the hatches in broad daylight with the cover wide open…
The lovely girl I was talking to at the Manly laundromat told me some funny stories. (Yes she was right; I did wait quite a while for Pete to complete his adventures in Brookvale boat shops…lucky I had a (damp) book to read, and a nice person to talk to.) Recently she did some cold calling for a friend, trying to update client information about boats. She works in marketing, and usually cold calling is a nightmare – people hang up very swiftly, or shout and swear and then hang up. But this time, everyone she rang wanted to talk and TALK…men and their boats… They wanted to tell her about their own boat, the boat they used to have, the boat they wanted to get in the future. She was being paid $1 per phone call and she could see her hourly rate going down rapidly as the minutes added up for each call.
Something to think about if you are going to live on a boat…the bed gets damp…and musty…and mouldy…I spent a jolly hour or so looking up info re this with my friend Google. There are whole forums devoted to this topic. One man wrote, “The only thing for it is to move to a warm climate! I wish I had been born rich instead of good-looking!” But we know from experience that a warm climate just makes things worse…mustier and mouldier…
So this morning we set off, in the rain, for Bunnings. Pete had the idea of constructing a lattice of big solid wooden slats under the mattress and drilling holes in the wooden surrounds of the bunk to allow air flow. This should fix the problem once and for all – I will keep you posted!
It is always interesting, living on a marina. I am surprised how many people wander along our arm of the floating pontoons to look at 2XS – there are SO MANY yachts all around Sydney, in all manner of marinas, and many of them are catamarans more glamorous and remarkable than this one. For example, today I watched a very stylish, big cat glide past, with stylish young people on board, and, tied onto the tender, matching pink and blue kayaks, brand new… But we often look out the window and see people earnestly examining this boat. We usually invite them aboard and they always exclaim in delight at the space and beauty of 2XS, although we are nearly always in one big mess. Today, for example, Pete has been a very busy carpenter on the deck and the whole of our cabin was, until a few minutes ago, full of sawdust. And usually the dining table is full of computers, screwdrivers, wrenches, boating manuals and the beautiful little book Anne-Marie gave me for a farewell present (I think she expected me to write delicate poetry in it…) and which Pete uses every single day to make copious technical and practical notes.
The first two days of this long weekend there was a regatta on, for juniors. We had several visits from some very confident children, who invited themselves aboard. Natasha was the leader of the pack. She kept returning – “This is my friend, Maya. She has come to meet you, Pete and Marguerite, and to look at the boat. I’ll just show her around, if you don’t mind.” We didn’t mind at all. She was about ten, and was wildly enthusiastic – four cabins! A shower! A toilet! Isn’t it lovely? When she left, she said to Pete, “I will never be able to afford a boat like this. You would have to be a millionaire!” So funny…really, all of the boats here at Middle Harbour are big and glam; 2XS is big-(ish) but looks a bit more battered-by-the-sea than the other boats. And I suppose there is the added attraction of us getting on and off all the time. Too thrilling for words!
This afternoon Chris, my brother and neighbour-across-the-bay, paddled across from Clontarf to help Pete with his broken boom-piece problem. So lovely, having family so close by. I stayed inside, trying to download podcasts, with limited success, while they scampered around on the roof in the icy wind and sleet, oblivious and happy, getting things fixed. It is getting dark...colder…windier…and in a few minutes we are happily driving over the Spit Bridge to have yet another lovely meal with Chris, Karen, Kate and Max. How lucky are we??
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