A Jazzy Week
Well this week has pretty much been a blur. We have all been working long hours putting the finishing touches on the boat. I don’t want to bore anyone with all the details so I’ll just touch on the highlights. Fano is nice, but there really isn’t much going on here. At least, not at this time of the year. The weather seems to have definitely changed over. The first half of the week we had cool mornings, warm days and again cool evenings, but the second half of the week has gotten cold and windy. In fact the 50 knot winds the other night created a trying time. Earlier in the day we received the enclosure for the top deck (canvas with see thru vinyl) and the top rail to hold it in place was installed. The bottom, however, was not secured. So when the gale force winds kicked up we had 300 sq. meters of canvas whipping around. At first we tried to secure it with bunghi cords, but they were overpowered. So we had no other option than to remove them while enjoying nature’s light show with a thunder clapping soundtrack. No easy task in the wind, rain and hail. To complicate matters earlier in the day we had also received the chairs and cushions for the top deck. These had to be stowed and secured before removing the enclosure or else they would have been blown to Roma. The bright spot was that we got to try out our foul weather gear and it provided some insight into what was necessary to be prepared for the next storm.
So I worked a week straight and got this weekend off. Neil’s six year old son Alex is here for a visit since the kids in Europe are all on mid-term break. An English Engineer, Glen, has joined the boat for a three month stint to get everything labeled, organized and in ship shape. Yesterday, Chef Mike, another Brit came on board for a week to organize the galley. So slowly, but surely things are coming together. We were planning on going for a sea trial this Monday, but it doesn’t look like the weather is going to cooperate. We are keeping our fingers crossed that things will calm down because we are also planning on making our first trip at the end of the week. We will be crossing the Adriatic and making our way to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Or will we…..
