November 14, 2019
We are NOT there yet. Just a short update for anyone who is wondering about the upcoming excitement, things are a bit delayed. I am sitting at the dock in the cloudy, rainy or otherwise wet weather waiting for a ship, with my boat almost entirely shut down. I would complain except I know that Toronto received snow and -10C temperatures, so I am going to suck it up. 😁
Today I actually got a call from the shipper, having asked for a status update a few times over the past 48 hours. The update suggests that they did experience some poor weather and delayed loading ships. One was a 275 tonne super yacht, which probably required both of the transport’s cranes and would have been pretty tricky in heavy winds.
I was expecting them to have finished yesterday, but it didn’t go that way. Again today they are scheduled to finish, and then it is a two day run to Palma (from Malta). In theory I should be loading my boat on Sunday. (The transport is still tied to the dock at 6:20pm, and it is a 40+ hour run from Malta to Palma, but I’m going to stay positive).
The boat is slowly being shut down except the most necessary systems and supplies, and having expected to be lifted yesterday, I am a bit short on food. After the call from the shipper, it was back out to the grocery store to put something in the fridge. Meanwhile as you can see from the photo below, the aerials are down, everything is safely covered and I just have a few small work items to prepare the decks.
Unfortunately the interior isn’t in quite as good shape. I am kinda stuck inside so the features of the boat are being used almost normally. Preparing for the crossing will require a lot of consideration given that I won’t be on the boat; making everything ship-shape is more critical than ever.
I have been working on little projects to pass the time and they have AWESOME chandleries here, so I have put a number of permanent solutions in place for temporary fixes that I have just left in place for the past months. Looking for a pin of just the right size or a screw of just the right length can be hard in the far reaches of the Med, but here in Palma there is a lot very close and well stocked. I didn’t even ask about the prices, I just buy what I need and get the work done.
That’s it for now. I may post some more (pictures, etc) after Home Free gets lifted onto the transport, and hopefully that happens sometime on Sunday.
Here is a picture or two from my bike ride on Tuesday, the last time I saw sunshine. I climbed the mountains into Soller, with a plan to hit an even bigger mountain, but it was too cold and I cut things short.
The featured photo, of the 1.5m road sign, is one of many similar signs here in Spain. This is my new favourite road sign. Generally speaking the Spanish drivers have been awesome to cyclists. I understand from talking to some of the locals that there is frustration with all the bikes (particularly in summer), but compared to Montenegro or Italy (or Toronto), these people are angels. Maybe I will come back (see the resort below . . . might be a good spot for Jinhee).
Looking forward to the crossing I take it although the weather here is going from early snow to early winter looks like a long one this year.
Hi Peter, it’s a bit depressing . . . but the boat is going to Florida and there is a good chance I will need to do A LOT of maintenance during the winter. 🙂
I may ride the Sebring 24 hour in February as well, although I have to say that I don’t feel strong or motivated, but that’s three months away and it’s a flat course!