Heiligenhafen jobs day

First a word, and pics, about last night (after y'day's blog was posted). We walked into town (all of 200m) to have a look around and bought some food for dinner at the first supermarket. Wandering on we came to the square and it was such a convivial place and a beautiful evening we plonked down in the nearest cafe and had a cocktail and a Guinness. Then as we admired the old Rathaus (town hall), some supper jazz started up from a stage in the corner. We then realised that most of the small stalls in the square were selling a bewildering variety of gins and gin cocktails. It seemed foolish to miss this ginfest opportunity, so we sat in the evening sun sipping something with a crazy name and enjoying the music. As we got back to the boat the sun was just setting through the forest of 1,000 masts.

Today was much more prosaic. We slept in. Porridge was not concluded until 11am! We considered the task lists for the next few days, and added some items that occurred to us. L cleaned all the upholstery and the carpet. Big task. Significant improvement which also means for the rest of the day we had damp bottoms and socks.  N installed a replacement cable for the Autohelm, the device that steers the boat in a straight line for us - useful when doing long motors, it needed coaxing for the last two years, and finally stopped working this summer. This entailed sitting scrunched up inside the starboard cockpit locker. Due to this N's phone had a near-death experience because it dropped from his pocket into some bilge water (don't ask). For hours it would only vibrate and announce its name in a loop. We found a way to turn it off by holding all its buttons down at once. Six hours later, to great whoops of joy, it came back to life and is being used to write this.

The weather has been glorious today with fresh easterly wind, clear skies and warm sun. Long may it last because all tasks are easier when it's not raining.