Plodding along

Where are we up to? Still haven't moved out of the pen is where we're up to. Not once.

At this stage there are two major obstacles to doing any sailing. The first is that I'm waiting on delivery of my new anchor-chain. The one that was on the boat was not usable. It had been sitting unused for so long that parts of it had rusted into solid lumps of ... well, rust. I toyed with the idea of cutting out some of the the worst affected sections and rejoining the remainder, but it would have required a dozen joins, and that would still have left some dodgy sections. So it went to the rubbish and a new one has been ordered. Without it I wouldn't pass a safety inspection, which the Coast Guard here do on an apparently frequent basis.

The next big hurdle is the bureaucracy. This is largely my own fault as I procrastinated a bit in getting the ball rolling. Basically the boat is currently in a bit of a legal limbo. Not the dancing limbo, the 'not  in a clearly defined place' kind of limbo. The previous owner had let the US registration (referred to as "being 'documented' with the Coast Guard") lapse a couple of years ago. So as far as the Coast Guard is concerned, the boat cannot be used (as a local boat). In order to use it here, I have to get a 'Cruising Permit' as a foreign vessel. To do so, I have to be able to show documents that it is, in fact, now a foreign vessel. To do that I have to be able to verify that it has Australian 'flag' entitlement. This requires that it be listed as an Australian Ship. In order to be listed, I have to provide a document from the US Coast Guard proving that the vessel has been deleted from their Register of Documented vessels. Well, you get the picture. It has been kicked off, but with time zones and what have you, it's taking some time.

I want to pause here and give a bunch of brownie points to the officer that I've been dealing with at the Australian Registration end. He's been really helpful, and patient with my endless questions. He invited me to send him copies of the forms that I had to fill out, before they were officially lodged so that he could offer advice on what might become a problem, which I did, and he did. (No, that does make sense, read it again) So to Peter B, Deputy Registrar of Ships, at AMSA, my thanks. This guy is doing what the Public Service is all about ... public service.

Another person that I have dealt with at this end also deserves some kudos. The broker that managed the sale of the boat for the vendor has been great, above and beyond his job description. Once the deal was done and signed off, he was quite entitled to say "Paper signed, commission paid, we're out of this". Instead he's been in touch just about every day asking if I need anything, offering the use of his discount card at the local yacht chandlers  (which has saved me well over $100 so far), driving me to the local shopping centre, and lots of good advice and contacts. Really glad I ended up dealing with him. David Q at Channel Island Yacht Brokerage, take a bow.

Anyway, while the paper trail has been being pursued, several boat projects of varying complexity have been undertaken. James has been applying Teak oil to the woodwork, which now looks great, and has also done several ad-hoc jobs I've thrown his way. A couple of electrical and plumbing issues have been resolved. I wont recite the whole list, but the prospect is that by mid-way through the coming week, we could be ready to do some sailing. Bureaucracy pending.

Budget is looking a wee bit stretched, but not catastrophic (yet!). Getting onto the boat instead of hotels and handing in the rental car has helped, but I'm still doing this on the bare minimum. Which is, curiously, somehow satisfying.The Shipping registration will be the next big hit, at somewhere around $1400 by the time it's completed, and then the shopping list goes on ... Solar panels, life raft, ... blah blah blah. But I'm living on my boat, getting ready to sail across an ocean. Life is good.

Gotta run, need to get some sleep so I can do some more work tomorrow. At some stage I plan to climb the mast to check out the light fittings and other stuff. Should be a hoot.

Later all.

W.