Hi everyone,
We've been here in Hull for over a month. It's been a lot of fun. The weather has been very good for most of that period with it only starting to cool down over the last few days.
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| Zen Again in Hull Marina |
We've done a few bits and pieces of work on the boat including:
- End-for-ended the anchor chain
- Stowed away the mainsail, headsail and staysail
- Fitted a replacement gas detector sensor
- Fitted a replacement raw-water temperature sensor to the engine
- Scrubbed the bottom (as far as we can reach in the dinghy)
While end-for-ending the anchor chain I discovered one of the pins on the swivel which fits between chain and anchor was badly corroded. There was very little holding the pin in place.
The raw water temperature alarm had been misbehaving since Bermuda where it forced us to take a tow into harbour. In the Azores the alarm was going off more often and we ignored it while keeping a close eye on the fresh water temperature (for which we have a gauge). By the time we arrived in the UK the alarm was on continuously - even with the engine cold. So it is now nice to run the engine without having to find inventive ways to muffle the alarm!
Most of our time here has been spent either at work (Mike) or looking for work (Nicki). At the moment it looks like Nicki has found a job too - just waiting for final confirmation.
We've been using AirBnB to try out different localities in the Sheffield area. We spent a week in Chesterfield south of Sheffield and a week in Wickersley north-east of Sheffield. One was an apartment and the other a two up two down terrace home.
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| Chesterfield is famous for its crooked church spire |
A week after I started work we collected our car. We bought it from our friends Anne and Graham of sv Kakadu. It is a Chevrolet Lacetti - famous only as Top Gear's "star in a reasonably priced car" vehicle. Drive's great!
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| Our Chevrolet Lacetti |
We spent last weekend touring the Peak District with my parents who are on holiday in the UK for my father's 80th birthday. Tis a very scenic area and we had a great weekend.
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| Stream in Snake Pass |
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| The tombstone of Little John in the churchyard at Hathersage |
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| Riverside in Bakewell |
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| Bakewell - home of the tart and the pudding! |
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| Rural scene in the Peak District |
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| The "garden" of our rented cottage |
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| Tombsone of an old soldier in Longnor - what an amazing life! |
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| Another rural scene |
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| Juvenile tawny owl at The Devonshire Arms in Hartington |
We'll be driving down to Kent for my father's 80th birthday party this weekend. On the following weekend (1st October) we'll be training down to London so I can give a talk at the
Cruising Association on "GoogleEarth Imagery for Marine Navigation".
