19 November 2008
We were plagued with internet performance problems for most of the day. The wireless network disappeared altogether for about 30 minutes, which suggests to me that they have been having serious problems. After 9 PM the performance was good enough for me to have two good Skype conversations to friends in Perth.
Arnold put in a lot of time on getting the “Ocens” weather service working and made good progress.
With only two more working days before our departure Arnold and I drew up an action plan.
20 November 2008
I dedicated the entire morning to get official clearance and that is what it took. Pachuca now has official clearance to depart on 22 November. Our passports have been stamped. The other task was to get my bond back. I was hoping to repatriate the roughly $3000 AUD to my bank account in Perth but that wasn't possible. So I walked out with $2080 USD in my wallet. This means that I can leave my poor battered and abused Australian bank account alone for 2 or 3 months. (Yep, battered OK. Before clearance this morning I had to take out another 50,000 fcp (Pacific francs) out of my account to pay for our 25 days' stay at the jetty. That translates to roughly $30 AUD per day for a berth with security, power, water, and unbelievable access to the city. Great value!
I checked with Post Restante again today and still no package that was mailed by Yacht Grot on 7 Nov. (However, one of my friend Bob's two letters from Australia arrived the day before.)
In the afternoon Arnold and I went to the grocery store and got everything that we thought that we'd need to complete the provision of the boat. We decided not to buy any more beer (can you believe it?) and will probably run out in about a week. (Gulp!) The plan was to get the vegetables and a few sticks of bread on the following day.
Tasks remaining:
Recharge LPG gas cylinder, Arnold, Friday morning
Rearrange the boat and get everything stowed away for sailing, Robert, Friday afternoon
Shopping for supplies, Arnold and myself, Thurday afternoon and maybe Friday morning
Final banking from a secure internet kiosk, Robert, Friday morning
Water the boat, put away the trolley, lash the boarding boats to the deck, Friday afternoon
Ensure that all laptops, cameras, are charged up
Ensure that clothes washing is up to date
Attached are photos of a demonstration of our hand-crank washing machine that I gave to a giggling Polynesian family.
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