Cleaning and fixing is the name of the game for the last week. The boat is ours, but since the incident with the motor on the way to Roche Harbour, Barry had decreed that we will not take the boat off the dock until the motor is fixed. Oh well, there is plenty to do without sailing so we have been cleaning the boat from top to bottom and sorting out all the spare parts, old crap, useful stuff and .... well you get the picture.

My Mom arrived last week and she spent the week sewing up a storm. For those of you that have met my Mom and seen samples of her handy work you will remember that she is an absolute whiz with a sewing machine.. We all went to Victoria and picked out some pretty wild yellow and blue material and my Mom made curtains for the aft cabin and the V-berth, plus a fitted tablecloth for our teak fold down table, a cover for the part of the mast that is below decks and a bunch of sachets filled with lavender to make our lockers and cupboards smell good. Bless her heart, she also managed to repair the bimini ( for you land lubbers, that is some material that covers the cockpit so you don't fry in the tropics, it also keeps the rain off). We managed to get in a visit to the Butchart Gardens before she left and there was much laughing and giggling going on aboard as she designed the mast cover. It reminds me of a very large, very bright blue and yellow condom. ANYWAY!!!

While my Mom was sewing I was tackling the weathered teak on the deck and Barry was dragging huge hoses out of the bilge, cleaning them up and seeing if the hand pump worked. The former owner was a fireman so hoses are rated for 85 psi!! We should never sink because there is too much water on the boat. We have had a plumber on board to check out the water maker and all the pumps, etc. and I have been learning about systems that I never dreamt existed, at a great rate. Trish's significant other is an electrician so we called him and quizzed him on how our batteries, etc. should operate, my brother is a computer guy so he is working on getting our new laptop hooked up to a wirelss system and on and on.

For recreation we ride our bikes around North Sannich and take our zodiac out for a spin and explore the area by water. It's great, last time we set out we forgot to take a chart so putted around slowly and gazed around and managed not to get lost. The marina we are at is located fairly close to the ferry terminal in Sidney, it is a lovely spot with a new subdivision being developed right on the water. The houses are HUGE, with the norm being 3 car garages, once we get our laptop configured I promise I will add pictures.

I hope all of you are enjoying your summer, it rains one day and it's sunny the next down here ( not great for varnishing) but it is warm all the time and being on the water it cools off beautifully at night. Until next time!!