After what seemed like weeks and weeks on the dock in Jolly Harbour, we finally got to the point where the captain looked around and said, "Okay, that's good enough, let's go sailing." Whooeee.

Paid our bill at the marina first, always considered good form, and we were relieved when we got the total. The guys in the yard had been so helpful in lots of ways - when I finished painting Marjorie, they came by with the half-ton and loaded her up and drove to the dock and helped us launch her.

We'd been parked on the face dock, and we'd been warned late in our stay by the couple next door that we'd be dinged double for the privilege. But maybe because it was still off-season we only paid the regular rate, and we got a good deal on the use of the travel lift for putting the masts in (probably because we did the rigging ourselves). So it cost a pile, but it was very fair and we got great service. And the pool was nice, the couple of times I got to use it.

Cranked up the motor, raised the main, and true to form, the wind was just about on the nose when we got out of the harbour. But it was a beautiful day, so we motorsailed around to Falmouth Harbour in about two hours. I was so thrilled to be back on the water that as soon as we hit the bounding main, I fell asleep.

Compared to Antigua Race Week in April when we were here last, Falmouth Harbour is deadsville in early November. There's maybe a dozen small sailboats and only a couple of megayachts. The docks are nearly empty. But we've got a great parking spot, good wifi reception, and when the wind dies down in the evening, lots of no-see-ums. Phil at the Dockside Grocery gave us big hugs, and Mavis (Mavis Laundry) was on the dock, as usual, and was happy to see us back. No chips, no decent meat at the store, but peanuts are good protein.

Now that we've been sailing once, we figured we'd better hunker down and do more hot, sticky, dirty work on the boat. There's company coming next week (Gord and Marj from Ottawa), and ND will be looking great, or at least a lot less tired.

The bases of the winches, the cockpit, the binnacle and parts of the head have been painted, and we still have to do the cabin top. When Randy removed the cockpit gratings, he discovered a stowaway. We have a gecko. I think that's probably not a reason to stand on a chair and scream like a girl, but I have contacted my nephew, who is an expert on these things, to find out if they have any nasty habits that I should worry about. I think they just eat bugs, and that's a-okay with me. Pig out. Chow down. I hope he likes ants. I nearly broke a rib bent double under the cockpit table trying to see where he was so I wouldn't paint him into a corner. More bug news: I took one of our mermaids off the wall to readjust it, and inside of her coconut head were two papery wasp's nests. Old, abandoned, but ew. Now we have a gecko. Everything will be alright.

Randy has been locker diving and finally excised the effing Espar furnace and chucked it in the dumpster. There were thoughts about deep-sixing it, but environmental concerns beat out the vengeance vote. Really, it's just an inanimate object. Really inanimate, always bloody was, especially when we were freezing cold and soaking wet. (See blogs from Oct/Nov 2005). Ah well, dat finish now. Anyone want to buy a hairdryer extension tube for an Espar furnace? Only used once!

All the last bits of Cetol on the teak decks have been scraped off. Randy has sanded and varnished and sanded and varnished, and pretty soon, he's going to attack the rails. It's interesting, whenever you get out the varnish, somebody will come by and say "how come you don't use Cetol?" I think Randy would rather paint the whole shebang than use Cetol - when he does get around to varnishing, he's a real snob about it. I also think that this massive home improvement push is all about being around for Antigua Race Week in 2008. If he starts making noises about polishing brass, there may be trouble. I'm not even sure we have that much brass, either that or it's just not looking like brass...

In other news, Randy's son Ian has finished the yacht crew courses in Ft. Lauderdale and is looking for a position as a deckhand. If anyone knows of a likely spot, let us know. He's a terrific cook, and a whiz of a mechanic, and he's ready to travel.