Today we decided we would wash off the new anchor chain with fresh water while we were at the dock and wash out the bilge which had collected a lot of dirt and sand from the water coming over the bow departing from Georgetown. After getting all the chain out and washing the anchor locker and bilge we discovered the hawse pipe that directs the chain from the windlass to the chain locker had come unconnected (it has done it twice before over the last 20 years.)
This is a job that Sue has to do because she is the only one of us that fits way up inside the chain locker all the way to the peak of the bow. She has to lay on the secondary anchor line to port, and work with her arms fully extended over her head. There are 3 screws that hold the collar screwed to the deck and you have to get them properly lined up while maneuvering the collar with its attached PVC pipe and elbow into the right position over the shelf. It is a real bear of a job and all I can do is hand her screws and screwdriver and offer encouragement. What a trouper. She is the best First Mate ever.
My task today was to clean the speedometer which was heavily plugged with sea growth from our 3 weeks sitting here at the dock. I hate to see what the overall bottom looks like. We'll need a good bottom cleaning once we get further south into warmer waters.
