Monday 16 June 2008

In the Hall of the Aleutian Kings - actually, the lobby of the grand aleutian

The place is starting to smell of fish. I cycle past the air extractor of the Unisea processing plant several times a day and it's pushing out what feels like almost solid fishy odour. And there's a chute churning out real fish as well - I think the rejects from the line.
Yummy! And now we have rolling foggy rain and not much wind, so it hangs around.And everythin g is drab grey beige muddy

We have a few things still to do – fresh food, waiting for delivery of new AIS black box, removing barnacles – Wunderbars, I will inflate our rubber ducky and just reach under the boat and scrape them off. Cold, wet work! – and I have to try to waterproof a stanchion base that is leaking. Will be difficult if the rain doesn't stop and serves me right for leaving it till the last minute. And I have to return borrowed bike, phone, backpack and other goodies to Dave B. Don't know whether there will be departure party or photos – unlikely, I think, as David W is by now transiting Chicago or somewhere equally awful.

Have given the Rat a haircut - Swiss army knife scissors in front of the mirror - looking motheaten and scrofulous.

Much later - main food packed into boat, de-barnacled, no AIS yet, McQ and K buying the freshies and the Boot Room Rat doing all the admin things - and lookingt for a sponge and silicone spray - and gerttring grey mud spray in a strip - well, everywhere actually - over new Henri pants and Mustang jacket. And catching up with our Spanish friends and exchanging data and frequencies and other useful stuff.
Their boat is called Amodin~a with the squiggle over the n. Home built from scrap, they say. Impressive, and very experienced.

Time to go out in ther mud again.