We get the CALL.

Yes! We had a telephone call on Friday from the boatyard. "SONFLOWER's minor refit is sorted and the invoice is ready." They will e-mail it to us. Some minor problems were noted during the engine service but the Mechanic will call later to talk about them. Nothing serious though.

"Great!" I said, "I really am missing the boat, I'll pick her up in the morning and let you have a cheque".

"Oh, no.... there are still a few things to finish off"

"Oh, not tomorrow then? How about Monday?"

"No, the carpenter wants to finish on Monday"

"Tuesday then"

"That will be fine," the boatyard confirmed, "the mechanic will call you later to have a chat about what he's found."

"See you Tuesday then, bye."

The two days work, identified ten days ago is now almost complete! Only another day to go.

The invoice only details two days work though, so I can't complain.


The Mechanic did call later: the morse controller is held together with wire. "Did I know? The unit is the best type ever made but isn't available any more." If I want it fixed it will mean total replacement. "How long has it been like that?" Could have been years.

No I don't want it fixed! If the wire breaks I will get a stronger bit of wire. It could last more years.

And, the bilge pump isn't working from the switch on the control pillar. I know that, because the switch on the control pillar is for the navigation lights. And they are not working. I know that! "We can tell you who can do re-wiring....." I know that too!