last weeks post !!!!

BIG WINS this week!!!

I have realized that most people only have seconds in their busy lives to read emails so when they see a long one they put it somewhere for later and then often forget where that was or forget to go back and take a look when they do have time. So for this weeks update ther are two versions

first......

CASSI

Got the starter working and the alternator in the shop. Lots of the powertools revived and paint on the next ship to arrive. Crew coming next month with skills to help. Slowly patching leaks in Cassi's bottom with tanks on.

Accounts attached.

BOOK

Possible new website to help with transfers. Posting on Sailing networks to promote more pledges. Working hard on the beginning, how I met her, how we ran away, how we got the boat, so many tales/characters leave some out to get on with it!!! How much to describe these characters we met? How much to bare the feelings? Is the truth too much? I am loving the writing and slowly getting better.

ME

Running some, swimming some, drinking some, typing heaps, been rainy but warm Little red scooter is a crack up and runs great, smallest vehicle in Vanuatu for sure. Cooking for me again healthy fruit meat veggy. Laughed a lot at great dinner with friends.

Cops might have a lead on who done it!

YEAH FOR US so good to hear form so many of you keep it coming!!!

second......

you have to scroll cause I had to hide this or you would have stored it cause you saw it was long!

She said, “Harold, ummmm?” and she paused to look around at the deck totally covered with tools soaking in buckets of fresh water and the piles of nuts and bolts and electrical fittings and plumbing parts and rusty pulleys and old water pumps and coils of rigging wire and various sizes and lengths of hose and pieces of stainless rod and bronze pipe all spread out to purposely be rained on and then washed and then wire brushed and dried and greased. Then she looked up at me, and the others stood waiting for her to finish her question, “ummm Harold, do you ever throw anything away?”

We all laughed and I said, “No.”

Mitch looked at me and said “There are some rare times when you have to realize that something is just rooted and you can not fix it!” We had just spent all day refusing to believe that philosophy and thus had, after quite the battle, managed to revive the starter motor and solenoid for the Ford. That was a big win. But then we took apart the next challenge and when it popped open Mitch had just made this funny oouugghhh sound and uttered his words of wisdom.

Old Dan glanced when I pulled it apart on his bench and mumbled, “That's rooted mate.” Dan has long bushy silver eyebrows and squints so hard you can barely see any trace of his eyes. He has been a mechanic here forever and is one of those ancient ex-pats that would simply perish if placed in to the first world for more than a few days. He shuffled to the other end of his work bench that would have made the tourist think I was an anal clean freak. Hunching over he stuck his grubby paw into a pile of old alternator parts and said, “this is kind of like yours.” It was only one of the six pieces needed to make a whole alternator but it was a good start as it had a similar pulley on it. He grabbed another piece but said “nope that's rooted.” and tossed it back into the pile. Slowly he found a random selection of bits that looked like they would fit together.

So I am stoked yet again because by this weekend I expect to have a working starter and alternator which could well mean a working main engine. Adrian of Santo hardware successfully got his suppliers to gt the much needed deck paint on this months ship from NZ even though we were past the deadline for loading. Most of you guys take for granted that you can just drive to a store and buy almost anything. Anything slightly odd here, like not canned tuna or wheatbix, can takes months to acquire.

Three big wins this week, along with confirmation that an electrician crew is going to come over next month with a carpenter friend. Another friend is developing a website for hosting other websites which could be perfect for the project and maybe allow for a type of Paypal arrangement so this transfer thing gets sorted! A bit more of the frustrating type of computer work uploading pictures etc. but I am learning. I also posted some stuff on Sailing Networks so got a bit done on that end of things.

I had a lovely social week with a gang of Ben and Kim's friends having big home cooked dinners and sing alongs.

My favorite time is when I am not greasy and bolting something together or emailing or trying to add a website or organizing things on this machine. I forget it is a machine when I am putting down a story. The machine goes away and it is just my thoughts and memories and dreams and fabulous pictures of places and people blurred beautifully my memory and my notions of what really happened. I play with a sentence and paste a paragraph in the maybe later file and hunt for words and ways to describe. While picturing the events and places and people I am overwhelmed with the richness and beauty of what has been my life. I swell with the challenge of how to weave a belief and a philosophy into the writings that can help others follow their hearts and dreams and create memories of similar potency for them. It is a joy.

Thank you to all of you who are allowing me this privilege!

YEAH FOR US

Hug H