New fridge kit

What's more, a new isotherm fridge kit installed in cool box, tested and working.

A cool beer anyone....

Celebration

I am pleased to note that the replacement sanitary pump has been successfully installed and tested. A short opening ceremony will be held shortly.

A mercifully easy job for once.

Lunar Perigee

This was low water springs on Sunday 13 July in the outer harbour:

I think that this was just about as low as I can remember it being. High pressure coinciding with the lunar perigee - or so called 'super moon' - when the moon is closest to the earth.

Sailing on line

Spent Saturday sailing with Dawn Smith of  www.sailingonline.co We tried to make it over to Porth Madog but, although there was a great F4 from the south, visibility was very poor. This would have made buoy hopping a chore and - more importantly - ruined the approach to PM, which is visually spectacular in even moderate conditions, so we went back to Pwllheli.

Sailing with Dawn is always a pleasure, and there is always something useful to learn and - visitors please note - she brough cakes to the boat.

How to run a chandlery #101

Isn't it interesting how different people take to working in a chandlery ? Even when I'm not sailing, given the opportunity I'll have a good nose around whenever I see a chandlery that's new to me. Mostly people are friendly and helfpul. It woudl be nice to think that this is because they're just super cool, but I expect that they have already worked out that anybody who owns a boat will need to buy expensive boat stuff at fairly regular intervals.

Not so everywhere though. Yesterday, I was passing through one of those small towns on the south coast which likes to think of itself as the 'home of sailing', and called in to one of those chandleries that makes a big thing of advertising on the internet. After a while, no-one helped me.

Some time passed, and then they didn't help me again

At last I was appraached by a chinless wonder who I can only assume was head of public relations:

CW  "Can I help you ?"
Me "Yes, I need three things"
CW "Okay"
Me - working from the cheapest up - "Firstly, I need a pair of stainless hasp and staples"
CW - pulls a face and makes a sort of grunt, so I expect that means they don't have any.
Me "Okay 2nd, I need a rigging gauge"
CW "Do you know what kind of rigging gauge you need - they're all different ..."
This is partially true - 2 different size upto 4mm or 5mm and up 
CW "What kind of boat is it?"
Not - what type of lovely craft are you accustomed to waft around on, Sir ?
Me " a Renown"  
CW "Never heard of it"
Maybe because they stopped making them literally before you were born, sonny.
Me -  now feeling picked upon - "Okay, maybe I won't  bother then"

Pity - item 3 would have been five hundred quid's worth of refrigeration kit, but I guess he'll never know that now...

Force 3 in Pwllheli

It's a fantastic morning in Pwllheli, where Annabella is having a bit of care and attention. 

Spent yesterday afternoon having lunch and boat talk with Dawn Smith of Sailing On Line (www.sonl.co) which is always very rewarding. As always, Dawn was a valuable source of experience and good advice.