Solomons
The weather before the show was clear and warm. We anchored in the west river three days before the report day. Jerie and I spent the time getting Peking shiny, and clean. We scrubbed, washed, buffed and polished everything.
The report in day came and I decided to go to a local marina to get some diesel fuel and to have the waste tanks pumped out before we tied up for the show. We pulled up to the fuel dock. I was in charge of getting the fuel; Jerie was in charge of pump out.
Usually, I would open the tank with the the tank key to the attendant and they would do the , get the pump from the attendant and do the pumping. Well, on that day the attendant passed the pump to Jerie. She took the key, opened the tank cover and was rewarded with a brown geyser of foul water. It seems that the tank had gotten under pressure. This brown water got on her, got on the boat and ran down the dock into the river. Immediately, the dock crew began spraying some "green stuff" into the water and all over the "brown" part of the boat. They did not spray Jerie with the "green stuff". Jerie got the pump in place and began the draining process.
Now, the boat needed to have her decks cleaned, Jerie needed a shower and we both wondered if all the work we had put in was wasted (no pun).
We went back to our anchorage, got out the scrubbing equipment and began the wash ritual all over again.
We finally tied up at the show dock, wiser, clean and tired.
The show lasted three days and we met a lot of people who were interested in the trawler lifestyle. We met some old friends, and Dean Phelps, owner of a Diesel Duck 382, helped us show the boat. We met cruisers, people who have web sites to inform the cruising community, and yard operators who support the technical aspects of cruising. The evening dinners were sponsored by Passagemaker, and were fun. We enjoyed listening to sailors telling stories, some of which were probably true, most were tall stories and bare fabrications. Good times.