At last, the end of the job list was well in sight. Pip had done wonders in the gas locker. The engine had run sweetly. Stowage was complete. We started pondering an hour or so's outing on Wednesday, before the forecast gales, to test the engine under load and get the sails up. And some time for long-overdue sightseeing in Rome.
A blow-in neighbour put a crimp in all that. Our dinghy, Bridgit was hanging innocently in the davits, as she has, when not in use, for several days. Along comes this eejit who reversed fast into the space next door. Crunch. He caught Bridgit's bow cap in his stanchion, and in moments had torn the lifting eye out, leaving her cockeyed and damaged.
A lot of Italian shouting followed, both on deck and in the marina office. He was convinced that this was somehow our fault, while Sarah repeatedly told him that he should have used his eyes.
In the end, of course, Pip's great fibreglass skills can fix this. She has filled both that lifting eye, and the one on the other side. This is a chance to lower the eyes, which will help Bridgit sit more snugly against the davits in future. She has also ground out and refilled the cracked area inside the bow cap, which was the most worrying damage for the dinghy's integrity. The job isn't finished, but Bridgit will soon be back in action. It's a shame that today (Friday) it's blowing a hoolie and raining, so no more gel coating can be done.
The eejit has blown out again on his way to heaven knows where, and good riddance to him. It may cost us a day of fibreglass drying time, and it has meant more work for Pip. But if she didn't have those talents, this could have been an expensive and difficult delay. Hooray for Pip!