Banyan Banyan sat by the Marina Wall,
Banyan Banyan is floating Nice and Tall,
Banyan's Capt'N and Banyan's First Mate,
Were working Very Hard to make Banyan look Great.

****

The big tasks at hand, while we're paying a few extra dollars to be alongside at Secret Harbour Marina, is to get Banyan put back together again. Not sure whose list is longer, Dave's or mine, and really, it don't matter, as we're both attacking the chores, one by one by one.

One of Banyan's most invasive Spa Treatments this year was to release a few blasts of killer bug spray just before we left. We'd noticed a few too many microscopic flecks of ants scurrying around on our countertops, and well, in our humble of opinion, one ant seen is One too Many, right?

Just before we did that though, I had painstakingly bagged (almost) everything in order to minimize the clean-up and wipe-down work when we got back. But there's still Way-Too-Much Wiping and Cleaning going on as I try to give everything a swipe and a wash and a clean before opening the gazillion baggies, and putting things back where they belong.

But wait, there's more!! Really!! No, really, there is more. We seem to have bought and brought some STUFF back with us.



"One thing comes ON the Boat... " natters Dave,
"Yes dear, I know..." and as I try to find some inventive hiding places , I murmur back, "One thing comes OFF the boat!"

"I haven't seen any creatures m'luv" I happily said to Dave as we were relaxing in the cockpit later in the day (which means taking a moment to have another huge glass of water, whilst paper-towelling the sweat off our faces) but I'm not sure he really heard me as he was busy mentally scratching off, and adding items to his To Do List. Such as Electronic Systems, Check. Battery systems, Check. Re-terminating the outdoor sound speakers, check.

"Dear, we need to get the Sails Back On" he says mid-thought.
"What, today?" I asked, mentally re-organizing my List to Add THIS One More Thing.
"Well, I don't want to wait too long, in case there's weather coming and we need to get out of here, fast..." says my Capt'N, always and ever Prepped and Ready for No Matter What.

And so when does the calm period of almost no wind appear? Why, three minutes into my afternoon siesta, or about halfway through my Candy Crush game. Le Sigh...



The sails, along with the StackPack, had both undergone some Spa Treatments. The StackPack's rip had been re-sewn and reinforced, and was now sporting a non-matching Dark Brown rectangular patch. Dave got the Lazy Jack lines he'd built before we left and along with the SailBag containing the Main, we were almost ready.



As he took the Main out of the Bag, he re-inspected the work that had been done, and happily announced,

"Ya, they could be cleaner, but otherwise, Looking Good, dear. There's still some crinkle left in them..." which I suppose would be a Very Good Thing if you're an Eight Year Old Sail.

The job at hand, though, was to remember exactly what goes where, and in what order, while the sun was blaring, and the wind was still blowing gently at us. This year, we are happy to announce that it was (almost) all flawlessly executed, until we went to zipper up the StackPack and noticed the Reef Lines were somehow in the way of that happening. Le Sigh.



But enough about work. It was time to go Play and we had a Monster Mash to get ready for, but not without first getting all Artsy And Crafty,



as we turned Secret Harbour Marina into a Haunted Zone.



We spent a couple of hours taping every wall and every column with ghosts and witches and spiders and Danger Tape,



and even immortalized my shape on some floor graffiti.



Some ghoulish times were had,



as we enjoyed the Tricks and Treats of the Night.