It's a thing of beauty when stuff goes the way it's supposed to, when people act they way they should, and when everyone is happy.

Allan was hoping that when buyers came along for this boat we'd be able to spend some time with them and share the knowledge and experience we have with all of Fly Aweigh's complex systems, and her few idiosyncrasies. Yes, idiosyncrasies are a standard feature on all boats, new or used. Allan and I have spent the last 18 months learning about these idiosyncrasies and we've pretty much got them figured out. When we divvied up duties and responsibilities on this boat, which happened rather naturally and was not something we actually talked about out loud, Allan got the complicated half. Most boats these days are crammed with electronics, which necessitate miles of electrical wires, connectors and colorful plastic thingies. When trouble-shooting time comes around, it can be a true test of a person's patience to try and figure out what system is messing with which, how it connects, what power source it runs off of, and why it's misbehaving. For this, Allan gets gold stars and happy faces; his patience and tenacity in tight spaces and difficult situations has been impressive. As for me, I pass along all the storage, organizational, comfort, and daily life skills that I developed on Fly Aweigh.

Happily, sharing our wealth of knowledge is turning out to be easy, since Norm, the Catalina dealer, is selling Susie and Nick's Riviera 33, m/v Next Chapter. So they've brought it up from Southport Marina downriver, parked it on the other side of Norm's houseboat sales office, and they're staying with their dog Max until we leave next week, busily prepping it for sale. The two boats are flanking the office, putting us at shouting distance and arms length from each other, able to spend time together, ask and answer important questions over glasses of wine at the end of a long day -- questions like, do they want our rice? Canned corn? Old rags? and to exchange all that important electronic knowledge. Nick and Susie are both brilliant, and are reasonable people with reasonable expectations, so it's an easy task to work with them. Oh, and I mean "brilliant" in the American interpretation of the word, which means really smart, rather than the UK version, which seems to mean something like, really a good idea.

Meanwhile, we're squatters. The insurance has been transferred to Nick and Susie, our boat loan should be paid off next Monday or Tuesday, and we're not sure who actually owns the boat at this moment. We don't have the money yet, and Nick doesn't have it anymore ... it's floating in the middle of the Pacific ocean somewhere, I guess. So here we are, camping out for 3 more days, on nobody's boat.

Yesterday I escaped for awhile and went to the mall, an experience I usually try and avoid at all costs, but I was in dire need of a pedicure after 18 months. And an eye doctor, and some shoes. Oh, and a chocolate donut, and a flat white coffee while I waited for my 4pm 35-minute massage at the Chinese massage place. So it was a nice, selfish outing, while meanwhile, back in the dark and tiny places of the boat, Nick, Allan and Susie were crawling about looking at the generator and pickling the water maker. To cap off our day, we all went out for Thai food.

And so the days are full and we all laugh a lot. Today is Sunday here, and Allan and I had our traditional Sunday pancakes, our last Pancake Breakfast on Fly Aweigh. Then Nick and Susie came over with a fresh pot of coffee, and now Allan and Nick are trying to figure out why the new Australian TV in the forward cabin isn't getting TV reception. Argh, electronics. I think I'll do the dishes.