If you don't know, we tend to name the various contributing parts of Nelleke: the wind generator is Windy Wendy, the wind vane is St. Brendan, the Yanmar is Yoki, and the solar arch has been christened the Archbishop. Well, the Archbishop is nearly completed the install, although I did have one very bad moment when I was drilling a hole in the support to tie down the starboard panel and my hand slipped and for one dreadful moment I thought that I might have drilled into the actual array. But, a quick test with the VOM and it was still riding at 36VDC even in partial shade, so life continues. I'll just have to be way more careful when I am flailing about with my drill. The obvious solution if for me to have a small bit of wood behind the metal that I am drilling through to stop the bit when it breaks through.

This is one of those times that I seem to be making very little progress, sort of three steps forward, as I get things done, and then one or two back when a new issue crops up, but still, there is forward motion. The most recent minor disaster was that I discovered that over the winter I had drained the cranking bank, but at least that is an easy fix. I know what caused the drain and I have it fixed. Now I just need to throw some money at new batteries.

It is really hot and humid these days, almost like it was last May in Florida when we were getting Nelleke ready to come home. In order to accomplish anything I am getting down there by 07h30 and working until perhaps 14h00 at the latest. By then I am an exhausted, overheated, sweat drenched mop and desperately in need of a shower and change of clothes. One thing, the Admiral and I have both been on diets and fortunately we have had some success. I can't imagine what it would have been like for me to be crawling around in the bilge, in the battery compartments, or even standing on the deck trying to install the Archbishop if I was still sixty pounds heavier.

I am getting to the point that I feel that every five of six days I need a break so we will take our Westfalia off for a couple of days camping. We'll start that once the major projects are basically done.

The clock is ticking and they have started to haul the early birds out for the winter. Yesterday there was a guy from Sweden called Martin who had his sloop Dax hauled here in Shelburne for the winter. He left this morning to head back to Sweden for the winter. I guess there isn't enough snow here in Shelburne for his tastes. Another month and the club will be hauling the docks. Winter is nearly upon us!

For a while we had a volunteer to sail with us from Shelburne to Bermuda and we were very much looking forward to having a third person to split the watch timings with, but he is a writer and his agent came up with a job for him with some very strict deadlines so he had to back out. I have a couple of other people who have expressed interest in that leg but we will have to see how that pans out. I don't mind just Barb and I making the trip, after all, our cruises to date were just the two of us and if we did it then we can do it again.