0 Dark 30 and I am up and running the propane heaters to try to take the chill out of the cabin and make things a wee bit more comfortable for us. As soon as the sun rises we have to be ready to be off the dock since the club will be pulling them up behind us as we leave. I noticed yesterday that one of our propane tanks is getting low so that will mean another trip to get it filled. I probably should have taken it to get filled the other day when we went into Bridgewater to buy the new computer monitor (which is installed and working great, by the way) and took the small 10 pound tank from Beyond in to get it filled. Ah well hindsight is great. In my defence the meter was still in the green then. I guess the meter isn't a straight relationship between the dial and what is in the tank. Rather it's got propane, then it's almost out, then on the last legs, then out. We spent a piece of the early AM trying to find a propane refill station closer that the Canadian Tire in Bridgewater. There is a refill station at the Home Hardware in Yarmouth and that's where I hared off to once we had finished helping out with the docks at the club.

I am quite excited about getting away from the dock but we will only be going out to a mooring as there will be a wind and rain event coming through this evening and we still aren't sure if we will be leaving tomorrow or Monday. Tomorrow afternoon is do-able but there will be a lot of the trip on headwinds and some 4-5 meter seas. At present I am leaning towards leaving the mooring Sunday afternoon, after the storm system has gone through and heading out to McNutt's Island at the mouth of the harbour to anchor for the evening, get our heads down early and get some rest and awake around midnight and set off to catch the tide at Brazil Rock.

Ah well. Another download tomorrow AM will decide the issue.

On another topic, the Friday night dinner at the club was really very good! Haddock Picatta. I had never had it before and had no idea what it was. Essentially lightly breaded haddock fillet with fresh tomatoes and capers and lemon juice served with mashed potatoes. We ate with some friends who, after, came back to Nelleke with us to see first hand how we were going to be living for the next six months. In all a great evening and one which we couldn't have had were we not still at the dock.

At 06h00 we woke up Yoki, our engine, after a two week nap at the dock and that represented both a source of hot water for dishes and assurance that not only was Yoki ready to party but also my operation switch for the electric step-down transformer in the cranking bank circuit to convert the 24V alternator output to a 12V charge to the actual cranking bank. Hurray!

We pulled away and went out to a mooring just off the town dock and went ashore to help out with taking the docks out and bedding down the flower gardens that circle the clubhouse, all in all a three hour job that the same folks turn out year in year out, spring and fall, so they are getting pretty good at it. Our payments for a job well done, or at least done, are a hamburger with all the fixins, and the first drink free.

T'was after that I made my flying trip to the propane refill store in Yarmouth, racing to get home before the forecasted storm came in so I could move the boat over behind Josie Island and onto a mooring that one of the club members owns and was kind enough to offer for our use.

The one negative thing that happened today was that I couldn't start the outboard, this, even after I had just had it in for servicing. You'd think that would mean that they had started it and let it run for a while in the tank wouldn't you? But no. I guess not. And, of course, it's the weekend, so no one is open!

Sigh!

Much teeth gnashing.

Anyway. As I thumb this we are snug on a mooring in behind Josie's Island where we just managed to get to before the rain began. The propane burners are trying to warm the place up, I am writing the blog, Barb is catching up on Emails and preparing dinner and we are both chewing down on leftover appetizers from our two social events yesterday.

Not much sun to keep the battery banks charged up by solar but the wind generator seems to be stepping up to the task very well.