That evening (Tuesday) we had a wander around the town looking at the various chandlerys to see if there were any dinghies in stock….. none suitable. Our neighboring skipper offered to contact a friend who sells inflatables but he didn’t have anything in stock. We cooked Spaghetti Bolognese on board.
The next morning Martin from the water-maker company ‘ Dessalator’ turned up as agreed. Very knowledgeable and helpful, he soon fixed the issues with the pressure control knob and diagnosed dirt blocking key valves and a broken bearing. Another visit later in the day and we can produce water again after months of hassle. Martin was also kind enough to take us in his car to Denia Marina where the chandlery is a dealer for Highfield dinghies, an aluminum hulled RIB from an Australian company with a 5 year guarantee and the fittings we wanted. Carlos from ‘Nautca Nouhad’ was very helpful and by Thursday morning we had agreed on a 3.1m Highfield RIB which could be delivered within a few days. He gave us a reasonable discount and took the old dinghy for a minimal part-exchange (but we wanted rid of it anyway) If the new one turns up by Monday we will be ready to sail on.
We managed to get some of the key maintenance tasks done yesterday, the new belt is on the port engine and Chris found and tightened a leaking joint near the gas bottle amongst other small tasks. Last night we went walking around the town which was well populated for early season. We had a glass of wine and tapas in one bar in the old town and then walked back to a Pizza place nearer the boat where we shared a pizza and a good green salad…… and some more wine!
Today is tidy up and washing day, Chris will also have to go in search of a refill for the gas bottle as we are now using the spare.
Now we wait for the new arrival!
Photo: one of the headlands we passed on the way to Denia…….we call it Bull Head…… can you see why?
(start at far right and think haunches!)