Hot work
17 May 2016 | Pension Tiare Niue
Hot Bill
Yesterday we were so bushed from our long, sleepless flights, that we tried to sleep from 1100 to about 1500 hours but about 1300 hours it simply got too hot for us to be inside the bungalow, even with the overhead fan on. We arose and unpacked a bit, planning for today, then had a quick meal before turning in. We DID enjoy the AC!
Up at 0600 and out at 0700, and then down the road to see Wings. She is fine! The Carenage staff had not completed any of the tasks that we had given to them but they had made good starts on both the varnishing and the hull painting. Overall, Wings was in very good condition. They had removed all the exterior covers to save them from wind damage and had not replaced them, but even that is acceptable. Below decks it was dry, for the most part. There were only minimal spiders and nests, some ants, and no rodents. For an unattended boat in the tropics that says a lot.
My task today was to get the automatic feature on our new bilge pump to operate, but in the final testing, the circuit itself on the pump failed. I’ve still got to replace most of the wiring for the circuit and probably install a new switch, but I think that I can “wire around” the failed switch circuit. I’ve emailed Rule, the manufacturer, but I doubt that I hear from them before tomorrow’s work begins.
Conni worked at cleaning today but neither of us completed as much as we wished. At 1300 hours we came back to the bungalow to escape the worst of the heat. The AC and overhead fan made the few hours inside much more livable. We returned at 1500 and worked until 1730. We got a few more tasks completed, including getting the fridge running, but still have much to do.
Without our knowing it, today was “Whit Monday”, a civil holiday originating with the Catholic Church, big in these parts. Who knew? The boat yard was open but no workers were present and all of the stores were closed. Shoot!
I’ll run new wires for the bilge pump and hopefully Rule will contact me to approve my wiring project so that I can move on the the hundred other things that must be done.
Oh, yeah…the drummers. There are several groups of drummers, but we have a group fairly close. They are very good: rhythmic and fast. I imagine that they’re a competitive group and that the other groups that we’ve heard are that completion.
The mosquitos are bad tonight. We had bought from Tahitian rum yesterday and were enjoying a sundowner, but the little flying buzzsaws drove me back inside to complete this note. French Polynesia is now replete with chikungunya, dengue, but not Zika, luckily. Still, the others are dangerous and unpleasant. We ate inside!
Conni has whipped up a fine meal of couscous and merguez (a Northern African lamb sausage), so I’ll set this aside to enjoy it.