Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Don't worry

Dear friends, if ever we have wondered if anybody is visiting our website, then we wonder no more. A very big THANK YOU to EVERYBODY who have dropped us a line. We just want to let you all know that we are well. The disaster floods in Australia, including Tasmania, are not affecting us too bad. We are currently 'settled' at Maria Island with lots of good hiding places from the strong winds and rain. Our home is cosy and floating and the anchor is doing a proper job.

Liewe familie en vriende, ons wil maar net sĂȘ dit gaan goed met ons. Mylady dryf, die anker doen goeie werk en ons is gesond. Huidiglik is ons adres, Maria Eiland, Tasmania. Die dakkies vang al die water en ons kan weer die was doen met vars water.

Hallo luitjes, als jullie je afvragen hoe het met ons gaat , willen wij net laten weten, als ben wel aanboord Mylady. Vies weer beteken veel tijd voor klussen en prutsen en dat vinden we niet erg, eigenlijk heerlijk.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Kiep - Kiep

It was about two weeks since we last had the possibility to shop. So when we arrived safely in Nubeena and were sure the anchor was set well, we immediately went ashore. Something meaty was high on our wish list. And at the little shop we became the owners of a massive frozen chicken. Back on Mylady we planned with eager anticipation the braai for the following evening. The weather was looking promising, our first brew since we're back was ready for the taste and our mouths were watering. Our job the next day was to unpack the bilge which is a big storage place for me and then to chop any rust on the keel frame away and afterwards I painted it with a rust converter - back breaking work. We deserved a braai and a beer. The barbecue smoke curled enticingly and the sizzling sounds were music to our ears. The big moment arrived. The table was set and the side dishes ready. "Tra-la-la-la" the Barbie lid was lifted and we admired the golden grilled chicken. Eelco speared it with the meatfork and lifted it onto a plate. Horror struck. Frozen for a moment in time Eelco stood looking down passed the barbecue, before he started swearing like a sailor. I couldn't see and didn't know what happened but it was crystal clear something was very wrong. For a moment I wondered if the container with our gasbottle for the stove which is in close proximity of the barbecue got burned, or maybe the dinghy that was swinging behind. Eelco got control over himself. He wriggled all of his giantness with amazing speed out of the tight corners of the full cockpit and jumped into the dinghy while calling "it is still floating!" I immediately started to undo the dinghy painter but that seemed not necessary. Leaning out from the dinghy he fished out our lovely grilled chicken floating by! With the prized chicken held in both his hands we started laughing. It was a great, man overboard, exercise. The effort was worth it - our sea-chick tasted superb. It was an excellent way to say good-bye to the old year of 2010.