THREE...

I think Deb was quite brave yesterday. 

We were invited along with some fellow winter and residential moorers for an end of season drink aboard Artlingberg (think that's spelt right) by the delightful Sylvia. Sylvia is the perfect host and along with a smörgåsbord of tasty nibbles came copious amounts of booze in cross section of all varieties. On board LJ the options are usually wine, homebrew or squash!

Thanks for a lovely evening Sylvia!

Nothing inherently heroic there by Deb but she does have trouble refusing a refill and she had to be up by 06.00 for an horrendously protracted day at work doing a job that you need a clear head and settled stomach to do. Not that she should have been going anywhere, earlier yesterday we had taken her company car back to the office and Deb had said her goodbyes for another year. Within a few hours they were calling asking for 'just a couple more shifts' - but Sunday will definitely be her last day.

Just across from Sylvia's boat is the cycle chain work boat. 'Carina' is a Yarwoods 1935 star class butty that is now workshop and training area for Cycle Chain. The guys seem to be getting busier as the days lengthen. They are moving home at some point though, relocating to a mooring just beside the bridge next to the sealife centre. Although they will benefit from an electric hook-up its not as nice a location, they've got a nice sunny spot at the moment.

On the subject of sunshine, wow what a difference a couple of weeks make. Still not exactly warm but light past 6pm. The longer days are having a huge effect on our solar charging. Our (rather decreased capacity) battery bank has reached 100% SoC for the last two days and we have only run the engine for 30 minutes in the last four days (oh and no geni either). Its a massive financial saving when geni and boat engine charging would have averaged about £2.50 a day over January. I think mooring orientation once we are out on the cut will definitely prioritise solar charging.