A Little Heavier

Last week was spent organising and doing various preparations for our trip to Simon's Town, where we'll be lifting old Melodious out of the water. A big task after she gained a couple of hundred Kilos after a delivery from GREEN-DIESELon Friday. We leave for Simon's Town tomorrow and will be there for abouta week sorting out her under belly so please visit us if you're in the area.

The last couple of weeks have emphasised how incredibly fortunate we have been during this whole project. The unbelievable generosity from friends, family and suppliers has helped us make our vision a reality. We cannot thank you enough for your support and belief in our dream.

Oh and remember to keep the 19th of May open to celebrate our imminent departure...

Viv

First published on offtheline.co.za

Cockpit Roof

One of the most exciting advancements in the last three weeks is the completion of our cockpit roof. This is huge for us as shade is going to be a precious comodity in the tropics.

Rufus, Vivian and myself fitted the marine ply on the frame, joined the two pieces and then removed it for sanding and sealing. Later in the day Wilhelm and, his coworker, Jean joined us to refit the finished piece to the frame.

The new roof really helps to finish Melody off - she looks super smart now, more and more like a proper blue water cruiser!

Next step: paint the top white and anti-slip application. 

Kate

First publish on offtheline.co.za

Sunday Sessions

As promised, here is an update on our Sunday sail with Melody. Initially the intention was just to motor for a couple of hours into the bay but it was such perfect weather that we had to put up the sails and do it the old school way!

This weekend was my first time out on Melody - shocking I know! But unfortunately the way things have worked out I have only ever been on her while working, on the dry or moored. I was very blessed to have perfect weather for my 'maiden voyage'.

Myself and Rufus were joined by Chris and Carla as well as two 'new' friends, James and his fiance Caitlin. These two were excellent company and natural sailors right from the start. What was scheduled to be just a morning motor turned into a whole day mission, ending in a fish braai and beers on deck.

Thank you to all for an awesome day and we look forward to many more to come!!

Kate

First published on offtheline.co.za


Gripping Stuff

After all having a little break it was back to work with a vengeance. Kate and I joined Rufus with work on Melody, while Wil overcame a big hurdle with casting the first lead bulb for one of his racing machines. We started with clearing out the work shop, a daunting task but with the three of us, we quickly emptied it out  and  now it's almost ready for the final evacuation at the end of the week. As the summer days begin to come to an end we used our opportunity on Monday to do the much needed anti-slip. It was super awesome to beable to walk along the coach roof without having the feeling that we'll slip to our death on the morning dew. We're hoping for no wind on Wednesday to be able to finish off the walk ways so that no slipping will be happening along the way. 

Viv

First published on offtheline.co.za