For Berrimilla's first circumnavigation, the International Space Station
and the North West Passage, go to www.berrimilla.com
and www.berrimilla.com/tng

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

More good work by seagulls

Matthew Flinders and James Cook with thanks to Nigel - and thanks to Caroline for Amundsen, who, on further inspection, really is under a seagull. And SteveJ suggested we harness the jellyblobber and get a tow back to Sydney. Neat idea - stand by for the sleigh ride!

Google Earth Placemark: Doca de Alcantara.kmz

Just for fun. It's an old photomap - there's lots more building north
of the railway, including the well hidden supermarket. The container
terminal and huge cruise ship terminal are along the outside of mole
forming the south side of the Doca and there's a replica caravel east
of us on the dock wall. Photos later - but what the early sailors
achieved in those vessels is, to anyone who understands the sea,
absolutely astonishing..

Images on the run

This is the Torre de Belem about 5 k down river from the Doca de Alcantara. In the last one you can see the giant statue of Christ on the far side of the river. Taken with my phone, so quality dreadful. But a lovely morning for a run along the river front. Theres a sewer outfall along the way that has about a million mullet tightly packed around the outfall and there are thousands more in the doca too, along with our mate the jellyblobber who continues to push us all northwards.

Was a year ago almost at this exact time that we accepted a tow from Gordy and Dave C on the Madeline May off St Anthony's Head outside Falmouth after that rather nasty Atlantic crossing and the start of all these problems with the engine. But the real problem started when somehow I did not follow John's instructions when replacing the bell housing - not sure why or how we got it wrong but wrong  it is. John has despatched an aligning tool and a new damper plate from Sydney and we will lift the engine yet again to grt it sorted. Probably another week for all that if all goes well.

Wind generator part is also on its way and I think that will be sorted before the engine. Appendages firmly crossed on both. Meantime. we're in semi survival mode, living out of the supermarket, which we've finally found. It's only 300 metres away but really well hidden -  I found it eventually by following a trail of people with plastic shopping bags. And doing things a bit at a time and trying to get a look at Lisbon too. We have a doca temperature fridge for our small supply of beer, in a bucket 10 feet under water with the mullet and the blobbers. Definitely drinkable.