Whats been happening

 So my most recent wrestle with the Optimus 155 stove  resulted in me breaking it. OK I will also now confess this is the second time I've done it. The piece of the stove used to pressurise the kerosene is called a pump rod and it has an o ring attached to the end to maintain pressure. If you pump the pump rod too hard the o ring comes off and the rod just flaps around loose - therefore you are unable to build up the pressure. The first time I did this Neil replaced the o ring and all was well (when he lit the stove).  When we were last at the boat I set about making tea. Neil said "Why don't you use the little gas back up stove?" Me: "No, I need to master this thing, just start on your lunch and I'll have your tea ready in two hours haha". So off I go pumping like mad to get the little black line up into the green space on the pressure gauge. For safety, we completely let the pressure out of the stove when not in use so I needed to get the pressure up f...

 In preparation for life on board James Burke and cooking without an oven, I tried my hand at home at making bread on the stovetop. I found an easy beginners recipe for a simple white loaf and the result was actually pretty good! The outside was crisp and crusty, the inside was soft and it toasted up well. I was happy with this as my first ever attempt at making bread. I'll now experiment with different flours and ingredients to incorporate seeds and grains and will buy a nice heavy based pan for the galley. Watch this space......... Link and recipe credit: https://www.bwsailing.com/galley-guide-stove-top-bread-baking/

Following on from Neil's post about staying aboard James Burke overnight, for me it is a completely new experience. I am a novice boatie and completely out of my comfort zone on the water! The nights we've stayed on board I've enjoyed, obviously due to being in calm waters and in comfort. It was lovely to see the moon and city lights off in the distance and feel warm and comfortable, I'm sure it'll be a different story when we're out to sea 😬. I liked waking up to seagulls and ducks and seeing the whales was an incredible experience. I've never been so close to whales and for me it was the sound that was mesmerisinig just as much as the sight as these magnificent creatures made their way north, passing by us as they went. I completely forgot for those moments that I felt seasick (we had cut the engine and were drifting with the waves). While currently locked down in Sydney and unable to travel, I think the sooner we can get away the better for me. I honestl...

 We've been working on wiring the forward cabin so that gadgets can be charged and the marine radio installed. With Neil's encouragement, I managed to get myself into the bow space with headtorch and took instructions from him on which wires to put where! He has nearly completed the wiring and also installed some handy rechargeable LED lights. I've managed to complete my marine radio course, passed the test and now am licensed, I still need some practice to get up to Neil's level, I just hope I never need to call a MAYDAY.  😬😬 Below are a couple of early pics of the cabin area, we laid carpet in order to minimise engine noise, each section has storage and the space can be reconfigured from bed to lounge :)   

We have a fresh water supply in the galley which is working really well. We bring the water on board  in 20 litre drums and syphon these from outside the boat into the water bladder that Neil and Aaron installed. For now, sink drained water is emptied manually, this will eventually be pumped directly into the bilge.  Neil made a great plate/cup/spice rack complete with paper towel dispenser that we installed last week. Over the next week or two we will work on completing the rest of the galley storage. It's a cozy space and we've had a few nice meals in it already including a pancake breakfast:)   Neil bought a stove from Norway that needed some restoration work. I relate to the sentiment of this stove but my mind can't help wandering to the lovely modern two burner gas stoves you can buy at camping stores. Having said that, kerosene is safer than gas - it doesn't explode. Neil spent many hours getting this old thing working well, he made an aluminum lined timber shr...