Day 45 – Tuesday 24th August

Mike knocked on our door five minutes before the taxi arrived to find us all still fast asleep. We couldn’t even blame a big night out: we’d had an early one but failed to set an alarm. Unfortunately we missed the tide as a result and were forced to spend the next four hours in the marina.

As punishment, we were given the task of describing the workings of the marine diesel engine, identifying the various systems and how they work. We knew the basics from our diesel engine maintenance course, but it remembering it all wasn’t easy. We pulled out the tool box and got stuck in tightening bolts, checking water levels and measuring oil. The boys on the other hand were given the task of planning a menu for tomorrow’s overnight passage – not sure I want to see the results…

Still stuck on the pontoon, Richard got us to rig up the storm jib and tri sail. After lunch we finally headed out to practice mooring to buoys and MOB exercises under sail. It was surprisingly different running through these exercises in Australia with more wind influence than tide.

We’re starting to get used to leading exercises as skippers. Every exercise we do, from leaving the marina and hoisting a sail to a MOB drill is done this way. It was quite daunting at first, with everyone looking to you for instructions, and at times I felt I didn’t know where to start, but we’re adapting to this ‘stepped up’ style of teaching and are fast becoming more confident.