I honestly didn’t think I was going to have enough footage to edit together for a full length episode this week. We’ve caught up with ourselves. Basically you are now sharing our lives pretty much breath by breath with us. So don’t spread any C19 germs thank you.
Speaking of the germy nasties, how are you coping with lockdown? We’re still busy doing our usual thing while we wait for the go-ahead to splash into the water again. Life’s not too different for us, well, except there’s no travelling or water or friends …
But we’ve been wondering about you guys and gals.
How are you whiling away the hours?
We think we’ve come up with a pretty cool solution for at least 29 hours of your lockdown time!
So far we’ve produced 117 Episodes – that’s 1750 minutes of footage – or if you sit down for six hours a day, that’s FIVE DAYS of entertainment, where we take you sailing with us to four countries: Spain, Italy, Turkey and Greece! It’ll be like being on a mini holiday on board A B Sea with us!
My teddy loves the idea. (Watch this week’s video and you’ll understand).
We’ve given you a little taste of some of the places we visited since casting off the lines in 2018.
Missing drone footage
You’ll notice that this summer our videos were missing great drone shots. That’s because our Mavic Pro had a problem after Baz, ahem, crashed it twice and broke the camera gimbal vibration mount. Clever boy. (But I have to say he’s done far less damage to the drone than I would if I got my hands on the operating console. Ask our son Luke. He’s watched me playing PlayStation games.
Baz had a go at fixing our drone and you can see for yourself if he was successful.
One year, two Easters
Living in Greece, we got to experience two Easters this year as the Orthodox Greek church celebrates a week after the UK, Australia and the USA. So as well as making another batch of vegan/paleo chocolate fudge, I did the Aussie thing and had a barbie (barbeque for non-Aussies)! Early in the morning on my way back from the studio where we do our ‘ablutions’, I spotted someone using the on-site barbeque. Once they’d left, I took some chicken that I’d marinated in some honey/garlic/soy/ginger that I mixed together, and a while later Baz and I were tucking into BBQ chicken with bulgar pilaf and a green salad with a honey/soy dressing. Yummo!
Food warms the cockles of my heart – meditation, my soul
A couple of my old meditation group members from Australia asked if I fancied starting up the group again, online. What a great time to do it! We all downloaded Lifesize conference app (which gives a great free deal with unlimited video time - unlike Zoom) and set a date for Thursday!
Surprisingly, it felt like we were in one room, and we all experienced the same good vibes we used to feel when we met in the CWA Hall in Beerwah, Queensland. Oh sweet joy!
I’m also re-recording the session for Insight Timer meditation app (available for pc or mobile) and put it with some simple footage to make a YouTube video available on my channel as well. That way, those who can’t attend the group can get access to the meditations. I’ve made the decision to have the group available for free or by donation depending on where people are at financially. I don’t have a lot of outlay for this apart from my time – no tea, coffee or cakes to provide, and no hall rent. And to be honest it benefits me doing these meditations as much as anyone who attends. On so many levels.
The group meets at 5pm Brisbane, Australia EAST time (Athens, Greek 10am). If you’re interested in attending the group, or just want to know what it entails, feel free to contact me.
It’s something I receive wonderful feedback for and it is heart-warming to know that I can use one of my skills to benefit others in these changeable times.
The EPIRB replacement kit costs how much??
EPIRB stands for Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon and is a must have on board. If there’s an accident and the boat goes down, the EPIRB which sits in the cockpit is designed to float free and transmit our position, so emergency services can get an accurate location on where to find us.
It is powered by lithium batteries which need changing after a few years. Baz noticed the batteries were due for replacement when he checked the label on the outside of the float-free container. Sending and EPIRB off for replacement costs almost as much as buying a new one, both options are expensive. But it’s a life saving device and is important to have, so Baz researched service kits.
He found one in Russia that was still expensive 275 Euros (AU$473) but what cost human life? Anyway, it arrived last week.
When he took the casing off to begin the replacement, Baz noticed the label on the EPIRB itself had another label which showed a different date altogether. Where the outside sticker, which was put on by the guy who changed the EPIRB information in Spain, showed August 2019 the sticker on the EPIRB itself doesn’t expire until May 2022! Looks like Mr Spanish Guy might have been trying to make himself a few extra euros on an early replacement!
After checking the replace-by date label that came with our kit from Russia, Baz noticed that this manufacturer’s label was exactly the same as the one on the EPIRB, so we’re confident that it actually doesn’t expire for another couple of years.
Naughty Mr Spanish Guy. ***Addendum, we have just been advised that in Spain the laws require a review of the EPIRB and the liferaft once a year, regardless of what the manufacturer marks. Sorry Mr Spanish Guy.
The good news is we now have a replacement kit that we can use in a couple of years, as the new lithium batteries are good until 2026.
A mixed bag of goodies video isn’t complete without an animal
And apart from Baz (rolls on floor laughing), the only other animals around here are the boat yard cats and dogs. Bobby, the resident rescued dog has taken it as his role to be the boat yard guard dog. And it’s a hard job. So he was very happy to get a long belly rub from the human animal – when Baz went to stretch his legs the other day.
So there you have it, as we said to our Patrons when we released the video earlier this week (as one of their perks), in a nutshell this week: We travel to four countries, fix boat and camera parts, have a mystical moment, drool over food and get friendly with our furry four footed friend.
What more can you ask for?!
If you’d like to see the video that accompanies this blog, just click here.
Whatever you’re doing, until next week, stay safe and healthy.
