“What do you mean you slept in a wet bed?!!”
I was totally horrified that Baz had discovered the bottom of his bed was wet in the middle of the night and had gone back to sleep in it.
I shuddered as my imagination immediately landed me in a wet bed with cold, wet feet. Ew! If I’d felt any dampness around my feet, there’s no way I could just stay there. My bed is a sacrosanct space and if that had happened to me, even in the wee hours of the morning - pun not intended - I couldn’t have rested until I’d done something about it. I’d be up, stripping sheets and finding a way to make it dry.
As I continued to stare open-mouthed at Baz waiting for him to tell me why he’d stayed in a wet bed, I wondered if I was overreacting. Did this prove that I actually am a princess of the delicate kind?
His explanation broke into my self-analysis.
“I was tired.”
Oh.
How Baz got a wet bed
There had been a storm the previous night and we’d both been awakened by the bilge pump loudly roaring its head off as it emptied water that had seeped into the bilge. Not good. We have to attend to our bilge pump (which also a bit of a princess) because it doesn’t turn off once it’s done its job. It seems it can’t manage to reset itself properly once the level of water has dropped, so we have to help the little darling. So we physically knock the dear thing on its head otherwise it will continue to roar.
Loudly.
Not only would that keep us awake for the rest of the night, but it would also probably bother our neighbours, it’s that noisy. So we pulled off the cushions and opened the wooden hatch from the saloon seat, and Baz got the tongs, delved into the dark bilgy recess, lifted the pump and when it dropped back, it switched off.
Ah, silence.
After that, because the rain wasn’t too strong, Baz turned the bilge pump off so we would get uninterrupted sleep for the rest of the night. I went to bed in the princess suite and fairly promptly fell back into a warm, cozy slumber.
Not so for Baz. He got back into bed and noticed that the bottom right hand corner was soaking wet. Too tired to do anything else, he shifted his position and eventually fell asleep.
I continued to look at him as if he was crazy.
“Well you can’t sleep there tonight. I’ll move you to the other cabin while the mattress dries out,” I said, getting my chambermaid’s brain into gear.
While I provided Baz a suitable change of accommodation for the night, he got the half-soaked mattress out into the sunshine, where it dried, along with the cockpit cushions that were also soggy.
Fixing the leak
Baz had an idea that the leak was coming from the panel at the starboard helm position.
He’d re-seated one of the instruments recently – the autopilot control head - and reckoned it wasn’t water tight. After emptying the locker to get access to the back end of the instruments (a job I know he always thoroughly enjoys), I suggested we pour water over the instrument panel so he could see exactly where the water was coming in and only remove the one/s that needed re-bedding.
Sure enough it was the one he suspected and after a short while it was all stuck in with lashings of Sikaflex. Air wouldn’t seep through that, never mind water.
Warm and fuzzy
A little while ago we’d ordered online a 500 watt oil filled electric radiator and that arrived, so we unboxed that, happy to have a source of warmth for when the weather turns colder. It’s a cute little thing and will be easy to store in the forward sail locker when spring comes.
Overwintering the dinghy
Baz and Kev spent the best part of one day (while I was editing) cleaning the outboard engine and bottom of the dinghy before hauling them onto A B Sea. I wasn’t there so I can’t give you all the details, but it’s in this week’s video along with information on the radiator and fixing the leak.
A delightful sunset
We were treated to one of the most colourful sunsets I’ve seen in a while – with the sun’s golds and oranges blending with the violet grey of the puffy clouds, all reflected in the gently rippling water. Absolutely gorgeous. And we’ve shared that with you too.
To watch the YouTube video that accompanies this blog, just click here.
Until next week, stay, poised and healthy as you take the actions that bring your dreams to life.
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