They are called “rest days” but both Friday and Saturday were actually “mend the water pump day” and then “laundry day”. So lets start with Friday…. Ray a motorbike man through and through… but also a sailor, and an expert marine engineer agreed to come over from Portishead on his “two wheels” and sort out our main freshwater pump which had been spitting out mainly air and a little water. So it was a day in the saloon with sole boards up and intricate work down black holes… called the bilges. Margaret… as she does…managed to extract Ray’s life story… as he worked!
T made forays for parts, bits and pieces….. back and forth from one side of the city to the other… on the ferry… so much so that 13,000 steps came up on the i-phone health app. The water pump was replaced and works a treat… but Ray has to return ( he lives in Weston-Super-Mare ) on Monday after he has made up a secure bracket to fix the said new pump to the bulkhead. The pump is now working without this bracket at the moment… M washed her hair in the shower this morning!
Today Saturday has been laundry day… the third such occasion … Portland ( the keel hauling business ), Falmouth and now Bristol. So three laundry days in a four week period…. not bad at all… we sailors are clean sailors thank you very much! No ironing though. We did a ton of washing today…. in the YHA building 30 metres from the boat… and what a delight. M went to the nearby Tourist Information Office and asked about nearby laundrettes…. they said the YHA opposite the boat would be happy to allow visitors the use of their laundry facilities. So we did…. and compared to both Portland and Flamouth marinas… it was a real pleasure.
In between all this Margaret has been on an open bus tour around the City… as she usually does… and has done the sight seeing thing in earnest.
Tonight… well thousands of pop fans have been flooding into the City for the Saturday night U2 orUB40 bands ( am not sure )…. and as I write, reggae type music is blaring out, multi coloured lights flicker on and off …. the beat is well…… very loud but we think it finishes at 11pm… and there about 10,000 fans in attendance.
M has gone to bed… she heads back to Battle tomorrow Sunday from Temple Meads on the 11 o’clock train. M will return for the Scottish section… we hope!
Ray our motorbike marine engineer comes to see us on Monday… and so we sail again on Tuesday…. to visit the first capital city on our circumnavigation… Cardiff. Tuesday evening should see us in Wales… providing we get the tides right!
Toby's sailing boat Poli Poli 
Pleased it’s all going fairly well – don’t know how you have the time to write so much and in such detail with everything else you have to do! Will catch up with Margaret when she gets back – all well here – back from our hols and catching up with our washing too! Take care and happy sailing! xx
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