By Saturday morning the rain had passed through and we awoke to a lovely hot and sunny day. We had a lazy time just relaxing, reading, watching box sets and generally just chilling down below in the cool. During the day we did two 15 minute walks (flat surfaces only through the boat yard) so that Richard could start building up his strength.
He did really well and it was clear that he was bouncing back very fast. The hardest thing is going to be stopping him doing stuff because he feels so well right now…..
Sunday we had another lazy day with a couple of longer walks. And, of course, during the day the fridge decided to pack up. Was very strange – one minute it was working too hard (which we thought could be because the water here in the river is quite warm); then it went below the set temperature; and then the compressor fell over and wouldn’t restart. We tried to ‘force’ it on by mucking around with the set parameters but that didn’t work. So last option was to re-gas it – so Richard taught me how to do this with the pressure gauges etc – assuming a leak somewhere. This worked briefly as the compressor did come on but then fell over again and wouldn’t restart. The controller was working properly as it was ‘calling’ for cooling at the right time but it just wouldn’t play. We realised that we needed professional assistance so we sent an email to one of the on-site companies to see if they could help us.
Easter Monday and Richard had his first GP appointment since being released from hospital. Yes, the local medical centre here is open seven days a week, even on bank holidays, which is quite something. This was the original doctor who had called the ambulance the week before so we had decided to sign up with him as patients. We haven’t yet heard back from Medicare (not surprisingly really as all the documents were only emailed last Thursday) so we still have to pay for the GP visit which, actually, isn’t too bad at $60 (about £30) a go. But I’m hoping that Medicare will be sorted out soon, especially when they start re-doing his bloods and ECGs. The doctor was very pleased with Richard’s progress and to see him again – reviewing his discharge papers he kept telling him how lucky he was to survive. This is really just starting to sink in for both of us now. Dr Hassan was clearly pleased that he was going to be involved in monitoring Richard’s progress going forward. Next appointment was then fixed for two weeks time.
After the clinic we did a quick shop at Coles for some fresh provisions and then returned to Morphie. This little excursion had worn us both out so we rested up for the rest of the day before having a quiet evening watching some more episodes of the Peaky Blinders.
Tuesday morning and we were up early as I had to return the car keys to the office. Having returned the car we relaxed below waiting for the refrigeration guys to turn up. They investigated the electrical side of the whole system and said that was all good and beyond this, it was not really their speciality, so recommended Rene from a neighbouring marina who is the ‘best refrigeration guy around’. As they couldn’t help us they didn’t charge us for their time either….
So Richard called Rene directly and he agreed to come to us the following day. Richard then relaxed down below while I started tackling the cockpit. I cut and buffed the gel coat to remove the oxidisation so happily got to play with our new toy. There were also lots of fiddly bits that had to be done by hand too. Afterwards I sprayed it all down with water to remove the dust and then wiped it all clean. Phew!
Afterwards, while I was getting cleaned up, Richard went out for one of his daily walks. I wasn’t really happy with him going out on his own at this stage but he promised to be good and took his emergency spray with him, and I can’t keep him tied up down below forever LOL. I was anxious while he was out but he came back very happy to have done a longer walk and had picked up the pace without any ill effects. So all very positive stuff. Oh yes and he came back with a bit of teak that he needed for another job on the dinghy for when he is stronger……
Wednesday morning the specialist heart nurse (Imogen) called Richard for a telephone update. She also confirmed a follow up consultant’s appointment at the hospital for early May and discussed his progress to date. All is apparently going swimmingly and they may change his drug regime as he is tolerating it so well – but still very early days. About half an hour later we got another phone call, this time from Peter at the local heart clinic who are also going to monitor Richard going forward, so that was fixed for 13 May. We remain very grateful that we are here in Australia with this amazing medical service. Just hope that the Medicare registration comes through in time….fingers crossed!
Rene then came by and checked out the fridge compressor in the lazarette. He also monitored pressures and also thought we had a leak in the system somewhere. He had this whizzy nitrogen recorder which confirmed that all was well with the back end of the system. So I emptied the fridge out and he used it again inside the box – and it went absolutely crazy – confirming we had a leak in the actual refrigerator plates. Oh well, never mind at least the mystery is solved. So he ordered a new one and hopes to install it sometime next week. In the meantime he got the fridge up and running temporarily to tide us through. What great service!
Afterwards Richard then went out for a walk on his own again and I started to wax the cockpit now that we weren’t expecting any more trades on board. It was time to get the polisher out again and, as before, there were lots of areas that had to be done by hand. But was pretty happy with the end result. I called it a day later in the afternoon with just the binnacle and the cockpit sole to be finished off.
Thursday morning I waxed the binnacle and then worked on the cockpit sole – all done by lunchtime – phew! Don’t think Morphie has ever looked quite so shiny LOL. Richard headed off during the day on two longer walks on his own and talked to some more trades about some things he wants looked at whilst we are here. The main item is the rolling furling mainsail as the worm screw in the mast is a bit tight and stiff so it is not so easy to pull the sail in and out anymore. They are going to come and check it out on Friday. The rest of the day we relaxed and chilled.
This morning, Friday, for a change we turned right rather than left for our walk and admired our large neighbours that are in the new super yacht area of The Boatworks.
A huge yacht was hauled yesterday and you don’t realise the scale of it until you see the size of the 300 ton travel lift it was pulled out by. Check out the size of those wheels!
We also had a look at the newly-constructed VIP lounge which we don’t have access to but the cleaning ladies let us take a peek. Here is Richard pretending he is a VIP LOL.
It is really very nice – we particularly liked the scuba helmet and the ship’s bell – and the great views out of the glass walls….
We also took a look at the new marina ‘beach bar’ which is currently being landscaped – it is going to be really nice when it is finished. Apparently the next phase of this development is for waterside bars and restaurants – don’t think anyone will ever leave LOL.
When we got back to Morphie we checked on our supplies and realised that we had pretty much eaten our way through all the fresh fruit and there weren’t many vegetables left either. Luckily a courtesy car was available at noon, so I donned my chauffeur hat again (Richard is not allowed to drive yet) and took him back to Coles in the Westfield mall. We did a quick supermarket sweep – very few people around – and returned to the Boatworks.
We popped into Print Image on the way back to Morpheus only to find that they had completed our new logo – a little present for Morphie – and came straight round to put it on. Doesn’t she look smart?!?
No sooner had I returned the car, and then put the shopping away, the riggers came on board to check out the in-mast furler. Sail down and worm drive out….only to find that the bearings have gone. So they have taken that away to fix and hope to get that back early next week too.
Take care everyone – stay home and stay safe. Bye for now
Jan