Day 113 to 116: 3rd to 6th October 2017 The end (or is it the begining) is in sight!

Tuesday

More boatschool drama but easier to deal with as Patrick has fewer jobs to do now so can offer some support. To be honest the drama is just the same regardless of how many lessons we do per day so I've been trying to squeeze a bit more in early this week so we can do less later in the week when we have a few jobs to do.

In the afternoon we decided to use the office as a playroom and dragged the picnic blanket and the big bag of Lego down to entertain the kids.

I looked after the Aussi kids while Lynita and Justin had lunch at the marina restaurant... their first "alone time" for a while I think! I'm guessing Lynita had quite a good day as we both escaped as soon as kids were in bed to go have a girlie drink at the restaurant. It was so good to have a bit of female company without having to be constantly looking out for kids! We were still chatting as the restaurant closed up so we moved outside and then were joined by two of the Aussi boys who were giving their skipper some space as his girlfriend had just arrived. Not sure how much space had been requested but when we left them at midnight they showed no signs of moving!

Wednesday

We quickly got some maths done before heading into Port Saint Louis, the plan was for Patrick and I to get our hair cut, for us to visit the market and to get a few groceries. Lynita was heading to the market in her car with her kids, we planned to meet up so she could give at least our shopping a lift back. As it was we were a little late setting off as AJ's scooter was playing up so after working out we needed a bigger spanner we decided to head off with just the one scooter between 2 kids. It was a long walk and almost noon before we got there so the first couple of hairdressers we found were closed for lunch. We sauntered round a dwindling market somewhat disheartened before finding a pizza van which we noted for later. I wandered on a little further and found an open hairdresser whilst the kids looked at toys and bumped into the Aussies. We decided to get pizza and meet them at the park where Patrick then looked after all the kids while Lynita and I did a supermarket run. Lynita then took the kids back while Patrick and I braved the French hairdresser. As expected her English was worse than our French but aided by photographs on my phone we managed to emerge looking something like our old selves.

Thursday

Patrick and AJ stayed back to do some jobs while Esmé and I got a lift to the big supermarket at Arles with Lynita and the kids. We had a lovely day and managed to get Esmé some new footwear as her trainers are now too small. Unfortunately I failed to replace my broken trainers, which is somewhat annoying as we often have to walk long distances to get shopping, now I'm down to deck shoes or flip flops. Leora was really funny in the soft toy aisle getting down and putting away the biggest toy horse ever!

Today also saw the end of the work on Laurin with the coppercoat being applied. It needs 72 hours to cure so we have booked the crane for a Monday morning launch.

Friday

Esmé tried out an interesting hairstyle today to keep her hair out of the chocolate spread at breakfast time! More boatschool, jobs and then a lovely invitation to spend the evening on Dizzy. It was soooo windy, apparently gusting up to 50 knots so it was nice to have some company and distraction from the fact that the boats were moving around even on the hard! We had a lovely evening around their enormous table, the highlight being roast potatoes cooked in their oven. Our boat oven wouldn't get nearly hot enough for that, in fact we don't actually use it a it's so rubbish! The kids settled down in front of a laptop, introducing their Australian friends to Paddington Bear, whilst the adults spent time relaxing with a glass or two of wine!


After much discussion about how to celebrate Esme's special day and originally being adamant that she didn't want to travel on her birthday she has now changed her mind. We will have a bbq party for her on Sunday afternoon after the restaurant closes and she will get her presents in the morning. This means she will be with her friends and have lots of fun. On her actual birthday we plan to set sail out of Port Napoleon and head for the Marseille Calanques which look absolutely stunning!