PRECIPICE COVE – INCESSANT RAIN

For three days I have been hunkered down in Precipice Sound, behind Macdonell Island.  It has rained continuously since I arrived.  According to the boats up in Blanket Bay it is raining there as well.  This cove is very well sheltered from both wind and sea, hardly a ripple on the water, its hard to believe its blowing outside.  I really want to head out and have a look but it’s a twenty-mile trip along Bradshaw and then Thompson Sound.  So, I won’t bother until I know it’s good.

I am getting daily weather forecasts from Fiordland Fishermans Radio on VHF 66 and I have passed on my position to the operator (Carol), so someone knows where I am.  Yesterday a launch came into the cove to join me, we have met before firstly in Acheron Passage and later in Deep Cove.  He is also waiting on weather to move north.  Nice to have company in such a remote place.

The weather I was expecting for Monday and Tuesday is changing daily according to the forecasts as fronts move onto the lower South Island.  Hopefully, I will be able to go north on Monday, either to George Sound or further to Milford Sound.  On one hand I want to get out of this awful wet and depressing weather but on the other hand I want to see the sounds now that I am here, I won’t be coming back this way again.

There has been no sunshine for six days and almost continuous rain.  I am having to run the engine every day to charge the batteries.  The solar panels usually handle all my power requirements, but these wet overcast days less than ten amps are trickling into the batteries.  Just about every electrical item on the boat is switched off to conserve power, its an Apollo 13 like scenario.

The days and nights are cold now.  In the evenings I have resorted to lighting up the fire for a few hours.  Very nice to have the dry heat inside the cabin when it’s so damp and wet outside.

I also slip a hot water bottle into my bed before I sleep, warms it up nicely.  There is a funny dumb and dumber type story about the hot water bottle.  When I was getting Truce ready in Canoe Cove, on Vancouver Island in the spring of 2017 the weather was bitterly cold and wet.  Truce was out of the water in the yard and I was living on board to save money on accommodation.  At night I was freezing, I had blankets and sleeping bags galore to try and keep warm.  Getting into the cold bed was nasty.  On one of my phone calls to Ngozi I was bemoaning the cold bed.  Ever the practical woman, she said why not buy a hot water bottle.  Doh! I had one on board, hanging in the bathroom cupboard!  From then onwards I slid into a warm bed each night

Today was baking day, bread and scones this time.  The scones turned out OK but didn’t rise so much as usual, maybe my baking powder is past its prime.  But they taste good, I devoured two hot ones with jam immediately, yummy.