Sunday 29 November 2009

Preparing to sail

This coming week will be a busy one. Our Deckies and I will load five containers, fifteen Land Rovers & Nissans, a digger and several trailers, a generator, three big Yokohama fenders, a couple of hundred metres of security fencing, two forklift trucks, several tents, and the contents of our off-ship dental and eye clinics and the Hospitality Centre. On Tuesday half of our vehicles will drive over the border into neighbouring Togo to await our return in February (please pray for the safety of our vehicles and drivers). Meanwhile, our nurses and other medical staff will finish securing the hospital for our sail north - everything will be corralled and bolted to the floor, including beds, operating tables and anaesthetic machines. And I will do at least two dives - there is currently no wind to blow all the garbage in the port away from the ship, so the water is thick with plastic bags and spilt diesel. Plus we will have fire, lifeboat and collision drills...but by this time next week we should be over the worst of it and left only with preparing our cabins and offices for sailing. Olly

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