The Thrifty car hire to get us from home to Heathrow turned out to be a massive MPV which swallowed our voluminous luggage with ease. We had to start early but my perennial airport anxiety syndrome meant that we had to leave VERY early and now I have to convince Sally that trading sleep for quality airport departure lounge time was a good idea. She remains sceptical!
There’s lots of things to be anxious about at this time of year. Missing the plane could be minor in the grand scheme of things as we have no idea what we will find when we climb back on board Shimshal. Eight months of ice, wind, snow and rain have passed since we pulled the cover on and locked the hatches in readiness for a Canadian winter. For eight months she has been totally neglected. Will the six year old battery bank have given up the ghost and did I get enough antifreeze into every little pipe? Will the engine start and will the repaired rudder bearing stand up to the strain? And then there’s the unresolved issues with the prop shaft that I have to get to the bottom of before we launch.
When we do get back in the water there will still be plenty of ice around as Facebook has been alive in recent weeks with pictures of giant icebergs lurking in harbours and anchorages. No doubt they will be making mischief as usual.
This year we are carrying only two pairs of eyes to watch for growlers but at least cataract surgery means that those eyes now work a bit better than they did in Greenland. For the first time in a few years we will be cruising again as a couple with no Hawaiian shirts or Nuclear Electric overalls to cheer us along our way. My main concern is that, without crew, what will I find to blog about?