I was in a good mood when I started replacing both my engines oil filters while my father was trying to solve a problem with the electrical system. But then halfway through I suddenly realized that I did not have spare filters for the Volvo engine onboard with me. But instead I had three filters for the Yanmar engine! Hmm… I must have had a less clear moment sometime last year… Anyway, it was not easy finding new filters over here. I also have my repaired sails back on board. But today when I hoisted them I saw that they weren’t good. So we took them back to the sailmaker again… But happily, the Zwaan Sails Company in the Netherlands had already made new sails for me which my father has brought with him here in Darwin. Thus I now have an entirely new set of sails But I would be happy to keep the repaired ones for spares… And so this is how – sigh – my To-Do list got longer instead of shorter… until I found someone with a car and time to go around. So going to get the Volvo’s new filters at the marine supply shop was made much easier. It was a half hour drive out to a part of the country that is more like a desert. But!…they had the filters I wanted – another problem solved and along with it, seeing a little bit more of Australia.

Laura