Jeff's Log ~ Friday, September 27, 2007

Today, I had a day off. No boat repairs, scrubbing, or polishing were done today. I got up and had coffee, and then went to the western neighbor’s dive boat, where a fellow by the name of Iz works. He and I have become friends and he invites me for coffee every morning. He is a young lad who is working to put himself through college. During Ramadan, his instructors have rescheduled his normal evening classes to afternoon, and he has not been able to attend because of job. He has been venting his frustration and I have been being a good listener and try to help cheer him up.

The Jordanians that I’ve interacted with have all been very friendly and most have been extremely helpful. The dive boat to the east of us is owned by another nice guy by the name Alla, and his driver is Ammar. Today, Scott and I went out on Alla’s boat with them. They had a small charter group and asked us to come along. It was a very pleasant day with slight overcast and light breeze. We went down the coast about 4 miles and anchored on a mooring buoy attached to the wreck of a freighter lying on her side. It was about 40 ft. to the top of the wreck, and could be clearly seen from the surface.

Scott and I swam the length of the wreck and then went towards shore to snorkel some shallow coral reef. The coral was the prettiest I have ever seen. There was red, yellow, orange, and the most beautiful shade of purple that you can imagine. I was truly impressed, and while it’s not the Great Barrier Reef, it made me feel good that there is still something like this alive within 200ft. of shore.

Tomorrow is back to work. In the course of our stay here in Aqaba, my projects have progressed nicely. The top of the fuel tanks no longer leak, though the starboard tank took several tries before it was finally sealed. Well meaning persons trying to seal it before just kept tightening the screws, causing pretty heavy distortion of a surface that I ended up having to make flat again. The lower running lights now work, and the forepeak sail locker and the aft lazarette have both been emptied, cleaned and allowed to dry out. I now have my own cabin with drawers and a double bunk. Life is good.

Tomorrow, all of the stuff from those compartments must be repacked, because we are going for a short sail tomorrow to prove the autopilot which thanks to Dave has been bled. Our parts shipment has been released from customs, so I’ll take a walk to DHL and see if I can get it tomorrow instead of Sunday.

My friend Alla took me into town yesterday, and I picked up some hose and splices to repair a coolant leak that I found on the main engine. I was floored when The bill for 4mtr hose and two splice connectors was only about $20. I also had lunch at McDonalds, and it compares with USA. The only big difference is instead of apple pie, they have fig pie, which I actually enjoyed more. Also ate at Quizno’s, and they’re a little skimpy with the meat.

Hello to everybody, and Happy birthday Dad on the 21st, in case that e-mail didn’t make it, and I’m really glad they finally let you go home.