Madang

Steak for lunch!

Having cleared into PNG officially, Steve was keen to press on. In the space of about 36 hrs we arranged to refuel, re-provision (especially beer, for Pat), enjoy a slap-up dinner at the Madang Club (steak), prep & repair Harlequin, enjoy lunch at the Madang Club (steak) and depart.

The repair involved a good clean through of the Saildrive leg. We'd noticed for some time that the exhaust water flow was reducing, and had tried various other fixes to no avail. David (Bo-sun!) went one stage further and removed the inboard pipework to access and flush the Saildrive from above. It worked!

Med-moor to club pontoon

A leak had also appeared from nowhere into the starboard aft cabin, soaking the cushions. After an hour spent dismantling trim to investigate, another unrelated conversation concerning topping up the reserve water in the liferaft locker revealed the source. For some strange reason, the 2 x 30 litre emergency water cans had been re-stowed on their side and leaked. Slowly, the water had worked its way out of the sealed (!) compartment and dripped below. Mystery solved!

In addition to all the boat prep, Chris had developed worrying symptoms akin to flu. Or malaria. A trip to hospital resulted in treatment for the latter and, just to be sure, for a nasty insect bite he'd received on his leg. Sure enough, by morning the left ankle was swollen & bruised (a clear sign of blood-poisoning), but the temperature & pains had gone. He was on the mend (and on antibiotics); the decision was made to let him continue.

Harlequin departs Madang

Pat & Roger & Pat stepped aboard, whilst Jim, David & Will disembarked for a night at Madang Resort and another dinner (steak). It felt very, very strange to wave farewell as Harlequin departed for the Vitiaz Strait and the Trobriand Islands.

Good luck guys!



Crew for Leg 4B:  Steve, Pat, Colin, Chris & Roger.