Well dear reader, where to start? I guess first is an apology for being "comms down" for such a long time. To bring you up to speed in a pretty short amount of time I will start from just pre-Covid. Here we go:

Second child born, new job in marketing for gas turbines, moved to Lincolnshire, main company owner (multi billion dollar pump company) decided to shut or nascent business, new job as a simulator instructor at RAF Valley, selected for a flying job, denied a medical, back to the sim, interviewed for a job in Saudi, got job, got married, moved in May 22, family joined in Sep 22. I mean, there's a lot more detail in between, but that's it in a nutshell. Yeah, rollercoaster kind of goes somewhere close to describing it. I have to thank, from the bottom of my heart, my incredible wife who has been my rock, my rudder and anchor all at once and kept our little family together while I bounce between roles looking to build a life somewhere for us.

Currently that life is in Saudi Arabia which allows me the opportunity to expand my skill sets, gives my kids a great education, allows them to do stuff we could never do in the UK but it does come with some compromises. Living in the UK the plan was to do much of the work myself at weekends but lack of funds, Covid and distance put serious obstacles in the way. Being an expat has allowed us the luxury of putting money to one side to have work carried out which would never have happened otherwise.

The desert is beautiful and harsh at the same time. We are surrounded by it and it goes from rolling dunes to steep wadis and canyons.

The Red Sea is about 3 hours away and provides us with great snorkelling, some epic fishing for those with the right gear and a break from compound life.

Not something you see everyday (ever) in the UK....

We live in provided accommodation on a compound but I have turned my hand to DIY again and made things a little more homely outside for when it's not 40 degrees outside...

Anyway, onwards to more boat related flotsam. "How is Zeelandia"" I hear you (possibly) cry. Well, she is still afloat. The paintwork seems to have held up pretty well and after the shock that was Covid and the disruption to schedules , key worker stuff etc, it now seems we have a date for a long overdue survey and some other work. It looks that the week commencing 4th Nov we will be being dry docked with another (larger) ship in order to share the costs.

First on the list will be a power wash and survey which reveal some works which need to be done, but hopefully after the £20k worth of painting and welding done a few years ago I hope this will be minimal. After that, the very corroded magnesium prop will be removed, the shaft and key inspected and measured in readiness for a new, 4 bladed bronze prop to be fabricated and fitted which will probably have a 3 month lead time.

There are whole raft of jobs which I could get done in the time she is in dry dock, but it all depends on the manpower available (my dry dock buddy is a commercial ship so she gets first dibs on works due to MCA requirements). The docks have started to quote for works now instead of just doing it on an ad hoc basis, which is better for me in terms of financial planning.

I have had a quote through for a new main mast (about £12,500 - which wasn't far off the £10k I guessed) which I don't think is bad for over a tonne of Douglas Fir, fittings and 8 coats of varnish.... Despite my best efforts to preserve the old mast after removing it some time ago, it has suffered and I don't feel it is safe to put it back on the barge. There were always large "shakes" in the mast and the surveyors said they were fine. However, these were the same surveyors that didn't spot a host of major problems with the hull to the tune of £20k so, yeah, I ain't trusting that.... However, there is no point getting the mast made until the superstructure is ready, painted and good to go.

On that point I am considering putting a wind turbine or 2 small turbines on a frame at the top of the mast. It should add a small but continuous source of electricity to trickle charge any domestic batteries which will be especially useful over winter when the solar panels I am planning to fit will be less productive. Obviously there are questions about vibration which I have yet to look into further but it is an option.

In the meantime there are a tonne of other jobs which I could get done while she is in dry dock:

*recommission the generator and check all the lines
*new air block for the air cylinders to include a gauge which doesn't leak and an airline connection
*clean out the engine driven compressor lines which have emulsified water/oil mixture and replace the gaskets
*paint the areas of the superstructure which will not be affected by the new wheelhouse construction
*new stainless steel fuel tank with dual fuel filters (and possibly a fuel scrubber/polisher given my last experience of long distance transit)
*make good several of the pinholes in the upper structure ready for paint
*possible internal epoxy painting of the main cargo hold prior to spray foam
*strip and paint of the main mast stay
*removal of the now defunct Mizzen mast stay
*new wheelhouse with additional 2 metres of additional forward space to create a living area and able to convert into a 4th bedroom
*new anchor chain locker and full 120m of anchor chain

This is just the start and is probably more than my finances can cope with at the moment but with the 3 months lead time for the prop I suspect there will be enough time for me to sell a kidney or 2... I will no doubt be calling on a buddy of mine who lives locally and who has agreed to keep an eye on the proceedings to ensure everything progresses at a suitable pace and that corners are not being cut/trimmed/completely ignored....

Until the next time dear reader I will bid you farewell in the hope that my next missive from the desert I will have some progress and Zeelandia can start to make more progress towards being a home.