He threw in some extras and I was done. As a postscript,
I did give the Miele Jasper a quick trial aboard and it did just what he said
it would. But the most remarkable feature that he did not mention was just
how quiet it was. It was amazed and taken aback; hard to do with me and vacuum
cleaners.
Finding a coffee maker was next on the list. Karen and I
had decided on black since it hides the yuck and most of the built-in
appliances on OceanFlyer are black. Karen had looked at every coffee maker online
and had concluded that they are all crap and short lived. So the decision was
made to keep it simple, no fancy stuff, and just get a bare-bones Mr. Coffee.
If it dies, it's less than $20 to replace. And for $20, it is a nice looking unit
with all the features we wanted, 10 cup, the ability to pull out the carafe and
pour a cup before it is done, and simple on/off switch that anyone could master
without ever reading a manual.
Some roach traps were on the shopping list
(Karen was worried the trip through the heat and Panama Canal would lead to bugs) and then I went back to the boat to unload, get everything out of its packing and
stowed for the trip west.
I also ran through all the systems to make certain that
everything was ready and operating for the short ride tomorrow. As I was
finishing up, I went outside and saw that Steve Fithian was aboard Lady Jane
with the technician from Village Marine water makers who was taking care of
some last minute service items.
Steve said that YachtPath had called and they wanted the
Lady Jane this afternoon instead of tomorrow morning. He was scrambling to get
Captain Marty back, who had just got home after being on the boat earlier in
the day and also trying to get the water maker service completed in time.
I seized the opportunity and asked if I could ride along
to get a preview of the loading operation. It would be nice to see it done,
before I actually had to do it the next morning.
I was now part of the crew on Lady Jane along with
Captain Marty and his son.
It was 5:15pm before the technician signed off on the
water maker and we cast off. It was a perfect evening. The sky was starting
take on the colors of sunset and the wind was calm and the water peaceful.
We made our way north toward Port Everglades and berth
four, where the Palembang lay. She is easy to spot from a distance because of
her two massive, John Deere yellow, on-board cranes.
