The day after arriving at Sandrines, we were back on the boat meeting with Alan and going over the progress which was primarily carpentry and lighting. They had installed recessed lighting in the main salon which was great but not dimmable as we had specified. There was also a recessed strip under the cupboard over the stove which was a nice touch. The master and guest cabins would recieve the same treatment. The boat was still not ready for a sea trial or for us to move aboard.
With plenty of house hold items still to purchase, we headed to the city of Perpignan which was a 20 minute drive away. We had a list for bedding items and a plan to swing by Auchun, a large Costco-esk store that Alan said had the best fresh fish around. This was where “Tammy Lynn” failed us and we briefly turned down a one way causing a moment of terror, while we located the correct street. Even in the little car finding parking was a chore, as there was an abundance of traffic and people everywhere.
I had done some online research and the store we were headed to showed a good inventory to choose from, and was having a sale. As this was our dream boat we wanted to outfit it in a style that was clean and modern, that would be easy to maintain, and not a miss matched hodge-podge. When we got to the bedding area, the choices were limited and prices excessive even on sale. We had a lot of challenges trying to identify top versus bottom sheets, and sizes suitable for the 3 boat berths. Both of the aft berths had 2 single mattresses (to facilitate access to the storage areas underneath), but would mostly function as a large queen bed. The port forward berth was smaller over all but had the same split mattress layout. Deciding on a rich dark blue with a purple hue took a while, and we picked up 2 fitted singles and 1 queen sized top sheet with 2 matching pillow cases for the master berth, and a set of towels. There were no comforter’s in the size we were after. The sales woman was really nice and tried hard to figure out what we were looking for, but had a hell of a time due to our lack of French and her lack of English. We did learn that it was normal to forgo the top sheet altogether and instead have the comforter in a duvet cover directly on top of the sleeper. The shopping process was exhausting and frustratingly expensive at 244 Euro’s.
Our next stop of the day was at the Auchon store which was massive and really did have every conceivable department. The fish market was as promised but a line about 50 people deep was daunting so we settled on some lovely fresh baby squid that were packaged and available without the wait. We picked up some beer, wine, and a few veggies and fruits, and made a note to return for full provisioning at a later date.
It was a relief to leave the masses and head back to the boat (which was still tied up in the slipway some 9 days after we had arrived), and drop off our purchases. The cockpit cushions had been delivered while we were away and were down below so we pulled them out and put them to use. Apparently nobody had thought to check them as one of the cushions was reversed and would need to be returned for correction.
We liked the grey color with blue piping and they were comfortable to sit on.
As the fridge wasn’t running we used a rectangular plastic bin with a bag of ice (which had been hard to come by), to chill the beers and enjoyed the first beverage in the cockpit. The day had been challenging but it didn’t seem so bad with a frosty beer in hand, sitting in the cockpit with the Mediterranean sky turning slowly pink and a view of the marina basin before us. As Todd explained expansively, we were having “first world “problems.
We spent the next morning doing computer work, Todd making another boat list to go over with Alan the following day, and me working on my French training. It was Sunday again so we drove into Canet to stroll around the Sunday market and get some exercise in the process. On Monday we dropped the list with Alan and then headed back to Collioure to track down the glass blowers gallery. We stopped and walked around the fortifications on the way in, enjoying the rugged vista’s from the cliff tops and minding our toes from possible “viper” attack’s. (This was a running joke for us based on a story I’d heard about a viper biting a tourist’s toe..still it was something to keep in the back of one’s mind when out and about in the countryside!)
After rambling around town for a time we finally found the restaurant that we had first seen the glass plates at, and then located the gallery a short distance away. The artist was manning the store and was very friendly, conversing with us easily in English. The store was full of lovely glass wares and art pieces in a variety of colors, and choosing just two serving dishes was difficult. Eventually we settled on 2 rectangular plates one of sea glass blue, the other a more electric blue, both with turquoise swirling through them. The artist told us that his studio was part of a co-op village about an hour away, where potters, painter’s, glass blowers, and sculptors all resided. This sounded like it would be worth a visit and we filed the information for a trip there at a later date.
As was the norm, we stopped back at the boat before returning to the apartment to check the days progress which was depressing and annoying as there was none. Fortunately, Ed would be back in the morning and we were all meeting in Alan’s office to go over the “work remaining” list and solidify the final expense. We didn’t sleep well that night due to the heat and me itching from mosquito bites sustained when my right side had pressed against the netting, mosquito’s everywhere find me delicious!
We had a quick chat with Ed before the meeting to go over the contract and voice our concerns about the systems on the boat that hadn’t been touched yet. He said he was surprised how calm we had been thus far. We explained that we weren’t actually calm and reiterated that we just didn’t want the quality of work to be affected by a rushed schedule, after all this was to be an ocean-going boat where breakdowns weren’t just inconvenient but potentially dangerous.
One of the things that occurred during the meeting with us all in attendance, was Alan ordering the Fusion radio and HDMI cable which had been on the master list since February. These were needed to complete the electronics installation and also the panel fabrication at the chart table, which was stalled waiting for these items. Ed pushed to get a final price from Alan on the upgrades we had requested per the contract, which he restated and then followed up with the accounting department afterwards, and this was very reassuring.
At the end of the meeting Alan stated that “you will be aboard the boat on Saturday with all systems working”. We took this to mean that the galley would be functional with the fridge, freezer and stove working, the heads would flush and showers run, the AC would work, and there would be mattresses in the master berth. We did not believe for a second that it extended to all the systems (like water maker, autopilot, generator, inverter, anchoring system, Ocean Aire shades for the “moon port” in the 2 large berths etc). Alan apologized for the delays and tried to calm my fears that the boat would not be completed before the factory closed in August for their summer vacation. Ed took copious notes, clarifying various points as he went, and overall it felt like the boat refit was headed in the right direction again. Ed headed off to type up the notes and meet with another client. We left the office and treated ourselves to lunch at Le Swim.