Times and seasons

I loved the academic working pattern. Always ready for the vacation when it arrived. Always looking forward to term-time. Being a half-year boater has a similar feel. Last year, when we shut down Erin Mae for the winter, it was at the end of three weeks of miserable weather and I was ready for the months at home. So ready, in fact, that posts to this blog came to a sudden halt, with not even an explanation. This year, having done a daily post virtually right through the summer, I decided it wouldn't happen that way. But it's come pretty close to it!

Packing up Erin Mae this time we were rather sad to be going, but I'm enjoying the extra space at home, the piano, the longer shower, not having to worry about the sewage! There's lots of enjoyable stuff to do in the months ahead. Come April, however, we'll be getting itchy feet and looking forward to exploring new territory.

Meanwhile, the season hasn't actually quite turned. The last thing we did was to get the boat electrician to check out why the batteries seem to run down too much overnight. He said the inverter and the fridge are working within their normal limits, and they're the only things running. So the finger is firmly pointed (for the moment) at the new batteries we got in June, even though they shouldn't have a problem. So this weekend we're taking advantage of a trip to Alfreton to return via Great Haywood, spend a couple of nights on board, get some more data, and then take the batteries back to Evesham for checking. I would really like the guys to say they are (inexplicably) duff, and please would I accept a replacement. That would be the perfect end to a wonderful season, and the ideal preparation for the next.