Another good weather day to get boat work done. The cold 9 Centigrade morning warmed up to near 20 degrees on the leeward side, protected from a cool breeze.  I worked in shorts and T-shirt. It took me all day to remove the demolished rub rail. I am going to try and have a new one made up in Galati where I get the mast stepped.

The below picture shows the partially removed rail and a picture of my epoxy sculptery. I am getting good at it, after doing this over the last 30  years. The lower forward part of the cast iron keel has left it marks on a number of N.W. reefs in the first years. Mouat Reef, near Victoria on Vancouver Island was the first major encounter. And since 2005 the keel has chalked up a few more exotic encounters.  Kay Fullerton, who was my office manager, suggested a name change for the boat. “V.O. on the Rocks”.  (my initials and a popular North American drink). It is difficult to hit anything hard in Holland and on the rivers, this time it was caused by the Bulgarian rescue boat, last October, dragging me through the gravel in the Danube.  The Romanians wonder why I do not hire any one here to do the work for me. If I knew enough Romanian I’d tell them that I did the work my self in the Philippines where I could hire help for $ 2.50 a day. It is at times boring and back breaking but I consider it part of the fun of this life I have chosen. Just wait till you get to see the pictures of the new hull paint I had mixed up in Sneek.

No church picture for yesterday. Sorry. I have given up on the non-inspiring Eastern Orthodox services. Between here and Italy, next summer, that may become my longest spell away from a church pew.

I have been reading up on Ukraine and I might just make a left turn when I exit the Danube, instead of a right turn for the Bosporus. The Crimean Peninsula, Odessa, etc.