At the yard, where we are, there’s a young girl who’s been sailing with her family for many years. One day, Henrik asked her, if she wanted to continue sailing, when she grew up, but she didn’t think so: “Many people think cruising is a vacation,” she said,“but really it’s just a job where you maintain boats!” Henrik could only agree with her, and I too nodded acknowledging, even though I have to admit that my experience with boat work mainly comes from watching Henrik!

Behind us on the yard, there’s a couple repairing an old catamaran. They both work on the boat all day long, and she teaches herself how to change a window and repair fibreglass. Henrik is always noticing these women and pointing out to me that either he’s doing something wrong or their husbands are doing something right! I’m only carrying a tool, if I’m asked to get it: “Could you hand me the water pump pliers? The one with the orange handle.” The colour code was introduced, because I always asked: “What does it look like?” every time I got a new order, but this has made the process a lot easier. The water pump plier is now just called: The orange pliers I use often. If I want to make Henrik really happy, I find the tools before he manages to tell me the colour of it, but I don’t know if he’s proud of me or of his own ability to educate me! My chores on the boat are mainly cooking and cleaning. A couple of times I’ve always washed the boat, but I score more points by finding the right tools.

This week, however, I’ve managed to get a lot of points! Since we most likely can get back into the water in about 10 days, Henrik has been busy finishing all the projects on the boat, so I have offered to help. I have spent two mornings grinding all of our Copper Coat bottom paint to release the copper, and then I’ve been painting the top 40 cm with two layers of extra Copper Coat. It actually gave me quite a lot of street credit on the yard and brought about comments like: “So he’s got you doing all the dirty work?” and “He got his money’s worth from you today!” I did let them know that I was having Henrik take me to Tiffany’s afterwards, which a few said sounded quite reasonable –probably because they didn’t have to take me! However, in spite of my threats about Tiffany’s, Henrik has been thrilled about my help. I wonder if men find their girlfriends more attractive in working clothes with a grinder in her hand, than in a nice dress with a cocktail? (I know what I prefer!) Anyway,Henrik has in his moment of joy invited me to Miami next weekend for a romantic Valentine’s get-away, as he explained it to me. The first day we’ll be going to the Miami Boat Show and the next to an American Gun Show… I’m one lucky girl!