7 Hours of driving, and 4 hours of on board time, and I think we are largely loaded.... stopped into Force4 on the way down, and bought a new ensign, and (sigh) a hand bearing compass.... they didn't have any softwood plugs, so i'd better order them pronto....
3 or 4 boxes full of kit lugged on board... and after much umming and arring, located appropriately...
While on board, the owner arrived, and supplied the missing tender.... perfect... he also located and showed me the brand new Genoa sheets... sorted!
He then spent an hour talking me through all the various systems... pretty straightforward.... and we then loaded the tender up.... it has removeable wheels!!!!... and best of all, it fits in the locker.... although we did have to remove the cockpit cushions to get it to fit.... and the tender floor boards are currently down below.... but the tender wasn't particularly tidly packed into its bag, so I reckon that the boards will go into the locker OK.... the cushions may well also fit in when i've removed the outboard and put it on its bracket on the transom... I left it in the locker for now to avoid temptation to those of less honest persuasion!
A few other things that were unexpected... the discovery of a cigarette lighter socker by the chart table, so no device charging worries, the owner happy to leave 2 full sets of face masks, snorkels and flippers, an extra safety line, a large tub of in-date flares, a bosuns chair, 5 extra C-Map chart cartridges covering the whole channel, the channel islands and much of Normandy, and best of all, a brand new, unused hammock!
The seacock that needed replacing has been done, but the fitter has left a large loop of pipe, so the fridge isn't draining properly.... that'll need sorting, but not as an emergency job....
He has also left quite a few other bits and bobs, such as motoring cone and anchor ball, portland plotter, gas fog horn, fishing nets and loads of spare fuses, bulbs, etc etc
We have a complete overload of warps.... there must be over 20 on the boat.... so we shouldn't run out!
C&M were completely happy with our choice of boat... the respective cabins claimed and occupied in seconds.....
So now its down to a bit of passage planning, and the finance company meeting the deadlines! | 
