David's Diary: Monday, March 18, 2002

Bobbie Arrives

Bobbie Robinson, our first stay-aboard visitor on Dragonsinger, arrived from Canada. Bobbie has been a friend of Karalee's for more years than they care to tell. Bobbie lives in Drayton Valley in the province of Alberta (one of the Western prairie provinces of Canada). She left three feet of snow and -35C temperatures to be welcomed to Palma by sunny skies, daytime highs over 20C, and not a sign of snow. All of us have been excited to have a visitor and someone new to talk to.

Having a visitor on a 43 foot (13 meter) sailboat provides special challenges. Jocelyn has given up her cabin for Bobbie's three-week stay and rearranged her clothes into a main cabin cupboard. Jocelyn's bed during Bobbie's stay will be the cushions behind the main cabin table. And while she is trying to get to sleep, she will have to share the main with those of us, like me, who are working in the main cabin or getting ready for bed. At least Bobbie gets some privacy, something hard to achieve on any boat.

While Bobbie is here we still need to do a lot of school. So while it is a holiday for Bobbie it is business as usual for the rest of us. We do plan to finish our second term of school and take a one week Spring Break where we will travel with Dragonsinger and explore more of Mallorca. We are looking forward to an enjoyable few weeks visiting.