Anima

Our request to change Anhinga's name to Ani was refused because it sounds like an existing Australian registered ship, Annie. So I put out the call to my Facebook friends and out of all of the wonderful suggestions, Beppe suggested Anima. We liked this name a lot and I just received an email back from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to say that it is available! Anima means soul or vital force in Latin and Italian. It also has a rather complicated meaning that the psychologist, Jung, described in his theory of the collective unconscious, referring to femininity and masculinity. I like the stuff about it meaning soul!


Now I have to mark the ship. The requirements are pretty strict about font size, style and placement. I need to use a cold chisel or centre punch to permanently inscribe the number into the hull. This will involve hours squished into the engine room again (great!). Then the hull outside has to have the name, official number and home port painted on all sides. Once this is all done, we will receive the Australian registration and be allowed to sail overseas without getting in trouble with the authorities. 

Rene working on the mast.

Rene spent more hours perched atop the mast this last weekend as he worked on attaching the replacement masthead plate for the Spinnaker halyard. It isn't as pretty as it was before but it didn't cost us any more than the materials which is far less than the cost of removing the mast to have it done professionally!!! He still needs to sand off the edges so it isn't as sharp in case the spinnaker sail ever billows upwards while in use. 

Portside view of the new masthead plate.

New masthead plate.

As we bring in more things from on deck in preparation for leaving our boat over Christmas in a cyclone-prone area, the boat inside is becoming more crowded. Things reached boiling point on Sunday when the vice fell on Rene's toe and it cut open rather dramatically (lots of blood). So we set aside a few hours to sort through the over-flowing tool cupboard (again!) and this time managed to cull a few things (shock!). In fact, we are getting a little better at getting rid of belongings that we don't really need. I say 'a little better' because I'm sure we could improve further with our tendency to hoard things. 


I've made up patterns and diagrams for the portholes, cockpit floor and kitchen sink. While in Brissy, I plan to have plastic cut to size for the porthole mosquito screen edging. I wasn't happy with the poor standards I encountered (both in terms of customer service and materials here in Townsville at the local plastic fabrication place). I also hope that while visiting my parents, Dad can help me to build a wooden floor for the cockpit and a new chopping board for the galley. 


So, as usual, things have been pretty busy. My brother and his girlfriend arrive this weekend to visit. After they've gone we need to remove EVERYTHING from on deck to store inside in case a cyclone comes while we are in Brisbane. It's getting warmer and warmer here in the tropics. We are waking early and heading to the beautiful park just 5 minutes from the marina. Rene practices his Wing Chun and I do my Ashtanga Yoga. I've recently had another injury (groan!) which I think probably resulted from me being over-zealous with my yoga practice - pushing myself too far too soon. I'm slowly mending again and learning to not expect too much too quickly! 

Yoga in the pagoda.

Wing Chun practice.