Book 2, Chapter 2

On my first morning at home, by the time I'd woken and set about doing my medical chores, Mum and Dad had already left for work. In real life surgery is not as exciting as on the television where the charismatic surgeon saves the patient's life while fighting the administration. In my case the surgeon (female) was far from charming, joked about how large her bill would be and she has left me with a legacy of douches and suppositories which are demanded by Mr Pitt. On the positive side I don't seem to have developed any adverse psychological reactions during my journey of going from an 'outie' to an 'innie' and sitting on the loo with nothing dangling feels totally natural.

Finally sorted and dressed I headed to the kitchen where there was just Litara and I to share the late breakfast fry-up I served.

"I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop," I told her as we worked our way through a cholesterol binge.

"You should watch more documentaries," was Litara's answer. "We cover everything from lottery winners to holocaust survivors and there are only ever two reactions:- 'Why me?' and 'What now?'"

"I'm going to see my GP, Jane Carter, and see what she thinks."

"I doubt she'll see your feelings as strange and in any case I thought you were doing pretty well considering how you handled Mum last night."

"That is flattering Obi-Wan Kenobi but Mum wouldn't have known she was being manipulated if you'd done it!" It was fun and reassuring being back with Litara after months with people who had grown up with very different backgrounds and didn't understand my references. "I also need your help choosing what to wear Sis. Two months of tropical sailing hasn't prepared me to pick clothes for a freezing Welsh January, especially as not only has my tummy been unzipped again but this time I've got new tender equipment down below!"

"How you'd cope for clothes without me I can't guess. Any other 18 year old girl has got a filing system in her head of clothes she's got, clothes she needs and clothes she wants while all you think of is comfort."

That said once she had washed up and I had made an appointment at the doctors for that evening we spent an hour of wardrobe analysis and I was introduced to the wonders of opaque hold up stockings, which were both warm and all that was comfortable, before she my approved my final choice.

I've got to be back in London by late this afternoon Venus but before I go I was interested in what you and Grandma said about dancing last night - are there any other things you've planned to learn before you set sail again?"

On a copy she made of my list she circled the cooking, sewing, exercises, dancing, scuba diving and Christmas decorations as ideas for the stew pot of her professional life. "It might seem trivial but I'd be surprised if during the project at least one of those didn't earn you some money on air."

When I eventually waved goodbye to Litara after a bowl of soup for lunch to warm her for the drive back to London it was a sad moment - for the first time since she left home when I was eight years old we had spent time together every day for three weeks.

Back indoors after preparing a beef casserole to slow cook I phoned Bill. "I'm up this tree…" I started.

"OK, make a thermos of tea and sandwiches for three and I'll be round in 30 minutes," he replied. An hour later the two of us descended on Dad in the yard to discuss the new boat.

"Do you realise the fuss you caused with your question about lightning strikes? We ran tests and without the precautions we are now incorporating, a carbon-fibre boat with carbon-fibre mast and the new synthetic stays we plan to use will behave just like popcorn if it's struck by lightning! Maybe I was a bit cruel," added Bill, "but I did enjoy rubbing it in that the question came from my 18 year old granddaughter!"

But I don't know anything about these things it's just that when people live aboard for long periods they talk about boats, complain about boats and, just as I suspect you have, dream about perfect boats. When we were together in The Dominican Republic and I suggested small scale electricity generation it was because yachts do it although they do complain like mad that some of their neighbours have noisy wind generators so they would have to sort that out for houses."

"Anything else while you're dissecting our plans?" asked Dad

I got out my list and showed them.

"We'll be practicing with the new boat which is more like my own Molly than the catamaran you've been sailing but what do you mean by your notes on clean fuel and rudder protection?"

"The fuel was Tracy saying that it was very difficult to get clean fuel and dirty fuel wrecked engines."

"She's right but that is what the filters are for although it does mean engines stopping whenever a filter clogs," agreed Bill.

"That's why I wrote it down because I'm frightened that I couldn't cope if the engine stopped with a clogged filter somewhere like a busy harbour! Why can't you guarantee at least enough clean fuel to stop that happening?"

At that point I left them alone while I got the tea and sandwiches from the Bill's bus only to find the two of them grinning fit to burst on my return. "Your wish is our command and you get a small tank of very clean fuel high up in the boat which will both give you a reliable, gravity fed fuel supply and also let us put more of the fuel low down in the boat which gives better weight distribution," was Dad's contribution.

"And I guess your comment about rudder protection means you experienced getting a rope caught by your rudder or propellor."added Bill. "That's one we've already covered as the new boat has two rudders which can kick up out of the water underway and the drive engine is electric with a propellor designed to lift clear of the water!"

"I can't even begin to imagine how you are going to do that but I'm glad if my innocent questions help. What I will ask is that one of you drop me off at the doctor's surgery later."

A short discussion gave that job to Dad in an hour and I left them chatting while I got some badly needed exercise walking round the almost deserted, windswept, January marina. To me, yacht building like surgery makes a mess and is not that exciting!

At 5:45 I got in to see Dr Carter and explained the surgery I'd had in London.

"Well I'm delighted you've told me and I'm interested to see how it works but that doesn't explain why you are here," was her reaction.

"Everything has all become a bit much recently. I don't know if you can help but there are a lot of people with huge plans that depend on me. I don't want to let them down but at the same time I would like to disappear and live a normal life like any other 18 year old girl."

"That, in the circumstances, I can assist you with but you won't like my suggestion. I think it would help if you saw Dr. Stanhope."