Mon 8th – Once we get our heads straight and come to terms with the decision we made yesterday we do some web searching, updating our profile on Crewseekers and ARC websites. Some list writing – what steps to take now. A plan of action required!!! Lots of thinking, explaining to ourselves, justifying our position -to ourselves more than anything, that said most people we’ve met are initially really shocked we turned down a lift. The competition might not be stiff but there’s a lot of it, at least a couple of dozen others hanging around the Marina bars looking for a likely lift. All in all we think it’s best to go slow till Executive has gone before going large looking for an alternative boat, but both agree an original angle is required and flapjacks will play a major role in our marketing campaign :0)

Tues 9th – Its all go now, CV writing and printing, flapjack making, t-shirt ordering, a very tiring day, mentally. We chat to Brendan on “Daene” (a new arrival and a lead we got from Will) but no luck. We gear ourselves up for our 1st ARC happy hour …. We go armed with a box each of flapjacks and a load of flyers. Take a freebie flapjack, get a flyer to read too. Our strapline: “tasty flapjacks can be yours everyday …. if we are your crew”. It got peoples attention. The flapjacks were very popular and lots of people were happy to chat – 1st hurdle cleared: getting people to see you’re normal and not the village idiot. We now had a whole army looking out for a boat for us.
Wed 10th- today we are CV posting around the Marina along with some shopping, boat cleaning – galley, dinghy and stainless steel on Skyelark. We could do with our t-shirts for tonights happy hour, but they’re going to another couple of days. The have our strapline (Tasty flapjacks could be yours everyday …. If we are part of your crew) split between the front and back with each of our t-shirts being the reverse of the other so side by side you can read the whole thing. They’re not essential but at this rate the flapjacks will be finished by the time we get them. An exhausting day had by all. We realise there’s a smallPretty hard on the old mental disposition! But we manage to end the day on a high – a fiddle night with Matt, Mark and Glynn, pretty impromptu and great fun.