A Wonderful Day

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Early this morning I went to work and was back to the boat by 1 pm... When I got to work I discovered two BIG CONTAINERS OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES!! Our friend Mark held a mini health fair with the proceeds going to our Right To Write ministry.... It was wonderful!



What an awesome day! Shelley took the day off and together we got a whole bunch of little jobs done...

The best work was some sewing .... We made 2 more covers for the spare jerry cans, and a cover for the dodger....

Added to that some fun times and a BBQ with the Denny's, it turned out to be a perfect day... I think this is a taste of things to come....


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A Few Weeks to Go....

On Saturday morning Shelley and I put over 20 boxes of trash and treasures out on our driveway. The air was chilly but the sales were hot. By noon we had sold more than half of what we put out and pocketed almost $400.

This week has been really busy getting last minute projects completed at work and on the boat. Shelley has been putting lots of hours in as well... The house is almost empty and the boat is almost full.

Yesterday I spent a few hours and got about 500 lbs of school supplies stored below the sole (floor) of the boat and the rest on what has always been our daughter's bunk. We hope this will be enough to see us through until we can be resupplied at Christmas in Cozumel.

The other few jobs included the installation of 7 diesel and 1 gasoline 5 gallon jerry cans on the fore deck. With the 185 gallons we carry in our tanks we estimate our range to be somewhere around 200 hours of engine cruising at about 6 knots so an overall range of 1200 nautical miles or 2200 kilometers...

This week I also managed to break one of the lifeline adjusters. It was seized completely so I soaked it in some anti seizing solution for a few hours then took the vise grips to try to free it.... Nope... After a quick trip to the marine store I managed to spend $25 for a new adjuster... The good news is that a friend from the yacht club bought our old CQR anchor from us that morning for $50, so we had a net gain on $25 for the day....

The boat is now about 2" from the bootstrap...  This means that there is NO MORE ROOM on the boat...  I am a little worried that we have too much weight but the good news is that we think hat it is pretty well distributed...

We have a Spot Connect satellite transponder on board and will be sending position reports daily when we are underway and weekly when we are at anchor.  If you want to be on the list to receive a text or and email or both, just send us an email and we will add you to the list...

Cheers...




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A NEW Dodger!!

With the help of two amazing friends, Sam and Mike, we got our new dodger installed today and got our stanchions bedded....  Now hopefully there will be no more water getting into the boat....

The Dodger looks and works great!

Tomorrow we tackle the wind generator...

Cheers!

We Made It!.....

On Sunday morning we arrived at the boat bright and early and started a long day getting the boat ready to launch...  We sanded the bottom:

Then we painted:

Then we found the problem with the windlass was NOT the battery, but rather it was something jammed in the mechanism...  after a few hours, I got it all fixed up...  At the end of the day we assembled our new 85lb Mantus anchor.... HOLY SMOKES that thing is BIG!  We won't be using it for overnight anchoring, but when it starts to really blow, I'm sure we will be happy we have it....

At the end of the day we were exhausted but very happy with our accomplishments for the day...

On Monday we arrived back at the boat after searching for, and finding, an accumulator for our water system.  The old one was spewing out water on the air side, so we knew something was wrong....

When we got to the boat we finished a few last minute jobs and returned the rental car.  Around noon the amazing crew from Shumway Marina came and launched us without any hitches...  I have to say, I have never worked with such an amazing crew as these guys are! WOW!

After our launch, they brought us our 6 new Trojan T-105 Batteries and I installed them.  When they needed to launch the next boat we moved to a vacant slip and got the sails on. 

Around 5 pm we headed for Hamilton.  The wind was running less than 10 knots when we left with calm seas.  By midnight the wind was around 20 knots and the seas were 4-5 feet.  By 6 am the wind was 25-30 knots and the seas were 10-12 feet.  Through it all we sailed along at never less than 7 knots and often around 8-9 knots.  We were wing on wing with the mizzen and main and used the engine for control....  Around 4:30 Shelley heard some ticking and I discovered the fan belt ready to let go.  After a quick change, we were on our way...  All along the water pump was dripping slowly so we know that needs to be replaced...  It did that last year, but when I went to change it, it stopped leaking... by the time we got to Hamilton it had stopped again...  This time I will change it...

The only scary time came when we had to come about to lower the sails to go through the Burlington Bridge...  By this time, the weather had really deteriorated and it was raining. As we were head to wind trying to lower the sails we were burying the bow and the seas were all over the deck.  And just for fun, the main decided to get stuck coming down, so we had to come about wit the main partially up.

Fortunately the bridge master was kind enough to raise the bridge for us before the schedule time so we made it through without any problems...  I have to say that the Raymarine Autohelm system we installed last year worked FLAWLESSLY! With big following seas she never once could not keep us on course!

About the time we docked the weather had gone to hell! 35 knot winds and 2 foot swells in the harbour... We got safely docked and went to bed about 8 am, and woke up about 4 pm...  I think the world could have ended and I was so tired, I wouldn't have noticed...

We went out for supper/breakfast then returned to the boat to watch a movie and get some more sleep...  This morning we got up and discovered a problem with the hose on the main bilge pump and the shower sump wasn't working...  SO most of the day was spent fixing those problems...

Around 4 pm our daughter Kelly came and picked us up so we could go home and get some things done there...  All in all our last few days were and awesome adventure!  We feel confident in our boat and have some confidence in ourselves as we start this great new part of our life.....

Rochester!

After an awesome BonVoyage Party Friday night, Shelley and I left for Rochester, NY early Saturday morning.  Thank you to Sean Y. for being so awesome, driving us to Rochester.  We rented a car for a few days and headed for the boat.

The marina was in the middle of an open house/flee market when we arrived so we purchased a few new treasures....  I bought 2 small snatch blocks for $65 and |Shelley found a new teak shelf unit for the aft head...  Did we need that stuff?  No, but ... well... a deal is a deal.....

After spending a few minutes catching up with some people we met last fall, we went to the boat and found it relatively as we left it....  The cover was still mostly in tack and we managed to remove it in about 1/2 and hour...  The boat wintered well, but there were a few problems...  It looks like the windlass battery has died, so we went and replaced it last night.  we will install it today and see if that solves the problem...

It also looks like the refrigerator is not working and the water system has a few problems...  There is nothing so far that will keep us from getting the boat back to Hamilton on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Today we will sand the bottom and get it painted!  More later...

Cheers,
Kyle

Many Things Happening....

It was a really busy weekend.  We got what was left of the shed taken apart and brought it to the scrap yard where we made enough money to buy Chinese food for our son, his wife and our granddaughter...  We took a load of furniture to their house and enjoyed a great time...

Today we made our final application for boat insurance while we travel.  It will cost us almost $4000 or about $330 per month.  While that may sound like a lot, this will cover us for full replacement value for the boat in the event the unthinkable happens...  We will review all this next year, but for now we think having insurance is a good idea....

We will be going to Rochester Saturday to pick up the boat and bring it home to Hamilton...  We will install the new house batteries and anchor before we head home.  The good news is that we found a friend who will drive us to Rochester so Shelley can sail home with me...  

More news later....

Cheers...

Just a Reminder.....

With just 75 days until we depart, we have decided to have a Bon Voyage party for our friends and family.  The folks at our church are having a dinner for us at the end of May, but we wanted to get together with the rest of the people in our lives so Shelley booked the Newfie Club here in Cambridge for 8pm next Friday (April 25).

We have a small admission price at the door ($10). This covers the cost of the hall and the "lunch" that we will be providing around 11 pm.  The bar is run by the club and drinks are fairly cheap, so we are hoping for a great night.  A good friend who runs a part time DJ business will be providing music and we will have a few decks of cards with us just in case....

The very next morning we will be heading to Rochester to launch the boat.  We hope to get the cover off and the bottom painted by Monday or Tuesday and then I will singlehand the boat back to Hamilton and Shelley will drive home and pick me up if and or when I get back...

It took 17 1/2 hours to get there so I am expecting a simmilar trip home....

Getting ready to leave is in full swing now.  We are either selling or giving away almost everything we own.  Our son and daughter-in-law have kindly agreed to store a few of our treasures, and we have committed to burden them with no more than 10 boxes....  An ARDUOUS task to be sure....

More later with pictures,
Cheers!

SOLD!

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The house is officially SOLD! Yesterday the condition was waived and we will be living on the boat as of June 24th. (or sooner).

Also, on the good news front we picked up our new outboard and have stored it in the garage until we get the boat back to Hamilton.  The new anchor has arrived at our mailbox and the 6 new Trojan Batteries will be shipped directly to the boat in Rochester the week before we bring her home....

All is going VERY well...

Shelley and I began our plan for our journey over 10 years ago!  We purchased a well found coastal cruiser and developed our skills as sailors and more importantly, as a sailing "TEAM".  Having our 36' Catalina helped us understand what we could potentially face once we left the shore.  At the same time, we took over 15 sailing related courses between us from both Canadian and American education institutes.

Then and only then did we spend another 2 years finding the "RIGHT" boat for us.  And over the last 5 years we sailed it more than 2000 nautical miles and have re-fitted it from Stem to Stern.

And now, after all of that we will be building up our abilities for off-shore cruising in stages, beginning with another trip down the eastern seaboard, then to longer and longer off-shore passages.

Even then when we make that first jump across the pacific, we are SERIOUSLY considering adding a 3rd crew member for the voyage who must have some sailing experience...

At the end of the day, we STILL may get into trouble, but at least we can HONESTLY say we tried our best to get it right....


Cheers,
Kyle

Life Is Like a Toilet Seat....

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Up and down, up and down.....

Great news, We now have another offer on the house....  And, of course we have the 7 business day wait again, but this time the only condition is the home inspection...  And we already had that done once....

The other GREAT news is the young couple who have made the offer are just awesome!  I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER with these people than I did the last time.  They brought their parents and there is no doubt that this is the kind of house and the price range they are looking for...

I sincerely believe that everything happens for a reason, and that ultimately WE are not in charge...
(end sermon...)

The other bit of news for today is that our new dinghy engine is now ready and we will pick it up next Friday...  Another job off the list...

Cheers!

Well Maybe Not...

On the last day, we just learned that the couple who put an offer on the house could not afford it.  That and their Real Estate agent chose not to make his commission a little less to make the deal come together, now causes the house to be for sale again......  Grrrr....


Oh well, we fortunately kept a list of 6 others who showed an interest in the house AFTER we accepted the conditional offer.... We showed the house twice yesterday and have more viewings scheduled over the next few days.....

On a happier note, Shelley bought my son and I tickets to see a Toronto Maple Leafs game for Christmas and last night we went to see them lose to the Pitsburg Pequins, 5 - 3.  While the leafs lost, I had an AWESOME time with my son and will always cherish the time we spend together... Being married with a child now makes our time together infrequent, but very special....