Ok, so lets get this adventure started, the weather still looks okay but we need to get beyond Lahave Bank before Friday or we may get our butts kicked with a southerly. Peddle to the metal. After Fuel and water tomorrow we hope to be underway by 10:00 am will update you all when we hit Bermuda.
After a crazy day of preparations Rose Lee is ready to get out and kick up her skirts. Today involved Lee cloths, antenna mounting, registration numbers mounted, sealing our opening ports, final provisions and securing everything on deck.
Ok, so lets get this adventure started, the weather still looks okay but we need to get beyond Lahave Bank before Friday or we may get our butts kicked with a southerly. Peddle to the metal. After Fuel and water tomorrow we hope to be underway by 10:00 am will update you all when we hit Bermuda.
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It was pretty crazy here with the wind and rain so Joyce focused on getting the inside of the boat ready for the trip and I did a bit of work outside until I was rained out. I did get a bit of running around done and am ready for our last day of preparations tomorrow. Jim and Grant are going to lend a hand as well so it will be a good day. We will be ready as we can be for departure on Wednesday the weather looks good, the gulf stream not so much. Currently the gulf stream is about 350 miles wide on our rhumbe line so we have agreed upon a few well placed way points that will take advantage of a favorable current and hopefully give us an extra 2-3 knots. The weather appears to be good for the next five days even a little light which is unusual for this time of year.
Another great day of preparations.
Wow what agreat day of progress, we woke up this morning around 8:00 hearing bird noises on the deck, It wasn't birds, it was Hugh and Brad working on the arch. I got up with a bit of a hang over and helped as best I could but before my coffee and beer that isn't much, Any way they are the masters and the morning went very well the arch was installed by noon, awesome. My good friends Rob and Jim showed up to lend a hand with my list. Wow what great friends who give up a beautiful Saturday to help out, nice......So at the end of today the arch is completely installed and Hugh has mounted three 260 watt panels on it. We have our six extra diesel can's secured on the deck, we have our whisker pole mount installed, we have all the wires run for the solar, we are well on the way to installing the float free epirb and we have rearranged our mast blocks to accommodate our new spinnaker halyard. Nice work My Friends, Thank you so much, what a great day.
Joyce and I finished off our day at a local pub. Al and Michelle sent out an invite since they are heading away for the winter where they grab their sailboat in Trinidad and spend time sailing the Caribbean. Also our great friend Mark Raven was playing so we just couldn't pass up the invite. What a nice evening, I met a great guy Tom earlier in the week who also joined us, and brought going away gifts (including a harmonica), how thoughtful is that? Maybe I will be able to play a few tunes by the spring. DJ our electrician arrives tomorrow to gear up the panels and I will continue with my list, I need to gup the mast wire my Redundant tri-light cover my spreader and install two flag halyards etc.... Getting tired so will pop in tomorrow and let you know how we make out Right now it looks like we may have a good departure window on Wednesday so we will keep out fingers crossed.This time of year the low pressure system just keep getting closer together so good weather make will make or break you! .I bought a 4000 gph emergency bilge pump. Today I will gear it up with 25' of flat discharge hose and splice in two alligator clips that when/if required we just connect the alligator clips to the batteries and throw the discharge hose out a hatch or into the cockpit.
I found a broken fitting in the bilge last night and will replace that. I need to run a wire which senses battery temperature from the batteries back to the solar controller in the stern. I have to take up the floor so that is a bit involved. I will wire up my new VHF in the cockpit which is completely redundant separate power and antenna. Then I will clear out my lazerrette in the stern and get ready to mount the new solar arch this evening. The panels will be mounted tomorrow and I have an electrician coming in on Monday to complete the installation. I also need to install a new 12v outlet at the nav station this afternoon (the one that was just installed broke). If I have help today I may get a bit more completed but we will see, I feel there is a lot to do but we are on track with a weather delay:) Well here I am in present time trying to recall everything we did this summer in preparation for our full time live aboard lifestyle. We gave up our apartment and moved aboard Rose lee on May 1st. WE had already spent three years downsizing however we still had a lot of possessions that wouldnt fit on the boat so we decided to rent a 10 X 10 storage space which worked out pretty well. If this isn't for us we want a few things to come back to:) How daughter was able to hang most of our paintings and the rest was things that we felt would dod okay in storage in the case that we decided to become land based in the spring. We had just moved aboard when I set off to help Grant deliver Vagrant back home so I was gone for most of May:( Apparently the weather in Nova Scotia was terrible big winds and Ne most of the months< Joyce was a trupper adjusting spring lines sand keeping our home safe. It was also really cold. So it was good to get home. and see my girl and the fam.
Joyce was/is still working so her summer was spent working and helping prep the boat whenever possible, however we wanted to spend time with our kids and grand kid's became more than busy. One of my best mates Brad decided to donate a chart plotter which was bigger and nicer than mine so my friend Jim modified my pod to fit it what a bunch of work but it was worth it, wow. Doyle sail loft (Brad) built an new main and Jib for me wow these sails are such an improvement over the old sails. Based on Brad,s (yep same friend) advice we went with a 100% furling job made out of high performance sailing cloth and a new in furling main with the same material. I wasn't in a rush so brad kept his eye pealed for sail cloth on sale which really helped to keep our overwhelmed budget in check. My old plotter went to the nav station when I built a box out of teak for it and it actually looks pretty good. My friend Donny built and awesome table which mounts over our existing cockpit tale and makes every supper just a little more special. Our washer/combo dryer locate forward ahead of our head was not working so we removed it which left a gaping hole. Joe stepped up and custom built a tool cabinet complete with a sliding work bench and vise, how sweet is that. Brad's super talented father in law built a ss bow plate for anchoring along with ss mount for my autopilot which had a known deficiency. Hugh's work was so grate We were always on the same page and he had higher standards than me which is saying something. Brad was also quite involved and kept Hugh on track with a real eye for beauty and symmetry (must come from sail making). Our next big project involved having a solar arch built that would house three large panels (its Hugh time again). I had researched arches and panels for three years and I kind of new what I wanted but a brief discussion with Hugh and he was able to take measure ments make calculations with very few notes. Brad and Hugh were here a few days ago to do a final fitting before polishing the finished product and clear coating it. I was s blown away with expertise, hard work and insight, wow wow wow You know the saying?' "it takes a village to raise a child", well guess what it takes great friends to help you follow your dreams. I spoke with our crew this evening and we may have a good departure window for Tuesday Nov 1st so keep your fingers crossed and i will try to keep up to date. Thank you every one who supported us and helped out along the way and continue to help, we wouldn't be here without you. Your crazy friends Joyce and Scott, we love you |
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