Preparing to sail away

Rick sweats over the plumbing

cleaning the bilge

sun cover made from Camaro car cover

Alicia made a custom cockpit cover

Rick being an engineer made an excel spread sheet of all the tasks we needed to complete before our departure from San Diego. So here are a few pictures of only a small number of the jobs we checked off the list. Rick replaced all the fresh water plumbing and made improvements. I sewed 2 sun covers for when we are in lower latitudes, thanks to to use of a Sail Rite machine owned by Arlene, our neighbor. We had a friend, Alicia sew a bimini and shade cover for the cockpit. Dennis would be proud of me cleaning the bilge with a bottle brush until it shined.

Bon Voyage Party

Last night our great neighbors Ron and Arlene on B dock hosted a wonderful bon voyage party. It was so much fun and I was so busy talking to people I forgot to take picts to post on this blog. I want to thank everyone who came to share great food, good stories and blessings on us before our departure. We will be leaving some kind and fun friends in San Diego. Memories last forever and we hope a few sailors catch up with us in far off seas.

COFFEE

All who know me, know I love coffee, especially my best friend and daughter Karen. She arranged with Steve and Ann Pulkkinen to give us a grand selection of the roasted beans I am so fond of. These treasured beans, that will keep my eyes open on night watches, were delivered to us along with an excellent Italian dinner. Steve and Ann slaved over the gourmet meal to send us off in grand style.

Teak caulking in the cockpit

We stripped the old caulking out of the teak planking and filled it with Teak deck systems 414. It is a fun, sticky job done in the sun before you drink a beer.

Up the mast the old man goes

Rick went up the mast for the first time to replace the anchor light, adjust wind vane and install new Lazy Jack lines. Lazy jack lines catch the sail as it is dropped making putting sails away properly an easier task. This latter installation was to please the wife who struggles with the new heavy main sail. The first mate is happy now.