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.

Returning to Talaria on 9/8/11 was blissful. Even Snoball is happy to be "home" again. In this past week we have made the lists all sailors do as they plan to depart on the next leg of adventures. We plan to leave 11/1/11 from San Diego traveling south towards Panama City. The sail plan includes anchoring along the route to enjoy the pleasures of the Pacific coastline before we transit the canal. So this picture is Rick upgrading parts on the boom that we found deficient on our trip south from the Pacific NW in 2010.
We have wonderful memories of the past 6 months seeing freinds and family during our land travels. But we feel the pull of the wind and a desire to continue sailing.

Finished!! Finally despite sore knuckles and knees we finished replacing the caulking of our teak decks. After receiving bids of $12K to $17K, we practiced on a section and found success. Thanks to a generous neighbor with a custom tool that helped scrape the old caulk from the sides of the teak planking. We worked 5 hours every day for 6 weeks and did it for $600.00. Using Teak Decking Systems SIS 440 and #218 fine line tape from 3M under the caulk worked great. We lightly sanded the caulk flush to the planks and will let it gray naturally. We love the teak decks for the secure footing on deck when sailing. One of the NO items on our list when shopping for a boat was teak decks.....funny how you 'think' you know what you want.....

Tomorrow we leave Talaria for land based travel to our niece's wedding, daughter's graduation and to play with our grandson. We aren't certain when we will return but have a trusted neighbor to watch over her.

Lazy days in San Diego

Decisions may be harder with no deadlines. We had a great bit of difficulty trying to decide whether to stay a few more months in SD or move on south to Mexico. But finally after much deliberation at the pool side, we have decided to stay in SD for a few more months. We will finish up projects on the boat and more easily fly to Boston for Christmas with Karen and Isaac. Then possibly sail to Mexico in January......or maybe not...... but that would mean we would stay in SD until after hurricane season until Nov 2011. Guess we need more pool time....
Seriously, we have a couple of big projects such as a Bimini (sun cover over the cockpit) and possibly solar panels to work on. I am seriously knitting. This week I finished a hooded sweater and mittens for a 5yo boy in Bellingham that I love, fingerless gloves for Karen (hand spun yarn from her beloved Sheltie) , and working on another pair of socks ( hand spun yarn wool/bamboo). I have started spinning again and joined a spin in at a shop in Encinitas. Common Threads is a fantastic yarn/fiber shop with an incredible stock of yarns. The owners are so nice and helpful, reminding me of Great Yarns I left behind in Everett. Snoball likes it when I sit to knit or spin, have to keep the cat happy....