Killing the to-do lists

Dock Day 20 San Diego, CA 10/22/2016

Rigging inspection, sale day and teaching sailing
(pictures later, we're low on data so we have to go to Starbucks)
Today, Rocco the Rigger came to check out our standing and running rigging. Tim will fill in the details on that. 


Tim: Rocco was pretty cool, our new slip neighbor has known him for years and highly recommended him. A real sailor and has been rigging for 17 years. He pulled himself up on his bosun’s chair. He went from the top to the bottom, lubricated and inspected everything. He came down with a few suggestions. Remember the gooseneck? That was good experience for me to practice on that. He’s going to have a guy build a new one. He's going to double the screws and bring it around the mast more. It’s such an important component, we are doubling the strength for the ocean forces. He’s coming back on Sat to tune the rig and tighten the shrouds a bit and install the gooseneck. He pointed out two blocks on the main sheet that should be replaced, so I did that today. He made some suggestions on my jiffy reefing system that I will implement as well. Rocco seems like a guy I need to follow around for a while, maybe I could be his apprentice. 


First thing this morning we hustled over to a swap meet at the next marina over to pick up some canvas. Our color is not common and may be discontinued. Now we have about 9 yards to make repairs or create new items that match. We did get a great deal on the material. After that we hustled back to meet up with Rocco at 0750. We finished up with Rocco about 0930 and headed into town for a special sale at Downwind Marine to kick off the Baja Ha Ha.

With list in hand we went and spent! We picked up our Spinlock Pro Sensor Offshore PFDs (made in the UK) that include our harness and crotch straps. This was a huge decision because we wanted offshore vests that were inherently buoyant, in other words, there is nothing to pop open or to inflate. There is no service required on inherently buoyant PFDs. This was a practicality decision. After trying some on over this time we have been working towards leaving, I could barely bring my arms together in front of me and it blocked all my view to my waist and below! This style would clearly have precluded me from functioning. We decided to take Kurt and Katie’s advice and purchase the ones they have been using for many years while sailing around the world. 

The Spinlock vests are quite comfortable to wear and there are no metal rings or big metal parts. The second reason we purchased these is that the inherently buoyant PFDs have thick foam all around the torso, also known for helping you keep your body heat when you are in the water. I had a wake up call in Santa Barbara, it was 90% humidity and 96 degrees and my current life jacket is like the inherently buoyant, but not as thick. In the sun, I was so hot I was concerned I might get heat stroke. This is when I decided we would most likely have to do something different. We are planning to be in the tropics so we have to be practical. The second rule is to “keep the people on the boat”, that is the main function of these Spinlock’s, staying on the boat because they are first a harness. But should something happen we have back-up.

Some other items we picked up on our spree: Watch Commander, rigging lubricant, a Harken cam cleat, LED tri-color light, and a new fan for the cabin. We had quite the bill! The Watch Commander is an alarm system to keep you on your toes while on watch every 12 minutes, and if anything happens the alarm gets louder to wake up others to alert them that the person on watch isn’t on watch. The new fan replaced what I have referred to as the evil fan. It was designed without a back and when you try to adjust it if your fingers get anywhere near the spinning blade it’s scary! Tim & I had a sore finger for 2 weeks after the last whack! The evil fan met the trash can tonight. We were recommended to use the Caframo Ultimate 747, good choice. Did I tell you about the LED tri-color light? It goes on the top of the mast and provides the red, green and white light for when we are sailing at night. It also has an anchor light for when we are anchored, that white light has to be on all night. Lastly, it has a strobe for deep yogurt situations. It even came with a bird spike! This one cost $225 on sale! Converting to LED is the big expense on a boat these days but is essential for power management when underway. For example we replaced one light in the cabin from 25 watts to less than 1 watt and more light. We will leave the regular running and steaming lights because when we are under power the battery is charging and so their power requirements are not an issue. 

We completed the shopping spree around 1130 and returned to the boat. Tim ate lunch and left to teach an introductory sailing course at our club that also pays him. The best thing in the world for Tim, teaching sailing and getting paid! Yes! 

Danielle, our daughter, came and picked me up to go thrift store shopping. I wanted to find a pressure cooker if possible and then pick up a few more items for hot days. I’ve been one who believes natural fibers are very good and synthetics are not very good for the body. As we have been doing this sailing thing, I’ve had enough of my 100% cotton tanks and t-shirts! I’m drenched all the time! I’m making the trade for moisture wicking and faster drying clothing items. I’m feeling like an organic hypocrite! Some things just will not work in this marine environment. 

Danielle and I went to 3 stores in nearly 6 hours of time! I returned having spent around $40 for 15 items and no pressure cooker. The next thing to do is collect all the cotton tanks and remove them from the boat. In with the new, out with the old! Space is limited!

Tim made dinner and Danielle joined us for salad and BBQ swordfish. This was a good day.


Dock Day 21 San Diego, CA 10/23/2016

Today, we planned to take friends from Redding that were here in San Diego to Coronado Island for lunch at our favorite burger joint, the Burger Lounge, and the beach. Tom and Leslie came into town and I noticed their arrival on Facebook. We connected and made plans to spend the day with them. We enjoyed catching up while we took a very long walk on the beach. Then we had lunch.

Tom and Leslie wanted to see our boat, so we brought them to the marina. Leslie had such a fun reaction upon entering the companionway. It doesn’t take long to give someone a tour. After hanging out for a while we returned Tom and Leslie to their hotel so they could catch their flight home.

Once back to the boat we launched into our projects. Tim wanted to get the Whale Macerator Pump in and the old stuff out. It was really really gross! Sewage slime from someone else. Tim’s nose hairs were on fire! And the stench was unreal! Tim was so careful to not spill any of the juices that ran from the plumbing he was replacing. I will let him fill in the details.


Tim: It was not fun, I hope to not repeat this again in my lifetime, amen. 


When Tim was finished, it was my turn to get to work. Yes, I tore apart the bed so Tim could do his job on the macerator pump. Remember the black water holding tank is under our v-berth so I emptied the contents of the storage space for a rework. Remember the last post, I was waiting to do the rework until Tim did this job. Its 2200 and Tim helped me wrestle the spare mainsail into the storage area. I put a few more things into the space and then it was completely packed! A few of the items I removed did not go back…where will I put that stuff now? I will figure it out eventually.

With the v-berth storage fully packed it was time to embark on the 30 minute bed remaking! hate this job, we’ll just call it sheet wrestling. You can’t walk around and tuck things in like a normal bed, you’re on top of the bed, in the way the whole time. Try this at home, see what it’s like. Pictures are included with this entry of the process: clean the bottom, add the middle wedge and boat cushions, add the memory foam, then the barrier: down comforter over the foam, now the bottom sheet, top sheet, blankets and finally! It is finished! Phew! Let’s hit the sack it’s after 2300!

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