The work never ends...

One of the best parts of my day is usually the 6:30 am walk up to the bathrooms. The sun is just starting to show over Tampa Bay, it's still quiet, the water's calm. I remembered to take the camera today, this is one of the things I'll miss.

Our new wind generator had some problems and had to come down. Steve went up the mizzen mast (the shorter mast on the back of the boat), uninstalled the wingen, lowered it down in pieces, did the repairs (replaced the controller card...provided free of charge by Southwest Windpower) and then back up he went. My part consisted of cranking the winch, going for tools and holding things. It's Sunday so we quit early, poured a nice glass of Pinot and are going to throw a couple of rib eyes on the grill. A toast to great customer service and a gen back on-line pumping amphours back into the bank. Life in Florida (in February) is great.

Here Steve is replacing the controller card and the brushes in the wind-gen.

And then there is the trip up the mast to re-connect the wiring, install and test the generator, and attach the blades. Please let there be power!

Injury Log I

This (sure to be a) series of cringe worthy sailing- related injury photos is dedicated to our daughter Amanda's friend Michelle, who has a thing for bruises.

Current photo is Steve's toe that he caught on the hinge on the front of the settee. We both hit it regularly.

8 weeks and counting down

I just saw the date of my last entry, and can't believe how fast time is going. We're inside of 2 months to our departure and work is going full speed. The galley is coming together: the stove is installed, it's wonderful to have 3 working burners AND an oven AND a broiler. The Cabana Boy (Steve) will be making bread in no time. The counter top is being cut today, the fridge is cold enough to MAKE ICE. We'll be so spoiled, although, as we've noticed with the new mattress, we forget about the old stuff pretty fast. Steve's been busy, working on the boat and listing old/extra parts on ebay and Craigslist. We've both been waking up during the night and laying there thinking of all the stuff we still have to do. I have to keep reminding myself that the projects go with us when we leave, we don't have to finish it all right now.

no kitchen, no problem

The refridgeration refit is well underway, the galley is just a hole in the wall. My little tomato colored stove goes out today. For all it's charm, only one burner works at a time and the oven only gets to 300, not hot enough for all the bread Steve wants to bake. The new Force 10 eh, (eh because it was made in Canada) has been sitting in the settee for a month, gleaming, shiny. If only it would install itself. Not having a galley has lowered our meal expectations, not a bad thing. We are getting by with an electric cooler and a small mocrowave set up in the vberth.

I had a great birthday morning: watching the sunrise from the cockpit with my coffee and the paper. A good way to start this year.

It's been awhile...

The refit is well underway. Steve has re-wired, re-plumbed, re-rigged, re-decked, and now is re-engining. It's a good thing he's retired. It's an unbelieveable amount of work, and he constantly amazes me with how much he knows, or maybe he just makes things up really fast.

Not so hard after all

A new way to stay in touch for a new way of life.