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We arrived tonight into Bahia Santa Maria. Looking forward to tie days in the beach before continuing down to Cabo! (Also testing email based posting, so excuse the lack of pictures) Brad, Sarah and Jesper.

Shedding.  Not the kind your dog does, I wish it were pounds but nope, I’m talking about shedding of possessions.  That is the name of our game right now.  Over the past few days we’ve made significant shedding progress and it feels strange!  It has been comical at times when I see Brad throwing more and more into our innocent helpers trucks.  Sad when I look at our empty’ish place.  Exciting when I think of our long term, fun times ahead!  But right this very moment it is a bit surreal, and scary.  No jobs, no cars, a house that’s getting emptier by the day, a quick approaching deadline to be moved out and onto the boat, and our boat slip lease is ending soon as well.

Our agenda this week consists of more shedding, cleaning, wrapping up Vet appointments for the girls, gathering the last of the spare parts for the boat, provisioning and getting moved on to the boat. We’ve got lots to do but have been blessed with so much help from friends and family. Here’s a peek at what’s been happening!

Both cars are sold! Medical kits for dogs and humans are done! 

The girls are unsure about all the boxes and items leaving the house, so they’ve been getting extra attention and treats.

And last but not least, our emtpyish place…I cannot wait to look back at this post someday and laugh at what I was stressed about.  But for now, I will be on the emotional rollercoaster hanging on to Brad tightly.  I will look for the good in each part of the process and continue to count our blessings as we go!

Cheers!!!

 

Lately our daily lives have been consumed with making decisions at every turn. Do I do x instead of z? What are we going to do about our phones and phone service? Should we buy the expensive part locally, or order a cheaper one online but wait a few extra days? What spare parts should we get? Should I keep this, donate or toss?! Where are we going to put everything on the boat?! I think you get the point.

It seems that each of us work so hard in our daily lives to make ourselves as comfortable as possible. What that means is we want the nice cars, fancy gadgets, big screen TVs….things! It is easy to fill up a home with all of these “things” and it feels oh so gratifying to do so. Well my friends, let me tell you what is not fun about it. Deciding what to do with all of those gadgets, thingamabobbers, clothes, shoes, kitchen items, tools, the list goes on and on…yep, still going on!

We are in full de-clutter mode and it’s proving to be difficult. With every turn, cabinet, and drawer there are decisions to be made. Have I told you that I am an indecisive kind of person?! Ahhhhh!!!! Each day the donate piles are getting larger and we are finding ourselves frustrated that we didn’t go through our things sooner. Perhaps we could have sold some of these items rather than give them away. The great news is Brad’s older brother and sister in law have agreed to let us store items at their house, AND let us borrow a vehicle. We are SO grateful for their help!

Ok enough ranting, are you still with me? I’m sure you are here to read about the new boss. Well things are in full swing and Brad has been a busy bee! Currently he is immersed in the solar wiring project. Jesper has been giving us a tremendous amount of help and support over the past few weeks. He has revived our generator and she is now running smoothly. He helped me with the lifeline netting install AND he is joining us on our sail to Cabo! We couldn’t be more excited for his friendship, support and sailing smarts. 🤗

I won’t go in to too many details about the completed projects because I feel Brad can do them a lot more justice than I can. I will say, the solar panels and mounts look amazing! Big things are happening and ready or not, our big departure day is coming up around the corner. Wish us luck!!!

Since one simply cannot post a blog without photos, here are a few for your viewing pleasure. Brad working on the solar install, the new lifeline netting and a pretty view leaving the marina. Cheers!

It’s been one week and I have to say you don’t seem to care about my ergonomic health, nor do you care about providing a steady temperature/sun protection to work in. Considering it’s only been a week, I will continue my duties with hopes things will get better in the future.

Ok now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s talk about what we’ve accomplished this past week.

Windlass- the handy dandy tool that lifts our anchor chain and anchor from the sea floor is completed! It’s aliiiiiive muahahaha! This included the full re-wiring (we increased the gauge of the wiring), new foot control pedals next to the windlass, and windlass controls in the cockpit.

The windlass in action! https://instagram.com/p/BaDDmjulhI8/

Our beautiful, new spade anchor on the right. The CQR anchor on the left is taking a hike!

Varnish removal project- this is now complete and all of the exterior wood is oiled and looking great!

Hardware reinstalled- (winches and furling line blocks)- we removed much of our hardware in order to do the varnish removal properly. This is all back in action, polished and cleaned!

Brad’s mad scientist project has been underway and will hopefully fix our generator woes. Something to do with a battery charger, rebar, pvc and electrolysis will be clearing carbon from the generator exhaust elbow. I am just happy to see safety glasses in the photo. 😉

Oh one small detail to add (insert sarcasm here), we got engaged!!!! Brad proposed on his birthday, October 7th. He asked me if I would be his birthday present forever. How could I resist? I said yes! We are both so very excited about all of the upcoming adventures together!

What projects are on the horizon? Well, we received packages yesterday containing our solar panels, freshwater plumbing supplies, we picked up lifeline netting to keep the pups in the boat, and Brad ordered a new autopilot motor yesterday. Hopefully I’ll have a full report of completed projects to mention next week!

Cheers to dreams coming true!

That’s right, Brad and I are both answering to a new boss these days. This one is much bossier. She’s needy, she’s large and in charge, and she takes ALL of our money! With every squeak, creak, and flap of the sails we must answer her every call. Oh gosh. What did we do?!?!

Yesterday was my last day at work, a job I’ve been at for 10 years. Throughout those years I’ve been blessed with great working relationships, a job that kept my brain problem solving, and a boat load of experiences I otherwise wouldn’t have had. Yesterday was tough! Ugly crying should be reserved for moments when you are alone, instead I ugly cried in front of a crowd- to further that I gave a speech. What I said, I cannot remember, but I hope it all made sense! All embarrassment aside, this just reminds me of how much I enjoyed my work life and those that are in it. We are a big family tied by a common goal to succeed!

Looking forward I hope I can find a great balance with my new boss. I know she will take great care of us and carry us to places that our minds cannot fathom. I know some days she will piss me off, others she will make me happier than I’ve ever been! Brad and I will work together with the common goal of keeping her happy. Here we go, day 1…I hope I make a great impression. ?

Let’s take a walk down memory lane…

Or at least plan to….   Lots can go wrong, but realistically not much will stop us from making our trip South.   That’s right, we will be quitting our jobs at the end of the month, and heading South with the dogs on October 30th!

These adventures always start with a foolish question:

Foolish question #1:  It all started with Sarah and I a couple of years ago with the question of “Would you like to be on a boat with a few strangers, or have a romantic time with just the two of us?”  That question cost me several thousand dollars in the short term.   We were looking to join a charter to the BVI with our sailing club and had our eye on a Beneteau 42.3.  I had dreams of cruising and wanted to try a bigger boat than our current Beneteau 34.  Long story short, we both fell in love;  Certainly with cruising, and more so with each other.

Foolish question #2:  “What are your thoughts of quitting our jobs and cruising for a couple of years?”   I asked Sarah that question two years ago fully expecting that she would scoff at the idea.   This is the girl that worked two jobs for 7 years to stay busy.   I was blown away when, without hesitation, she said “sure!” with a smirk.   What have I gotten myself into…

And so the not-so-foolish journey begins!!!  We sold our Beneteau in March of 2016.  We purchased perspective in June of 2016.  In July we signed up for the Baja-haha rally.  Now the clock is ticking.   38 days to go.

Where are we going?   That’s a great question that has a lot of variables.   We know we are going to start by sailing in the Baja-haha rally which will take us to Cabo San Lucas.   From there, we expect to spend several months in Mexico, largely Puerto Vallarta and up into the Sea of Cortez.

By March we will need to make a decision.   While we have our eye on the South Pacific, we don’t know if we(Sarah, Sydney and Zorra and I) will want to make a 3,000 mile, 25 day passage.   If we don’t, it will be either staying in the Sea of Cortez or heading South to avoid the hurricane belt.

Now that the cat is out of the bag, we will talk more of our travel plans as the date nears.

Below is a good visual of the route to Cabo.  The rally has scheduled stops in Bahia Tortugas and Bahia Santa Maria.

We made the decision to strip the existing varnish and replace with Semco clear teak sealer. Here are 10 things I learned while going through this process…

1. Bigger is not always better. I mean, was 46ft of boat really necessary?!

2. After hours of sanding, your iPhone no longer recognizes your thumbprint.

3. Timing is everything. Don’t scrape too soon or you’ll make dents in the teak. Don’t scrape too late or you’ll burn the beautiful teak. Either way, it means more sanding is in your future.

4. Bruises are a way of life.

5. Heat guns are really hot- especially when they meet your delicate skin.

6. Teamwork makes the dream work- and the job go much quicker.

7. I have a love/hate relationship with blue tape.

8. If you think you’re done sanding- keep going, you’re nowhere near done! (Yes, Jesper, you made your point!)

9. Shop vacs rule!

10. The process has been completely rewarding and a major team effort! Dare I say….fun?!

While we aren’t finished yet, we are getting

closer and closer. ??

A few weeks ago we invited a couple of our colleagues to join us for a sunset sail. It was the perfect excuse to get us off the projects and into the harbor.

The wind was as light as the mood so we took full advantage by filling the cockpit with yummy snacks.

We slowly cruised down the harbor and with each puff of wind we all got to know each other a little better. It was a great time bonding with our colleagues and was a pleasure to introduce them to sailing. ⛵️

We are looking forward to our next harbor excursion together! Until then, cheers!

Brad and I had been itching to take the boat out for a post refit shakedown. We had planned to leave for Catalina on Saturday and spend a week exploring the island, but the boat had other plans. We discovered our windlass had an issue when we cranked up 300ft of chain and heard a strange noise. Needless to say, Brad began investigating and realized our windlass needs to be replaced. That botched our Catalina plan and took up a few days of our vacation. But before you start feeling sorry for us, we did have a great alternative plan brought to us by our friend and rigger, Chris. He suggested hanging out at Mission Bay and using a lighter anchor that wouldn’t require a windlass to retrieve (just a strong Brad).

We took care of some last minute provisioning, cleaning and projects and set off Thursday afternoon. This was our first trip of the season, and our first trip with the pups! To say I was nervous was an understatement, but the pups proved me wrong and were just fine. For the first leg of the trip we kept them down below so we could move freely in the cockpit and not be distracted. We took the opportunity to fuel up just before leaving, and attach the new dinghy to the davits.

I steered while Brad hoisted the main and we motor sailed to Mission Bay in just a few hours. The conditions were great and the sea was calm.

As we rounded Mission Bay and came through the entrance, Brad started going over the game plan. First we would circle and get a feel for the anchorage, see what’s available and make our move. I was at the helm and he was at the bow with the anchor. I haven’t had much experience steering the boat at slow speeds and in an anchorage before so naturally I was a bit nervous. Brad and I have done this scenario before on our BVI trip a few years ago. He guides me right where he wants and instructs port- starboard- reverse- neutral- forward- throttle- idle, etc. All I have to do is listen- and not get things mixed up. 😜

Our anchoring went off without a hitch and we both took a sigh of relief and began getting everything squared away to be on the hook for a few days. We took the pups to shore in the dinghy and snagged a few photos of our girl on anchor. She sure is beautiful!


The girls did great in the dinghy and looked adorable in their life jackets.

We spent a lot of our time carting the girls to and from shore for potty breaks, play time and swimming. We even discovered that Zorra is a hell of a swimmer! I thought we would all take a swim together so I plopped her in the water and zooooooooom she took off straight for shore! She doesn’t find swimming as relaxing as the rest of us. Lesson learned!

We kept the girls in the cockpit during the days and moved them below for bedtime. This was our way of combating the extra sand they tracked in- and they were much cooler out in the breeze on deck. Occasionally Zorra would remind us she was keeping an eye on us…

The sunsets were gorgeous and we took full advantage of viewing them from the deck.

Time seemed to fly by and before we knew it, Saturday had arrived. All we had to do was tidy up, pick up the anchor and head back out to sea. Once again the anchoring went nice and easy and we were out of there. Whew! We motored out of the channel and hoisted the main. The conditions were light so we decided to unfurl the genoa and get in some real sailing. We cut the motor and were once again reminded that we have quite an amazing boat. She sails like a dream and cuts through the swells like a champ!
We had such a great vacation and really enjoyed spending time on the boat with the dogs. We have a list of things that need attention but I think we are happier that the list is much shorter than it has been in the past. We are making progress! 👍🏻

Revitalizing and re-galvanizing our anchor chain. We mark it every 50 feet and use a clever mnemonic; Rub Your Body With Grease representing Red @ 50′, Yellow @ 100′, Blue @ 150′, White @ 200′ and Green @ 250′ and then red/yellow/red @ 300′ which represents an imminent dive to recover the chain. Much fun is had by replacing ‘Body’ with your favorite word starting with ‘B’.