"Please.....Just a Little Magic"

One of my most beloved and cherished quotes comes from the childhood Christmas tale "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town".  At the end of the movie, the Winter Warlock having exhausted his bag of tricks to making the reindeer fly, wants to give his two friend (Chris aka Santa Claus & Jessica aka Mrs. Santa) a special wedding gift.  He looks out over the snow covered trees and says "Please...Just a Little Magic".  With a wave of his wand, the trees all light up and you can't help by say "Ahhhhhhh".  It's just wonderful! I get all misty just thinking about it! 

Well, a few weeks ago I had a big (think lightning bolt) moment of uncertainty.  What are we doing....How crazy must we be to sell everything and move on a boat....Are we going to have enough money...What if we don't...we'll be destitute...we will have to live on food stamps...I didn't work 25 years to end up kicked to the curb!  My poor better half just sat there, stunned, not really knowing what to say.  

Now, I'm not a indecisive person. When presented with a problem, I carefully review my options, pick the best one and then roll full steam ahead never regretting my decision.  And while I've had the opportunity to learn valuable lessons from choices I've made, I don't look back, and never regret.  So, when this came over me, I was really tied up in knots about what was going on.   I spent a restless night with a unsettled mind.  The next morning, on my way to the gym, I continued to try to find the right answer.  I just kept repeating "God, help me know what's right".  I don't often ask God for a sign.  I figure that he's pretty busy with all the people who really need help (destitute, food stamps...etc)  God gave me a good head and a strong heart and counts on me to use it.  But on this day, I needed a little something.  

So, I grumpty-grumped my way though the workout listening to my favorite Kenny Chesney tunes- all very relevant to living the dream, taking chances, etc.  Suddenly, I looked down, and saw some cross training ropes.  Usually just piled up in a corner, for some reason, they were perfectly coiled, just like the dock lines on my boat.  At that very moment, Kenny was crooning about "The Life" and there they were.  I couldn't have asked for a more clear sign.  Thanks God- I get it.  

So, faith restored, we are continuing forward on our journey.  More to come soon on how Luna is progressing (very close, very close--fingers crossed- to launch!)  In the meantime, look for the signs in life.  They are all around you especially when you need them most.  You only have to be willing to believe and open yourself up to "Just a Little Magic".  

The Ant's and the Grasshoppers.......life in a weekend marina.

Keeping the faith when your stranded on the Lot Dock! 

It's best to prepare for the days of necessity

Ok, I'll admit it....by Sunday of this past weekend, I had enough of that "F-ing Boat".  Tom and I are the marina ants.  It's been 4 summers.  We work in the parking 'Lot-Dock' (which is easily 5-10 degrees hotter than in the water), we (Tom, Spirit and I) sleep in a 2-man tent (sometimes cozy, sometimes not) and we toil away on our boat projects all weekend desperately trying to check off yet another task on the never ending list.  Sometimes, we take the occasional 10 minute break to throw ourselves into the pool to cool off, or drink a much deserved beer.  Otherwise, it's work, work, work....   Then, there is everyone else.  The Grasshoppers.  They come down on Friday night, step on their boat (in the water), turn on their magical air conditioning, and then go out for a fun weekend of sailing and socializing.  Am I bitter?  No.  Sometimes a bit envious?  Yes.  

We were tired this weekend, it was humid and nothing was going right on Luna Sole.  Tom had re-painted (for the 4th time) the head of the boat, and just like in the past, it got the orange peel look thanks to either the flattening agent we used to dull down the paint shine or the humidity level, or both.  Disheartening after so much work to say the least.  Unfortunately, it is what it is.  It's time to check off "Paint the Head" on the list and move on.  We'll just call it "anti-skid" for the head to any prospective buyer who inquires. After all, it can get a little rough down there sometimes so you need some "gription" when you're doing your business.  (ha ha)  Actually, even with the less than perfect paint job, it looks really great, and once the head, sink cabinetry and teak floor grate go back in, you really won't even notice.  It's just the principle of the thing...grrrrrrr     

I was working outside the boat on re-sealing the deck to hull joint.  I had pulled out all the old caulk because it looked awful.  Completely cosmetic, but hey- a pretty boat sells faster than a crappy one right?  I then spent about 45 minutes taping one side so as to get a perfect seam.  Went up on the ladder and proceeded to run my bead of sealant and then smooth it with my handy dandy tongue depressor.  What happened?  It refused to flow.  The more I tried to fix it, the worse it got.  I did about 1/3 of the area when Tom came down and said "Stop- just let it dry.  Take it out and start over".  AUGH!!!  I glanced over at the sparkling blue pool and all the grasshoppers......sigh. 

Why is everything on a boat so hard and take so darn long?  

I know that we have a different dream than the other residents of our marina.  99% of our sailing mates are working professionals.  They work very hard (or have worked hard and are now retired) and are able (and choose) to pay the yard staff to take care of issues that arise on their boats so that they can enjoy their weekend relaxing and sailing.  We work hard at our day jobs also. However, we want to be cruisers.  We don't plan to live at marinas where there is access to mechanical help.  We also don't have the desire or luxury to pay someone else to do something we can do ourselves.  Not only from a $$ standpoint, but more importantly because we want to know that the job was done right.  When your travelling across oceans, the difference between a good job and a great job can mean your life.  Working on Luna Sole these past 4 summers means we have learned to fix things and be self sufficient.  There is no price you can put on that education.  

So, after our less than perfect work session, we then did what any hard working couple would do.  We quit working and went to the pool, with beer in hand.  Sometimes, you just have to be a grasshopper.  

Life's little moments and blessings...

When you can't see the sea......

I had one of those life altering moments this morning that scared the crap out of me.  Fortunately though, it also showed me what really, really matters.  It was my blessing for the day.

About 6 days ago, I did something really dumb.  I was diligently working on boat projects (what's new?) and was sanding the first coat of new Perfection paint on my helm pedestal.  I was in our garage, door closed because it was stinking hot outside, no fans, no mask, no brains.  I've sanded 2-part paints for years with no issues.  Sure, I wear the 3M Cartridge mask when I paint or use solvents, but this was just sanding- bah! No worries!!  Hum....  Well, about 20 minutes later, I started losing my voice.  I could feel my eyes swelling up and my throat constricting.  Fortunately, we had Benadryl in the house or I might have been making my way to the local ER (NOT in the High Deductable Health Savings cruiser fund I might add!).  It took another 30 minutes before I could breath normally.  The swelling in my eyes lasted to varying degrees for the next 5 days.  Over the weekend, I went back to sanding and painting the head project (previously mentioned) on Luna Sole.  I was careful to wear a full face mask this time (Darth Vader has nothing on this look) and had plenty of ventilation.  Should have worked right?  No dice.  Over the next 2 days my eyes and upper lip started swelling again.  Back to the Benadryl I went.  So, here's the life altering stuff....

I was driving to work today (I have a 48 mile commute one-way and drive on major highways ie: I don't go the speed limit).  I pulled onto the turnpike, and within seconds lost all sight in my right eye. BOOM- just like that!  I freaked but managed to pull the car over in a safe spot, while driving with one eye, and sat there waiting to see what happened next.  After what seemed like an hour (which was probably less than a minute) thankfully, my vision returned.  I was left with a groggy head and lingering slight headache.  What I realized though, was that during all this, the first thought that came to mind was "No God- please don't let me go blind- I can't sail a boat and do my watch if I can't see- our dreams will be gone".  I wasn't concerned that I could not longer drive to work, or do my job, or any of those other things that used to be so important.  All those things that used to define me- I was concerned about losing our dream.  It was that moment of clarity in the midst of terror that helped me realize what is really, really important.  

So, I'm off painting and sanding duty permanently....Tom says that our new cushions (which I'm sewing from scratch) better be freaking amazing. :-) 

post note: I visited an eye doctor and after a thorough exam it was determined that my eye's are completely healthy!  The Doc said she would be surprised if it ever occurs again- Great news!!! 

The optimist in all of us....

Getting Down to Business in your Head.....

"Oh my God!!! I'm flying...."

Well, it was hot, and we are still not rocking...in the water that is.  Another weekend passes with more boat work- but we are getting closer (1 month to launch....maybe- Optimistic Grin).  This past weekend, I concentrated my efforts on "the Head" (aka boat bathroom).  One of the things we discovered early on was that the head floor was not connected to the, sole floor (chin bones connected to the neck bone ..opps... sorry, I digress) which means that any water that was in the head (it has a shower) was running into the core of the fiberglass flooring both inside and outside of the head area.  In layman terms, what that means is a soggy floor with structural integrity issues.  We cut out the offending floor areas, and have been trying to finish fixing it for...well almost 2 years now.  Bigger issues got in the way, it was handy to have open so we could plug up the holes in the bilge (don't ask) and it wasn't a "have to fix" item at the moment.  Tom did a fantastic job replacing the floor, and created a whole new shower pan area using fiberglassing products from West System (http://www.westsystem.com/ss/) so it will drain appropriately.  Then it's my turn to take over and start painting.  It's a tedious process.  I had to sand and primer paint, then sand that primer off because it didn't lay right (my fault- not the product), then primer paint again.  This weekend I start the actual gloss coat of Perfection by Interlux (http://www.yachtpaint.com/usa/diy/ask-the-experts/video-perfection.aspx) which I highly recommend for any marine application.  3 coats of paint and then we can re-install the drain, the toilet and the sink!  Woo Hoo.  Progress baby!  Photo's and detailed "how to" instructions to follow in a upcoming DIY segment.

So, as you can imagine, while I'm spending hours sanding and re-sanding the head, I had a lot of time to get into my own "head".  I usually think a lot of  happy thoughts while working on the boat because it's better than entertaining the murderous ones that sometimes creep in during boat projects that never end.  I am an optimist by nature.  The Ying to Tom's Yang so to speak in critical moments.  But, every optimist can use a bit of help sometimes.  I recently read a great book by Gretchen Rubin called "The Happiness Project". (http://www.happiness-project.com/) It was a documentary of sorts about a 12 month project she undertook to see if it was possible to escalate your own level of happiness in an otherwise comfortable world.  It's interesting reading with some funny outcomes and good food for thought. Some of the tips she gives are wonderful and I've put a few into action in my own life.  Guess what?  They do make you happier- BONUS???  Give it a look- you might be surprised!   Life lesson:  Even when things seems "in the toilet:, anyone can find happiness if they just know where to look.  So, the next time you are doing doing something "shitty", get into your own head and find your happy place.  You'll be surprised what's in there.  

A little R&R (Rum Running) to soothe the soul......

God knows I love my life and I thank Him every night

But sometimes I feel the knife of responsibility.

And the struggle and the strife, what's wrong and what's right

Has got me searching for the light and my place of peace.  - kenny chesney

Last week we took a break from boat building to sit back and sample the sweet island life for a few days.  It was my Man's birthday over the holiday so we took off for a little Key West  Rum Running (R&R).  Part of me felt guilty not working on my Luna girl.  So much to do, so little time...gotta get it done, gotta get it done. But then, I got a potent reminder of why you need to take the time to savor life...  I received an e-mail from a dear friend telling me that she and her husband were selling their beloved 36' Gozzard Yacht s/v "Seaberry" because it was time to move on...I could tell from her words that she is feeling so sad and lost.  Health, family, and life all play a part in their difficult decision and, while it will turn out to be the right one, I know it doesn't feel like that to Stephanie.  See, she loves being on the water.  Loves to sail, loves the peacefulness and stillness of a beautiful calm sea and the craziness of a brisk breeze.  Sailing is in her blood.  It gets her through the winter, it soothes her soul, and now?  She's just lost.....  My heart is breaking for her and I miss them already.

Off to Key West.  I let myself enjoy.  We stayed true to the calling and ate only local fish for dinner, drank maybe too much Rum (is there such a thing?  Mohito's anyone?), stayed....yep, you guessed it- on a 41' catch for a hotel with a view and went sailing!  Figured if we aren't working on a boat, we might as well sail one.  That's what it's all about right?

So, the next time you feel the "knife of responsibility" make sure you take a moment to look around you and refocus on all you have to be thankful for.  Tools will sit quietly and life will rest for a brief moment while you catch up.  Just remember to savor each day....and drink a little rum!

Recent Photos:  

Spirit the wonder dog! 

He's a fan of the marina!

Tom & I sailing with our friends on "Windward" in the Bahamas- January 2013

If you make a plan, plan on having to change it! 

Forgotten but not lost..that's the theme of my blogging thus far.  So here we are, June 28, 2013.  Let's bring things up to date:

1) Luna Sole- STILL not done...sigh...planning to launch in 1 month (but we have seen how that has gone so far).  I'm projecting maybe Mid August.  More on this below. 

2) July 2012:  We lost our little girl Miss Buffett to cancer.  Such a sad time.  My heart broke.  She never got to sail on the boat she so patiently sat under for 3 summers while we worked away at the dream.  However, thanks to our wonderful marina friends who loved her too, she did get to sail on their boat.  She would have been a great boat dog.  RIP Buffett Girl.

3) October 2012:  We pulled Eclipse out of her slip, removed the mast and sent her down the road to Rewers Boat Works to have her bottom re-done.  She will stay put for many months while she is peeled, dried, re-fiberglassed & barrier coated.   While we were removing the Bow Pulpit so she would fit into the shop, Tom noticed that the Bow Sprit seems to be.......I don't even want to say it.....ok...here goes....Rotten!  What? Again?  Unbelievable that we could possess 2 boats and both have rotten Sprits.  Sigh...here we go again. 

4) We adopted a new golden boat dog named "Spirit".  He is about 2 so, god willing, he will be with us for a long time and be a happy boat dog.  I love my little boy, but miss my Buffett Girl every day.  :-( 

5) Winter came, and it was FREEZING up here in the great Northeast!!!  We spent about 6 weekends going back and forth to Rock Hall working on Eclipse (removing said bow pulpit and sprit, removing prop shaft, etc.) in preparation for her bottom job before it just got too cold to work.  After that we worked primarily at home on new cushions for Luna Sole.  This is a tougher project than I imagined and I've done a lot of ripping out/starting over.  I think they will be lovely though when finished! 

6) SPRING!  Ahhhhhhhh (Imagine Angels with trumpets playing overhead...)  Back to work on Luna Sole.  We had originally said "We're done- finished.  May 1st- whatever is done is done and we are putting her up for sale".  Then, as plans go, it was freezing all winter and we got at least 2 months behind.  So, May 1st is now sometime this summer.  Once we started working, and it was apparent that Eclipse was going to be out of commission for the summer with her bottom job & new rigging needs, we took a hard look at what $30K would buy as far as new equipment for Eclipse- Water Maker, Wind Generator, Solar Panels, Batteries - and decided to keep on keeping on.  What's a few more months right?  :-) 

So, here's the list of what is done thus far.  When you see the bottom paint go on, you'll know we are launching and pretty close to finished- keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer.  :-) 

Completed

Replace Bow Sprit & Bow Deck- Rotted Repair Deck to Hull Joint issue in Bow Re-varnish all existing teak- exterior Re-bedded handrails & made covers Re-caulked mast & new boot Re-bedded all chainplates Replaced missing tightener screws on all stantions Reinforced foresail with new fiberglass G-10 backing plate Rebuilt furler system Rebuilt cockpit winches Replaced eyebrow's with new teak strips Replaced existing plastic deck & scupper drains with Bronze fittings Replaced traveller deck with new teak piece- rotted & split Anodized traveller & cleats Replaced rubber durad vents with Stainless vents Removed & repaired cockpit floor with new Fiberglass platform Repainted cockpit floor Re-positioned steering mechanism to work more effectively Replaced cracked holding tank with new tank Repaired and cleaned water tank Painted Lazarette & locker areas Repaired all fiberglass cracks in the bilge area  Replaced Engine with new Beta Marine 25 HP Model Fabricated all new engine mounts Removed & repaired head floor & repainted head area Replaced Head floor drain Designed and installed new toilet mount Repaired & improved Propane Locker Ran new hose & replaced valve on Propane tank Changed out all gate valve thru hulls with Bronze Groco valves Changed out all wooden thru hull backing plates to Fiberglass G-10 plates Added proper lightening protection system (plate and wiring) Replaced aluminum Helm mount with Stainless mount Replaced aluminum chalks with new Stainless chalks Replaced exhaust thru-hull with new one and added fiberglass backing plate

Boats....Vessels of Freedom

Happy Thought:  "When the suns at his back and the winds in his face, it's just him and wheel...he wouldn't trade a million for the way it makes him feel!"

Guess what?  It's been a while since I filled in the blog...a long while.  I am re-inspired by many things.  A old high school friend who posts regularly on his blog, the need to document this crazy ride, and the desire to do something besides sell gas and worry about margins.  So, here we go. 

Ok, so 2011 was a summer of new adventures on Luna Sole.  As it is with old boats, you fix one thing, to find yet another surprise.  After we removed the engine, we found core rot in the cockpit floor.  Nothing terrible, but it had to be fixed.  We removed the helm and cut out a 18" square of the floor and replaced it with a big, thick, honking piece of this mystery stuff called "G-10".  I got to do more fiberglass work, in the middle of the summer (Fun Fun!) and spent a week getting expoy out of my hair.  (note to self- shower cap!).  Then, we decided to check the water tank out.  Removed the inspection port, only to see a myrid of black mold!  Get it out, get it out I yelled (running around with my hands on my head--ewwww!).  So, we removed that and all the plumbing that went with it.  We removed the wiring, the propane line, all the water lines, the hot water tank, etc...etc...   By August, we were left with not much more than a hull and Tom was working on designing the long awaited engine bearers (yes, August and still no engine).  Then, because he can't stop researching to save his life, Tom found "Eclipse". 

Eclipse is a 38' 1987 Cabo Rico with beautiful traditional lines, teak out the wazoo inside and out and a gently used history with one owner.  She sails like a dream, and surveyed equally as well.  The whole time that little voice in my head is saying "What the heck are you thinking?" but, as with this whole adventure, I decided to ignore it.  Long story short, the financial forces came together perfectly (as they always seem to do with this whole crazy plan which is one thing that makes me believe it's the right path) and by Labor Day we were ready to launch our new boat.  It was a beautiful sunny friday afternoon and the name wasn't even dry on the back when we finally, after 2 long years, celebrated the launch of a vessel (not the one we had planned, but our forever home none-the-less). 


Toasting the splash with friends

So, one thing that happens when you buy another boat is that everyone makes fun of you.  The second thing is that you suddenly do not work as dilligently on boat #1.  We kept Eclipse in the water, enjoyed being in the slip we had financed for 2 years and sailed her a few times with good friends. In November we put her to bed for the winter and went back to Luna Sole.   Our winter was spent grinding fiberglass and sanding down more teak for re-finishing.  Tom reached a big milestone a month or so ago though when he told the broker that Luna would be ready for sale/sail by early July. Finally, a date! 

It's April 17th.  There is still no engine bearers, or engine, or plumbing, or wiring on Luna Sole.  But, the teak is on it's 4th coat of varnish, the doors are half way re-finished and the tail pipe is re-fiberglassed & seated.  We are getting closer.  Eclipse got her yearly cleaning/waxing last weekend and we will launch her on Monday the 23rd for another great season.  It's challenging having two boats, but Tom and I are committed to getting Luna done and seeing it through to the end.  When she is done, someone is going to own a beautiful and nearly-new boat.  Hopefully it will be the beginning of someone else's dream! 

Isn't it interesting how dreams work out? I wanted a boat to sail.  I got one to fix instead.  But in fixing it, I learned a lot about my husband, challenged myself to do things I would have never thought I could do, and made a marina full of friends.  What did I learn the most?  That you should not put boundries around your dreams because, they can be so much more than you ever imagined if you let them run free...  Namaste!



How can it be Spring already?

For shame, for shame- I really need to keep up this blogging more regularly. Well, it's April and we worked on her throughout the winter. Sometimes only 1 day a weekend- it's pretty darn cold on the Chesapeake in January! Here's what's happened since our last chat.
Winter Project List Plan:
1) Remove old Thru-Hulls (goodbye old gate valves, hello new ball valves = no blowouts!)
2) Re-bed port windows (goodbye leaks & buckets to catch said leaks)
3) Re-bed chain plates (same as #2)
4) Make new cushions & curtains with fancy new Sailrite machine (I know- girly but hey!)
5) Service Cutlass bearing & Dripless seal on shaft (= no blowouts!)
Launch May 1 or before! Woo Hoo

Reality:
1) Removed old Thru Hulls (Yeah! Check off list- making progress- here we come May 1!)
2) Tried to service shaft- found it to be frozen into 6 inches of water...hum...problem...poured anti freeze on ice and went home- waited several weeks until all water frozen, sucked it out with shop vac, came down next weekend, found more water....hum....
3) Found head of shaft to be fused (no pun intended) to the motor mount with 30 years of rust...hum.....
4) Tom decides we also need a new engine. Gulp...oh boy...may day, may day...now looking more like June or July...sigh....hum...
5) Start to trace wires on the boat so that we can remove them from engine. Find multiple instances of red to black to orange to....nothing...hum....this is not going well. End up ripping 80% of all wires out and starting over. Patience...patience....
6) Cheryl is hanging out in starboard lazarette tracing wires and decides to "look around"- silly me. Unfortunately I find "SURPRISE" #10246 (or so it feels with this boat). There is rot in the cored floor around the emergency tiller opening. Shit...that's gonna have to be fixed...aaaahhhhhh!!!! I have to admit that I did play around with not telling Tom. After all, he can't fit under there- he would never know...hum....The next day "Randy" the fiberglass guy was up on our boat and we are awaiting his estimate. This should be interesting...

Fortunately, admist all the setbacks, we had the great pleasure of spending our heard earned Saturday nights in March & April with our Marina friends Lynn & Ian. They rented a cute little place on the Rock and welcomed us (and Buffett too) into their abode. It was great to spend time chatting with someone who has the same dream we do. They get it~!

April 15th- we have the motor removed- good news is that another Bayfield 32 (1981) owner purchases said motor from us and comes to the Rock to help remove it. Takes it away in his car- neat and tidy- nice!
April 16 & 17- I get to start the tedious and back breaking process of cleaning 30 years of grease, grime & just general dirt out of the bilge and engine area. Ewww...yuck....gross!!!....Why do I always get the cleaning jobs? Oh that's right- because I don't know how to do much else yet! At the end of a hard day though, it looks great! Bonus! Time to sand and paint and it will look like new.
April 24th- Easter weekend but no rest for the weary- Tom spends the day measuring for the new motor. After 7 hours, he still is not decided....Patience...patience.... It was a day with beautiful skies and big puffy clouds; and a massive thunderstorm around 5:30 pm. We stood under Lynn & Ian's boat (did I mention they are also on the hard right now as well doing some upgrades to their beautiful Figi yacht?) and watched it rain. The reward? A beautiful rainbow filled the sky and also our hearts with renewed hope- it's going to be a great boat!

So what about the plan? Well, let's just say, I'm learning to fiberglass this weekend and then we will see how it goes. :-)

Time Flies When your Having Fun!

Fast forward to October- so busy working on Luna Sole that I did not take time to blog until now. Progress on her is.....going. We were not ready to launch by the end of August, so we decided to save the launch chips, use them for a new holding tank and keep working. Some wonderful new friends and the marina took pity on us and would ask us to go sailing with them (Buffett got to come too!). From time to time, we took them up on the offer!
To update our work...I continued (and still am) working on the teak. I have re-finished from bare wood everything on the boat at this point except the taft rail, eyebrows, doors & hand rails. We are planning to remove all those pieces to make some repairs to leaks and cracked wood so they are a winter garage project. I removed the traveller and taft rail last weekend- why does something that should take an hour take 2 days in boat land and who knew I could actually fit in down inside both lazarettes?
Tom decided to remove the "zinc" from the outside of the hull a few months ago to replace it. When he took it off, water poured out from the keel. hum...thinking that's not supposed to happen. Sigh..here we go again. So, he drilled a bunch more holes to let everything drain, then "hooked her up to life support" with hoses all over and a shop vac. After hours spent online and with the Bayfield owners group, we determined that 1) the water probably came from our interior hose cleaning efforts (opps) and cracks in the bilge and 2) that the "zinc" was actually at one time a lightening system that had a long piece of copper or bronze on it. Opps again... We decided to work on fixing the bilge cracks first so that no future water can get down into our soon-to-be dry keel. Then, after sitting this winter with a vacum pump on her, we will seal up the outside holes and re-install the proper plates for the lightning system next spring before launch.
It took multiple weekends to get all the hardware re-installed back up on the new bow sprit. Just last weekend Tom was installing the anchor rollers. (Note: he is a messy one with the goopy, sticky white marine glue stuff (my technical name for 3M stuff) and needs constant supervision).
We, sadly, removed the sails from Luna at the beginning of October- she won't need them this year and found that the furlers were jammed- yet another boat piece in our garage that needs servicing- what a surprise!
We are going down again this weekend and for as long as we can work. The new launch date? May 1- on or before!

July- the work contines as the heat builds!

Well, the good news is that the smell that had previously plagued Luna is gone. The bad news is, the more we look the more it costs. July 2010 will be know as the $5000 month. While scraping Luna's lovely teak bow sprit for re-varnishing, we discovered that it had rotted straight through from the deck to the sprit! Who knew teak could rot? So, we found Earl Matheson, a local carpenter in Rock Hall, who assured us that he could make us a new one....and he did. It took a few weeks, but the new deck and sprit is mounted back up on its perch. We had to take the trail boards off in order to re-bolt the sprit properly so they are in the process of being put back on this weekend. More pics on that to come.

While removing the sprit, we had a local fiberglass man (Mark Reuwer) come and look at something that "didn't look quite right" $2000 later, that got fixed also. One of the previous owners had moved the innerstay 2' forward to the bow of the boat. Sounds good from a tacking standpoint, but he never reinforced the fiberglass and it started to pull the boat apart. Fortunately, that's all fixed now, but it was quite a distraction from our normal work, and our bank account for the month.

Meanwhile, inside the boat, our hole still continues to gap at us every weekend. It's been brutally hot (over 100 degrees) this summer which makes it impossible to work with fiberglass expoy and also challenging to think! What started as a 2-4 weekend project is taking all summer. Our best hope is to have her in the water by September. Sigh.... oh well. She'll be great when she's done. (repeat 10 times each day..)

Our one saving grace this past weekend however, came at the hands of a wonderful new friend. "Rob", the polite southern guy with the Cabo Rico 42, invited us out on a "night sail" on Saturday night. We left under a full moon, clear sky and steady breeze at 8:45 pm and didn't come back into the dock until 1:45 am! It was an amazing trip filled with peace, relaxation, wonderful conversation and new friends. Helped to remind Tom and I why we are doing all this.

Remembering the small things is sometimes the greatest joy.

Month 1 as Sailboat Owners

Well, it's been a little over a month and the glow of boat ownership is still there. So to though are the aching muscles! At this point, Luna Sole is up on the hard eagerly awaiting her next splash (as are her owners!). I have been working on re-doing the teak on the rub rails, trail boards, and bow sprit. It's time consuming work of heating the old varnish and scraping it section by section but there is something about seeing the warm teak beneith all that goop that makes me smile. I'm about 75% there and hope to finish those sections this weekend. Tom has been working on a more smelly problem. We found that the holding tank (original to the boat) was cracked. So, he removed that and we started scrubbing away years of "poo"- yuck! Not a job for the faint of nose let me tell ya! Then, we discovered there was a leak in the pump-out so some of the poo has also made it way behind the molded fiberglass in the head. After several weekends of scrubbing and opening more cans of worms, Tom has cut out a section of the head floor and the sole outside the head. Now the real scrubbing can begin. He was watching the DVD of "how to do fiberglass repair" work last night. This should be interesting to watch.
Our hope is that soon, there will be no smell and we can move on to the other things on the survey list that require immediate attention before we launch. We were optimistic for July 4th but it looks like it may be a few more weeks after that until it really happens.
Until that time, we work all day, make sure to never miss sunset and toast the adventure each evening with a sundowner! Cheers!

In the beginning....

In August of 2009, Tom (husband) came home from yet another day of working for someone else and feeling minimal satisfaction. He said to Cheryl (wife) and Buffett (Golden Retriever Dog) "What do you think about buying a sailboat, selling everything and sailing around the world". After I checked Tom's head, to make sure he wasn't bleeding somewhere from the knock he must have received, I uttered one word. "Now?" Thus, our journey began
We are both dreamers, both have "corporate jobs", both long to spend more time living, less time working. Tom is the researcher of the family. I'm the person who figures out how to pay for all these dreams. Buffett hangs out and waits for the fun to begin on her next adventure. After reading dozens of books, attending the in-water boat show in Annapolis (which quickly showed us what we COULD NOT afford) and a driving around on a snowy January day in Rock Hall, Md., we have begun to make the dream a reality. As of March 5, 2010, we now own 2.5 acres in the quiet little town of Rock Hall. Someday there will be a small home on that land where we will spend our 3-4 months in port when we are not cruising. Right now, it's just a flat piece of land- but it's beautiful and it's ours! Especially now that our friend gave us a gift and planted our first two trees: Red Oak and Copper Beech.

On April 17, 2010 we bought our sailboat; a Bayfield 32. She's in amazing condition and quite a beauty. She is modern enough for comfort, but traditional enough to conjur memories of days gone by when boat builders put heart and soul into a vessel. Her home is at an amazing marina- The Sailing Emporium. We slept on her last Saturday night for the first time. Like everything else with this adventure, it felt right! Next steps: Complete CGA "Sailing Skills & Seamanship" class, name boat, paint, sand, varnish & clean boat.

Learn to sail- did I mention that we don't know how?

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do, than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade windsw in your sails. Explore...Dream...Discover" Mark Twain