It’s May Already???

Well – May has arrived and we’ve been super busy since I last wrote. We closed on the house this week! We feel very fortunate that the buyer wanted most of the furnishings as well, which made things much simpler for us. Much of the last week was spent moving personal belongings from the house to the boat. We’re still trying to figure out how everything is going to fit and where things will be stowed. We are finding that the giant Ziploc space bags – the ones to which you can attach a vacuum and suck out all the air – are extremely helpful both in saving space and protecting clothes, bedding, etc… from the damp, salty air. Because we are going to the Pacific Northwest for the next year, we will need winter clothes and gear. Of course we’re in summer clothes now, and will be wanting those again this time next year when we plan to head south.

So about that quick shakedown cruise around the Hawaiian islands that we had planned for April – didn’t happen. Existing boat projects took longer than expected, and in the midst of those, other things broke and needed to be repaired or replaced. One of the downsides to living in paradise is that most of the parts you need are not available on island. In addition, Air Bender is a French-built boat, which means some of the parts have to come from – you guessed it – France! And then there’s the Australian-made water maker that needed parts as well. Needless to say, we have spent a lot of time sourcing and waiting on parts – and paying out the wazootie to get them shipped. Let’s see…cone clutches for both engines, push-button thingy for the starboard control panel, new anchor windlass, new life raft, impeller and belt for the water maker, and all sorts of other fun little parts and pieces. I think they’ve all finally made it here – except for the life raft, which will hopefully be here this week.

Another unexpected treat was a short haul out for an out-of-water survey. It turns out that most insurers will not cover you for an ocean crossing with less than 3 people on board. We checked, and unfortunately, Henry doesn’t count. There are companies that specialize in insurance for cruisers, and will cover the typical cruising couple that opts to do an ocean crossing without a third person onboard. In order to get this insurance, we were required to pull the boat out of the water for a survey. Not a horrible thing – just one more thing to do and pay for. Thankfully the survey went great, and with any luck we’ll have the new policy soon. It isn’t cheap, but we’ll feel better knowing that we’re covered.

Cap’n Mike has been busy sewing an enclosure for the cockpit. Yep – he’s truly a jack of all trades! No pattern – just watched a video and made it happen right before our very eyes. He never ceases to amaze me. I think we’ll be very grateful for this enclosure once we are further north and the temperature is a little lower than the balmy breezes we are used to here in Hawaii. Speaking of that – did I mention that we waited for over 6 weeks for two heating systems to be delivered? And that when they arrived they were the wrong ones? Eh – it can’t be THAT cold in Alaska. Can it?

So…when are we leaving? That seems to be the million dollar question. We think we’ll be on our way by the end of May – the Good Lord willing. Though there have been some long days and a bit of frustration along the way, we are very excited to get this adventure started and bring you along for the ride. Until next time…live the adventure!