oh boy, it's really happening!
our ETD is May 10, which is coming up fast! however, in a mini tete-a-tete today we agreed that we're feeling on track to get what we need done in time for that departure date. also with the switcheroo in the plans to head south, we recognize that almost nothing is a big issue as we will be heading not to the middle of nowhere, but to the middle of Everything. it's a good time to test out systems, fill any gaps, and even find rare items, should the need arise.
things are getting done on and off-board Rafiki. Aaron removed the aft pulpit to do a minor repair on the rail beneath. it had been rotting away and so the entire pulpit (which reaches all the way around the stern) was wobbly and unreliable. since it's the only place we won't be adding netting (and also lots of frufru goes back there), it's gotta be sturdy - as should all things be on a boat.
re-screwing the pulpit on, and with the dreaded black goop! gets you every time.
aaron has also been deep in that engine cavity (truly a cavity: dark, damp, and dank), installing custom mounts and draining filters, etc. if you're really curious, he will be writing his own blog soon. just kidding. but i'm not going into excessive detail here!
he also built a custom shelf for our "pantry," at my request, which will maximize storage and functionality. in doing so he discovered an extra hatch - woohoo! helloooo bonus volume. every inch is starting to count!
cleaning the bonus hatch - she's a deep one.
Sage and i did a four day visit at my grandma's place to help her out with a few things. in return, she certainly helped us out with a few things (financially - thanks grandma!), since she is intimately aware of the preparations (and costs) associated with boating in general. for anyone who doesn't know, my Grandma Carolyn is a very experienced sailor/galley wench - she has done the journey to Alaska five-ish times (hard to get an exact number), not to mention multiple circumnavigations of Vancouver Island and a couple ocean crossings to boot. my mother and aunties were along for many of these trips as well - that is to say, i come from a nautical family.
leaving grandma's, Sage and i went to the nearby Leitch and McBride Sailmakers, Ltd., where we had ordered a custom roller furling headsail! it was neat to peek into the sail loft and see their operation. anyone interested in sewing would find it drool-worthy, with a vast open floorspace for working and fabric and notions galore lining the walls.
sage out front the shop - sneak peek at the loft
but of course, the most exciting for us was the sail itself. since it will be rolled up around the forestay, the sail will constantly be exposed to the sun. to protect the sail fabric, they fit the sail with a UV-proof strip along the edge that will cover the sail when it's rolled up. to match our mainsail cover, we requested a purple edge - which was apparently the first purple one they had ever done! i love it - can't wait to install!
we made a few other stops on our way home. we grabbed a few more totes for storage, stopped at a butcher shop and got an accidental deal on quite a lot of landjaeger, then zipped back to quadra, forgetting many things on the list in our haste to just. get. home.
someone had fun pushing totes around the store!
and now to clean, load, sort, shuffle, stash, cram, modify, wonder what i've stashed where... and finish all our other tasks - with only two weeks in which to do it! here goes.
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