First the change of plans:
Sailors are used to changes of plans and today's may not, and probably will not, be the last version of it. The first two cruises of 2019 are not changed.
1. April 27 to May 7 -- A ten day bareboat charter on a catamaran with Bennett and Harriet in St. Vincents and the Grenadines. We were there in 2011 and 12 aboard ILENE and I have sketched out a cruise plan to make sure our friends get to as many of my favorite spots as can be packed into the limited available time. Sailing a cat is new to us (though sailing with cats is not), and the girls are thrilled about not heeling. Also, the cat in question has room for two more couples so we are making a luxurious use of on board space.
2. June 8 to June ? -- My flight to Bermuda is booked for the eighth, to give me a couple of days to explore Bermuda before the June 10 planned departure to Halifax with Yves and Greg on Yves' French built 39 foot aluminum sloop. It is a Kelt 39 (they made a lot of Kelts in Europe) named Rusee de Jersey. I met Greg in 2017 and Yves in 2018, both in Canada, both through introductions by Manu who we met in St. Martin in 2010. The question mark in the subject of this paragraph is not about "if" we will arrive but "when". Yves, who has done this passage before, says it should take six days. Our departure is planned for June 10 but may be delayed by weather and the duration will depend on the winds we encounter during the passage. I'm figuring to get back by to New York by June 22 at the very latest.
It is for the remainder of 2019 our plan has been completely reconfigured because of a separate plan of dental surgery for Ilene, with healing periods between surgeries. The dental plan got set back four months because of her broken elbow etc. last October. We had thought to sail (A) six weeks on a leisurely cruise in Rhode Island this summer followed by (B) a departure to the south for the winter starting in late October. Originally the projected warm destinations were to the new waters, for us, of Cuba, or Florida's West Coast, or to the familiar waters of Grenada. Then we set a less ambitious plan for the nearer waters of the eastern Bahamas-- the Abacos, Eleuthera and Cat Island -- on which we have not sailed. But the surgeons say we cannot leave until December or January, and it's just too darn cold for us to be out in the Northern Atlantic then. Of course, our founding father, John Adams, made several Atlantic crossings in December, as ambassador to France for his soon-to-be nation. So it can be done. But we sail for pleasure, not to endure ordeals.
3. So the new plan for the second half of 2019: TADA!! Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. We can leave as early as June 26 and have to be back by September 28. That should be enough time and we learned some things during our 2017 Canadian cruise. So it's a good thing I delayed buying the missing Bahamian charts and instead I will need some more Canadian ones before we leave.
I did mention some work days. A total of 25.75 hours on five consecutive days; but not all were "hands on". Six hours on Thursday was by car with Dave and Gene to the big warehouse sale of Defender Industries in eastern Connecticut. Defender is a discounter to start with and I'm figuring we got another 20% off. I got the two gallons of bottom paint at only $220 each, a step to hang from the side to make it easier to board and disboard when we're alongside a dock, a new electronic distress flare, new secondary sheets for the small jib and all sorts of polishes, cleaners, waxes, zincs, etc. It was a very efficient and pleasant trip with the two guys, our third time together, I think, and after a quick lunch in Westport on the way home we ran into Barbara, wife of PC Stu, of the Harlem.
I also spent time gathering and figuring out what I had and needed from my locker space at the Harlem, created an inventory of the used electronics for sale, created emails listing the items of work I would like Rigger Jeff and Mechanic Ed to help me with this spring, gathered various items from the boat to take with me to the sale, so that the new parts would be correctly sized and put all the newly purchased stuff away and filed for the rebates. Also, one of the days I drove from the boat up to Valhalla NY and back to lawfully dispose of the five gallons of water-diesel mix. I created a bit of a problem for myself in trying to remove the hoop of the shackle integral to the car of the traveler for the main sheet. The hoop is wearing and I thought to replace it. I failed, and in the process I learned, the hard way, that there is a race of ball bearings in the car, seven of which came out. I captured them but replacing them is one of the projects for Ed.
I also accomplished four tasks at the boat.
1. Finalized the reinstallation of the aft fuel tank. Attaching and clamping the two small hoses was easy but the four wooden upside down "L" shaped blocks that hold the tank firmly in place took a while because the thick vertical side of the "L" did not fit between the tank and the stringer. Hmmm? Finally I figured out why and then it was easy: the vertical part of the "L" blocks are not equal in thickness, by maybe a quarter of an inch. The ones to port are thicker than those to starboard.
2. Cleaned out the bilge, by scrubbing its greasy and mud caked bottom and sides and the hoses and nuts in them with paper towels wetted with Fantastic. A yucky job that takes time.
3. Reinstalled all of the cabin sole boards of the salon that had been removed to gain access to the fuel tank. This took a long time because they did not fit! The reason, I eventually concluded, is that the hull takes a slightly different shape when held up by the keel and jack stands compared to when caressed in salt water. But by squeezing and lifting the edges, eventually it all got put back together except for the two smallest pieces that surround the mast. I broke these taking them out and with help from Ed they will be fixed.
4. The last day was the most fun, though perhaps the hardest work: removal of the canvas cover, folding it up, tying it up, and carrying it, one half at a time by cart and car to the Harlem YC locker house where I got help carrying the heavier piece up to the second floor locker. I also collected the insulation padding and the underbelly strings. I plan to "finish" the ends of the strings to make it easier next year before washing them. Happy day! ILENE's solar panels are back in business.
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