Preparations Continue

I added a link to the top of the blog.  Click the link called "Where is Storyville" to see our SPOT link.  It will take you to our SPOT page and you can see where we are.  If you choose the satellite version on the SPOT page, you will be able get a look at the beautiful blue water we are in.....  Not yet, but soon!

Preparations continue for us and for Storyville.  I went to Sam's Club the other day and bought rice, beans, pasta and some canned goods.  Yesterday I spent several hours vacuum sealing rice, beans and pasta.  Today, we bought 8 pounds of coffee, wonder how long that will last?  I just couldn't sail away without some of our favorite coffee, sold by a local company, El Lago Coffee Company.  I still have more provisioning to do (Peanut Butter being at the top of the list - in case Shirley reads this blog post!), but provisioning the boat is one thing that is making cruising a reality for me.  It's starting to sink in that we will be leaving the comfort of Kemah soon and heading out into the unknown (unknown to us anyway).  Exciting and a little scary at the same time. 

We got the dinghy bottom painted and we are having chaps made that will fit the dinghy.  We will depend on the dinghy like everyone else depends on their car so we are trying to make sure that we have it in good working order.  In case you're wondering, chaps are a custom made canvas cover that will cover the inflated pontoons of the dinghy and protect them from the harsh sunshine and other weather.

We bought a new chart plotter the other day and I am planning to spend some time learning how to use it.  I'm really excited because this one has a touch screen and it seems very intuitive so maybe it won't be too difficult.  Troy and Steve installed it the other day and have been trying to figure out how to make it "talk" to our other electronics, such as the autopilot and the vhs radio.  For some reason, they don't want to "talk", no matter what we do.  Maybe they just need to get to know each other better!

As exciting as this adventure is, we are getting tired of living in a construction zone.  Hopefully we are nearing the end of the boat work and we will be ready to set sail soon.

New Garmin Chart plotter - Ain't she pretty?

Troy's efforts at making all the electronics "talk" to each other

A sample of the mess we are living in!



On the Hard

The other day someone asked me when we were leaving to go cruising.  I calmly replied that we would be leaving sometime in December - the words came out like they have for the last three years, like December is some date far off in the future.   Then, as my heart skipped a beat, I realized that December is mere weeks away!  The time to live our dreams has arrived, almost.........

Just a few more things to do.  As I type this we are sitting in Storyville on the hard in Seabrook Shipyard.  For all the land lubbers reading this, that means Storyville is sitting on stands in a ship yard.  You have to climb a ladder to climb another ladder to get into the boat.  We're getting a getting lots of good things done while we're here.  A bottom job and a dripless packing gland are the two major reasons for the haul out, plus she's getting waxed and shined up too. 

The ship yard allowed us to stay on the boat and we are able to hook up to power so, here we are, climbing ladders to climb ladders.  Needless to say, we better be careful!  We're hoping that Storyville will be back in the water on Thursday.  She really is a mess right now, I'm living way up high in a construction zone and I can't wait to get her back in her slip and all cleaned up.

As soon as we're back in the water Troy will finish up the rigging replacements that he started prior to our haul out and then, we will be ready to head out.  We still have plenty of things that we want to get done, but there comes a time when you just have to head out and worry about the rest later.  We really want to get out of here in December and would like to spend New Years in Key West and then head on to wait for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas. 

I really will try to do better on keeping the blog up.  I'm still working a few days a week and plan on doing that for the rest of November.  Troy has some last minute jobs to do for Gulf Coast Composite and then, we will be cutting the dock lines - - - in just a few short weeks, you know, in December.

 Storyville with a naked bottom (don't look Ethel!)

 Nice new bottom paint - Ain't she pretty?

See, I told you, climb a ladder to climb a ladder!

Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. ~Grandma Moses