So, a quick review, a checklist for departure:
- Electrical system completely re-worked, with new battery banks, new circuit breaker panel, new voltage regulator, wiring, etc, all to AYBC standards, and most of all, SAFE!
- New water tanks, pumps, accumulator tank, and hoses. No more drinking bilge water for US!
- Electronics upgrades- new VHF radio which provides GPS & AIS data to our computer chartplotter.
- Lots of other little goodies to make voyaging under sail easier and safer…
So we’re ready to cast off the lines and go now, right?
Welllll, not exactly.
Kate has already spilled the beans on FaceBook, so most of you probably already know this, but we’ve made a major decision in the last 24 hrs: we are going to put Gabrielle to sleep for the winter here in Salem, and come back next spring for our big launch.
There are several very good reasons for us to do this. One, we have worked very hard over the last five months to get her ready, but at this point, there is very little sailing season left here in New England. The guys in the yard tell us September and early October are the best months to sail up here, but we have come to love this area, and want more than that. If we set out now, we’d get a very short season (2-3 weeks!) before we had to turn south for the winter. We want to come back and spend the entire spring and summer exploring the area.
Two, we need to plump up the kitty. It was a big, unpleasant surprise how much more was needed to make Gabrielle seaworthy, and it cost much more than we planned or expected. We are tapped out, and need to replenish the bank account.
Three, I have been dealing with a nasty case of contact dermatitis almost since we got here in May. I may have become sensitized to the fiberglass resin used in the construction of Tayanas- who knows what they used in Taiwan 40 yrs ago, but I have spent the last six years of my life in intimate contact with them, grinding and sanding the ‘glass and paint off of them, wallowing around in their engine compartments… I fear that I may have crossed a threshold for exposure to this stuff, and it is causing my system to react in unpleasant ways. It is like having poison ivy for that past 4 months, and it’s not getting better- in fact, it continues to spread. I am not sleeping well, it is painful, and life is not much fun for me right now. We need to check this out.
Four, I am exhausted, and need a break. Since we got here in May, it has been a daily exercise in “What need to be done next, and how to do it in the quickest, least expensive way?” To head out to sea now would be more of the same, on steroids, and I don’t have it in me at this point. I need to spend some time NOT making decisions for awhile.
So today I made arrangements with the boatyard- they will haul Gabrielle out and set her up for the winter, and we’ll pack up the Suburban and head west. Gonna visit friends and family for a while, and then wash up on shore somewhere (most likely back in Rockport), where we can rest, recoup, and top off the bank account.
And then, next spring, we have a boat that is chomping at the bit to get out there, ready and waiting for us to put her in the water and SAIL!
Thanks for the story, Skipper! Hugs to your Co-Captain!
PS: I developed gluten-intolerance in my mid-50’s (with skin issues), so study your diet too. Could be that chowder!
As the saying goes: “If people knew what they were getting into, nobody would start anything.”
Congratulations on making a conscious and wise midcourse correction. There’s a wonderful book about a guy crossing the United States by boat. His motto is “Proceed as the way opens.”
Thanks for sharing your journey. 🙏
The book is “River Horse” by William Least Heat-Moon.
His other book is “Blue Highways”.
I have heard of that author before, now I’m going to have to look up those books. Thanks Michael!
“Proceed as the way opens” is such a good quote, I’m gonna have my tattoo guy in Austin ink that one on me when we come through…
Lee, I think you will relate to “ River Horse”. He starts in NYC, goes up the Hudson, turns left and goes up the Erie Canal into Lake Erie, where a storm almost sinks him. Then I think down the Allegany to the Ohio to the Mississippi River, then up the Missouri River. Then somehow over the Continental Divide, and ultimately down the Columbia River to the Pacific. Great book. 🚤🛶🛥
Hey Kate & Lee
If anybody knows delay its us Larry & Sue.
We have sold our house and plan to close on sept 14 or 17. still waiting on survier. our boat is 95 % complete and could go in water today. My mother is 91 and in bad health so we are headed there first .Then 1 month in lake Waco then down to Port Lavaca or rockport maybe see you there. Good luck and happy sailing
Hi Larry, sure is good to hear from you and Sue! Glad to hear your plans are still rocking along- let us know when you get back down to the Coastal Bend, we’d love to cross paths again and catch up…
Hey Larry and sue- we are trying to get in touch – give us a holler 512-658-9249
Please come through Asheville and hang here for awhile.
I’m really glad that you decided to wait! I know there is a bigger plan for both of you. You’ve worked so very hard to make all this happen and it should be done correctly and safely like you said. Big hugs to both of you! Love you T crazy aunt Nancy
So glad you are planning to take some time off. I think you will enjoy the adventure even more when you are rested and healthy–and funded. 🙂 Hope to cross paths somewhere!
Well, while it may be slightly disappointing for you to postpone the adventure, I’ll be happy to see you both!!
And I know Claire is thrilled you’ll be close enough to attend the wedding dance party celebration.
Good luck my friends. Let me know when you get back to Rockport, I want to come down and say hello and catch up in person.
Be safe my friends.