I am quite remiss in blogging, but between new grandbaby visits and prepping to take Gabrielle offshore, writing is one of the things that has fallen by the wayside. I can either prep the boat, or write about prepping the boat, but if I’m writing, I’m not prepping. It has been a ton of work. I’m looking forward to getting to Puerto Rico and slowing down, having time to write.
Repairs have been completed, the mast replaced, the rigging tuned up by professional rigger. Safety equipment has been tested and set up. and provisions stocked. The crew has all arrived, and pitched in to complete the preparations, including provisioning and stowing. Every one of us is a good cook, so we’re going to eat well.
Zana is an old school friend of Kate’s daughter Kayla, and was one of Kate’s Girl Scouts when Kate was a Troop Leader. She is an experienced sailor, having decided one morning that she wanted to learn about sailing, and landing a berth on a sailing vessel before nightfall. She “hitch-hiked” across the Pacific for years, as crew and sea-cook. She is an absolute delight to be around.
Nola is my niece, and one of my favorite human beings. She has never done a sailing voyage like this, but she also has no fear, and has already pitched in with gusto- an avid rock-climber and mountaneer, she volunteered to go up the forestay to clean out some gunk that was preventing the sails from going up. She is also a delight to be around.
Ryan is Nola’s boyfriend. He must be a good one, to follow her on this adventure. He’s a big’un, tall and strong, which is good to have along. A quiet man, and reads a lot. I like the cut of his jib (I also love to be able to say that line un-ironically).
So today, as soon as we complete a few final errands, and as soon as the SpaceX Falcon Nine launch takes place (we can’t sail out of Port Canaveral until the launch is complete as there is a safety/security zone we have to sail through), we will set out for a two week offshore trip to Puerto Rico. I’ve hired the services of a weather forecaster/router, and he advised for us to get to the Bahamas as quickly as possible, and then hunker down and wait, because a big blow will be coming on Sunday. He expects it to die down enough to get back out there by middle of next week, so we’ll push on for PR as quickly as we can. I’ve always wanted to see the Bahamas!
So that’s it for now folks. Stand by, I’ll get back to ya in a couple of weeks from Sunny Puerto Rico!
Fair winds and Godspeed !