She made it!

Susan made it to Texas! Tuesday of this week she drove from Atlanta to the marina in just over 12 hours. She didn't make it all the way to the boat before a party broke out on the pier. Who needs dinner when there are good friends, good drinks and good munchies? For the first couple of days the boat has looked like a bomb went off as Susan is trying to find a place for all the stuff. As I suspected (and she commented on in the last post) she's trying to sink us. There is an ever growing pile of stuff that isn't staying. Thank goodness. :-)

Sails and more sails. We noticed that the jib (sail in front of the mast) was looking a bit worn. Actually not the sail but the sacrificial canvas that is sewn around the edges to protect the sail from sun's UV rays when it is rolled up. Our neighbor Ted from Another Life came over and helped me take the sail down this past weekend so I could take it to a sail maker to get it repaired, which I did on Monday morning. There was also a spot on the mainsail that didn't look right that I wanted a professional to look at. As luck would have it the sail maker was going to be at our marina on Tuesday and he said he'd stop by and look at it. A quick look and he showed me the sail had a small tear in it. A small tear but one that was in a section of the sail that had been damaged by exposure to the sun. So now we have a new mainsail on order. Five weeks! We hoped to be out of here before then. But looking at the bright side, when we leave our sails will be in good shape and we won't have to worry about them.

AIS MMSI M-O-U-S-E! Not Mickey Mouse at all, really. Automatic Identification System (AIS) is kind of like the beacon planes use so they can be identified. AIS is voluntary for us but an important safety tool. It transmits over VHF information like our position, the vessel's name, heading and speed. AIS on commercial ships broadcast even more information. With AIS we'll see on our chart plotter all boats and ships within several miles that are transmitting AIS. And they will see us. On a clear day, no big deal. At night or when it's foggy it is nice to see and be seen. Because the vessel's name is displayed it allows for another to call you on the radio by name rather than to say, "hey, you, on that sailboat over there. What are your intentions when you reach the end of the channel?"

To make AIS work, you need a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number. You can get a free MMSI for a recreational vessel of less than 65 feet as long as you don't intend to sail outside the US. Since our intention is to sail outside the US I had to get a radio license from the FCC and an MMSI as part of that license. This is not free and I thought it might take quite some time to acquire said license. Thanks to Ted again he pointed me at how to apply online. I submitted the application, along with a $215 payment on Sunday night. Tuesday morning I had my license and MMSI number in an email. Not bad!

So our AIS transceiver is on order and on its way. Now I just have to figure out how to get it installed properly. If you'd like, just for fun, you can go to www.marinetraffic.com and drill down any place in the world (near land) and see who has AIS, what kind of boat they are and where they are.

Sorry to those of you that want more pictures than words. I'll try to get some pictures soon.

Another Step

Well, he did it.  Brian tendered his resignation to HDS this morning after 35 years with the company.  His initial reaction was shock and fear, understandably, but now- as he tells more and more colleagues- he sounds positively gleeful.  His smile is blinding.  They have told him that his last official day will be 5/29, but know his head may not quite be in the game these last few weeks.  Seriously.  Congratulations, Brian.  You can now join the ranks of the unemployed!!  

I have a few loose ends I need to tie up at the house and then will be making my last trip from Georgia (driving) in the next week or so.  Brian is afraid I will bring so much junk it will sink the boat and he may be right!   We still have some time to “shake down” and get everything stowed before we leave  Since the first leg of our voyage will be along the Gulf coast toward Florida, we will have ample opportunity to get anything we have overlooked.  This is all getting very REAL and we are both very, very excited.  And scared out of our minds.  What a roller coaster of emotions!

Susan

Getting Close

Ok, so it’s been a while since we posted anything, but that’s because Brian has been in South Africa, and I have been trying to close my practice (after 25 years), sell or give away a BUNCH of junk (boy does it feel good to do THAT!), and think about moving to the boat. Post to the blog?  Didn’t seem to be very high on the list.  Sorry!

Brian was fortunate enough to have his son, Cody, wife Abby, and their 2 kids come spend a few nights on the boat with him before he left for South Africa.  Unfortunately, he was so busy with work that they weren't able to go out sailing, but at least they got to spend some time aboard.  Maybe next time we will both be "at leisure" and can show the kids how it's done!  

Time is drawing nigh for Brian to be resigning from HDS after 35 years (who works for the same company for 35 years anymore?  Especially in IT?).  If it works out anything like my “termination” it’s really unsettling, to say the least.  I am quite ready to take some time off, not have to run a business anymore, and relax a little from the constant stress of patient complaints and liability issues, but the lack of income has my attention!!  And I really feel un-moored, to coin a nautical term.  I’ve gotten up before dawn and gone to work every day for my entire adult life and old habits die hard.  I’m sure iI’ll feel better when I finally get to Texas and we get underway.

We still have a long list of stuff that needs to be fixed/bought for the boat- AIS (gives us the ability to see and be seen by other marine traffic), SSB (single side band radio for offshore communication), and adding a water maker are the big ticket items, but there is a bunch of smaller stuff that needs our attention as well.  We were able to fix a water fixture at the stern that was broken and another thru-hull drain fitting that was leaking (thanks to Bill Cheezum for discovering it!!).  Once again we learned a few things by doing the repairs ourselves- and it only took 3 trips to Blackburn's supply and 2 to West Marine. Hopefully once I get down there for good, with more than just a day or 2 at our disposal, we’ll be able to tackle those other things.  I’m still hoping to be able to cast off the docklines by early June, but I’m such an optimist. :)

All for now.  Things will get more exciting shortly-  I promise!  Stay tuned.

Susan