Men are from Mars

Finally convinced Marcus to buy some clothes for the trip. His theory is bring 2 pair, one to wear, one to dry. Not the way I think! Lucky for him I have my black belt in shopping. With a little help from Land's End and Sierra Trading Post, I think we will be properly clothed and protected. Sandals, water shoes, shorts, hats, gloves, underwear, bathing suites, quick drying everything and something a little casual/dressy for checking into Mexico, or an important occasion.

Yesterday was under the bowsprit day. I got in our skiff with a heat gun and scraper and got started. It is hard work to scrape varnish; first heat it up with a heat gun (REALLY powerful and HOT blow dryer) then you take a small flat tool and scrape the softened varnish off of the wood. (at all costs, avoid having the hot metal tip of the gun touch any part of your skin, YIKES-wearing gloves helps). Now try it looking up where the hot little strips of varnish rain down on you. Fortunatly my glasses protect my eyes. It is difficult work and goes slowly, but I think I made real progress. Another few hours/days and I'll be ready for the fun/pretty stuff!

I'm working away, and I think I should document this, as I hope to NEVER do it again. Did I mention our bowsprit is all about the nooks, crannies and hard to reach places? I ask Marcus to get the camera and take a picture of this. He thinks I want a picture of the bowsprit and I have to explain I want a picture of ME working on the boat. It never crosses his mind that someone would want a picture with a person in it. In his mind that just clutters up the view. I rarely see a moment when a picture wouldn't benefit from a smiling face in it. See Mars and Venus!

More work

Bought material for weather cloths. I hope to put our boat name on them so while we are underway people can identify us. Fine tuning the wind catcher for the front hatch. Repairing the bad caulk on our teak decks, and washing and applying Penofin to the brightwork. (all the pretty wood on the boat for you landlubbers).

The weather has helped me going in the mornings; you don't want to be scrubbing woodwork in the 100+ degree heat.

Marcus is getting pretty good a caulking the decks, we found a good product and he has done enough of the work to get really good at it.

Exciting news! Western Grace leaves Canada at the end of the month and will be in San Francisco in 2 weeks on there way to Mexico. We are looking forward to visiting with John and Joanne. If you are interested in serious sailing, or just hanging around Mexico, for the trip of a lifetime, go to http://www.westerngrace.ca/ We highly recommend John and Joanne, whether you want to learn more about sailing, improve/test your skills, snorkel in beautiful secluded coves, and so much more. They have expanded their route to include not only Mexico but Hawaii and Tahiti as well.

OK back to work!!

Work Work Work

Business is picking up. GREAT! EXCITING! NEEDED! But as I look around at the "little projects" I have successfully postponed, I realize, for the umpteenth thim I need to buckle down and finish some things.

Remember when I said I work better under pressure? Now is my chance to prove it. So no more internet surfing and research, time to go to work. Now where did I put that to do list?

Spending Like a Drunken Sailor

I’m trying to kindle in myself the urgency required to take action on the many things that I can, and do, put off. The departure date sometimes seems so close and sometimes far away. I am a procrastinator by nature, and tell everyone I work better under pressure. Probably because I put myself in the position to be under pressure so often, it has HAD to work for me. But with the trip to the bay in the rear view mirror, I see how much needed to be done, and it helped me with the fire I need to use to move me forward.

I found posting an item for sale on eBay is unbelievably easy! I found this because some of my great clothes that will NOT be useful in Mexico on a boat were just too hard to drop off at the Goodwill. So, although I may not really make much money with my eBay endeavors, I know that the people I am placing my beloved “things” with have found value enough to pay me to mail them (is there a name for this disorder?).

Hmm, this is turning into my SECOND post on “stuff”. I really believe this trip may go a long way towards healing my acquisition affliction (wait, thought I was over this).

The only thing I spend time and money on now is boat stuff. I joke that each payday we go to West Marine and just sign our checks over to them. OK, it just feels that way. We are past the research and development stage and full bore to the acquisition stage. Through-hulls, hammocks for veggies, grease, water filters, gas filters, sandals, bathing suits (hey a girl has to have SOMETHING to wear) fans, screws, fittings, gaskets, and the list goes on and on.

So it feels like we are turning a corner, one of many to be sure. Buying school supplies for the kids, batteries, and other things to trade for fish, shrimp and hopefully langostina, or Baja lobster (I have yet to taste this delicacy!) Off to the store for more stuff!!!!

Pink Jobs

I do mostly the “pink” jobs on a boat; provisioning, sewing, cooking, dishes and cleaning. I know this is a not politically correct term, but the phrase is still used. Maybe because cruising women tend to be secure in their abilities onboard, it is acceptable to use such sexist terms. I also, mend sails, turn wrenches, scrape wood, calk, navigate, drive, research, raise the main, and trim the sails. Should Marcus go overboard at sea, his life is in my hands, so I better know how to turn this ship around and go pick him up!

On a boat there are immediate and negative consequences if you are not organized. The galley is not like your kitchen at home. It starts with provisioning, or grocery shopping for you landlubbers. Those of you who know me know home organization is NOT my strong suite.

I have a detailed map of every storage nook and cranny in my boat with elaborate codes to tell me where to locate things. S for starboard, P for port, b for basement (under floorboards) cu for cupboard, sh for shelf, F for forward, v for V berth (the point of the boat where our bed is). Example: Cake mix- ScuF, or something like that, it is a work in progress. The immediate and negative consequence in this case is emptying out cupboards and lifting up boards till you find the missing can of tomato paste. Of course you understand this is all in theory, I’ll get back to you in a couple of months!

Loading my ice box is like strategically planning a battle. OK, what needs to be coldest, what will I use first, what needs to be on top so it won’t be crushed. It helps if you memorize where everything is so you can open the top for the least amount of time possible, sometimes it even works.

Cooking is like standing in a broom closet, while doing dishes, I lean slightly to the right and touch the stove and the ice box is in the corner between the sink and stove. Every time I open the ice box to get something I have to move anything I am preparing. In addition, everything is moving, even at anchor, a swell can make an interesting experience.

After a long day of sailing, first thing you need to do at anchor is make dinner! Breakfast underway is simple, cereal; lunch a sandwich or warmed up soup. Part of my job is morale officer, and a hot tasty dinner goes a long way towards keeping everyone happy and healthy.

Pink jobs? You bet! While it takes a lot of forethought and is a lot more difficult than on land. I think I'm up to the challenge!

Glen Cove Marina

Company's Coming!

8/31/09

Jake and Juliet of Pisces are coming for a visit! Tidy up the boat a bit (looks like a dorm room); inflate the dinghy and Marcus rows off to pick them up. We have never met, yet we greet each other like old friends; it feels like we have known them for years. Through their blog I have been following them on their journey down the coast for over a year. The talk immediately turns to boats, rigging, amps, food storage, engines, weather, and showing off the boat. It is amazing how much of a kinship you can feel with people that are a generation apart.

We could have talked all day, but we needed to leave with the tide and all too soon; time and tide wait for no man. Determined to meet again, a date is set. Tacos in Mazatlan, our first Mexico date! Of course, the odds of it ACTUALLY being in Mazatlan are slim, but their plan is to travel North from Acapulco, and we will be heading south from Cabo San Lucas, so we will meet somewhere in the middle.

The warmth and generosity of cruisers is wonderful. From the “high end” to the econo cruisers, all are friendly and freely share.

The clock is ticking but we purposefully slow ourselves to make sure we are diligent in performing the anchor up checklist, dinghy stowed, water valves closed, and nothing loose to fly across the cabin.

We head out for Raccoon Straights, between Tiburon and Angel Island. Soon, we are cruising along; our first sail in the bay with our own boat! Winds are light and on the beam, perfect for sailing with the Jib, Mizzen and Main up. I know we look pretty, where is a photographer when you need one? Just past Richmond Bridge, in San Pablo Bay, we ghost along at 2 knots (about 2.2 mph slow even by sailboat standards) and begin to think about starting the motor when the wind pipes up, shortly, we are flying!! Now, overpowered (too much sail up) we start dropping sails, wow, wild ride! We have a “lively” sail across San Pablo Bay, and drop the sails just past the Carquinez Bridge right about sunset.

It has been a long and tiring 3 days, and we treat ourselves to a night at Glen Cove Marina. It is a really beautiful marina with a large Victorian type home as the centerpiece; you can almost see the retired sea captain on the deck. I am at the helm and Marcus is forward with the dock lines at the ready. The tricky berth we have at Owl Harbor and all the close quarter docking practice will come in handy here. A narrow entrance and a dogleg turn lead us past the local sailors and to the visitors dock. We work great as a team, and I pilot Quiet Moon gently to her dock for the night.

Sausalito

8/30/09
At anchor in Richardson Bay, we ARE the view for Sausalito! We take the opportunity to do some boat chores, which naturally, take longer than anticipated. FYI the stencil kit sold for inflatable’s does NOT work like stencils and spray paint. Drop me a line for dinghy lettering 101. Late afternoon trip ashore, I’ll spare you the aromatic motivation, just a word of advice - makes sure you have a useable holding tank before you leave.

We had a nice walk to a gourmet market called Molly Stone’s for ice and bread. Looking around, we could shop here for hours, and spends lots of money! Yummy treats all around. So the walk to the market is what we expect in Mexico, no doubt in our minds, the markets will look nothing like Molly’s!

That's not a wake, that's a surf break!

8/28/09
Long day of motoring, winds on the nose and you can’t sail into that. By 7pm we made it to San Pablo Bay and decide to anchor just east of Pinole Point. Nice and quiet, we settle in for some Orange chicken and brown rice, always nice to have a hot meal after a full day.

Ice is holding up well, thank you Julia of Pisces for the idea to add a layer of reflective insulation to the ice box; I raise my glass of ice cubes to you!

We watch as a fast ferry passes in the distance, wow, they are fast. The water shooting up behind them is a huge foamy wave, now if we only had a surf board. Surprise 15 minutes later the wave arrives, we are beam on (sideways) and we start rocking and rolling!! Lucky for us, the ferry runs stop about 11, and we finally got some sleep.

Sitting in the cockpit, watching a spectacular sunset is the perfect end to the day. It seemed to last forever with brilliant shades of orange and red, the lights reflecting on the windows across the bay. Interesting how lighting can make things prettier, even an oil processing plant looks lovely lit up. The lights of Pinole reflect on the shimmering water and make pillars of lights.