Preparing ... Preparing

As you have read from Hugh's recent post he has been busily getting us ready for our upcoming (and coming quickly) voyage. His job has been the "technical" side of things ... thankfully, as I really have little or no knowledge of  "all that works with motors".

So my job is home comforts and  provisioning.  But right now I feel  my main job is being Hugh's "sounding board".

Every night he comes home with a new idea, new research or new item he has found or ordered "for the boat". We eat, drink, sleep, walk and talk sailing all the time right now! Its a little overwhelming ... but I think it is helping us get mentally prepared for this journey.

I now know more about engines, alternators, holding and water tanks, solar panels and batteries than I  care to admit. We know that when sailors get together the women usually talk about food and and the men almost always talk batteries ... Hugh jokes that I will be able to hold my own among the men's conversation!!!

We are following a few blogs of friends from our sailing club, or boats we have found on line, that are doing the exact same thing right now that we hope to do later this year and next. I have also discovered a FaceBook page called "Women Who Sail" (WWS) , which is a group of amazing women from all over the world who post questions and answers. Some are pretty hard core ... but they all give me inspiration that I too can do this amazing adventure, and that I am not alone with my fears and questions.




















On the home comfort front I have been collecting items for the boat to make it feel like our "home away from home". With my basic sewing skills I have sewn two comforters, one for our bunk and also for the aft cabin. We also have started collecting pillow cases from different travels to make the cockpit and settee down below more cosy.

On our recent trip to Mexico we bought a blanket that  I hope will be multi-purpose ... warmth, beach blanket, cover for leather settees, extra blankets for guest ... etc ... etc.  Every time I see something that would be good "for the boat" I buy it and put it in our boat cupboard in the basement. I'm sure there will be a few forgotten surprises when we start going through it in the spring!!

My biggest job is provisioning. I have been reading, reading and reading all sorts of websites, blogs and magazines about how to cook on board.  I know, I know, everyone eats everywhere. I've been told that many times. And I also know that we have never starved while cruising Georgian Bay. So I will stock up the boat before launch to resemble my home kitchen and then I'm sure I will find a store or two along the way to get supplies  ;)

And I have started practicing some recipes at home for boat cooking, including with a pressure cooker that I received for Christmas, and my first attempt at using it was quite a success! Today I am baking bread ...

It's all very exciting and overwhelming at the same time ... but in truth I can't wait to get going!!

Countdown to Casting Off!

It's 2017 which means we only have a few months until we cast off on our voyage south!

We have several lists of things we need to do before we leave.

One list is equipment, mostly safety related such as lifejackets that meet offshore requirements, a lifesling, danbuoy, different types of flares and a DSC enabled handheld VHF.  

We went to the Toronto International Boat Show and got much of the equipment on our list, (and more) and were pleasantly surprised (having gone out for quotes in advance) to find that the prices at Fogh Boat Supplies at the show were really competitive!

I've also got my spares list for the engine which consists mostly of regular maintenance items like filters, belts, impellers, and zincs however we've also decided on a replacement alternator since I think it is too small for the size of our battery bank meaning we'll likely be working it hard.

I've ordered a working jib from Greg Bratkiw at Evolution Sails in Toronto and am getting a third set of reef points in the main. It's probably overkill for getting to our first goal, the Bahamas, but if we like the lifestyle, we'll be prepared for going farther!

We're also going to get a Honda EU2000i generator for charging redundancy.

And, we need to get cruising guides and charts for our route.

Our second list is the last of the boat projects that includes a second 250W solar panel, AIS, cabin fans, replacing the pump and hose to the Hanse holding tank, a bumper on the stem to protect against anchor dings, a handrail on the swim platform to help with coming up the ladder and disembarking from the dinghy and running a third reefing line.

Trekker's mast is theoretically 64'4" above the water, not including, I expect, the instruments, antenna and Windex. This spring I need to measure it exactly.  The ICW fixed bridges are nominally 65' but many tell us that there are a couple of 62 footers at mean high-high tide.  That means we will either have to go offshore to get around them or heel the boat to get under them.  There are some great Youtube videos showing boats being heeled to get under a bridge including Prestissimo owned by Joseph Huberman.  Prestissimo has very similar dimensions to Trekker and Joseph reports that he has transited the ICW for years heeling the boat with a 1.5 cubic metre water bag made of nylon pack fabric. Joseph sent me a photo of his bag and a description and recommended I try making the bag out of a heavy duty polyethylene tarp. So, I have my design complete and one quote, and plan to get another, and go to production! Hanse has very kindly included the stability curve for the boat on its website.  If I've interpreted it correctly, and done my sums properly, 733 kg at 5 metres from the centreline should heel us 18.2 degrees, which should reduce our height to 62 feet. 

Our last list is administrative items like getting our OHIP exemption for a year, renewing our NEXUS cards, travel health insurance and getting a marine mobile radio station for the VHF that we need for international travel, and arranging for a cruising license.

It all seems a little daunting at the moment, but I'm sure we'll get most of it done.