A big cyclonic wind system in the NE Pacific is making for a tiny period of S or SW winds before they turn to westerlies. We may have a few good travel days next week for the beginning of our trip to the North.

So, we’re checking things off the list and making ready to leave. Just in case. Sunday. What does that entail?

Friday, Beryl gets her shots and her health certificate. We dig out her harness and lifevest so she can practice wearing them again.

Brenda goes over the sails and rigging to make sure everything is in good order. Sewing, OK, one of the HiMod fittings has unexpected corrosion pitting upon inspection–not OK.

David installs new equipment–in this case, it’s a new radar mount and a B&G 4G radar on the mainmast.

We also get to install all the stuff that we’ve been procrastinating or that is is just finally showing up here–two custom Garhauer blocks for the running backstays; the amsteel lifelines that I’ve been avoiding the final install of; several misc. electrical bits and pieces–for example we’ll have a 12V light in the stateroom for the first time. Up until now it’s been flashlights, hocky-puck battery lights, or a 120VAC shorepower light.

We buy dozens of things we don’t need but “just in case” we can’t get them. The list? Well, we hit Trader Joe’s today and it was: dark chocolate; granola bars; Basmati rice; curry; goat cheeses (cheddar, brie, Gouda); wine; our favorite coffee; three dozen eggs; blondie mix; our favorite pasta; two six packs of Hansen’s sodas; and a dry salami. The trip to Costco happened last week and the “fresh veggie” trip will happen late the day before we go.

We finish up a variety of projects that really need to be put away before sailing. Today that means putting all the parts back onto the main saloon table that David made and I’ve been varnishing; it also means that FINALLY David will be forced to put away all of his toys ahem, tools that have been covering every horizontal surface of the boat (inside and out) for the last two weeks.

Beryl is helping me layout corbels to support the drop leaf main saloon table

How big of a board is too big?

This place is truly a mess when David is in the middle of a project like the saloon table.

Tomorrow, the highlight of the day will be to cut the latex foam (in half) on two queen size mattress toppers and make them into mattresses for the twin-size pilot berths that sit outboard and above the main saloon seats. Once David’s tools are out of the way, I will be able to get out my sewing machine, put it on that new main saloon table and make a lee cloth for the starboard pilot berth. That’s needed since it looks like we will have a guest aboard for the first portion of our northward trip. It would be bad if she fell out of the berth and sustained an injury due to the lack of a lee cloth.

After the toys tools are stashed away by David, I can begin the “stash and lash” process in earnest.

Other last minute stuff? Find a local gas station of the “Rotten Robbies” chain to buy kerosene for the stove and gasoline for the Honda EU2000; determine if we’re going to jerry-jug another 80 or so gallons of diesel onto the boat from a gas station (usually cheaper than fuel dock prices) or if we can easily and inexpensively fill up at a local fuel dock near here. Let’s see, what else? Empty the compost from the composting head, clean under the engine and replace the diesel “diaper” in the engine tray (so we can see if there are any leaks or spills); check all the navigation lights and engine fluids. Oh, and keep our fingers crossed that the new C-Map chart chips we ordered show up before we leave.