And with a sigh of relief

And with a sigh of relief we exit the strong trades and approach the center of the Pacific high pressure zone. As we do, the wind dies down as do the seas. I've got all the sails up and am taking the old advice "when in doubt, let the sails out". I've loosened them all to get a little belly, a little more curve to the shape. We are not pointing as high as we could if we had stronger wind and flatter sails, but the most important thing is to keep the boat moving.

Randy brought out the rod and reel and we selected a pretty blue lure so now that's dragging behind the boat. We can always hope.

Randy did catch a Mahi Mahi

Last night Connie ran the engine for about an hour when the wind went slack and the waves made the sails crash back and forth. When she turned it on, it was so loud that I jumped out of bed! "What's going on?"

Now that the seas have calmed down we can dig into some of that wonderful stashed food and start making some real meals. Tonight we are thawing out actual sausages and having them with homemade sauerkraut and potatoes. That might not sound so special to you but for us, after three days of eating sandwiches and crackers it sounds like heaven. I might actually have a glass of wine tonight if I'm not on duty.

Having an excess amount of time to just sit still and hold on tight, we've all had time to think about what we will be doing in the future. We're thinking about the boat and what projects need to be done:

Finish removing teak decks. Glass and paint decks.
Paint the side of the boat (green)
Re-bed ALL of the deck objects: stanchions, cleats, pulpits, tracks, etc...
Replace the center hatch.
Replace or rebuild the old head.
Replace head hoses.
Varnish or oil teak.
Replace propeller shaft.
Have someone check the rudder bearings and stuffing box.

We're thinking about where we might want to live:
Olympia, at Swantown marina where we know lots of people.
Seattle, where we know lots of people and where Tesla lives.
Port Townsend, where we know no one but where they have a great place to get boat work done.

We're thinking about what we'll do once we hit the Strait of Juan de Fuca:
Port Angeles and pizza.
Port Townsend and reciprocal moorage.
Seattle and access to the airport so Randy can catch a flight home to Santa Fe.
We gotta put the boat someplace by September so we can do our annual pilgrimage to California.
And in the late fall, we gotta decide where to live and what to do with the winter. For Connie, she wants to play music as much as possible. We have to find a place where I can do boat work and she can play music.

So much to think about. I'm glad to have all this spare time to think. For yourself, think about it, how often do you have long expanses of time to just think, to think things completely through, examining all the alternatives? I bet you are pretty busy most of the time. I know I was when I was living the work-a-day life.

I'm just saying....

Here is an update from later on in the day: A bright blue/yellow Mahi Mahi took the lure. The reel went zinggggg.. Connie yelled, "Fish On!" I came up top and saw the line peeling off rapidly. In seconds it would all be gone. So I grabbed the last of it with my hand and felt the fish sounding. We got the line straightened out and the reel into Randy's hands so he could reel in all that had run out. Fifteen minutes later he landed a beautiful Mahi Mahi (or Dorado). Guess what's for dinner?

Note to Randy's brother: Send email with current political news please.

Scott, Connie, and Randy

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