Monday, July 12, 2010

Away from the dock, and some new problems to deal with.

Today started with Adrien finally getting hoisted up the mast. Luckily for me, we have a power winch to get him up there, as if I had to grind him all the way up it would have taken a lot longer.

The rigging inspection went smoothly, but unfortunately Adrien discovered that one of our shrouds (strong stainless steel wires that support the mast side to side) was corroded and cracked. It will need to be replaced before we can go. Hope we can get it done by Wednesday, but if not, we will have to wait. There was also some wear on the topping lift (a rope from the top of the mast that holds up the end of the boom) and that will need to be replaced also.

After all of this we finally went out for a sail. We were joined by Tim and Pam, friends and neighbors from the marina. It was a big help having them on board as they basically drove the boat while Adrien and I wrestled with the new jib. We got it up and sailing, but somehow in the process it must have snagged on something and now has a tear in the suncover (a strip of clothe along the edge of a roller furling sail that protects it from the sun's UV radiation when it isn't being used. This isn't critical for us as we plan to be using the sail just about all the time but it should probably get patched so it doesn't fray and get tattered being out in the wind for 3 weeks.

Then we raised the main and found another problem. There is a tear in the leech (the back edge) of the main, where the leech line is cut. The line will need to be replaced and a patch installed before we can go.

We pulled the sails back down and motored back to the marina after a while. Munched some granola bars for lunch, and both Adrien and I felt just a bit of seasickness, which is odd as neither of us has a history of that. Perhaps it was a bit of nerves as the reality of leaving really set in as we sailed around, or perhaps it was that leftover seafood fried rice we had for breakfast. Either way after eating a little we both felt better.

Back at the dock there was a bit of debate about whether it made more sense to swim first (it got really hot when we got in from sailing) and then nap, or nap first and then swim. We compromised and had a short nap, followed by a short swim, then Adrien went back for a second longer nap, and I walked around with my camera for a while (see the Black Pearl pictures on my facebook page).

Dinner time and we went to the ABC Store (familiar to anyone who has ever been a tourist in Hawaii) and got a roasted chicken and some vegies to make a salad. Ate on the boat and here we are.

Tomorrow we need to get lots done. Adrien's friend Peggy (the same person we picked up the jerry cans from a few days back) does canvas and sail repair and is going to check out those problems. A rigger suggested by Cheryl is also supposed to call to see if he can come down and help deal with the shroud, but he might have jury duty so isn't sure if he can make it or not. Sigh.

Oh and after dinner Adrien notices the pressure water pump was turning on, followed a bit later by the bilge pump. This is likely a leak in the fresh water system of the boat, probably caused by something that happened while we were out sailing as it wasn't happening yesterday. We will need to get to that tomorrow also.

At this point we are adding things to the list of things to do a lot faster than we are crossing them off. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

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