Bon Voyage!

Great dock party yesterday!  70 or 80 folks had no trouble draining the keg, and both of us had lumps in our throats saying good bye to so many wonderful friends.  We're both so excited to be starting this new adventure at last, but departing on a journey is always bittersweet. (thanks, Jola, for the great pix!)

Great to be able to stay connected via the web, and we're looking forward to seeing many of you "out there" in the months ahead!  Drop us a line anytime, and if you want to come join us, just let us know!

Obviously Toby had no trouble hopping aboard!

The cockpit filled...

Bets were in....will it really float???

The case of the disappearing waterline!!!

Grant doing his part to share in the festivities!!!

A successful Costco run completed!

Well, we made a major provisioning run a couple of days ago.  A couple of carts at Costco, and we should have much of the vittles for 4 folks for 4 weeks purchased.  Now to figure out where it will all go!!  (as well as all the spare parts, tools, line, pumps, and on and on.  Bravo's waterline is threatening to dip below if gravity doesn't relax it's grip!!

Actually, here's Cindi at Costco w/ cart 1...  The great thing about Costco is no one blinks an eye at $700 grocery bills...From the look of the regulars, this would be about a weeks worth!!!

Back at Bravo, we've been getting busy, scratch that, it's getting a bit frantic...stashing stuff in nooks and crannies that we never knew existed, all the while inventorying what goes into each numbered nook.  Yeah, we'll see how long things remain in place....

One great gizmo that we've been using a lot has been the vacuum bagger.  Perfect for shrinking a roll of paper towels into a roll smaller than TP, or close to it, as well as waterproofing spare electronics, filters, and other critical parts.

Finished up installing the track for the storm trisail today, drilling and tapping over 140 screws on the mast to support the rascal.  (We REALLY wouldn't that to go on walkabout when we need it most).  Nice views from this corner office!!!

Under 1 Month to go!!!

We're getting closer every day...Rigging work nearly complete w/ assist by Chris Tutmark (still have to install the trysail track, drilling and tapping over 100 screws up the newly painted mast), spare parts and misc. baubles arriving by UPS nearly every day, HF radios tested, etc., etc.  Recently worked with shipwright Karl Jacobsen to replace rotted headliner in aft cabin (and found leak which caused the rot, a well buried, pinhole sized void in the aft hatch sealant left by the manufacturer Queen Long over 25 years ago).  Cindi is working on the medical kit, and organizing the provisioning and storage of food and other supplies.



Recently hauled Bravo out of the water to paint the bottom, and to get the prop repitched.  Had to send the VariProp back to a machine shop in Maine (!!!) to modify the max pitch available, so that we could get better performance while under power.  Took a while, but it added nearly 1 knot at same engine rpm, which gives us us perhaps a 15% increase in fuel efficiency.  Nice.

Also, while out of the water, we had her surveyed by a marine surveyor for insurance purposes.  This is always a dicey experience, as ya just never know what might be discovered.  With just a few minor recommendations, she passed with flying colors...whew!