Final month of preparations...

Work has been continuing in Seattle, getting our house packed up and moved to storage in preparation to rent out.  We're thrilled that old family friend Alexis and her husband Jacob are moving back to Seattle from New Jersey and want to live here for the next year!  We've sold two cars, are taking care of umpteen details and paperwork items, all while Cindi finishes up her last month of work at Harborview.

Adam went down to San Diego this past week to install our new anchor windlass on the bow.  The motor of our old one, a Nilsson Maxwell 1000, just wasn't up to the job, and the "down" gear was not working. It was time for a new one, after the old unit gave 25 years of service.  We put on a Maxwell VWC3500, and it was reasonably good fit.  "Reasonably" was the operative word, as quite a bit of fabrication was involved, not to mention drilling a 5 inch diameter hole into the deck, a bit of a spooky move, to be sure...("measure twice, cut once", as the old adage goes!!!)

John helping Adam installing the windlass.  This is looking forward toward the forepeak, with John crammed into the chain locker.  The temp in the locker had to be at least 110 degrees!

The windlass installed on a new teak base.  Nearly done, the deck still needs a cleaning, and the anchor shackled to the chain!

It took Adam and helper John three days to install the windlass, including new deck switches, solenoid, and wiring back to the main battery bank.  The weather in San Diego was hot, including the hottest November temp EVER recorded in the city, 101 degrees!  Nice to get this project behind us.

During the Grand Prix sailboat regatta in Seattle a couple of weeks ago, Adam tore the meniscus cartilage in his left knee.  Felt it pop, and MRI confirmed the tear.  Arthroscopic surgery scheduled for this coming Wednesday.  Not the best of timing, but recovery should be quick.  Will figure out how to do physical therapy on board.

Now back to continue packing up the house.  Cindi is finishing up at work, with last day on 11/30.  Plan is to be back aboard Bravo on 12/1, and quickly head into Mexico after a bit of provisioning.  Stay tuned!