Well, week one began and ended with a bang, both literally and figuratively. A shakedown cruise Sunday and Monday (our first day off) permitted checking out not only the new installed refrigeration system, a new sail and some rigging adjustments, but also our newly assembled medical kit. As hard as it is to believe, the boom really is harder than Jim's head. But one butterfly stitch on the forehead later, we were back to business.
Those darn weather forecasters never seem to get the weather right; sorry Chuck (Joyce's brother who is a Meteorologist). Instead of sunny skies that were predicted, we got rained on in chilly, breezy weather. Time to bring out the foul weather gear.
The things we do for our pets. No one can believe that we would put netting on Watermark. But here we are in the process. This should help keep the cats on board when the going gets rough. However, we're already anticipating the day when we can take it down.
We also spent some time working on the teak, and cleaning and waxing the hull.
The other job of the week was to recover a pair of sunglasses (Jim's brand new expensive ones) lost overboard at the dock about a month ago. Of course this meant donning the dive gear and blowing a few bubbles. Turns out the bay water clarity is pretty good this time of year. Jim recovered the glasses within minutes and they cleaned up nicely!
Lots of good news and some bad news this week though. Good news is that breaking our lease on our rental townhouse at the end of May is not going to be a problem as the owner has decided to sell the place. Bad news is that we are being sued by the owners of the house we sold last July (the home buyers from hell). Good news is that Jim is getting a short article published in SAIL Magazine and getting paid a whole $25 for it. And more good news that we've found a nice new home for our car without much difficulty.
But life in the slow lane isn't all just work. We had time to enjoy a very pleasant Mother's day with Marcy and Ed Herring (Joyce's parents). After a delightful sail out to Thomas Point lighthouse and back, we dined not in a crowded restaurant but in a scenic anchorage not far from our dock.
One more week at the house and then we're moving aboard. This week's schedule includes moving some of our furniture around to relatives, a trip back to Kernan Hospital for Jim to do some transitioning, finishing up a brick patio for Jim's brother and final preparations for moving aboard this Sunday. Turns out we have about 10 lbs of frozen strawberries in the freezer to get rid of; daiquiri party anyone?
