It's now late October and we are getting things ready to return to Hi Flite.
A lot has happened since we returned. We came back earlier then we had planned so that I could have cataract surgery. It is amazing to not need glasses, except for up close, for the first time in about sixty years. We had two graduations to attend and now the nephew and great-nephew are beginning their careers in the Air Force. We both returned to our jobs from the previous summers and got back into the workforce. This helps with the cruising kitty, pay for maintenance and buy boat parts which there seems to be a never ending list. It wasn't all work, we put about a thousand miles on our ATV exploring the trails in the Black Hills National Forest and spending time with friends and family. I took time off to go to my high school reunion, can't believe that it has been fifty years.
While we have been away we have been getting updates of projects we contracted to be done over the summer. Many cruisers will not contract to have work done while they are away choosing to be on hand to monitor the work. We have been lucky that we have some very reliable contractors and they give up periodic updates. We had the mizzen mast pulled and it and the booms are being repainted, photos show that it looks impressive and we may need to do the main mast. There is a bit of deck work to be done to repair and paint the area the old windlass was mounted and around several hatches. Below deck everything is teak. Prior to moving aboard we re-varnished everything. Now it is time for some major touch-up. Living aboard and trying to varnish is a major pain, the fumes are hazardous, it's almost impossible to not touch or bump into fresh varnish and we are constantly moving things to access another area. Cori threw in the towel and arranged for the worker that replaced the cap-rail last year to do the varnishing. There are some additional advantages to finding a good boat yard and workers. We got a notice one day that there was something spilled in the cockpit. There is a box built in the cockpit that also serves as a table that the previous owner used to store his dive tanks. I use to store motor oil and changing supplies. Evidently one of the containers started to leak and the cockpit floor was awash in motor oil. Usually this would be an unpleasant surprise when we return. Cori got a notice from Ricky, who is watching the boat and doing some of the work, that they found the spilled oil and cleaned it up. There will most likely be more surprises for us on our return. Boats do not like to be left on their own and will let you know with a variety of problems and surprises when you return.
We are scheduled to fly back to Trinidad November 12. We are in the process of stocking up on things we will need that we cannot get in the islands and a variety of boat parts. A short story of how that is going: we have a water-maker on board. Last season while repairing the pump I damaged what is called a "poppet" and it's corresponding spring. I wrote about that experience in a previous post. I contacted the manufacturer (Katadyne) to determine which part kits will replace the damaged parts. I received a response with the appropriate kits and an offer to just send me several replacement poppets, springs and o-rings at no charge. They arrived several days ready to install when back to the boat. Other parts range from inexpensive to rather expensive (windlass gypsy = $400), light-weight to heavy for their size and some odd shaped and hard to pack. We will be paying for the extra bags we will be taking and they all must be under fifty pounds. We looked into shipping a package before we leave to meet us there but the cost is prohibitive.
Once we arrive in Trinidad we have a couple of projects to finish before we start moving up-island. We are planning for this to be our last season in the Caribbean and are planning to work our way up the islands back to the Virgin Island and from there work our way to the Bahamas and then back to the US. Once back in the US we are planning to continue full-time cruising the east coast from New England to the Bahamas and possibly on excursion into the gulf coast. As usual we keep the old adage of "sailing plans are written in the sand at low tide" meaning they are subject to changes on a regular basis.
