Beginning to get ready to leave

First few steps..... off to Deltaville for an overnight visit.  We picked up the sails and put them back on the boat.  They needed a little replacement stitching, some tape replaced, and a general check-up.  Getting them back on was a major accomplishment, as we can't do that when the wind is picked up at all. The wind catches them (as it is supposed to!) and flaps them around while we're trying to feed them into little groves. Fortunately, we had a calm morning.

Next housekeeping item was to take the 200 feet of chain and the anchor off of the boat, load it into an oversized cart,  into the trunk of the car, and off to a shop in Richmond.  The chain had begun to rust badly, not a good thing when we rely on it to hold us in place every day! We were a bit dissapointed that the chain rusted after only 4 years or so, but then, we've used it almost every day, down and up, for 9 months of three years.  Our quick guess was that's about 2000 trips in or out of the anchor locker. The shop in Richmond will re-galvanize the chain and anchor, making them as good as new.  Not a fun project, but a lot cheaper than buying new!  They should be ready for pick up next Friday.

This trip also gave  us an opportunity to review how the boat is doing ---- she needs a "bottom job"... we had hoped to avoid that.  The barnacles are growing like wild weeds and the bottom obviously has growth.  Sigh.  So, when we go back next week for our final push, we will have Latitudes pulled, put on the hard, and clean/fast paint the bottom.  If all goes well, the chain is ready, and the wind gods are smiling, we should be able to get back into the water and set southward sails on Monday.  Smokey will be so excited.....

We did make a dinner stop in Charlottesville to visit Luke's cousin Miette and her husband George.  Had dinner at a REALLY GOOD funky little pizza shop in Crozet, named appropriately enough Crozet Pizza.  If you are ever in the area, try it!  It's a couple of miles off of US64 exit 107.  But the really nice part was seeing Miette and George again.

So, things are coming together for a big southern cruise - more on those plans in a bit!