A test....

First, a little test. I should have done this last time. While we were in Williamsburg, we saw the most wonderful Christmas lights. They were vertical strings, with three 6 inch segments of lights, spaced about 18 inches appart.  The LEDs within the segments and the segments themselves were lit sequentially downward, creating the impression of falling snow or ice. Cool! Luke thought that one string of those lights would be great to help us find our boat in the midst of many at night in the Bahamas.  Sooooo..I dutifully went into the store and asked about the price.  What do you think?  I'll finish the blog so you can think about it and then tell you.

We continue to plod forward. A nice young man delivered and installed a new starting battery for the boat (heavy and in an difficult place). Things always take longer than expected. Luke did some work on the dinghy today.We decided to put some pulling rings on her, to help us tow the dinghy and to pull it up onto shore.  Here's the work in process.

After attaching the pulling eye, we had to deflate the dinghy to REALLY press hard on the glued attachment.  A 24 hour wait, and then hopefully we can inflate the dinghy and all will be well.

Smoke is playing cat and finding all hiding places.


We got a lot done - the boat is in a more livable state, we have hot water, electricty, and heat, but also frustrations.  The canvas repair was incorrect and we had to take a piece back.  Maybe another piece tomorrow, too.  The faucet repair needs to be a replacement.  Rain tomorrow evening and Wednesday. The life raft installation didn't quite get finished. We're not sure when we can leave.  It may be late this week or possibly early next week.  sigh.

But Luke and Smokey are taking it in stride.  I'm going to take it in stride in our electric-blanket heated bed, very soon!

Oh, and those lights?  For one string with 3 little 6" LED sections ----- $400 per string!!!!!  (we didn't buy any.....but they're on our Christmas list if anyone feels generous!!!)

Still in Deltaville, but making progress

Well, we're still in Deltaville, but a departure is getting closer.  Most of the things we brought from home have been stowed.  Some projects are finished, unlike the leaking faucet which needs a replacement, not the rebuild we tried.

A correction from the last post --- Nikki did NOT participate in the Turkey Trot... it was the Drumstick Dash!!!  Turkey, drumstick...
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Lisa, husband Matt, and 2 yr old Simon met us in Williamsburg on Saturday.  It was a beautiful, clear, crisp fall day and we had a great visit with them.  We toured the historic area.

Grandson Simon met his first St. Nicholas.  That candy cane outweighted any hesitancy he may have had.

Back at the boat on Sunday, we did a lot of stowing while Luke worked on the installation of our new life raft. Pictures to follow in the next post.

Little Smokey is at home (oh, just wait till we set sail and the clanging and banging and heeling start...).  She is comfortable enough to kill her toys, and unfortunately, to kill those mysterious moving thingies under the bedcovers.  She's also discovered that Wickie's favorite red quilt is a comfy place to nest.

The hope had been to leave mid week, but Wednesday has an 80% chance of rain and thunderstorms right now.  That may well delay our departure. Thursday and Friday look good for a trip down the Chesapeake as long as everything is ready to go!

The Cat and back in the water

It was a long trip..but, first, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I had breakfast with Nikki and her friend Pam (even if I did oversleep)before they participated in Roanoke's charity Turkey Trot .  Then we had dinner with friends Ali and Charlie.  They invited us to share Thanksgiving with their families. It was very nice. (and gave us time to pack up the poor Subaru!).
Not just the Subaru...the poor cat got packed up, too.  Smokey was not thrilled with the car ride (that would be her litter box in the floorboard).

But, she howled and shivered for only the first hour or so.  Then she settled down in small spaces and tolerated the rest of the 5 hour trip.

Back at Latitudes, we got the guys at the yard to pick her up with the slings and boat lift.  With Latitudes safely in the slings, they could lift her slightly and allow Luke to paint the area under the keel.  Lots of fun...

Next, a ride across the boat yard and gentle lowering back into the water!  Finally!

We are now at a friend's slip (thank you!!!!!) for a few days.  It's wonderful to have water, electricity, a full length pier, and access to a clean, warm bathhouse. We will be preparing for the trip south.  And what preparations we have... Here's the dock..you wouldn't believe the car - and that doesn't include the two shopping carts of groceries we will add and stow.. You probably can't see it, but the cockpit and side of the boat are full, too

We did get it all below finally, but definitely not stowed away yet.  Smokey was very curious about the interior of of the boat.  Not frightened like in the car, just curious.

She did finally relax enough, amid all of the clutter,  to help me do this blog...



Tomorrow will be a better day for stowing all of our goods.  Hopefully we'll be ready to sail next week!!!



The work begins anew

Back to Deltaville and poor Latitudes, sitting alone and dejected, aground at the boat yard, waiting her new launch date back into the waters of the Chesapeake.

Fortunately, we found her to be dry and mold free.  We were worried after the long, hot summer.
There was (so far) only 1 unexpected repair - the galley faucet was leaking.  Luke found a repair kit to order, much cheaper than replacing the faucet.  The repair kit has already come in, so he can fix it when we return.
We did basic cleaning, inventory of clothes and food stuffs, plus the usual chores.  Water to be added to the battery bank.

Figuring out exactly what IS in that front berth...

Luke did accomplish a long desired goal.  He added a rope clutch on each side of the boat, near the cockpit area.  Twelve new little holes in the boat....shutter...  But, these clutches will allow us to run and control extra ropes for things such as a boom preventor (prevents the sail and boom from slamming across the boat).



Little Smoke stayed home (we're saving the shock for later).  Neighbor Yvonne took loving care of her in our absence.  But she (Smokey, not Yvonne) was glad when we got home.

No, Smokey did NOT get to stay here long.  We're working on "no counters".  She prefers a sunny spot on the dining room rug anyway.

Our plan, weather permitting, is to close up the house and head back to Deltaville on Friday, after Thanksgiving.  Oh, little Smoke will be so pleased.  She HATES the car.  But, with some luck we'll make it in time to have Latitudes put back in the water same day.  Life is a lot easier that way.  A few days of provisioning and equipment checks, and we'll be on our way south!

Free for a southern sail!

It's been a long time since the last post.  We had a wonderful summer, including a 3 week trip north, all the way to Prince Edward Island, Canada.  We saw lots of friends and many spectacular places, especially the Bay of Fundy. 

We had lots of wonderful time with our family.  I've loved seeing Heather & Nikki on a more regular basis, even daily.  I'll miss that.

We saw Erin's family in the early summer, at the NC shore.  That was a fun trip, seeing how granddaughter Evelyn has grown.  Luke's older daughter, Lisa, and her family just visited for a few days while headed eastward in their travel trailer. Grandson Simon is all boy!

One sad event, my 51 yr old sister passed away suddenly. She will certainly be missed.  We just returned from a very nice service for her.

Luke's rotator cuff has healed, enough to allow him to sail again.  We plan to go to Deltaville for a few days on Friday, Nov. 12, to start getting the boat ready for the sail.  Latitudes is "on the hard" or out of the water, now. 

We will have a new crew member, little Smokey.She adopted us in October - a skinny little thing who had been dumped near our house.  Hungry and sweet, she won my heart almost immediately.  She's no longer hungry, but as sweet as ever!

Hopefully, by early December, we will be able to have Latitudes back in the water and the three of us will begin our new adventure.  I'll keep our progress posted!