Living on the boat

Well, we're here! It's been a difficult last few weeks for me. Trying to rid myself of the junk I hold onto is hard, but that was not the hardest part. Moving out of the apartment I shared with my sister was surreal. I kept feeling like I was abandoning her. I felt that the trip was looming too close now. Like walking down the aisle on your wedding day- it's exciting but I can't help wondering if it's really happening and how it came to be. And I can't seem to process it all right now. I still have a few odds and ends to take care of at the old place, but we've been living on the boat for a few days now.

It's amazing how much stuff fits in the cracks. I still have too many clothes- I separated them into what I need for now, and what I'll need for the trip. The fridge is bottomless- yet always looks full. The quarter berth is a mess. It's like a garage- just a place for miscellaneous stuff to rest while you figure out what to do with it... or forget that it's there.

I realized this morning that I've done this before... well not exactly this, but it does strongly remind me of a time in high school that I lived in a quonset hut with my dad. Just two rooms and a closet bathroom. But it's different this time. There's the promise of adventure just around the corner.

I've been loving the alone time- the quiet energy of the boat, the magic ambiance of the marina, the sunlight dancing off the water and reflecting off the bimini. I've been imagining what this next part of my life will be like- there's no way that my thoughts can match the reality of this trip- even though I try... and I think about it all the time.

So far things are going well for us here. The plan that living on the boat will help us find hidden problems is coming to fruition. Last night the marina handyman pointed out that the dockside electrical box red light was on- meaning that there was an electrical charge leaking back through the ground wire. My genius husband found the problem right away- the battery charger was wired backwards. So glad that we have great marina staff, so glad that we have all the tools needed to fix it, so glad that we have Krister!

~Amanda

Moving Out

My mom has likened the last year of our lives to a rocket, blasting off in stages and jettisoning cargo at each stage. It's an apt metaphor, I think.

This weekend we're moving out of the apartment and we'll be living on the boat full time, representing the last major stage before we enter orbit. It's an experience that's at the same time stressful and exciting - nerve wracking and cathartic. It's an incredible feeling to get rid of almost everything you own (with the exception of a few items of clothing, surf boards, two guitars and a LOT of boat parts). When I was in college, I had a huge box, and at the end of every school year, I threw everything in it and that was all I owned. I had that box for all four years, and anything that didn't fit had to go. I don't feel like I've spent a whole time acquiring stuff between then and now but that's demonstrably false. When we moved out of the house into the small apartment we're in now, I felt as though we'd gotten rid of EVERYTHING, but there's still a surprisingly large pile.

The time between now and when we leave should prove to be illuminating - even though we won't be sailing, we'll still have to adapt to life in a very small living space (the can of varnish I used to refinish the floor boasted a coverage of 100sq/ft - two coats later, I had extra). Other stuff like how long we can go between refilling the fresh water tanks, pumping out our holding tank and figuring out where we'll put our clothes and should be interesting too.

This is a step I've been thinking about and anticipating for a long time, and it's a bit strange to actually have the time come - it's a not so gentle reminder that the day when we sail out of the Golden Gate and don't come back is coming, and coming... well... pretty damn soon. Exciting and a little scary. I keep reminding myself that I've never really done anything worth doing that wasn't scary before hand (climbing trips, surfing on big days, marriage...).

Anyhow, this is about all that's left in our room:

It's crazy to think that this room will qualify as large in comparison to the boat.

Back to it.

-Krister

Back In the Water

It's official - Britt-nay is back in the water after getting her bottom painted (is it just me or does that sound a little dirty?).

One of the projects we did while she was out was replacing the seacocks. For you land lubbers, seacocks are basically valves that seal off the holes in the bottom of our boat. Yup - there are holes in the hull... a little scary sounding, but the galley sink has to drain somewhere. The seacocks add a measure of safety in the event that something happens and you need to quickly seal off one of the holes in a hurry.

Anyhow, two of our seacocks were stuck in the open position and needed replacing which is (obviously) much easier to do when the boat's not floating in the water.

I got the new valves installed, but before the boat goes back in the water, you never really know if you did a good job (got everything screwed back together tight enough not to leak).

So, she's floating, and I'm happy to report that she's not leaking either. It turns out that against all odds, I managed to do a reasonably good job and in addition to being pretty and polished, Britiannia is just a little more seaworthy as well.

Her prop's nice and pretty too, isn't it?

Haul-out and improvements

I can't believe it's haul out time! We've been waiting all year- always saying we'd haul out just before we leave. So I guess this means that the time is approaching. We'll be moving aboard at the end of this month, then just a few more projects and we'll be set to depart.
I love my dirty boat and dirty boy!
It was amazing to see Britannia out of the water! She seems so much bigger- and it's fun to see her bottom sides.
Over the weekend Krister and I worked hard to take advantage of being on dry land. Krister replaced two broken thru-haul valves and banged himself up pretty well. While tinkering around with the plumbing he found a few other items that needed to be replaced- he said it was like a game of whack-a-mole. I think he went to the store five or six times but it's all back together and working great now! Special thanks to Tradewinds for all the helpful advice and tools.
Meanwhile I was working on the deck. We bought some really strong acid (On & Off) that whitened the deck like magic! I think it was the same stuff that villains use in super hero comics.
After the deck was finished I went over the topsides, removing old dock rash with acetone, whitening the haul with the acid, and then finishing up by buffing and waxing. With Krister's help she was shiny and clean late Sunday night- too bad it was too dark to appreciate. They started sanding and prepping the bottom for paint this morning. She should be ready to launch some time mid-week.

Information and Itinerary

I just returned from a visit with family and friends in the Midwest. It's the only trip I had planed for the year and it went by quickly and with much success. I had the chance to catch up with family members that I hadn't seen in years. And of course there was an unending list of questions that I said I would try to answer here in our blog... wish me luck :)

Our itinerary is still quiet loose, but to give you some idea of where we will be and when, here goes... We will be departing the Bay Area in the beginning of January 2011. We don't have a set date because it all depends on the weather. From here we'll head south along the coast. Even if the weather isn't terrible, it will still be cold so we plan on heading straight for San Diego. Once we arrive we hope to meet up with family and friends and spend about a week visiting.

Then we'll sail onward into Mexico- clear through immigration and customs in Ensenada and cruise the Baja Peninsula. Krister plans on hitting all the best surf spots while we continue south. We don't have definite stopping points yet, but we do plan to make the most of our travel guides and to meet up with whomever flies down to meet and visit with us.

We'll continue south until the land turns east- around Acapulco and Zihuatanejo, at which point we'll provision the boat and head west. Hurricane season dictates our departure. The South Pacific storm season usually last from late November through mid March. So we'll try to avoid storms and stay in Mexico through April.

After leaving Mexico in April 2011, we'll be on the longest open water passage of our trip; out of sight of land and on our own for four to five weeks crossing the Pacific. Our first landfall will be the Marquesas in French Polynesia. After checking in we'll have a 90 day Visa to visit the islands. We'll island hop through much of the South Pacific, snorkeling, surfing and hiking until the storm season comes around again.

In September of 2011 we'll sail south to New Zealand for the winter and stay for the season. The four month down time may be spent making repairs and improvements on the boat, traveling inland, or trying to earn a bit of cash.

After so many months we'll begin to make our way home in April of 2012. From New Zealand we'll sail north, back through the islands and onward to Hawaii. We're hoping that during the trip we'll have time to consider what we really want, where we really want to live and such, so that we have a plan in place when we return. As for now, we think we'll be back somewhere on the west coast of the U.S sometime in the Fall of 2012.

It just occurred to me that this is the first blog entry with no pictures. So sorry. But I promise there will be some next time. Krister and I are having the boat hauled out for a bottom job tomorrow. We'll have her cleaned, painted and back in the water by next week.

For those of you who are still a bit uncertain of the sea worthiness of Britannia, or would just like more information on our boat, Krister found these great reviews on line.

http://www.closereach.com/csoa/sailingtodaycs36.pdf

http://www.closereach.com/csoa/cs36trev.pdf

Enjoy!

Summer Stuff

Here's a small sampling of our summer sailing. Thanks to all our friend for sharing time with us on Britnay!

This is George and Molly enjoying a sail on Britannia.

Rafting up with Curt and Allison's Force 5 at China Camp, we all got to enjoy food, drinks and great company.

After a hot sail to Point Pinole, Dustin gave us a reason to use the swim ladder for the first time.
Mark, Amanda and Krister enjoying the sun set over the north bay.

What a great view!

Dustin and Mark at the helm for a little sail practice and instruction.

Staying busy

It's been a while since our last post and I'm not sure where to start, so here's a random list of how we've been keeping busy.

Each time we go out there's something new to learn and experience. A few weeks ago we sailed out of the Golden Gate and into some mixed up big swell. With a shortage of wind and the boat bobbing around I had my first bout with seasickness. The lack of sleep and an insufficient breakfast contributed to my feelings of illness, but all in all it wasn't too bad. I even managed to keep my lunch.

Fortunately for Krister, he a friend to help out and keep him company. With Nick at the helm, the boys sailed to Stinson beach, hove to for lunch and brought us back into the bay just as the sun was setting.

My sister Becky, my niece Ximena and their friend Eric came to visit. We had smooth water and light winds, making our sunset cruise perfect for the first timers.

We finally got our rugs! They look great and make us feel fancy. I also scrubbed the companionway steps, replaced the nonskid, and oiled the wood to make it shine-Oh so pretty.

After our trip thru the fog Krister made it a priority to install our new chart plotter- complete with AIS receiver overlays. Now we will know exactly where we are and more importantly, where those big tankers and fast moving ferries are too!