Prep for heading south

The end of January and preparing to head south

The long list of projects is finally coming to an end…..at least for this season. The front railing is back on the refinished brightwork, shiny jewelry crowns the once dull windlass, new fender covers, salon cushions and window treatments brighten our home. Steve was master of the paint and Julia maned the sewing machine.

Steve has also been busy with the routine and annual maintenance tasks – some which balloon into more complex operations than expected – i.e. new hoses in addition to the routine impeller replacement… several trips to the local boat suppliers and the generator is back in business.  

He also spent many hours with the ace spark – Eric who tried to track down why we tripped the new power pedestals in Ocracoke – when other Krogens did not.  Much head scratching and crawling around with electron testers, flipping of breakers, and isolation of potential troublemakers, we are still not 100% sure of the problem.  However, we are 100% certain that nothing major is out of order.  A theory, still to be tested, has been developed – so stay tuned.

As we near our departure date – now moved up by that pesky railroad bridge that delayed our arrival, review of the ships stores has been keeping the Admiral busy.  The storage bins need to be reorganized and cleared of any outdated items, and refreshed with new stock for the coming trip to the Bahamas. Thankfully fellow boaters generously offer us rides to the big box stores which helps, but almost daily bike runs to our neighborhood Publix are needed to fill out our lists. Each item is labeled on the top to help with retrieving when needed, dated to make it easier to use the oldest items first, and entered in the inventory to make it possible to find them again. Supplies are tucked away – secure and out of sight in 6 to 7 lockers scattered around the boat. While many supplies have proven to be available in the Bahamas, Murphy’s Law says we won’t be near a store when we need something special. Anticipating what we will need is an art form.  Thankfully, the years in Saudi have honed our planning and hording skills which have proven useful in this cruising life!

As we prepare for the proposed Bermuda trip in June, we have joined the legends of InReach users – just another tool to study and hopefully master – all good stuff to keep the grey matter active…..like the new Spanish course on board. We just need to find time to spend with this new challenge – prep for the next adventure in the Caribbean.