All Hands On Deck   Adventures on land and at sea

Every morning for the past few days Lee has informed me that we have X number of days left till it’s time to leave. I think we’re both in a frantic state of near panic at this point. At the same time, the list of things to get done is getting exponentially shorter by the hour. The rigger installed our new solent stay today, and I must say, it’s pretty spiffy. I haven’t had a chance to take and pictures of it yet but those will be up soon. I think it’s going to work fabulously and make my life on the foredeck much easier.

Yesterday we checked a fun item off the list. We tested out the BBQ that came with the boat. We weren’t sure how well a charcoal BBQ was going to work in this instance but it did quite well. No sausages were lost overboard, although I think some sort of mini lifelines around the edge of the grill would be an excellent idea. We let the auto pilot steer us around Mount Hope Bay while we enjoyed our dinner. It was a lovely evening that reminded me how much I want to start a cooking blog to highlight sea-going food adventures.

Lee tending the grill on the stern. This would be a lot harder if we were actually sailing.

Will we really be ready to leave on May 1? I have to admit, I’m still skeptical. I have plotted our first few legs down the coast using free online chart plotting software, which makes setting out a little less daunting. I’ll devote an entire post to our planned route in the nest few days.

Before our departure, we’ll be making one more trip up to Maine, stopping to pick up various items along the way (at Trader Joes, for instance). When we get back next week it will really be crunch time. The sailmaker and rigger are tentatively planning to come sailing with us on Thursday to tune the rig and test the sails. Hopefully everything works (and the weather cooperates)!

Lee taking a break in the swing chair he got me for valentines day.

Very comfy!