27 Oct 14

We were up at the crack of 07:00 to tackle the final departure checklist items. Everything was going well enough until about half way through the final winterization tasks (which, among other things, requires pumping fresh water through various seawater systems prior to displacing with anti-freeze) when the bloody water pressure pump simply stopped (see yesterday’s prescient note); not good. Now, not only had we not finished winterization, we also had a stern water tank about half full of water, which needs to be got out. So, back to West Marine to buy a replacement pump. We got back to the boat about 13:30, cast off the dock lines and I took the boat down to Clark Boatyard at Jamestown, RI, while Terri drove the car. It was a lovely motor sail, under main alone - since we had already flaked and stored the jib, with the wind abaft the beam and even the ebb current working with me, for a nice change. I got down to Clark just before 16:00 and tied up to a mooring ball. I got the water pump installed and hooked up and we are back in business. Then, it was time to leave the boat for the night and head to the hotel for the night. We will have to go back to the boat tomorrow to finish the pre-haul-out checklist. Dinner in the hotel steak house. At the very least, tonight we will not have to listen to dock lines and fenders griping and the halyards banging against the forestay all night long. It is a good thing we are still having fun. I believe I will buy a spare water pressure pump back in Houston, when I have a chance to figure out how to long-term store it on a boat.  

28 Oct 14

Last night was the first night spent off the boat since early August, and I can honestly say that neither one of us slept well; primarily because the bed in the hotel room is not as good as the one on the boat. Also, I woke up at 04:00 thinking about all the things that we have yet to complete and worrying about whether I have left anything off the list. After breakfast at the hotel, we got back over to Jamestown and the boatyard just after 09:00 and got the guys to ferry us back out to the boat. We finished the winterization tasks: flushed the port-side toilet and holding tank with fresh water and then anti-freeze, did the same with the A/C raw water cooling system, pumped anti-freeze down the refrigerator drain and drain pump, and finally circulated anti-freeze through all of the fresh water piping system and down the 3 sink drains. Then, we stripped the bimini, cockpit enclosure panels and dodger off the cockpit. The bimini will go to the canvas shop for cleaning and installation of boots around the back-stays. When the boatyard guy came out to pick us up, he brought out the Tonkinois varnish and the generator parts I had ordered; I already have something to do when we get back in April. We got back onshore about 14:00, had a late lunch, drove around Jamestown Island for a bit, then went back to the hotel and collapsed. We had dinner at the hotel again, then back to the room to watch Game 6 of the World Series. We were both asleep before 22:00. 

29 Oct 14

I woke up early and realized I had failed to circulate water through the hot water pipes. So, after breakfast, we drove to West Marine (again), bought a couple more gallons of anti-freeze, then back over to Jamestown, where we found they had already hauled the boat and had her parked on the jack-stands. I finished the winterization of the hot-water pipes. We went through the list of things for the boat-yard people to do on “c’est le bon” and then there was no further reason to hang around. We drove around Jamestown for a bit, then crossed back over the bridge to Newport and went to a movie (“St Vincent” with Bill Murray - very good); too tired to do anything else. Dinner afterward at Chilis, then back to the hotel afterward to finish off the last of our excess tonic water and to watch Game 7 of the 2014 World Series.

That is it for the 2014 cruising season. During the last 6 months, we passed through 11 different states and covered 2864 N-miles; interestingly (to me anyway), that is greater than last year’s total of 2289 N-miles. We also put another 356 hours on the engine, which is significantly less than last year’s ~400 hours. So, I guess we sailed more this year than we did last year and that is a good thing. We also put 47.5 hours on the generator, which is about the same as last 2013. And, we did lots of maintenance and repairs in exotic locations; must be cruising. We fly home to Houston tomorrow for a 6-month sabbatical from the boat. Current plans are to splash for the 2015 cruise (itinerary TBD) on about 1 May.