more checks offs on the list - susan

Although our blog entries often occur following a weekend, I assure you that cruising activities are in the works every day! This past weekend, however, was very productive. Defender’s sale was not to be missed and we had our list in hand. Dan had figured out the type and amount of ground tackle he thought we should have for our second and third anchor (our primary hook has an all chain rode), so the first thing we did was to purchase the line and chain (a whopping 124 lbs worth) we planned to splice together and with those items in our cart we looked like serious cruisers! Another thoughtful addition Dan had planned was to purchase an external GPS antenna so we could use our hand held unit in our cabin with the anchor alarm in order to improve our chance of hearing it.
The air was cool but the sun was bright and promising of warmer days to come. We made it to Gypsy by late morning and we were enlivened by our careful and productive shopping expedition. The port water tank had been the subject of our attention last week and Dan had refurbished one of the metal bars that secured the water tank in place; he reassembled the hoses and electrical lines and was able to close up that project. I am good at cleaning and found myself removing all the sawdust and small debris from our demolition of the forward head. Dan began to tackle cleaning the Max-Prop and armed with the information he had researched he had a plan for greasing the inner gears. The angle of the prop was set and accurate so we did not want to tamper with that. I had found a discarded dock locker that I suggested we salvage for use when we live aboard later this summer. I became the subject of teasing that if our cruising life did not work out I would make a good bag lady. I can tell you that I am not embarrassed to recycle usable items. It may have been with a bit of reluctance that Dan suggested we might move that locker over under Gypsy to serve as an “operating table” for the removal of the outer cover of the prop in order not to disturb the alignment as he applied the grease! And I think the locker may make it to our slip…

We have a good time interspersing sweet moments with our work and we sat in the sun at the water’s edge and shared our lunch from our favorite market. Our drive back and forth to the boatyard have afforded us almost enough time to complete the
current book that we are reading to each other.
Sunday dawned rainy and cold. Careful evaluation of tasks at hand allowed us to stay at home and assemble the new ground tackle. Dan spliced the rope to the chain; I learned to whip the end of the line. Another check on our long list…

All one - dan
I've been thinking about our upcoming trip and the importance of travel in general. My thoughts happily wander from my day-to-day routine to the near future and what it may hold for us. This has led me to ponder the real value and possibilities of travel. Yogi and spiritual seeker Krishna Das proposes that we are "all one". That you and I and everything else are all part of, and united with the universe. It's a simple but powerful thought that once you wrap your mind around has far reaching ramifications if you accept it. We all have a built-in aversion to hurting ourselves so, by extension, it's hard to cheat or hate someone else, if you accept that you are truly part of them and they you. This might sound too simple to be true but I propose that fundamental truths are often plain and accessible; it's the departure from truth that builds complexity. I also believe that the greater you expand your awareness of your connectivity & empathy, the greater your personal rewards.

I see our upcoming trip around the world as a good opportunity to explore and celebrate this oneness. I think it'll be challenging and rewarding to travel the whole world, getting to know the different and far-flung aspects of ourselves along the way. I'm also looking forward to learning what the ancient, far flung cultures have to teach us. Some people believe that important answers to our most pressing problems may be found within the wisdom of ancient cultures. Cultures who've already successfully dealt with issues like; sharing limited resources, pollution, overpopulation, sustainable wealth, cultural health and wellbeing.

I am hoping that the important lessons that we'll learn and the knowledge that we'll gain will inform our future decisions such as; where we'll choose to live once it's time to quit the sea and come back to the land, what kind of culture & community we'll seek to join and how best to construct a wholesome and sustainable lifestyle. One of the reasons for selling our houses before we set sail is to assure that we'll have a blank slate on which to write our future and implement all the knowledge that we have gained from our travels. Hopefully one of the biggest aspects of that knowledge will be the experienced and expanded knowledge that we truly are "all one".

221 days...

Weekend update - susan

Dan and I have agreed to a writing exchange. Usually he writes about our weekly accomplishments/ challenges on Gypsy; this week I'm here to tell ya! Without any appointments on the dock we took our time at home walking to the bakery, eating a jointly prepared breakfast. The day was clear and bright, misleading that the temperatures were warmer than they were. Often our hour long commute is spent with one driving the other reading out loud. Today we were discussing an email from Chelsea; then Dan caught up with his friend on the phone.
As we drove into the area where Gypsy is located, I gasped; Dan startled at my sound! The soda blasting has occurred! There is a dramatic difference in her look below the waterline. The dappled hull made her lines different - even more beautiful to my eye, but very different! We both circled her several times, touching the newly exposed surface, imagining, planning our next step. We have additional sanding to do to bring up the water line (once we are loaded we will sit lower in the water) and to smooth out the irregularities. We opted to bring her down to her gel coat so that we can apply a half dozen coats of epoxy to prevent osmosis. Dan's brother, Chuck, shared an article with Dan about boats on the Rio Dulce (where we're headed) having a higher incidence of this problem. We opted to take the necessary precautions to avoid this occurrence.

#1 on our list today was to cap off the water lines to the forward head that we have eliminated and are in the process of converting to a storage locker. The space we had to work in was far more accessible than last week's waste revision so our yoga poses and contortions were limited. Visibility wasn't 100% so we limited our intervention to what was absolutely clear. Another project will reveal the now hidden area.

Dan has wanted to clean up the propellor and propellor shaft and an abrasive drill attachment allowed him to work on that. While he was occupied below, I tried out steel wool on some paint scratches on the wall behind the mast; we found that once rubbed, a coat of Tung Oil enlived the grains of the teak.

Reviewing our list after lunch did not allow for the start of any major projects, but we did start removing unneeded wiring from the forward head. Discussion came up about the waste holding tank that is under the forward cabin. This prompted us to remove cushions in the cabin and to inspect the tank. This is valuable space that we could use. We have made the commitment to remove the head, so there is no need to have the tank. Dan commented that the workmanship of a pump for the anchor wash down and the motor and electronics for the bow thruster was first class. It is unfortunate to have to disturb it! We'll save this for another day...

Dan asked me a couple of weeks ago if I minded our weekend routine of working and resting and working some more... I could honestly answer that I look forward to all that these weekends afford us. A chance for me to know Gypsy inside and out and an opportunity for Dan and myself to work together and problem solve, set priorities, and make decisions about what is important to us in this new way of living. The setting, beside the sea, with the gulls calling overhead and the taste of salt teasing your nostrils... who could ask for a better work space?

The tar-pit & the two-step – dan
It was another nice weekend down at the marina with air temperatures in the low fifties and partially sunny skies. There was a marked uptick in activity; boat covers are starting to come off, I heard the sound of an electric sander for the first time this year, move activity on the docks, a couple of boats were moved and even a sail was raised. Early and welcomed signs of spring.

We were busy too. Most boat projects seem to fall into either of two broad categories; 1) two-steps forward, one-step backward or 2) a fall into a tar-pit. As frustrating as it can be boaters shoulder on because there is no other option short of giving up. We experienced both 2-step & tar-pit problems last weekend. It started when we went to add a Y-valve into the waste system. Opening up the waste line reveled 1/4" to 3/8" of calcium deposits on the tube walls which greatly reducing flow capacity. A tar-pit... So we decided to replace two waste lines with new sections of odor-resistant tubing. That's when a half-hour job turned into an all-day affair. The new tubing is much stiffer than what it replaced which made running it quite challenging. In the process we ended up pulling the holding tank out if its nest under the starboard lazarette. We were able to verify that the vent line to the tank was functioning (don't ask) and discovered that two of the fittings on the tank needed to be resealed which we took care of. This job tested the limits of our patience with each other which made us stronger and we managed to get it all back together again in the same day. That was Sunday.

Saturday started out well, Spicer's marine store was having a sale which we took advantage of to pick up the supplies we'll need to do our bottom, er... Gypsy's bottom, that is; $750 worth of epoxy (West System), barrier coat (Intrlux 2000) and bottom paint (Petit Trinidad SR). Next we met with Jim Funk the most excellent canvas worker. Jim had finished our bimini and delivered our dodger fame complete with new handle that he had covered with elk hide. We examined the new binini and I was again amazed by the precision and craftsmanship of his work. As much as I would have liked to, we refrained from putting the bimini cover on, we'll wait till after the launch to avoid any possible damage to our new treasure.

After Jim left we went over to our mast to test the new LED tri-color light that we had installed the previous weekend only to discover that the light was dysfunctional (insert strong sailor-talk here). The starboard 120 degree arc of coverage had no function at all, no navigation light (green) nor anchor light (white) and didn't strobe. The rest of the light worked perfectly, unfortunately 2 out of 3 is not good enough when it comes to navigation lights. One-step backwards... I called Orca Green Marine on Monday and they agreed to send out a replacement as soon as I return the faulty one. At least we found out before we stepped the mast.

Last but not least we bonded an old liberty silver dollar that Susan had to the mast base for good luck. We had cleaned and painted the mast base the previous weekend so the old coin with its silver and dark patina looked good against the gleaming white background. The tradition of placing coins under the mast goes back at least as far as Roman times. We sailors are a superstitious lot who will do almost anything to assure that we remain on the good side of luck.

227 days...

The light at the head of the mast... dan
Last weekend was relatively warm and beautiful in New England. Susan and I made the most of it by working on Gypsy. The sun felt delicious on my back and our soundtrack was the cry of the seagulls, one of my favorites. We replaced the bronze bolts on the cutlass bearing strut. The original bolts didn't give up without a fight but a cold chisel and electric drill tipped the scales in our favor. We had the yard tighten up the keel bolts as there was a slight crack at the parting line joint between the hull & keel. I dug out the crack and will refill with epoxy at the same time I re-bed the base of the cutlass strut. Susan started the laborious job of polishing the prop and shaft.
We took advantaged of our mast being laid out on work racks to replace our masthead, tricolor light. The old one was pretty weathered and more importantly it used energy gobbling, incandescent bulbs. The new one is an amazing bit of technology from Orca Green Marine. It's one third the size of the old one, uses 80% less electricity and does one additional thing; it can function as a strobe light for emergency use. While we were working on the mast we plugged some old holes in the mast head cap and cleaned up and repainted the base of the mast to prevent corrosion.



















My soldering iron wasn't up to the task of tinning the heavy wires that came out of the mast so we popped out to Radio Shack to pick up a larger one. On the way back to the marina I reflected on how easy it was to whip out and get anything we need, even on a Sunday. Tools and supplies won't so readily available once we head down to the Caribbean and beyond so we're stalking up on spare parts as much as we can.

In the velvet darkness
Of the blackest night
There is a light
- Richard O'Brien

234 days...

More Dragons - dan
Several people upon hearing of our sailing plans have asked me if I have any concerns about sailing through the “Bermuda Triangle”. I’m not above superstition, knock on wood, and I don’t discount the paranormal completely but I am from Missouri on most matters (I’ve got to see something to believe it). I must admit that I haven’t given any thought about the Bermuda Triangle, I didn’t even know where it’s supposed to be except somewhere around Bermuda. The recent inquiries have piqued my curiosity so I decided to look into the myth of the Triangle, this is what I found:

It seems that its geographic location and even its shape vary depending on which author you’re reading. Some say it’s a triangle that goes from the cost to Florida up to the island of Bermuda then down to Puerto Rico. Others describe a much larger shape that extends out in to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (taking in the lost continent of Atlantis wherever that is). Some even describe a huge trapezoidal shape that includes the mid Atlantic states and the Gulf of Mexico. Hard area to avoid, no matter who’s description you may subscribe to and no matter what course we take south we’ll be going through the boogie patch.

It’s an area that has been supposedly plagued by all sorts of spooky disappearances and catastrophes such as the loss of “Flight 19”, 5 Navy torpedo bombers that disappeared off the coast of Florida in 1945 during a training flight. The disappearance of the USS Cyclops and her crew of 309 that sailed from Barbados on March 4th 1918 and was never heard from again. And disappearance of a DC-3 with 32 people onboard during a flight from San Juan to Miami in 1948. These stories and more that have fueled imaginations of the purveyors of the paranormal. Some of those authors have blamed losses in area on UFO abductions, others to antediluvian technology from the lost civilization of Atlantis.

Fortunately there doesn’t seem to be any real basis for the myth of the Triangle. The US Coast Guard has investigated and remains highly skeptical of the myths associated with the Triangle. More significantly; Lloyd’s of London has no surcharges for operating in the region having determined the area to be no more dangerous than any other.

I know that Bermuda is surrounded by a huge reef system, is cut off from the continual USA by the Gulf Stream and located in the Atlantic hurricane strike zone. The reefs have torn the bottoms out of hundreds of ships over the years. The Gulf Stream travels up to 5 knots and its volume of flow dwarfs that of all the major rivers in the world. When storm winds oppose the stream the sea becomes a force to be reckoned with and don’t even think about messing with it during a hurricane. With all that in mind we intend to proceed with courage, prudent seamanship, good planning and careful preparation. All that plus good luck (touch wood), my lucky rabbit’s foot and much heartfelt praying to St Brendan should get us through.

235 days...

There be dragons… dan

Mapmakers of antiquity used to make a notation at the edges of early world maps; “Beyond this point there be dragons”. Had they actually gone there and seen those dragons, probably not. So why would they write something like that? I think it was because they imagined that bad things lived just beyond our horizon. Fortunately for us, other people who were more optimistic, either ignored those warnings or recognized them for what they were and ventured forth, discovered new lands and proved that the earth wasn’t flat after all.

A few people have had a strong reaction to us when we mention that we’re going to sail around the world. They point out the dangers; pirates, rogue waves, storms at sea, giant sharks, etc… I figure that they're talking about “dragons”. Often I’m struck by the strength of the reaction and associated emotion projected by these well-intentioned doomsayers, especially the ones who seem intent on changing our minds. It’s not like we were born yesterday and have never heard of these things. We’re aware of all these dangers and more and have taken them into account in planning this trip. We’ve also weighed and accepted the risks as part of the price of admission to this incredible journey.

I have a theory that the imagined dangers these pessimists are projecting are actually fragments of fear that swim the great waters of our collective subconscious. The ocean is a living metaphor and symbol of our subconscious mind; deep, almost unfathomable water, strong tidal forces, murky depths where things we can’t completely fathom move about and threaten us. It's important to realize the fear that arises from the shadowy depth of our subconscious isn’t rational and should be questioned. Fear is a double-edged instrument; one side keeps you sharp and alert, prepared for danger, the other side can cripple you with anxiety, preventing you from living a full and exciting life. I have a message for all the nervous people who are worried about our plans; you can stay in your own homes, your own yards, your familiar cities for as long as you need to. I know that’s relevant and important to you just as venturing forth is important to us. It’s all good, just different.

Some Kiss We Want

There is some kiss we want with our whole lives,
the touch of spirit on the body.

Seawater begs the pearl to break its shell.
And the lily, how passionately it needs
some wild darling!

At night, I open the window and ask the moon
to come and press its face against mine.
Breathe into me.

Close the language- door and open the love window.
The moon won't use the door, only the window.

Rumi as translated by Coleman Barks

240 days...

an evolution of sorts... susan

My life looks different from the outside now than how it looked prior to this "adventure". When I was still at work and spending weekends on Gypsy, I could be mistaken for any other boat owner. Now, unemployed, with the boxes of treasures leaving my house on a regular basis, it is evident something is "up"! Dan made us some cards, identifying us with SV Gypsy, that include our phone numbers, emails and blog address. The feedback is coming in: "...there is a lot of work to do to prepare..." "I could never let go of all my possessions, they mean too much to me..." "Who is going to make fruit pizzas and the roasted cinnamon pecans?" "What do your kids think of this?" "What's going to happen to Casey (my geriatric canine)?" “Why don’t you keep your house and things until you come back?” understandable comments and questions, to be sure...

This metamorphosis represents change on both an outward and an internal level. I will be absent from the lives of the people with whom I usually interact. Over these past 25+ years I have made the kind of important friends who have reciprocally shared our life’s evolution: the joys, music and dance, marriages, births, deaths… the daily ups and downs of life’s script. Because of this honesty, there is genuine joy from those who know me that I am following my heart’s desire… there is loss, nonetheless. I enthusiastically encourage these friends to visit us on our journey. Will that really happen? Then there are the people who only know glimpses of me and I of them. We see one another at the grocery store or at a poetry reading, searching our minds for how our lives have intersected, remembering the connection, sharing smiles and salutations, catching up on our similarities. There is a comfort in being known around town.

The internal change comes from another place. Within the past five years I lost both of my parents; people who loved life and lived it well. The suddenness of my dad's passing shocked all who knew him. Life is a gift; it is a temporary journey. This loss, for me, demanded that I more consciously direct my living. What do I make out of this one precious life? I have earned a respectable living, cooperatively raised two children, supported my political beliefs and integrated into socially aware communities that attempt to live authentic lives… I have safely lived in my limited world with the dream of places and peoples far away who dance to different music, honor a different god, value different principles. I am open to being a learner; let me be humble. Maybe the most remarkable suggestion to me is about keeping my house and possessions until I come home – I can’t imagine my life ever being the same; resuming life as I had left off. This cleansing process, as it is turning out to be, is verifying this extremely material investment I have assumed. I intend to live simply, yet with a richness that allows me to search within myself for what I make out of this one precious life.

Racks Up - dan
Jim took a pattern off the bimini frame and then we were then able to reinstall the frame plus the new solar panel racks last week. Jim added 4 new diagonal braces to stiffen it up and it came out great. In the process Jim raised the height of the bimini a couple of inches so that now I’ll be able to stand up straight when I’m at the helm. Sometimes it the simple pleasures that are the most profound.

Thanks to Jim the racks came out better than I had hoped. We’ll wait until the boat is back in the water to install the new canvas and solar panels in order to protect them from any accidents that might happen at launching.

Susan and I worked on the engine this past weekend and finally got our new alternator/water pump drive belt system straightened out. It took several trips to the marine store and then several more to various auto parts stores to find a matched pair if the right sized heavy-duty belts to complete the job. We also replaced our plastic sink faucet with a nice stainless steel one.
For me, completing the solar panels racks and sorting out the belt system on the diesel seem like an important milestone. It’s hard to say exactly but I feel that we’ve achieved the half waypoint in our preparations for cruising.
Still, it’s cold here in New England, summer still seems miles away.

242 days...