Comings and Goings

Much ground to cover with this entry. I'll try to get them up more frequently so they feel less onerous to compose.

Sailing Delayed Until November

With my delay in getting to the boat, several complex dependencies with various craftspeople, and everything generally taking many times as long as one would expect, Matthew and I made the call last week that the May weather window wasn't even worth trying for.  Our next opportunity to make the South Pacific crossing will come in November.

One of the major delays was our very rusty fuel tank, pictured here being...well, being excavated by Matthew on April 22nd.

It seems like the tank was installed with permanent woodwork around it. No thought was given to replacement and maintenance, which (spoilers) is a bit of a recurring theme on the boat.

While deciding to delay does take the pressure off of us, we're still trying to get the boat done as soon as possible.  The more time to train me and test the new boat systems, the better.

Surgical Delays

As extensively covered on Facebook, I was clever enough to get appendicitis and an appendectomy on April Fools' Day.  It happened midway through moving out of my house--I'd moved out of my room but still had stuff in boxes waiting to go to storage--so I was effectively homeless. However, it was probably the best possible major medical emergency: thanks to me being 25 and Obamacare existing I'm still on my parents' insurance, I was staying with very dear friends that drove me to the ER and let me convalesce with them for two weeks, I got out in under 24 hours with no complications and had more friends feed me and chauffeur me around after my surgery.

Saying that one is a sailor opens up many doors. My surgeon is a sailor herself, so was able to specifically forbid such activities as hauling anchors, hoisting mainsails, and sheeting jibs for at least two weeks after my surgery.

I made it to the boat about a week later than I had originally planned, arriving in San Diego on April 14th.

So, Boat Work?

Wind Walker's cabin on April 15th.

April 15th mostly consisted of Matthew touring me around to locations in San Diego I'd need to know: marine supply stores, the carpenters', the riggers', the marina, the boat yard, and of course the almost-drinkable coffee shops.

The 16th I started actual work.  First, Matthew showed me how to pull bungs--small plugs of wood inserted into the holes where screws are placed to keep out water and weather. Usually, they're held in place with varnish as a weak adhesive, so a few taps with a chisel-edge screwdriver and the break right out.

Simple enough. I was sent off to remove the bungs from the corner molding that goes around the outside of the house, then unscrew it and pull it off.  Matthew figured it would be a good afternoon's work.  By the end of that afternoon here's what  I had gotten done:

About three feet.

More to follow.