Thursday 1 Oct, boat winterizing day 1:
I arrived to Cloudy Bay late last evening after a bit of hassle with US immigration. I was sent to a room for 2 hours not being told why. Eventually they called my name and asked me why I over stayed my visa last visit. At first I’m confused, but when they throw dates at me I realise it’s because they didn’t log us out when we left to the Caribbean last December, and somehow we also didn’t get logged back in on our return to Florida in May. So they seemed convinced we never left! It takes an hour to prove to them we had been out of the country from Dec to May. On the other hand, not a single question regarding Covid and where I’d flown in from. So much for me worrying about that!
So there I am again at Cloudy Bay looking up at her huge hull and thinking “do I really own that beautiful boat?” Our good friend Ray had left the swim platform down and ladder ready. But still tricky to get onto the boat with my suitcase. And inside, utter chaos! I knew what it would look like, but I was still surprised. Due to our mildew problem, all clothes and bedding were out and the saloon handrails covered in hanging clothes. All lockers are open, floor boards up, mattresses up and sails and halyards taking up half of the saloon. The dehumidifier and ozone generator had been running. It smelt perfectly fresh and surprisingly very little dust.
A quick phone call home to announce my safe arrival then to bed. This morning, with clothes re-stowed, floors and mattresses back down, Cloudy is returned to some form of normality.
Winterizing any system that contains water will be done just before I leave in November, but before that I have lots of small jobs to get done.
And one BIG job. I’ve decided to take the mast down and replace the standing rigging. Since leaving the factory 12 years ago, the mast has never yet been taken down. We replaced the forestay 4 years ago but the rest of the standing rigging is original. And while everything looks perfectly OK (and most likely is) we don’t want to cross the Indian Ocean and round South Africa with 15 year old rigging. So all my initial focus will be on preparing to lower the mast. Lots to do, pole and boom to come off, electrics and hydraulics all disconnected, and bottle screws all lubricated and eased off. It will take some time. But everything that I can do myself will make the project cheaper. Riggers are good here, but at $100 per hour, they don’t come cheap.
But today is “get organized day”. Going food shopping, get ice for the fridge, pick up a Amazon and Hallberg Rassy Parts deliveries, return the hire car and say hi to friends.
It’s a stunning autumn day. Warm, clear skies and windless. And as I drive the car back to Enterprise, I remember just how beautiful the countryside is here, so green, tidy lawns, horses in fields and classic American houses each with a barn. All very pleasing to the eye.
But by evening it’s started to rain so early to bed for me. Jet lag is making me very sleepy by 9pm. Tomorrow the real work will begin.