Gwyn Wagschal

It all takes longer than planned

We are now facing a fast approaching deadline to head back south to the Caribbean. Our summer, which we’d hoped to spend mostly sailing, has been spent on family matters and getting the boat ready for long term sailing. Everything we do to ready ourselves seems to have taken much longer than planned. Some things just don’t go according to plan. And now with our planned leave for next Wednesday, has already been delayed for Thursday and I won’t be surprised if it is Friday. We are still holding out hope that we will make it early to join the Salty Dawg Rally (http://saltydawgrally.org/) in Hampton Virginia for a November 4^th launch to the BVI (weather permitting of course).

So, you ask, ‘What have you done to get the boat ready?’ For starters, we had the running rigging redone, sails re-stitched, added radar, a new windlass, new lifelines, installed new instruments, registered our AIS, installed SSB, filed a sail plan, recovered some of the cushion covers, cleaned cushion covers, installed a washer/dryer, ordered solar panels to be installed later, bought and picked up a parasail (which we now have to install more rigging for that, ordered today), purchased charts, replaced navigation and interior lights with LED’s, provisioned (some last minute stuff still to be done), visited a vet to have Charlie’s pet passport paperwork finalized (still in progress), purchased snorkel gear, a pressure cooker, an electric induction cook top, storage bins, mason jars for storing dry goods (all cardboard must be removed from packaging to avoid bugs on board), purchased tools that we somehow missed bringing, along with other items we somehow missed bringing, made new curtains and decorative pillows, purchased bedding for guest rooms, bought slippers because it’s now cold enough to need them, and that’s all I can recall off hand. I’m sure Paul could elaborate on the list.

Now that we are down to our last week in port in Annapolis, we are beginning to panic. There are so many things still to be done. The water maker is not yet installed, the solar panels can wait (we hope), the battery to the generator had to be recharged (hopefully for lack of use and not because we need a new battery), the dogs Titer test was not expedited by the vet, so we paid the extra $155 today to have it complete by Tuesday (let’s hope they come through), the anchor is on order and should be here Monday, the 500 ft chain is being picked up as I write this (I have no idea how we are going to get it on board), the car has to go back to Canada or somewhere for storage for a year (not willing to have a dealer give us a ridiculous low amount of money for it), final provisions need to get on board including 25 gallons of drinking water (since the water maker is not installed yet), and if the new propane tanks do not arrive by Monday, we’ll have to buy temporary new ones and have them filled (because it is illegal to have the ones we have refilled in the US – ‘it is what it is’). With the list of what has to be completed, we are in full panic mode. So much left to do, and with so little time remaining.

As you can see, it’s not always fun and games, but the fun in the sun is there for the taking, you just have to be willing to work for it. I suppose that’s true with all things in life. In future blogs we hope to report it was all worth it by sharing our adventures. So forgive me for not posting more frequently throughout the summer. Hopefully this will change over the upcoming weeks.

Gwyn is back on board

In another twist of fate, Gwyn’s mom came ill in early August. After much investigation a tumor was discovered in her pancreas. We arrived back to the boat from Paul’s mom’s the evening onf August 11th. Gwyn departed for Edmonton on Aug 13th to help her mom pre and post op. After three weeks Gwyn is finally back. Paul joined Gwyn in Edmonton from august 31 to sep 3. Paul’s sister Linda volunteered to watch Charlie on the boat for a few days. They happened to be the hottest of the summer. Charlie’s fur was getting quite long and knotted. After a romp in the water Linda just could not get the brush through the knots. So off to a groomer they went. The groomer said he would try but was not into inflicting pain and if necessary he would have to shave him. So he got a down to the skin shave. While he’s much cooler, Linda feared the worst and sent a warning via email while we were on route.. We forgave her of course. Afterall she had been tortured enough with the hot water heater giving up, followed by the water pump not working, 40 degree heat and of course keeping Charlie entertained. It was quite the weekend for her. Thanks Linda for everything.

Mastless temporarily

While Gwyn is in Canada caring for her ailing Mum, Paul and Charlie have been organizing things on the boat. Yesterday they drove the boat over to a marine maintenance dock and had the mast removed. This makes it easier to re-rig the mast as well as install radar. Can’t wait to see pictures. Paul promises to try to get them loaded soon.

Well maybe not so soon. But here they are. Charlie and I had to take a 1.5 hour motor ride to the yard since the sails were already off. This was his first sail, err motor, on Blue Sky:

Cap'n Charlie standing watch — Cap’n Charlie standing watch

Look Ma, no safety belt, just riding the hoist up the mast

Walking off with the mast

A hard days work done. A little shut eye on the way home

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Blue Sky, the motor boat

So that was it for the day except after a walk after dinner, Charlie celebrated with cleaning the spaghetti bowl.

Whaddaya mean I wasn't supposed to lick the spaghetti bowl after our walk? — Whaddaya mean I wasn’t supposed to lick the spaghetti bowl after our walk?

No sailing in July

Now that it is the last day of July, I figured I should at least put a post on the blog, although we have not been sailing at all this month.

The month started with us settling at the marina in Edgewater, Maryland (near Annapolis). On July 3^rd we flew back to Vancouver (separate flights, just like royalty). Our purposes were many: Paul to finish knowledge transfer at work, both to complete readying our old boat and get it up for sale, pick up items from storage that need to come to Blue Sky and with that came the rearranging of the storage locker, and lastly to pick up Charlie and drive to the boat. We’d also try to see family and friends (sadly we did not get to everyone, so we’ll promise to reconnect with those we missed on our next visit).

During our passage, Paul’s mother fell ill and is no longer able to live in her townhome. His siblings took turns helping out during her time in hospital and extended care, and we decided that Paul would fly to help with her move to assisted living immediately following the trip to Vancouver. This left Gwyn to drive the ~5000km across the country, stopping first in Edmonton to pick up Charlie (our dog). On Saturday, July 14^th we went to storage and fully loaded car with the rest of our must haves for the boat (some things we just could not fit). By 4:30pm Gwyn left with grand-daughter in tow for the first leg of the trip. Arrived in Edmonton on July 15^th, 8:30am and stayed for 48 hours. From there it was a 2 day trip to Custer, South Dakota where Gwyn and Charlie visited Paul’s sister and brother in law in their RV (we are not the first vagabonds of the family). After an evening of chatting and a good night of sleep we proceeded on. Next stop 2 days later, was in South Lyon, Michigan, to visit Gwyn’s son. Another 14 hours of driving and we arrived to Paul’s mom’s place in Burlington, North Carolina.

At the time of this writing we are still in Burlington. Paul’s mother is adapting nicely to her new apartment, and the home is slowly being cleared of things that she no longer needs. We spend time with her ensuring she is getting her exercise walking and swimming. Last Friday night she asked if we could take her to the weekly movie. What a joy to see her face when she met up with her friends that she regularly went to the movies with prior to her stroke. They insisted on sitting with her and did much chatting afterward. More visits with old neighbors followed on Monday at the ice cream social. It’s clear that when the family heads back to their respective homes, she will need these friends to help her stay engaged in her community.

Meanwhile, Paul was asked to be available for work through end of July as much as he is able. So today is officially his last day before retirement.

We’ll likely be here another week or so before returning to Blue Sky to proceed with the work needed before further open ocean travels (radar installation, more solar, add a watermaker and a washer). We’ve ordered a Sailrite sewing machine and Gwyn purchased some bargain fabric to start adding color and to recover some of the cushions on the boat. Even moving to a boat, requires decorating skills to make it a home. While we are both looking forward to getting back to our home and get ourselves settled, we are also cherishing the gift of time with Paul’s 92 year old mother. We take every moment spent with her and embrace it as part of our transition to this new life.