Well this week once again has flown by. Work is good, the weather looks to give us a break this weekend, and things are going smoothly. I hope to get a great deal of sewing done this weekend along with some woodwork. While the weather is nice I can tear down the side panels on the bimini and get the windows finished. I have left them up, a bit mismatched (one window cut out, the other plain canvas) as it has been so crappy outside that it was nice to have everything sheltered. I hope to re do the couch cushions (recover for now) and make 2 covers for the engines. I have a sewing project of Bob's to finish and if all goes well I hope to get a few more coats of varnish on my wood trim outside!
I know in the past I have had high hopes of grandure, to be quickly disolved by errand running or other. This time, though, I think I may have more success. I definately have a LOT of determination. It is almost May....almost May! Wowzers!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Week In Review
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Wow! What a busy week it has been. Neil's dad and little brother (no matter how old, he will always be the "little" brother) flew in from La Paz on late Wednesday night.
It has been close to 7 years since we have all seen each other. Time flys, hey?
Thursday we were off to the "Boat Show" at Jack London Square in Oakland. Jack London is always a neat place to go and restaurant hop or see a good flick, but when combined with the latest and greatest sailboats and powerboats along with booths for every marine dealer....it's like Christmas for us die hards!
It was a lot of fun to see the reactions of our family guests as they went from boat to boat. After seeing his (still up in the air) boat in La Paz, which does need quite a bit of TLC, he was able to get a better feel of what the potential could be. This being said, I think anyone who stepped into the huge Jeneau on the end agrees that their are some boats that make your tongue fall out and drag on the ground....only $800K? (before taxes). Oh My! Thursday was spent with family and we had a good time later that night closing down the Boiler House.
Friday was all about the deals. We met up with our clients/friends.(Michael T. and Michael G., plus or minus a few). We spent the day wheeling and dealing everything from sails to refridgerators. Neil and I have done all this before, most of it before we were in business. This year we are coming in with our business contacts in our favor. Knowing the Managers of the two major players in the marine industry was definately good news for Michael who is refitting his boat. I hate to play pit boss, but it was a matter of, "how low can you go." (within reason, of coarse!). All in all it was a great day. We scored a new Gennaker sail for a down wind run. These are great when there is little to no wind. We got a great price from the boys who made our head sail...We will have "Doyle Sails" plastered all over the place! haha.
Saturday was spent playing tourist in the City by the Bay. We took Neil's dad, Jamie, and little brother, Lewis, along with the kid's friends Ian and Kira, to go and play tourist at Pier 39 and Fishermans Wharf. It has been a while since we have gone but it was a lot of fun. As always, we had to try on alot of silly hats at the hat shop on the boardwalk. It was a warm night and it is always fun to "gawk" at all the street performers and do the "bum count challenge." (they are realy out on the weekends!).The kids walked around in their own little group and we (us old farts) hung back and checked out the wine bar. A yummy dinner at the bread shop and we shut down the city.
Sunday was for lack of a better word, "lazy!". Neil and I went for a morning skiff ride around Brooks Island for a peek of the harbor seal pups on the back side rocks. These guys were not used to seeing people so they were quick to jump in the water and pop their heads out to take a peek at us. They look like little "Daisy's" with their big puppy dog eyes. When we got back we jumped up into our 2 hammocks in the cockpit and just relaxed until Jamie and Lewis got here. The kid's spent the morning with their friends before they went home. We had a fun time just B.S.ing the rest of the day.
Dinner at Hotel Mac with the boys. Than back to the boat where we woke up a sleeping Jamie with a seal bomb that shook the whole boat! It was funny and yes, we got it on video!
The "boys" left early Monday, and we are back to business as usual. Great improvements are being made on Michael's boat, and a little here and there on ours. We hope to be gone in 3 weeks. It will all depend on the planets aligning just right! haha. Either way..as our friend Lori said, "there will be a conga line out the gate!". To which I stated, "Shall we dance?".
Yes, I think we will!
Monday, April 12, 2010
ants in my pants
The rain is gone, and the night is a beaut! I officially have ants in my pants now! Boat show is coming up. 2 more weeks of work more than likely..to quote Martha, "it's a good thing." Right now I am listening to "Toto - Africa" on the 80's channel while cooking a very late dinner...I want to dance...my goodness, what a life..I love it!(and no I haven't been drinking! haha). :0)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
"Well I love a rainy night..hoo hoo."
As the title of the blog goes...I love a rainy night. Anyone remember that song? (that dates me a bit! haha).
The rain is here along with the wind. If anyone has ever slept on a boat they will understand what I mean when I say..."I love sleeping aboard when its nasty outside."
The boat rocks gently side to side. The wind howls through the shrouds. The rain taps loudly, but not too loud. Back and forth...making it incredibly hard to pull yourself out of the bed. Warm cozy covers...ya...thats the ticket!
On anchorage there is a bit more rocking than in the slip. That makes it even better. Even in good weather in a fairly sheltered anchorage you seem to have that gentle sway, like a mother rocking her infants crib.....maybe thats why we call vessels "Her's, and She's." (although I am sure I will hear all the other reasons for it now!).
I hope that everyone is having a great day today, no matter what the weather!
The rain is here along with the wind. If anyone has ever slept on a boat they will understand what I mean when I say..."I love sleeping aboard when its nasty outside."
The boat rocks gently side to side. The wind howls through the shrouds. The rain taps loudly, but not too loud. Back and forth...making it incredibly hard to pull yourself out of the bed. Warm cozy covers...ya...thats the ticket!
On anchorage there is a bit more rocking than in the slip. That makes it even better. Even in good weather in a fairly sheltered anchorage you seem to have that gentle sway, like a mother rocking her infants crib.....maybe thats why we call vessels "Her's, and She's." (although I am sure I will hear all the other reasons for it now!).
I hope that everyone is having a great day today, no matter what the weather!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Sailing Blogs
For those of you who are here on F dock and follow along...here is Pachuca's Blog ...http://pachucaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/.
Robert's blog (Pachuca)is fun to read. His blog is very informative and he gives a lot of information about his travels. He is an aussie with a mission: "to circumnavigate."
Another one to keep your eye on is...http://sailingcamelot.us/. This is the website of Lori and her husband..if you go into Svendsens and meet the gorgeous woman with the accent and the tremendous smile..you've found Lori. They are also getting ready to cruise in style later this summer.
One more to read is the adventures of Sandra and Ken onboard "Aquila" at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/aquilapacific/?xjMsgID=59241. They went and ran across the equator from San Francisco to New Zealand and back again. Theirs was a great one to have followed.
If you have any others that are good to follow, old or new, let me know.
Neil has super reinforced the dodger now. The weather was in our favor the last few days. The deck shower is done! We have started on making the lazerettes more favorable in bad weather...ie. adding fiberglass edging (like a spill guard) along with some netting, thanks to Barry. It is a real pain to try and retrieve things from the engine compartment after a good heel. We have been going through all of our stores and inventory and realize that we have plenty of screws, bolts, misc. hardware to last quite a while. Everything is slowly being organized and put into its permanent home. Lists are being made of what we have, where it is at, and what we still need to get.
Now the rain is coming in again along with a cold patch that will last for a week. Darn! Reading "Pachuca's" blog talking about 80 degrees and sun all day is certainly not helping cure the itch to go. However we are happy to be helping another fellow sailor get his vessel all set up in addition to ours. It looks like Jose's prediction of 3 months is slightly off, but our "2 weeks left" is just not going to cut it. We are re-fitting in the winter and spring months..Delays are bound to happen.
The boat show is this next week at Jack London Square on Oakland's waterfront. I heard, from Michael, that the Americas Cup will be there! I have seen this when I was a kid living in Australia and remember how they rubbed it in every year they "beat the Yanks."(and vice versa...forget the Kiwis! haha). Having dual citizenship, it made for more entertainment, for me anyways. (I was the Aussie, and the Yank!).
New clients(now new friends), will be joining us along with Jamie, Neils dad. We are looking forward to "talking shop" with all of the contacts we have. These fine people of West Marine and Svendsens have become good friends. It will be nice to see some of them who we haven't seen since we moved our boat over to Pt. Richmond.(and some we get to see all the time..either way it should be fun).
Jamie, after just coming back from Mexico, this next week, and seeing his newly purchased boat, will either be stoked or ......I am thinking, though, that he will have loved the experience, and will have a list of things to look for. With Neil as the guide, it will be quite the adventure.
Now...to get back to work!
Robert's blog (Pachuca)is fun to read. His blog is very informative and he gives a lot of information about his travels. He is an aussie with a mission: "to circumnavigate."
Another one to keep your eye on is...http://sailingcamelot.us/. This is the website of Lori and her husband..if you go into Svendsens and meet the gorgeous woman with the accent and the tremendous smile..you've found Lori. They are also getting ready to cruise in style later this summer.
One more to read is the adventures of Sandra and Ken onboard "Aquila" at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/aquilapacific/?xjMsgID=59241. They went and ran across the equator from San Francisco to New Zealand and back again. Theirs was a great one to have followed.
If you have any others that are good to follow, old or new, let me know.
Neil has super reinforced the dodger now. The weather was in our favor the last few days. The deck shower is done! We have started on making the lazerettes more favorable in bad weather...ie. adding fiberglass edging (like a spill guard) along with some netting, thanks to Barry. It is a real pain to try and retrieve things from the engine compartment after a good heel. We have been going through all of our stores and inventory and realize that we have plenty of screws, bolts, misc. hardware to last quite a while. Everything is slowly being organized and put into its permanent home. Lists are being made of what we have, where it is at, and what we still need to get.
Now the rain is coming in again along with a cold patch that will last for a week. Darn! Reading "Pachuca's" blog talking about 80 degrees and sun all day is certainly not helping cure the itch to go. However we are happy to be helping another fellow sailor get his vessel all set up in addition to ours. It looks like Jose's prediction of 3 months is slightly off, but our "2 weeks left" is just not going to cut it. We are re-fitting in the winter and spring months..Delays are bound to happen.
The boat show is this next week at Jack London Square on Oakland's waterfront. I heard, from Michael, that the Americas Cup will be there! I have seen this when I was a kid living in Australia and remember how they rubbed it in every year they "beat the Yanks."(and vice versa...forget the Kiwis! haha). Having dual citizenship, it made for more entertainment, for me anyways. (I was the Aussie, and the Yank!).
New clients(now new friends), will be joining us along with Jamie, Neils dad. We are looking forward to "talking shop" with all of the contacts we have. These fine people of West Marine and Svendsens have become good friends. It will be nice to see some of them who we haven't seen since we moved our boat over to Pt. Richmond.(and some we get to see all the time..either way it should be fun).
Jamie, after just coming back from Mexico, this next week, and seeing his newly purchased boat, will either be stoked or ......I am thinking, though, that he will have loved the experience, and will have a list of things to look for. With Neil as the guide, it will be quite the adventure.
Now...to get back to work!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
lists
Ok, this is my third blog for the day! I have had a lot of coffee and my mind is in overdrive....
I have been making a comprehensive list of money spent (items list) on "fitting" a bare bones boat for "cruising." I think it will be very useful for all those who have the desire. It was so hard to find accurate or current information online myself. Most of the boats you do find are pretty well set up already, and most of them are newer. I want to provide the "real" price of getting ready, from scratch.
I will also compile a list of stores including: spare parts, food, foul weather gear, toiletries, etc...along with prices.
I probably won't have it all available until later down the road, but it's coming...for those who care to know.
I have been making a comprehensive list of money spent (items list) on "fitting" a bare bones boat for "cruising." I think it will be very useful for all those who have the desire. It was so hard to find accurate or current information online myself. Most of the boats you do find are pretty well set up already, and most of them are newer. I want to provide the "real" price of getting ready, from scratch.
I will also compile a list of stores including: spare parts, food, foul weather gear, toiletries, etc...along with prices.
I probably won't have it all available until later down the road, but it's coming...for those who care to know.
Neil's Dad
Neil's dad, Jamie, is in the process of joining our desire to sail. He is on his way today to Mexico to look at a boat in which he has held great interest in. If all goes well, he will be the new owner of a very nice 40 foot steel sailboat. I am super excited for him. He has only known power boats, and little ones at that. As any "sailor" knows, a powerboater and a sailboater are two different species! One thing that will be hard for him to get over will be to S-L-O-W down. Getting used to "Island Time" can at first be harder for some than giving up ciggarettes! Once you are there, though, it's even harder to come back!
I hope the best for him and am looking forward to the news and seeing him in person,(it's been a few years) just in time to take him to the boat show at Jack London Square next week.
Fingers crossed!
I hope the best for him and am looking forward to the news and seeing him in person,(it's been a few years) just in time to take him to the boat show at Jack London Square next week.
Fingers crossed!
It's Wednesday already!!
My goodness the days, although longer, are flying by at record speed. We had a great time with our great friends on Easter Sunday. The kids and the adults all had plenty of sugary treats for sure! I noticed in my "latter years" that I don't get the sugar rush like the kids do..more like a sugar crash!
Monday it was business as usual. Neil has gotten most of the fiberglassing done on the dodger. He has reinforced the edges 5 fold and a couple more layers all over. We want that puppy to be strong. With the sides up out back it has been great for making a little workspace for glassing while the weather is rainy. (my "porch" is now officailly "Neil's garage!" haha). Very thankful.
Since we have been here we have enjoyed "Taco Tuesdays" at "The Boiler House" with the local yocals. When we all show up it's like walking into an episode of "Cheers", or at least it is starting to become that way. It's always lot's of fun catching up the weeks events over good food. This time it was: Barry and kids Ian and Kira, James (Dreamgirl), Eileen (Svendsens new hire..pop in and say "Hi"-she is the sparkly red head!), Jim (Warrior) and a few others who just happened to be there. Needless to say we closed the place down.
This week has been a dedicated paperwork week. I had lost data in my business files and am having a wonderful time going through old receipts and invoices to replace what was lost. So far I only have 3 more months to go! UGH! I am not a lover of banging on a keyboard and number crunching all day. Time to pay the tax man. (UGH! again!). We also have a lot of big orders coming in for clients and we are getting ready with our final list of "must haves" from the upcoming boat show next week.
Looks like we are going to be here a little longer than we want to....but boy are we trying to make it out. Everyday here is making for great anticipation. We are soooooooo ready. We can't wait. We are dreaming about it. We are talking about it all the time (sorry for those of you who are sick of hearing about it already!). Everything I look at in the stores, I ask, "how will this hold up? where can I stow it? do I realy need this?"...etc.
It's coming.........
Monday it was business as usual. Neil has gotten most of the fiberglassing done on the dodger. He has reinforced the edges 5 fold and a couple more layers all over. We want that puppy to be strong. With the sides up out back it has been great for making a little workspace for glassing while the weather is rainy. (my "porch" is now officailly "Neil's garage!" haha). Very thankful.
Since we have been here we have enjoyed "Taco Tuesdays" at "The Boiler House" with the local yocals. When we all show up it's like walking into an episode of "Cheers", or at least it is starting to become that way. It's always lot's of fun catching up the weeks events over good food. This time it was: Barry and kids Ian and Kira, James (Dreamgirl), Eileen (Svendsens new hire..pop in and say "Hi"-she is the sparkly red head!), Jim (Warrior) and a few others who just happened to be there. Needless to say we closed the place down.
This week has been a dedicated paperwork week. I had lost data in my business files and am having a wonderful time going through old receipts and invoices to replace what was lost. So far I only have 3 more months to go! UGH! I am not a lover of banging on a keyboard and number crunching all day. Time to pay the tax man. (UGH! again!). We also have a lot of big orders coming in for clients and we are getting ready with our final list of "must haves" from the upcoming boat show next week.
Looks like we are going to be here a little longer than we want to....but boy are we trying to make it out. Everyday here is making for great anticipation. We are soooooooo ready. We can't wait. We are dreaming about it. We are talking about it all the time (sorry for those of you who are sick of hearing about it already!). Everything I look at in the stores, I ask, "how will this hold up? where can I stow it? do I realy need this?"...etc.
It's coming.........
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter Everyone! We plan on spending our last Easter in the States with our great friends, whom we consider family, down in Monterey. Well wishes to all this holiday.
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