Now that the season's nearly over.........

[zeida]

Come down to Florida! It's starting to get good down here!
Zeida



zcecil@attglobal.net

[Lou Ostendorff]

Hi Andy;
Well, I've got to agree with you that the sailin' season is never over in the Neuse or nearby Sounds...I'm interested in your trip South and how you've prepared for it, outfitting Rhiannon, etc. Could you give a few details? Thanks in advance
Lou Ostendorff
"Karma"
CD25D #63



louosten@ipass.net

[Andy Denmark]

Man, that's a tall order for the limited time/space here. Most of the boat prep is getting everything in top-notch order, making sure all is up to snuff and operating at 100%. Rhiannon is, by design, not system intensive. Except for the ham setup, she's about as simple as can be imagined; no refrigeration (but the icebox is very well insulated), no fancy electrical power systems, no presuure or hot water, sparse navigation electronics (GPS and DR), no roller furling, a Porta-Potti, ad infinitum. That way there's little to go wrong and we can concentrate on sailing and having fun. I don't skimp on safety stuff -- SOLAS gear, 406 EPIRB, etc. but no life raft - at this juncture I'm not planning to take the dinghy (no room). For the short hop over to the Bahamas I'll take my chances. Rhiannon hasn't sunk in over 16 years, much of it in the NC sounds and Gulf Stream, and I don't expect she will on this venture. I am on the fence about this as there are many benefits to having a dinghy. They are just such pains in the ass to carry around. Should I decide to carry one, it will be a a hard dinghy (Dyer) and oar powered. To summarize all this, I'm cruising like I did when I first started cruising (more years back than I like to think about).

It's the stuff on land that's the real nuisance. Getting things in order there is a somewhat formidable task. Fortunately, my accountant offers a service for voyagers that checks mail, pays bills, does taxes, forwards stuff when necessary, collects rent, and gets in touch via email if there's something of consequence that must be dealt with, all for about a dollar a day. My house is rented and getting everything squared away before the renters show up is a much bigger pain than the boat. Having email aboard will keep me in touch with folks until I'm in then Bahamas. Having access to the Waterway Net on 40 meters every day is nice and they can relay any emergency stuff to me.

I am in the middle of putting the interior back in the boat and that's taking an inordinate amount of time, especially the rewiring and installation/upgrading of equipment. And I would be embarassed to make the trek with the brightwork not looking good so that's in process, too.

I can't leave until the first week in December (class) and I will leave then whether everything is 100% or not. Too many times I have seen my customers hold off departure until all was in top-notch order and agonize over leaving late or not at all. Someone once said, "I strived for perfection and found excellence along the way." Well, I strive for excellence and often have to settle for "good enough," and am happier for it. I think that a perfectionist is one who takes great pains and gives them to everyone else!

So, I hope I've answered your question well enough.

Andy Denmark
CD-27 #270 "Rhiannon"
Oriental, NC
35*05.1 N - 076*38.7 W



trekker@coastalnet.com

[Warren Kaplan]

I just got back from 10 marvelous days in Portugal! While I was in Lisbon on November 1, I was treated to a huge sailboat race on the Tagus River. Must have been 50 sailboats in the 25-40 ft range sailing with beautiful spinnakers flying. I don't think they ever stop in southern Portugal anyway. We all ought to go there for the winter and the wine and food are terrific!! Alas...now that I'm back, Sine Qua Non goes up on the hard this weekend and instead of opening a few bottles of wine, it'll be antifreeze I'll be opening! A pity!



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