After our wonderful side trip to Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai, it was time to head back to the boat and finish final preparations for loading. On our way back, we were notified that the boat was delayed another five days. Pat had been tracking the cargo ship and noticed it hadn’t left India and would be a longshot to arrive on the designated date. So, we knew that the load date would be pushed back which will give us breathing room to finish cleaning and stowing and stripping items off the deck. It was going to be a quick turnaround otherwise. Our days are spent tackling one project at a time and checking projects off the list. I managed to finish alternating the dinghy chaps and proceeded to install on the dinghy. The BPO boat, Maggie, originally owned the chaps but had to replace their dinghy and no longer needed them. The chaps were the correct length for our boat but the side handle openings were in the wrong place. I had to pattern the handles, cut templates for eight handles and add grommets, in addition to adding material to the existing openings which were now useless. It was quite the project, but I enjoy a sewing challenge and was happy with the finished project. Pat also pointed out holes in the dinghy cover and bimini cover, not to mention other items that needed a patch or re-stitching.
The boat will be in tip top shape as Pat has hired a local Filipino man named Randy to handle small projects. Randy has 7 seven children with another on the way, but he is a hard worker and does a good job. So far, he has cleaned black streaks off the side of the boat and waxed, added a layer of wax to the top side of the boat, polished the stainless, cleaned the dinghy inside and out and removed rust from the lifelines. We hope with the layer of wax and other cleaners, the boat will be easier to clean from the transport. I did sew hatch covers and winch covers in preparation for the weather.

In an earlier post, I stated that Pat had stainless steel clamps made for the emergency bilge pump-out because the plastic clamp that came on the boat was cracked. When the chandlery patterned our clamps they had made an extra four clamps to sell to the public. Pat went back to the chandlery this week and they had sold all four clamps and needed measurements from our plastic clamps to make more. It seems the cracked clamps are a recurring problem and Pat had the correct solution. Hmmm, we should start marketing some of his ideas….

After stripping the boat, we moved back to Ao Po Marina to begin staging for the loading but have already been delayed a day due to the monsoon rains. Pat and I are sad to leave Asia but happy to be moving onto our next adventure. This boat has become our “home” in the last 18 months and we will miss her if only for 4-5 weeks. It is the only “home” we own at this time in our lives but we have a rental apartment in Washington where our son, Josh, is attending college. Pat and I made the decision to sell our Oklahoma property last Christmas because our hearts are with sailing and the beautiful expanse of ocean. Our focus is on clean water sources, global warming and raising awareness for remote islands that will be underwater in 20-30 years. We plan to make the boat our “home” in the Caribbean for the next couple of years. Will we eventually settle into owning a home on land again? Probably, but that is years away. Currently, we are exploring a small motor home to travel the U.S. when we are stateside.

Yesterday, our Filipino friend Randy stopped by to say goodbye one last time. Randy works hard to support his family of 10 and walks the docks to drum up business. I wrapped up the last of our luxury goods for Randy to take home such as chocolate, cookies, perishables, English coloring books, toys, new flip flops, perfume and extra clothes we weren’t wearing. He called us his friends and good Samaritans and asked if we knew the bible. We informed him that we were indeed Christians and also studied the bible but felt called to contribute to people in our travels. This is our last stop before landing back in the U.S. and felt that this is our way of helping his growing family. We can always restock in the U.S. before setting off to the Caribbean.