We spent several days with Jonas and his parents at Carolina Beach. We had a great time as usual. Our planned trip to the western states is coming together. I have been working on the camper adding a few things like shelves and a towel rack to make life on the road a little easier. I also re-keyed all the locks so one key works for all the doors and storage areas. The navigator (first mate) has made reservations for the first half of the trip so we won’t have to worry about a place to stay as we dash across the country on Interstate 40. As all sailors know, plans can change in a moment but as it stands now will be to leave on Monday August 31. The end point is the Grand Canyon which I have never seen, with many many stops along the way. The return date is not certain but we will be home in plenty of time for our niece’s wedding on October 10.

The month of September is smack in the middle of hurricane season and typically one of the most active months. We watch the tropics closely this time of year, but if storms head our way, we normally have plenty of time to drive to the boat and get her “buttoned up” before the event. Traveling to the boat from Albuquerque New Mexico is quite a different story. This brings me to the reason for this trip to the boat.

Saturday August 22, 2015
We left Carolina Beach shortly after 9am and headed north toward Whortonsville with a stop for fast food along the way. We arrived shortly after noon. Bob and Tammy were already there. They were just down to relax for the weekend.

The purpose of this trip was to prepare the boat in case a hurricane or tropical storm pays a visit while we are 3000 miles away. It is really a simple process. Just take everything off the boat that is designed to come off. This is especially true of sails and canvas that can present resistance to the wind. For example, our 3 foot plus steering wheel presents very little “windage”. But if the cover is on it becomes a miniature sail. Nick stopped by just in time to help us drag the sails from the boat deck to a dock carts. We worked with first the mainsail, then the headsail, of jib. The main is much smaller than the jib so we started there. We wheeled the cart to Nick’s front yard (in the shade) and folded the sail so it would fit in the back of the Toyota Matrix. We repeated the process with the much larger jib. The sail cover, bimini top (canvas only) and various other covered were added to the pile. Everything fit nicely and there was still room for the rest of our “stuff”.

We deployed the air conditioner and the sun shade. It was really too hot to do much of anything. There was a little breeze that made it bearable. After our big lunch we had a light dinner of cold cut sandwiches. With our tasks all done we were able to relax for a while. The air conditioner eventually cooled the boat down and when the sun went down it was quite pleasant.

Sunday August 23, 2015
We were up early and quite ready to go home. We packed in record time left the docks at about 9:30. Lunch was at Wilbur’s where we beat the Sunday after church crowd.

Not that the sails are off the boat and at home I will take the opportunity to clean and do any minor repairs to any canvas that requires attention. We will not return to Ensign Harbor for at least a month but will be cruising none the less on land.