2 days ago I had to do something I've been dreading for years - give up my cat. Farley hates anything to do with boats and so had to go to her new home. The stress it would have caused her and me had we decided to bring her along, would have been too much. It was stressful for her in our local waters the few times we brought her along, so I could only imagine how bad it would be out at sea.
I'm very grateful to my good friend Shannen who willingly adopted my 11 year old cat. Knowing she is so well cared for leaves me free to embark on this journey and I will fondly remember her as my 'landlocked' cat.

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One more week to go! Then we untie the lines and head south to San Diego. Are we ready? Are we up to the challenge? Will we have fair winds? Can we really do this? These are questions that run through my head daily (and unfortunately nightly too).
What ever the answers, we are going! We are both excited and a bit nervous too. It's been so many years of planning and hard work to get to this point that we don't want anything to go wrong. But it's a boat after all and things will always go a little wrong.
The last few weeks have been stressful as we are both working full time and doing all the last minute running around getting things done. And of course we are having issues with the email and ham radio deal. Trying to get that sorted out before we leave. It was working and then for no reason we can figure it just stopped so now we are reloading software and re installing things to get it back up and running.
And then there is the saga of the anchor chain which we ordered several months ago. I came in with lots of time to spare but the galvanizing on it was unacceptable so we returned it. They ordered in a different kind but when it arrived it wasn't marine grade and wouldn't fit the gypsy properly. So now we are waiting for the 'correct' chain to arrive! One more week for it to get here.
But things are getting done. I have almost totally provisioned the boat now we just need to get the fresh things and the dairy and meat. Ian has almost completed his list of 'must do' jobs. So we are feeling pretty ready to go!
The next week is going to both fly by and drag by if that's possible!

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New Rigging - check
New Running Rigging - check
Sell Condo - check
Yes thats right we have sold our condo! Yikes! This makes it really real. In 4 weeks we are leaving to take the boat down to San Diego. We have a month but now that we have to be out of the condo by the end of September, we are in a bit more of a rush. But somehow it will all get done. It just makes us focus more and get what we need to get done happening now instead of procrastinating and putting it off until tomorrow - manana - kasasa! (For those who don't know, Kasasa is a Zulu word which has a meaning similar to the spanish word manana which means tomorrow or whenever)
We are getting excited and itchy to get going. Especially when we see all this good weather. 4 more weeks to go.....

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Today we had our liferaft repacked. It's a brand new raft that was never used or even ever on a boat but when we bought it it was already 5 years old but still in the box. Because it was 5 years old, it needed to be repacked which is commonly done every 2 or 3 years.
I had the opportunity to "pull" the cord to inflate it. It was actually easier than I expected it to be. It inflated within seconds. Although it's a 4 man liferaft, it's actually smaller inside than a 2 man pup tent. But it does give you a sense of security knowing you have that to fall back on should the unthinkable happen and your boat sinks.
So here is a photo of us in the liferaft, a place we hope we never actually have to be!

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Finally out on the water again. We managed to sail across the straight of Georgia in about 12 knots (sometimes only 3 or 4) of wind using our new wind vane which worked fabulously. We've been told that the stronger the wind the better they work. The other thing we got to try out this weekend is the electric windlass which is the thing you use to pull up the anchor with. Ian pulled up the anchor this morning with no effort on his part what so ever. I think he is happy about that especially since we went with a bigger anchor and lots of chain.
At the moment we are in Montegue Harbour on Galliano Island. The strong winds we had in the bay have subsided but now it is raining quite steady. The forcast for tomorrow is 15 to 20 knots from the SE so hopefully we will get a good run to the mouth of the Fraser River. It might be a bit bouncy though if it blows all night. We are thinking of trying to 'heave to' for practice out there if it is windy. 'Heaving to' means placing the sails in a way that stops the boat from moving forward and keeps you into the wind, giving you a break from rough weather. It is something you would want to do if you are in a storm and need to take a break to rest. We have tried it before but always is fairly calm situations. Despite the rain and the strong winds today we are happy to be out here again. Today was an easy sailing day as we sailed from one anchorage to another on a downwind point of sail which was really easy and just like driving a car! If only it were that easy all the time.

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If you can read this post then I have successfully sent this from the ham radio which is a good thing. This is how we will post blogs and send email from the middle of the ocean without an internet connection. If this goes through, then it is one more hurdle I've overcome as all the technical stuff really intimidates me. Of course I'm sitting here at the dock in very calm conditions as opposed to being at sea and doing this as the boats rocks to and fro. But that is something else entirely to overcome. Baby steps!

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