We are in the middle of the final season of preparation for the cruise and things are really beginning to come together.

Early in May we had the boat surveyed, and passed with a few routine requirements (get the fire extinguishers and flares up to date--on that order). That enabled us to get our insurance policy for the voyage, which goes into effect on July first.

We launched on May 15. It would have been nice to get the masts up on land and take care of final rigging details before launching but there did not seem to be a practical way to do this. Janet, Fred, Jeremy and I brought her down to Woods Hole on one of this spring's unusually frequent rainy days. It was apparent from the stepping of the masts that some of the new rigging is still too short--for one thing, the bowsprit was too high and pressed right up against the hull at a point where there should be an inch of clearance. Happily, though, the mainmast slid into the newly fabricated mast step, which I had to install (obviously) without the mast in place. Nothing got broken, for a happy change. We had the engine and the jib was available, and the trip went pretty smoothly. The rig had a few shortcomings, but nothing really unseaworthy and a lot better than last year! The fuel handling system almost immediately picked up a cup or two of water, but it worked as designed, and I was able to drain this with the engine running, not missing a beat. That seemed to be the end of the fuel water, for the time being anyway. I'm a little concerned about the new propellor. We seemed to go a little too fast at a given RPM and there was a lot of black stain on the transom after only a 3 hour run. I think this means the prop's pitch is a little too great. The manufacturer tells me repitching is no problem and if I remain convinced it's required I will pull it as soon as the water is warm and the hookah is tuned up.

Since launch I've spent most of my days in Woods Hole taking care of all the little remaining problems. With tremendous help from Janet and the boys, we've been able (ducking the raindrops) to get the exterior woodwork looking presentable. Through many iterations, I've gotten the mainmast centered in its hole through the deck, the bowsprit where it belongs and all the standing rigging at least preliminarily tightened with reasonable adustment margins in all the turnbuckles. The trickiest part of this was the mule, a roller furling sail whose leading edge runs from the top of the main to a point about 2/3 of the way down the mizzen. Many trips to the base of the mule were required and I bit the bullet and put three folding mast steps in to make this climb more or less routine. This may become very important during the voyage if the mule or its furler present problems.

Another project this month has been the installation of the watermaker. This was demanding, mainly because of the very tight space into which I put most of its components (a narrow locker in the main cabin which was designed to hold a swing out garbage receptacle). It was basically a straightforward matter of mounting, wiring and plumbing. The high pressure hoses presented a steep learning curve because I was determined to use field-installable reusable brass end fittings. Took a while to find the right source and then it took many attempts to get the fittings installed correctly. Eventually it all came together and the system works beautifully. The system is almost completely invisible, except for the high pressure gauge, when not in use. The brine runs out of the galley saltwater faucet, providing constant evidence that the system is running correctly. The fresh water can be directed to a little faucet at the sink for filling drinking water bottles, etc or it can be directed to a water tank. We're going to try to put a lot of hours on it before we leave the US so that we can really be confident in it.

I also simplified and improved the fuel handling system. (see drawing) Now there is a subsystem with 2 filters in series, one for visible grit and the other (with a water sensing alarm) a Racor, to block water and fine particles. This subsystem can be isolated and bypassed for cleaning/draining and is followed by another Racor which is always in the circuit so that the engine filters will never be subjected to water. This change resulted in 3 fewer valves and one more filter. Next step will be converting the V-berth tank (80 gallons) from water to fuel. We will fill this for very long passages only and use it first. This should result in a generally improved trim situation and give us a lot more range.

Recently I've been thinking about our ham email system. A good friend here in Sandwich has agreed to give us an email address on her email system (bluestocking@adelphia.net). She will screen and forward "real" email to us on the radio link. I bought the upgraded Pactor II modem on ebay for about half the new price. Unfortunately, when I fired up the radio, it seemed to have some "issues." It receives, but among other more minor defects, it doesn't seem able to transmit. I bought a backup radio, also on ebay for a good price, but so far, it doesn't seem to put out a full signal either. I have to get some help or some more equipment to make sense out of this. Janet's brother Al has promised to bring the satphone to the family reunion in August. Anyway, there's still plenty of time to work out the comm issues.

By the end of this weekend I should have all the sails "bent" (including the new mizzen and staysail) and ready for use. Hopefully we'll go for a test sail on Sunday.

Janet and I have both told our employers we are taking off. It's a pretty big deal for Janet--she's been working at the same hospital for nearly 30 years! We haven't sold Janet's house yet, but we're having open houses every other week and we've had some nibbles. If we don't sell, we'll get a professional manager and rent. It'll work out one way or another, but it's now our biggest worry.

This afternoon, Fred and I are driving up to Brockton to pick up the new Portland Pudgy lifeboat/dinghy. We've really been looking forward to this! Some feedback about the Pudgy (we think we'll call it White Sock) in the next post. I spent the day at home doing little easy jobs on a showery day, including this update and ripping a few dozen CDs that Janet's delightful sister Suzanne lent us for supplementing our music library on the voyage. Our friends Gail and Elliot (he was a music critic at Time for many years) have also given us a big selection of music.

Saving the biggest and best news for last, my 19 year old son, Fred, in response to our gentle urging, has agreed to take a year off from college and join us from the beginning of the cruise through wherever we are at the end of the summer of '07--Tonga? Fiji? Janet and I are very happy: for him, because we are confident it will be a real "growth experience" for him and a lot of fun; for us, because having a strong, capable young crewmember makes the boat a good deal more seaworthy!