It's amazing how much you can relax once you make a realistic plan, one that reflects the realities of the jobs that you have to do, things that you can't control like the weather, and the real constraints that the calendar truly puts on you. Of course, once the big ticket items seem to be falling into place like our solar panel and the radar, this does help you to look at the big picture with a much more relaxed eye.

Ahhhhhhh.......!

Barb was quite right in her post yesterday - all this running around in the car does have one benefit, and that is we are getting to see the autumn leaves. I hadn't realized how much I had missed them last year.

Now what's left is actually hooking up the solar panel, installing the voltage regulator for the "green" electrical generating devices considering we have enough capacity now that it would make a difference, putting up the AT-140 for the new SSB and hocking up the DSC antenna to the radio, and connecting the AIS. Not much, really after the other things have been done....

Our leftover job list is as follows:

Put the RADAR backup up the mast
Reconnect the NMEA electronics
Re-install AIS
Install AT140
Hook up DSC to SSB
Set up fishing tackle storage on deck
Install winch handle box on deck
Fix small leak in the pressure water system

The first five are the bigger more time consuming jobs, but even they are two or three to a day sort of things. All I need for most of them is a nice day. The things that Barb mentioned like provisioning can be done on a rainy day, plus we need to fill up the fuel tanks. One thing that I miss from being in the States is that the busier marinas have enough volume of sales that they buy their fuel in much larger bulk amounts and get a better price. Plus they are competing in some places with outlets that sell to the commercial fleets so the prices are significantly lower.

Today we spent together putting the last touches on the NEXUS registration, namely getting the boat registration into the file, plus we went shopping for some bathroom taps (ever noticed that they no longer market single faucets? They are all one spigot and two valves. In our heads the centre to centre distance is too wide to use one of them so we had to get a special order. Meanwhile I actually fixed the broken valve but we decided to go ahead with the order in case we need to replace any in the future.), a VGA splitter so that we can route the output from the boat's computer to the flat screen as well as the regular monitor (this will allow us to use the larger flat screen as a sort of home theatre so we can watch our collection of DVDs. I finished this job today so we'll be watching a movie in comfort tonight. There is still a small burp that stems from the fact that I have the screen and the computer hooked up to the same power source and the computer's fan motor is creating a very small amount of interference over the power line), and a coaxial antenna splitter so we can run the two AIS units off the same antenna.

That was in the morning. Then, in the PM while I worked below decks, Barb got to indulge her spend impulses and began the provisioning buy. We are looking at well over $300 in staples which the only saving grace for this level of expenditure is that most of them will not require any sort of further replenishment throughout the cruise. We have been able to clear out a section of storage so that, on this trip, for the first time, Barb actually has a sort of pantry. Nothing as large as one that you would have at home, but one in which we can store a goodly supply of tinned goods, staples, etc.

I am getting more and more excited! Hopefully along the way we'll get to revisit with some friends that we made on last year's cruise - in Newport we hope to be seeing Jim from Groton and Mary Lou and Jay from Islesboro aboard Screech. Then somewhere along the line perhaps we'll get to see Maury and Ginger aboard Gypsy Sails.

Arrrr, Matey!

From Barb:

OK - I never thought that spending money would be stressful but... I went off to Bayer's Lake this afternoon clutching my lengthy provisions list for non-perishables. In the grocery store close to the end of my shopping I kept expecting the wheels on the cart to splay out to the sides much like Bambi's legs did when he tried to step on the frozen pond. After stopping in at Costco, The Atlantic Superstore and the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission I had breezed my way through $809!! I have to keep reminding myself that it is money that we won't need to spend later.

We provisioned much differently last year as we were staying close to shore in US waters and stopped almost every night. As you have read in previous posts this year's trip is vastly different and we have not been able to get a clear idea from anyone about what to expect as far as availability and prices go other than that it is really expensive. This will be a learning experience for us. We will let you know what the real deal is once we get there.

All of the provisions are still up in the car as it is pelting rain - argh! Once we get them aboard we have to peel the labels off the tins and mark the contents in china marker on the lids or transferring some packages to sturdier containers. Then the challenge begins of stowing the goods in a sensible way so we won't be frustrated when we do our weekly "shopping" in the storage locker. I will go out next week after the Thanksgiving feast is over to purchase our perishables for the Halifax to Newport leg of the trip.

Tonight I will be making chicken soup stock in advance of putting together chicken vegetable soup for lunch tomorrow. We have invited the RNSYS yard crew to stop by for lunch by way of thanking them for their support all summer.