Monday, November 1st

A busy, busy day...we started the morning with a trip up the mast to retie the main halyard, which I noticed last year was fraying, a very serious problem, and get the bulb out of the mooring light that sits atop the mast so we can replace it. I have to say, it is pretty nerve-wracking going up, when you know one of the lines that you are attached to is half bad! Mom - the headsets we bought at the tall ships show were perfect! Jim and I were able to talk in a normal voice and discuss what I was seeing and get Jim's input without both of us being up there.

After Jim brought me down....I admit I had to sit down for a while to stop my knees from knocking. We took a walk over to visit our friends at the Budget Chandlery...and picked up various necessities, including the bulb we need to replace. Back to the boat, and up I go again to get the mooring light replaced and put some chafe guard on the main halyard. The second trip was much less stressful than the first, and I was able to relax for a minute and enjoy the view.

We stopped at the office and booked our launch for Wednesday, and so we are rushing now to finish all the last minute items that are necessary before....and easier when you are on the hard. So we began getting the sail rigged with the reefing lines, which shorten the sail when the winds are too big. This entails Jim at one end of the line raising the sail half way to take the weight off and me at the other on top of the bimini, balanced on the canvas covered bars trying to find the right hole to put each of the 3 lines in, then pull them down, wrap properly around and thru the boom and sail bag and tie. The odds of me getting all three of these done properly is pretty low, but we gave it our best shot - and it looks pretty good...for now.

We were supposed to get our chain delivered today, but unfortunately Budget called and had us come inspect it before they cut the length. Unfortunately the barrel it was shipped in was unprotected and the chain had calcium deposits and rust on it. We decided that it was not worth the cost for chain that was already showing wear, and seemed compromised so we cancelled that order, and will get the chain next year.

Then we had a grownup night.... We went for pizza with Charles and Leslie and talked about all sorts of things and really enjoyed the evening.