We came to Lagos Sunday late afternoon September 19th, sad to say goodbye to Maggie and Bill and gearing up to go offshore to Madeira. We had new crew (our NJ sailing buddy Alden) arriving on Sunday the 26th, with the plan to look for a weather window (I still love that term) beginning Tuesday the 28th. Appointments were lined up; a long "to do" list was looming.

Monday began with a rigger appointment. We had been having intermittent problems with our inmast furler and then it completely failed to work on Sunday (we can do it manually so not a full on emergency, just something that needed to be worked out before going offshore). We also had been having chafe problems with our jib furling line. Not to add any additional stress, our water maker failed on Saturday - again, not an emergency, but it needed to be fixed. And the regular stuff to do.

The go-to marine electrician, John, along with Kan, the experienced rigger, figured out that there was a lose connection in the pedestal and fixed part of the main furling problem. Kan also was able to diagnose the problem with the intermittent failure of the main furler. A part was needed, and a temporary work-around was determined. They were ably assisted by HR and Selden Sails teams each answering phone calls from Sweden. Lastly, Kan fixed the jib furling problem. Monday went well.

For the water maker, we asked around and found someone to come on Wednesday, then Thursday. While waiting, we checked in with our resources, posing the question on 2 different facebook groups. We got many useful ideas, and started going through each possible solution - changed the filters, checked the boost pressure module (using a 1 minute you-tube video), checked the sea strainer. We (in consultation with our many distant helpers) decided that the problem could be a blocked through hull and were connected with Roy, who "dove" on the boat on Wednesday. No through-hull blockages, one dissipated anode changed, the propeller cleaned, and a previously unknown scrape along the rudder photographed.

No problems solved; one new problem found. We had not given up on our newfound knowledge about our water maker. We called Spectra's support office in California and followed along their list of suggested interventions, until finally proudly achieving success when we cleaned the check value and bled the Clark Pump (we are impressed with ourselves!). A very good feeling. Returning to our distant helper network, we asked Jamie Gifford from Sailing Totem about the scratch on the rudder. The specific, clear advice from him came with an endorsement that we should be fine sailing to the Canaries and having the repair done there.

While expanding our sailboat maintenance skills, we also had time for some more fun activities. We walked west from the marina and swam in and around the nearby grottos. We prepared Alden's berth. Based on my Atlantic Crossing experience on Skyelark, David attempted to recreate the "can crusher", a very important tool for squishing steel cans when offshore. Lastly, we paid a visit to the local fishing store and received personal attention as I picked out gear so we can troll for some of our dinners - I am hoping for tuna and/or dorado.

Alden arrived and was put immediately to work. We have provisioned, put the dinghy on the deck, and thoroughly checked the boat.

We have read and re-read the Covid requirements for entering Madeira. We downloaded the required app, but for some reason, a photo of a piece of paper with vaccine information does not pass muster (as compared to the EU app with certified vaccination and Covid testing information), so we got a PCR test last night. We think that they will allow us to enter.

Today, we woke up with our much smaller list of final jobs. David started with checking the engine and decided to check the fuel filter for water. He removed the water and then we tried to start the engine - it sputtered and stopped. A very bad feeling. After looking up what to do, we tried to bleed the fuel line to remove any air. The screw to do this was so tight David was afraid he would strip it. A very bad feeling. So, he walked over to the nearby chandlery/boatyard, Sopomar. We were relieved to hear that they would send someone by shortly. A little less bad feeling. These two wonderful gentleman came, looked, did a 30 second fix, and the engine started. A very good feeling.

Our plan was to move the boat out to the reception pontoon, on the other side of the walking bridge around 6pm and then go to dinner. This way we would be able to leave early tomorrow before the bridge would begin opening for the day at 9am. Continuing with our list, I got around to confirming this plan with the marina office around 3pm. They said no, we could not stay tonight at the reception pontoon - it would be full. Okay, so now we are getting ourselves organized and will head out late afternoon to anchor off of the beach. The wind is light, so we should have a lovely start to our trip. Early start tomorrow!


Oh yeah, and we had a 38th wedding anniversary dinner!

You can follow our progress from Portugal to Madeira at https://share.garmin.com/Sailingithaka if you'd like. Fair winds for us!