S/V Passage - Refitting a Classic (& Building Our Skills) Before Cutting the Docklines

We didn't spend a lot of time doing "Passage projects" towards the beginning of the week, but David was off on Thursday and Friday so I met him after work each day to get some things done. I started a new job on Monday, and now I can walk to the harbor from my new office...a nice, new perk! I really wanted to go out sailing for a bit, since the wind was consistent yet not too strong. On the other hand, David wanted to clean up Passage as well as put back up the brass I cleaned as well as the lifeline netting we bought a while back to help keep Lucky safe under sail. He had been really productive already that day, picking up our main from Doyle Sails (their Chicago office is less than a mile from our condo!), and re-rigged it to the mast with its fresh new mainmast slides. We started the process of putting up the netting, and once we figure out how to get one of the turnbuckles to loosen off the lifelines. If anyone has any ideas, we are totally open to suggestions!

On Friday, we were FINALLY able to take Passage back out on the lake for the first time since we brought her up to the harbor in June. It wasn't a long sail, but it sure was fun to put up the sails and turn off the engine and just enjoy the stillness away from the city. It was a bit nervewracking when we decided to head back to the can because the batteries were almost totally dead, and we had a very tough time getting the engine to start as we were ready to drop the sails. Once got it going, we did fine and we wrapped up the night at West Marine buying two new deep cycle dual purpose batteries to replace the ones that had basically completely stopped holding a charge. After 3+ years on dry dock, whod've thought they'd do that?!

We ended up at Jewel to shop for provisions for our outing with friends on Saturday afternoon. A good balance of productivity and enjoyment on a hot summer Chicago evening.