When I last wrote, we had a long list of chores to “put the boat to bed” for our time back home: wash the boat, clean the inside, “pickle the watermaker” (add special chemicals to preserve the watermaker so the bacteria doesn’t grow on the membranes), set up desiccants/dehumidifiers to absorb humidity, fill up fuel tanks (again to keep bacteria from growing), clean out fridge/freezer, add chafe guards to the mooring lines, and a million other little things.
On one trip to find “dehumidifier tablets”, we stopped at an outdoor gym for some weight bearing exercises. We both did some dips, but when I went to step down, my foot slipped, and I fell face first into the pole and gashed my forehead.
I didn’t hit my head very hard, but there was 3/4 inch gash that was going to need stitches to heal properly, so off I went to the local Urgencia.They were wonderful and 90 minutes later, I had 5 stitches and a tetanus booster.
To save time, Anthony removed the stitches for me a week later (but only after I made him watch a video of how to do it!
Finally, we left Moxie at Marina Rubicon in Lanzarote (in the Canary Islands) on Sept. 14th, flew to Madrid and then to Colorado
We came back to warm days, crisp nights, and a beautiful display of Fall colors. I was in heaven! It was wonderful to reconnect with friends and family and be on land for a bit. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed driving a car!
Since we were moving around a lot between Ft. Collins and Colorado Springs, we initially thought about “couch surfing” during our stay, but soon gave up on that idea and found a great rental in Colo. Springs. Ironically, it’s about 1 mile from the house where the kids grew up, so we know the neighborhood well. I’ve run into several former neighbors during my many walks! And oh the view…. I know Anthony loves the ocean, but the mountains are what make my soul sing! We’re lucky to have a little of both!
We tried to make the most of our time back in the States – doctor’s appts., shopping for Andrea’s wedding dress, parent’s weekend at CSU (we hadn’t seen Ian in 6 months), reconnecting with family and friends, long walks, etc., but all too soon it was time to come back and get Moxie ready to cross the Atlantic.
Anthony came a week earlier than I did so he could get a head start on recommissioning Moxie and I could visit my parents in Memphis and attend my nephew’s wedding in Richmond. I then joined him back at Marina Rubicon. We were there for a few more days and had a chance to catch up with some recent friends (Javier and Francois- with Jack the dog – from JiYu) and meet new ones (Normand – from Norm the Storm).
We all had a lovely dinner together and then it was time to say goodbye.
We left the marina and moved about a mile to a nearby anchorage so Anthony could recommission the water maker and clean the hull. After sitting for 7 weeks there was lots of growth on the bottom that would slow us down, so it had to be scrubbed off! This is not an easy job. There are two hulls to clean and during the two days we were at anchor there were 10-25kt winds and a swell wrapping around the island and hitting our stern. Moxie “sails” her anchor in winds, which meant Anthony had to fight a back-and-forth “current” together with a 1-2ft swell. It took 3 one-hour sessions and he was exhausted and a bit sea sick at the end. But now it’s done so we should sail about .5 kts faster! Ha! Ha!
We were also waiting for yet another sail (yes, that makes 4 sails not counting the main and jib).
This sail is huge (about 2200 Sq. ft). We’ve nicknamed it Bertha – as in Big Bertha (like a driver for golf) and it will be useful in light winds – which it’s possible to get for the crossing.
We left Lanzarote in the dark on Sunday morning (11/7) with strong winds almost directly behind us so it was a sporty sail. At one point, we were doing 16.2 kts surfing down a wave. 11 hours later (96 NM) we arrived in Las Palmas, Grand Canaria and currently docked at Muelle Deportivo.
Now it’s time to get ready for the ARC Rally which begins next Sunday, Nov. 21st. There is so much still to do to make sure we’re good to go…. but that’s all in the next post. Stay tuned!