Surviving the Storm

After a night of howling winds and driving rain, I awoke to discover a new leak had been formed right over top of my computer and camera! Luckily, both dried out just fine. For the time being, I've created a little tarp above the area, but I hope to investigate further and see if I can figure out where the water is coming from. Apart from that, Renova is once again sitting pretty and basking in the glorious sunshine.

Div. 6's Questions - Part 2

Hi Armstrong Div. 6...

Here is the next round of answers to your thoughtful questions.

How do you wash your clothes?

Most marinas have laundromats, and so far we've been able to wash our clothes and linens every week. I imagine that won't always be the case, and we'll have to do our washing by hand at some point. But at least a sailboat has lots of ropes and lines - these are great clotheslines!

How do you store your food?

We have lots of cupboards on board Renova, but not nearly as many as at our old house. So while we don't carry as much food, we could still carry enough to last us 6 weeks or more. We have to be careful to store everything in plastic or glass containers, because the moist environment on the boat will quickly ruin foods that are left in their original packaging. But, we're usually not far from a store, so food is never a problem!

How do you keep your food cold?

We have a fridge!!! It's not quite like the one you have at home...it is build into our counter, and you lift the lid from the counter and reach down into the fridge from above - sort of like a cooler. This helps to prevent the cold air from escaping as fast. Our fridge is a power pig...so it takes up lots of our battery power. Some days, we shut it off, if we need to conserve power. We also keep a couple of big blocks of ice in the fridge to help keep it cool.

Can you eat only dried food?

No - so far, we eat the same foods that we eat at home. We're very close to a grocery store, so I pick up fresh veggies and/or meats almost every day. But once we leave the USA, fresh produce may be harder to find, or we may spend more time anchored in a harbour, instead of at a marina. When that is the case, we'll eat more dried foods like pasta and rice, and make better use of canned goods.

Have you almost fallen overboard?

NO!!! We're very careful not to fall overboard. It is very hard to get back on the boat from the water, so whenever we are sailing at sea, we wear our safety gear. We always have our lifejackets on, with a built-in harness. We also have lines that run on each side of the boat from the bow to the stern - these are our jacklines. Whenever we are working on the deck, we clip on our harness lines to the jacklines, so we are always secure, and can't be lost overboard.

Batten Down The Hatches

The barometer is dropping like a rock, and all the talk at the marina is focused on an incoming storm. Forecasters are calling for 40+ m/h winds in the Bay and 70+ outside the Gate. Wow. I've spent the afternoon securing the deck, tightening halyards,
adding dock lines and bringing in the cushions. Renova is ready.

As I walked through the marina I realized that the marina was eerily empty - the usual hub-bub of activity had stopped. There were very few cars in the lot. The usual marina 'chatter' was escalating - the clanging of halyards and lines, the flapping of flags, the canvas and sails ruffling in the wind - and all were pointing to the storm that was coming. Now, the rain has started. Stay tuned...I'll let you know how it goes!