Look Ma...No Hands!!

We've finally had a chance to test out our newly installed Monitor wind vane. We sailed...or rather, the vane sailed... almost the entire way from our house to Rebecca Spit. As you can see in the picture, the vane is tilted by the wind, which in turn, moves the pendulum in the water. This pendulum pulls on the lines, which are led back to the wheel. MAGIC!

Now we just have to come up with a name for it. I suggested Hans ...remember Hans and Franz....here to pump you up!! Hans is also the name of the inventor.

Retirement is Pending...

Well...I've bit the bullit. I submitted my notice with both of my key clients/employers. And it was really brought home as we sat in interviews last week. Now the countdown is emminent...Four more weeks of work!!

Saving Money

I might as well be Scottish...I LOVE to save money. So...when I discovered the price of a man-over-board pole, I decided to build it myself. Thankfully, I enlisted the help of Amy and Strahan over the Easter weekend. We spend an afternoon cutting, filing, sanding, weighting, testing, refining, and finally celebrating!! No major injuries occurred, so we considered this project a success. And...only 6 trips to the hardware store!

The idea is that you throw this pole off the boat, when someone is discovered to have gone overboard. It has a weight at one end, a float near the middle, and (will have) a flag at the top to help you re-locate the person. Safety first...

The LIST

We spent some time reviewing our TO DO list, and have moved some items to the 'not now' category, and tried to allocate tasks. Surprisingly...a majority of the tasks have my name next to them. I'm not sure why that is...especially since I'm not the one who is recently retired!!

Courtesy Flags

I got these for John for Valentines Day.

It is customary when sailing into a foreign country to fly the flag of that country. I've started to collect a few flags...so far, I have the USA, Mexico, Equador (Galapagos) and France. Haven't been able to find a French Polynesia flag - so France will be our fall back. I'm still looking...

I've also got a yellow quarantine flag. It is flown when you first enter a country, to indicate that you have not yet cleared customs.

The Engine Springs to Life

It's been almost a whole year of engine woes. We've become near professionals at removing and replacing the engine. I've even read a whole book on diesel engines, and troubleshooting. We've hummed, we've haaa-ed. And now - we have success. It seems that the ol' Perk is running just as smooth as can be. Pressure is right where we want it. Wahoo!!! We'll return it to it's rightful place IN the boat, next weekend. When we have finished cleaning the fuel tank, and making the engine compartment sparkly and new! Finally - good news. Now...we can really get excited. This trip might just happen after all!! :O)

Vancouver Boat Show

We went to the show...and we survived. We didn't even have to dive into our line of credit. Hurray. We had lots of great conversations with various vendors. We talked with engine manufacturers, got quotes from sailmakers, and just wandered around and oogled all the millions of gadgets that we 'need' to have on Renova. In the end, John bought me a present - a cookbook by James Barber - One Pot Wonders! And I bought a handy pair of boat boots. The best part was that we met up with cruising friends for coffee, had dinner with Brandy, and we even bumped into Mark and Jayson as we were leaving!! Great chance to catch up with old friends!

Engine Woes

The engine saga just won't end. We though that we had solved all our problems and were ready to reinstall the ol' Perkins - finally. But as we were lowering the engine from the crane, we noticed that oil was already seeping from the seals. &*%#. Never mind. Back into the truck. Back to square one. Tow the boat back to the slip.

Snug as a Bug

Here's a pic of Renova in her new berth. Huge fenders in anticipation of the winter winds...

Renova Has Moved!!

Hurray! After about 18 months on the waiting list, we've finally secured a slip at the marina. We've loved the time we've spent at the government docks - it has a great sense of community, we enjoy walking down to the boat, and the price is right. We'll miss our harbour neighbors. Yet...we are looking forward to having a designated slip, always knowing where we'll tie up, and not be so vulnerable to other boats.

We had a glorious, sunny day yesterday so John rounded up a couple friends to help move the boat. Without an engine, this task isn't as easy as it seems. We had to tow it with our little aluminum boat, and the outboard wasn't very happy with the freezing temperatures. Apparently, it was a gong show, and we've already managed to gain quite a reputation at the new marina. I'm glad I wasn't there.