Work To Do List

To be completed upon arrival in Ensenada


Haul-out

• Paint bottom

• Install two transducers with through-hulls

• Replace through-hulls and replace/rebuild sea cocks.

• Install Inter Phase 180se sonar.

• Prep and paint boat name and port of origin.

To be completed by departure date, (we hope)

1) Fabricate SS Dink holding rack.

2) Replace all remaining plumbing.

 Install

• Radar reflector.

• Shaft Shark .

• Manual bilge pumps (2).

• One Hella fan & inline fuses on both.

• Macerator pump.

• Self release EPIRB.

• Cockpit speakers.

• Under cabinet lights.

• Wash-down pump.

• Bilge exhaust system.

• Enlarged cockpit drain system.

• Propane gas detector.

• Anchor bridle

• Anchor bridle cleats.

• Spice rack.

• Calibrate compass.

• New counter tops.

• Formica on shower wall.

 Replace engine hoses.

 Inspect & tune rigging.

Recipe for Fish Tacos

We're trying new recipes using fish on Wind Raven now so we get some variety in what we'll be eating at sea. Here is one for Halibut tacos that have the "Jay Reese" (discerning chef and taste tester) seal of approval. I bet you can use manmy types of seafood for this recipe. This receipe is from the magazine Taste of Home.

Halibut Soft Tacos

1 medium mango, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup cubed avocado
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp. chopped jalapeno pepper
1 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro (optional-I made mine without cause I don't like cilantro much)
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. honey
1 lb. Halibut steaks
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
4 bibb lettuce leaves
4 flour or corn tortillas, warmed
4 tsp. sweet Thai chili sauce
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In a small bowl combine the mango, avocado, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, 2 tsp. oil, lemon juice and honey; set aside. Brush halibut with remaining oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cook halibut on grill or skillet with a little cooking spray, covered over high heat- 3-4 minutes each side till fish flakes easily with fork.

Place lettuce leaves on tortillas; top with fish and mango mixture. Drizzle with chili sauce.

(each taco equals 330 calories)

These were quick to prepare and very yummy.


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Now while Jay finishes buffing out the new stainless steel railing he made for the stern I am going to find a new receipe for chicken breasts to try out tonight....stay tuned, my fellow "foodies!"

life changes

Couldn't sleep last nite. Earlier in the day Jay and I had gone to my home in Eugene and found my little blind wiener dog, Pepper, looking very sad and with no food and water. The kids I asked to look after her apparently have too much on their plate and anyway I was feeling like an abusive "mom" for leaving her behind in the first place. Thought it would be better for her to be at the house and yard she knows instead of bumbling around on the boat with us as we get it repaired---realized that what she really needed is her "mom"...after all she is 16 and has been with me since she was 6 weeks old..... and now in her old age she doesn't need a yard and a "place"--she is like the rest of us...needs love and companionship and relationships above all.....

I woke Jay up and told him how I FELT and he said "Well, that settles it then. Let's go get her!" So he got out of bed and I have to tell you it took me a while to wake him up cause he had been asleep for HOURS while I was lying sleepless and worried about my doggy girl-----he got dressed at 2 a.m. and so did I and we drove BACK over to Eugene and dog napped her out of the house.  When I got her to the boat I gave her a bath, put her in her little bed in the salon under the table and she slept all day......she didn't pee or anything and I started worrying about her not even eating and drinking....I gave her some water and 1/2 can of SPAM and took her out into the cockpit with her little "potty patch" we got her for the house to "go" on and she peed gallons! Now she is happy, sitting on my lap seeming a lot happier...and boy her "mom" is happier, too.....guess I was wrong about her needing to be in a yard and a house she knows.....realized that even little dogs need love more than anything else........places may come and go in our travels in life but love and relationships are #1.  I'm glad I realized this about Pepper before it was too late for her.....at 16 she is a senior citizen in dog years and I KNOW I don't want to get left behind in life when I get old...yeah, maybe animals and people aren't so different after all.

Jay did a little more work on the stern rail and I did a load of laundry, but now we are exhausted after our nocturnal travels and plan on getting a lot of zzzzzzzzs tonight along with Pepper....That is if Boogie, our cat, doesn't keep pestering her...he keeps poking at her and she is ignoring him same old way they used to interact at the house. Now Boogie is acting like his nose is pushed out of joint now that he has to share the attention with Pepper....as soon as we get Boogie "toilet trained" on the toilet (we just bought a how to teach your cat to pee and poop in the toilet" DVD and book). Once trained we can get rid of the stinky, nasty cat box we have under the table and Pepper will have more room there for her bed and food and water.....

Our electrician, James, is back to finish the rest of the wiring...then we can get out and brush up our sailing and anchoring skills......more later.........Judy, Jay, Boogie and Pepper

Empty Nesting at Port

Jay is at the shop working on the stern rail so I thought I'd share some random thoughts about what I am discovering about myself during our sailing trip preparation.

I've been reading quite a few first-hand accounts about women taking off sailing with their partners and everyone of them relate having had serious doubts when they first thought of leaving the U.S. and their families behind. But everyone of them also said they would not trade their sailing experience for anything....so I am sure I will "get there" in my thinking. But having been a stay-at-home mom for 14 years and being home-bound for most of my adult life the prospect of heading off into the sunset is both exciting AND scary......

First and foremost is the fact that except for travel in the U.S. and a few border crossings to Mexico on land I've never travelled much in my life and never to any foreign shores.  I always looked at myself as a "mom" first and everything else fell into place after that....then my girls grew up and left one by one but I lived in the same general area so I was able to keep up with them pretty regularly and visiting with them often. Then in 2001 I moved to Eugene and for the first time in their lives I wasn't living in close proximity to my girls and grandchildren. They still came to visit and although I missed them I had to face the fact that even tho for most of their lives I was the only "constant" parent who was always "there" for them when they needed me or wanted me. At one point I ended up with a little rental that Alana and her first husband moved into in Veneta while Mikey was a baby and I thought at LEAST I'd have my "baby" near by...but Alana decided she didn't like Eugene because of all the rain and her allergies got really bad up here. So they moved back to Medford and I became very sad to not have her and Mikey around so near...then Moriah moved up to Junction City and I saw HER and her kids all the time and then they moved to Sweet Home...but we still had Thanksgivings and Christmases we shared with the rest of the family......

So now that we are preparing to take off I am feeling what some call that old "empty nest" syndrome (I knew it would get to me sooner or later)....I will be leaving in the next few months (unless I get that GREAT/WONDERFUL paying, super-dooper job with bennies.......ha ha) and when I leave we will not have a phone or internet  service  or even mail service until we make port from time to time and buy a phone card and/or find an internet cafe down south.....so I will really be out of touch with my girls and grandchildren (all 7 of them!) My only hope is that the girls and grandchildren will save up and come to visit us as we travel! But I have been a mom for so long that taking off into the "unknown" so to speak seems scary and sad......when will I see my girls and wonderful grandchildren again? Are my "parenting" skills really no longer needed by my family? and what the heck do I do with the rest of my life sans my children and grandchildren needing me? So there you have it, my "mom thoughts"---I thought it was hard getting rid of my excess material possessions but I don't think I could ever give up my girls and my grandchildren.....fortunately I can carry them in my heart and mind and have them come visit this old lady of the sea when they can....I just hope none of them feel "deserted" by their mom/grandma, cause when all is said and done my girls Moriah, Annie, Darcie and Alana and my grandchildren: Leah, Haley Brandon, Anthony, Britney, Mikey and Hayden are part of me everyday in my thoughts and prayers-----but like that Steven Tyler song "I just don't want to miss a thing..." especially Hayden changing from a toddler into a little boy -----so, yeah, I get "weepy" from time to time thinking about taking off for "parts unknown" but the girls are (this year) 39, 36, 33, and 27 and they have their own lives, their own children, jobs, relationships and etc. and I am so proud of all four of them for being good, kind people with strong values and Moriah, Annie and Alana for being great parents! and I am so happy that Darcie finally found her prince, Walter, and is engaged!

So now, Mom's adventure begins......it's almost like I've just (finally) "grown up" and am heading out on my own......I know the kids will be fine and I will pray for each of them everyday and I hope they pray for their mom/grandma too.......better end this before I get too sappy...ha ha......gotta get back to that book I'm reading about the guy who was adrift for 76 years in the ocean before he was rescused!!!!!!

History

We purchased Wind Raven in Santa Cruz California and Jay motored it up 700 miles to Oregon in October 2008. Fighting headwinds and angry seas most of the way.

The trip began with a delivery captain who also did the survey on the boat prior to purchase. This person and crew were fired at Fort Bragg, CA after running the boat aground in Bodega Bay and for entering the shipping lanes out of San Francisco Bay at night, in the fog without turning on the radar. When told  to use the radar this "supposed" captain stated "That's ok, the ships can go around us." This same individual upon approaching Ft. Bragg told me "You have options other than stopping at Ft. Bragg to buy more fuel filters." At the time we were using the last fuel filter and had already gone through 9 filters due to dirty fuel. At this point I'd had enough with his incompetence. I then instructed him to contact the Coast Guard for a "lead in" to the harbor as it was a foggy night and at low tide. Upon reaching the dock I fired this so-called captain/surveyer and decided to look for another more competent sailor to help bring the boat to Oregon.
An experienced sailor was located in Oregon who accompanied me to our final destination.

Several serious (life threatening) faults were discovered on the boat after our arrival, that this "supposed" captain/surveyor failed to find. The first being that the step mast base was so rusted out that I could push a screwdriver through it. I had pointed the rust out to the surveyor and he assured me that it was just surface rust, not so. Also when the bilge pump would not activate I reached down to check the wire, at which time promptly disentigrated. Several other major faults were discovered, such as three seized seacocks, but I think you get the idea. I still can't believe he said to me that I had purchased a fine boat that he woulden't be afraid to sail it anywhere in the world. Personally, I feel very fortunate to have made it back to Oregon alive.
To date the step mast has been repaired and the boat has been rewired. The plumbing is also being replaced as it was also in extremely poor condition.Some of the items that required immediate replacement were the capstan, running rigging, stern rail, four of the ten winches were seized, etc. etc.

Hopefully, we can get her ready by Sept. to head south. Next is the watermaker!

Watermaker

We are trying to get service and/or parts info for our ASC desalinator model 029-014----it's a watermaker that produces 20 gallons of fresh water an hour. If anyone knows where we can get this info please help. We hear the Sea of Cortez has no water available and down in Mexico they charge .25- $1 a gallon for potable water, so we need to be able to make our own.