We're Making Progress In Moving In

We've got the wood stained and now we're down to a small list of to-dos before we can move on. We had a setback with finances and are trying to cut our rents down asap so we're really pushing to get on the boat. It is stressful but there are lots of very positive things about it, too. My biggest thing is that we'll be able to drive the truck around more.

We're hoping to move on this next week. We moved the boat to a different slip and flipped around so we could use the shore power cord and hose that are only 25 feet long. I say we "moved South for the winter" because the slip is South of us. HEE HEE

Enjoy the pictures....

More progress on the boat and Brett is finishing up the delivery

After getting home, Brett worked dilagently to put the last coat of stain/varnish on the trim. He also finished painting the liner which turned out beautifully! He installed our speakers we'd gotten last year on our way down here into the settee bulkheads and finally got the cd stereo installed at the nav station. He also installed the breaker panel for the stereo and nav equipment as well as a cigarette lighter for other 12v products we may want to use. He installed hinges on several of the cabinet doors in the galley and nav station. I'd go take pictures but he has the camera.

He is finishing up the delivery with Eddie and Eddie's friend, Andy. They left at 530am Tuesday and won't be home till tonight or tomorrow. I didn't know they would be gone so long. I haven't heard from Brett but I did talk to Eddie Tuesday night. It's a nasty windy rainy day today and today is their roughest section in Galveston Bay. Today is my first day off in 4 days. I worked very hard this week at ACE. I like it so far. I actually open the store by myself on Sunday and it will only be me and the owner all day on Sunday. I am nervous but also confident. They are really easy and have set things up to be easy. Any problem I may have can be fixed later. Dale is really good with the customers, too, so I think I'll be alright.

I'm tired but wanting to spruce up the boat before Brett comes home. I also needed to run errands today but it is pouring down rain. And when it rains here, it's never just a drizzle for long. It dumps buckets. But I have a lot to do around here today.

We're Back Early...

We left on the boat at 715am on Thursday morning. A Northerly had blown in 1/2 hour before our departure so we were leaving in 13-18 knot winds and about 52 degrees (which is COLD here in Texas and on the water).

As we motored into the bay, I went below and made all of us coffee with our french press and tea kettle. We ate my blueberry muffins I'd made the night before. Our first leg in the bay would be downwind with the Northerly so it wasn't too bad.

After making coffee, I went up into the cockpit with Brett while Eddie stayed below to get warm and watch his chart navigation system on his computer screen.

I was wearing a long sleeve shirt, fleece and ski coat with a pair of khakis and Smart Wool socks, my $5.00 gloves from Walmart and my Teva Boat sandals. I also had my pink fleece hat that I gotten as a White Elephant gift from Cindy's Christmas party, made by Shannon. Unfortunately we did end up leaving the scarf behind which proved to be the wrong move.

I sat in the cockpit with Brett a few minutes, eye balling the rising waves around us. It was the first time I'd been in such big swells and the boat was rocking around. I went below soon and pulled on my long underwear bottoms. A few minutes of being in the cockpit, I went below again to pull on my long underwear tops and one of Eddie's ball caps. It was cold! We were motoring down the channel at about 4.5 knots. Eddie had a problem with his batteries and they were worried to turn off the engine because they might not have the juice from the batteries to turn it back on. So we were not able to sail down the bay with the North wind.

Soon, Brett changed into his foul weather trousers for warmth. Eddie had also pulled out his new foul weather gear and was bundled up good.

I sat in the cockpit and watched the boat roll over the swells. I started getting apprehensive about this but continually told myself that this boat was a good boat and could handle it better than me. Brett could see my fears and uncomfortableness starting to rise so he unfurled the jib (foresail) a little to help balance out the boat a little from the rocking. I just sat there quietly with my coffee, staring at the swells when I finally saw the dolphins at around 9am! There was only one but he was close. They look bigger on a 24 foot boat than a 37! By then, I was not feeling great. A few times I watched the boat dip into the bottom of a swell and the water touched her toe rails. But she was a good boat and could handle this easily. This was normal too, this wasn't really that bad weather except that we had winds 13-18.

We soon turned toward the channel after following navigation markers via the paper chart and Eddie's chart plotter. His Radar decided not to work properly which we soon found out was just loose screws in the back. He was using a radar/chart plotter combo unit, an electronic chart system on his 20" flat screen monitor mounted to his forward bulkhead and several paper charts. We were loaded with navigation aids. Only his newest fishing chart had the new channel on it though. His electronic gear was already outdated for the channel (ICW- Intercoastal Waterway- I had called it the International but it's the Intercoastal)

When we turned NorthEast, things got worse. The swells increased in size and we were now attempting to scoot almost on top of them and to the side so we were thrown around a lot more than when we were surfing with them southbound. We had to roll up the jib, it kept flogging in the wind. I didn't like the motion or the look of it and wanted to take a break. I headed down into the cabin around 1030am. Eddie was on his way out of the cabin and told me not to get nautious while down there. I nodded and sat down and put my feet up on the other berth to brace myself. In literally about 6 seconds, My face did it-turned instantly green (don't know why they call it green?) . I got up and literally pushed Eddie from the companionway to the cockpit and I rushed to the low side of the boat (leeward) and threw up. And threw up. And threw up. I desperately tried to find the horizon each time, so I could make myself stop. It was horrible. Poor Eddie was sitting next to me, trying to console me. After I was done, I did feel a little better. But I couldn't go below. It instantly made me sick. It has to do with the eyes talking to the brain about equilibrium, etc.

I had wrapped up in Eddie's wool blanket in the cockpit but the wind just went right through every piece of clothing I had. I sat quietly bundled up on the starboard side of the cockpit, frozen with cold but unable to go inside for warmth because of the seasickness.

The boat was being thrown around a little bit and spray was hitting us a little. Thank god for Eddie's dodger. Brett and I firmly believe you do not leave on a trip without a dodger. It completely protects you from wind and spray. I could really see the benefits even more after this trip. We were making no time at all going against the wind. Without being able to put up the sails, we were slowly motoring at about 2-3 knots on this stretch. We had been in dry weather so far, just a grey cover and now the sun was starting to come out. I sat as quietly as I could, grasping to the companionway to keep myself upright as the boat acted like a bucking bronco through the swells.

We found our next marker to turn and headed directly into the wind. Now we were fighting every swell head on. They were about 3-4 foot swells, with an occasional 5-6 foot. They were very close together, which slammed the boat hard between them. The winds had also picked up to 25 knots with gusts of 28 knots, near gale force winds. It was definitely like riding a bucking horse. (not that I've ever been on a bucking horse). LOL But the sun was coming out. I had gotten sick every half hour for 2 hours before feeling a little better. Brett made me drink water and eat some crackers I had wisely packed. The boys ended up being on their own for food though. I did offer to make sandwiches for them if Eddie brought me the fixings for them. LOL. But he had found all the snacks I had packed to munch on and it tide him over.

With this new route, we were only doing .5-1 knot! (about 1-2mph) The big waves would hit us, and we'd actually go backward. I hadn't noticed this slow progress, the boat would rear up and slam into a swell and feel like we were surging ahead and I had kept my eyes on the horizon and next marker to follow in the channel. We had to travel at 30 degrees on the compass even though our marker was at 90. We had to counteract the swells and wind from blowing us out of the channel. Brett had it down pat. He did awesome with keeping us in the channel even though our nose was pointed way port of the marker. The couple times he had to run below, Eddie and I tried taking the helm and had the boat all over the place. LOL. After being out for about 6 hours and my third time getting sick, Eddie suggested we might turn around and try this another day. I hollered Not to do that because of me. Seasick is a part of sailing and I was fine.

Brett pulled out the chart and showed Eddie that if we turned to go back and tried to go up the bay, North, it would take us about 12 hours to get back. We only had about 1.5 hours to the main part of the ICW which was inside land and calm. So we all agreed it would be stupid to go back. Our spirits did lift a little as the sun started shining. The sun definitely made it better. We talked more about sailing and figured out navigation as needed. We had come to a crossroad and I was able to figure out on the chart where we were and where we needed to go. It was really fun to navigate off the chart.

Finally we FINALLY reached the main ICW channel inlet. As SOON as we got out of the bay the swells almost completely stopped. All we had was wind ahead of us and off to our port. I was feeling better and talking with the boys again. I was very disappointed about getting sick but very proud that I had not gotten really scared about the waves or anything. I really trusted the boat and not made it a worry for me.

After awhile, I took the helm for Brett. Eddie had turned on the stove that warmed up the cabin and came out into the cockpit. Brett sat and ate some jerky while I steered for awhile. I told him I didn't want to just be remembered as being sick. LOL

We came up to the Matagorda locks for the Colorado River. Eddie pulled out the waterway guide and I read the directions as to how to get through the locks via the VHF radio. After a little confusion and a little wait, they finally let us through. After getting through the locks, we came upon a swing bridge. We weren't aware of the bridge and I scrambled through the book to find out what to do. I figured out the mystery and it worked brilliantly. It was like solving a puzzle and I loved it. It was around 4pm and we had decided there was no way to make Sargent before dark. We pulled into Matagorda harbor for the night. The harbor master was a friend of Eddie's and he was meeting us to have dinner at the restaurant.

We pulled up toward the transient docks. Brett tried to reverse into them but the engine died. He tried again and again. Finally, he turned the boat and we went in forward. We parked the boat and noticed a frayed line sitting on deck. The rolling furler line for the jib had fallen in the water and apparantly wrapped around the prop. That is why we couldn't go in reverse! It was an absolute miracle that the line wrapping around the prop didn't kill the engine out in the bay as they normally do. We would have had trouble if that had happened. We would have only had the main sail. We would have had to turn around and go South of Palacios to the Matagorda Bay entrance of Port OConner!

We felt awful about the line, Eddie had forgotten to secure it after furling up the jib but Brett felt responsible because he was the Captain. Because the boat could still go forward, we had decided we would continue on in the morning. We had dinner with Eddie's two friends, Craig, the harbormaster and Andi, a sea captain of a tugboat. I had a light dinner. The land sickness was hitting now in the restaurant as I struggled to read the menu.

Later that night, Craig offered us an electric heater and a shore power cord to use. Eddie had left to a motel, and Brett and I stayed on the boat. We discovered that the shore power didn't work and it was supposed to get to 35 that night. Oops. It had more to do with his electrical problem on the boat. We could run other things off the batteries but the heater had too much amperage. But we kept the boat closed up and it was okay. Not too cold. I made some hot chocolate and tea on the stove which warmed us up. We went to the showers and each took long hot showers to warm us up and headed back to the boat. I talked with Grandpa and Grandma a while and then Brett and I huddled together in the vee berth and watch a new movie on Eddie's giant flat screen monitor/computer with his surround sound Bose speakers. It was an awesome setup. We awoke the next morning at 630am and made some coffee.

We took a look at the waterway guide and turned the VHF on to listen to the weather forecast. Eddie showed up and the three of us discussed our options while I cooked pancakes. We thought we would probably make Freeport that day and then make Kemah on Saturday. But we then heard the report of more Northerly winds and cold temp. So Eddie decided we would wait until the wind wasn't blowing so hard and it was warmer. He made the call and we were soon waiting for someone to pick us up from Matagorda. We left the boat in Matagorda, tied to a slip with our gear on it for next week. We visited with Eddie's friend, Andy, who had lent him his old truck for the night.

Then we went up to the restaurant to wait for Eddie's ride. They were still closed but lovingly invited us in for some coffee.

After our ride arrived, it was only a 30 minute drive back to the park! It took us 9.5 hours to get to Matagorda via the bay and the channel and 30 minutes to drive back. Crazy. We planned on going again this week, hopefully on one of my days off.

Unfortunately Eddie called today and wants to go Tuesday/Wednesday. I just found out that I am needed to work on those two days. So I am really disappointed that I won't be able to complete the journey with them. Brett and Eddie and Andy will finish the delivery. I am disappointed but you go when the weather says you go.

So that was my Very long version of our trip. Unfortunately I only got pictures when we left and when we hit the channel. I didn't get any pictures of the swells we had encountered. I later asked Brett what these swells/winds were like in comparison to his trip to Florida last year with Tom and Dana (when they ended up near Mexico). He said it wasn't even 25% as bad as that. So I have a lot more to learn and get used to on a boat. But Brett said we will do all we can do NOT to leave in those conditions (In a Northerly for instance).

That's the story in a nutshell. Well... Maybe in an eggshell- or maybe in a Greyhound bus.

You can definitely see how sick I was because I didn't even think about the camera out there... And you all's know me and my picture taking! I have looked and looked for pictures of what it was like but haven't been able to find them. Maybe all photographers get sick during those types of short, steep swells? LOL

Enjoy!

WE'RE HEADING OUT ON EDDIE'S BOAT

It's 520am. I am TIRED. We're leaving at 7am on Eddie's 24 foot Pacific Seacraft to take it to Kemah down the ICW (International Coastwal Waterway). I prepared a ton of food and clothing for us. Brett and I don't like to be uncomfortable or hungy. :) Eddie is going with us.

We'll be taking the ICW to Sargent for the night and then head off from Sargent to Kemah tomorrow (Friday). This is my first time going this far on a sailboat and first time so offshore. I do like the idea of us pulling off for the night just because we will be in the ICW (Shipping Channel) with a lot of freighters and I'd have to stand 2 watches at night. It sounds a bit overwhelming for my first time out. We were going to take the Gulf over but the seas and wind are too much and its too cold the next two days. We may take the Gulf on our way back.

I asked Ann at Ace on Friday about their positions they are needing to fill. On Monday, I found out I wouldn't be able to participate in a show I wanted to get into and so I finished my application and biked it over on Monday. I handed it to the asst manager and as she was taking it, she said "You start tomorrow at 9am". LOL. I guess Ann told her to hire me if I came back in. I told her I could start next Tuesday (after the sailing and Benny's vet appt) and she asked me to come in this Tuesday and Wednesday, 1/2 days, to train. So I did. So I now have a small job to help with the bills till the shows come up again. This is good because it will give me something to do and I'll make money and I'll get out of Brett's hair for a few hours a few days a week. LOL

Well, I need to sign off and scramble (stumble) my way to Steve and Pam's boat on the other side of the harbor to wake their alarm clock-less booties out of bed, too as they have an appt in Victoria today.

Wish us luck! Love y'all and miss ya!

Kyla (and Brett)

GETTING CLOSE TO MOVING IN

I posted this several days ago but it did not post. I was not able to put pictures in it due to internet problems. I am trying again today. If you go to MY FAVORITES, MY PICTURES, you'll find the pictures in folder 011208.

It looks like I have been able to post pictures today on this post. So I will add a few here as well. You can see more in my Picasa web albums though.

Brett and I have been working hard to get the boat ready for move in. Though much work still needs to be done, we can do a lot of it after we move in. This week I have been staining/varnishing the rest of the interior wood that Brett spent the last three weeks installing for the galley and nav station. Everything looks fantastic. Beautiful. My stain job is far from perfect but its nice to have woodwork in the boat. The end result will be worth it. We are hoping to get everything installed we need to move in by next month. Brett has gotten the plumbing installed and the hot water heater going. We have 110 electricity and some lights are installed. The only things needing to be done now to move aboard are to finish some wiring, install the drain in the head sink, lay the rug down in the salon that we purchased cheaply and a couple other things. We need to install the propane and hook it up to the oven/stove. We have no cupboard doors or drawers yet but there is so much room on the boat, we shouldn't have a problem finding places to put things for awhile.

The day before yesterday, while I was staining the interior, Brett installed our wind generator pole onto the stern pulpit. It took a lot to get the wind generator itself mounted atop the 8 foot pole but he was able to hammer it on. All that is left for it is the blades. The wind generator uses wind power to help charge batteries. We had also bought a solar panel from Charl to help natural resources charge our batteries which means less time running our engine every day when out to sea.

A couple weeks ago, we arranged to buy ML and Russell's marine BBQ. We finally got that from them and Brett mounted it onto the wind generator pole. It's a large party version. We are really excited to finally have a grill to cook on. We are big time grillers. We had to be careful where to mount it as we are hoping to someday mount a wind vane on the stern of the boat. A wind vane is a complicated yet simple, expensive self-steering mechanism that is really a MUST on cruising boats. It is much more reliable than an autopilot sometimes. It moves on a pendulum with the wind which in turn moves the rudder. Very very expensive but very very much needed when long-term cruising. It helps us not to have to steer 24-7. This will be our largest and most expensive purchase yet (much more than the engine). I keep a watch on Ebay for a used one. Used ones with missing parts average 1,000-2,000. A new one averages 3500-7000.

(yes, Shannon- I know- I am rambling. You know you love it.) Hee Hee

I have joined an art league that is here at the park every Thursday where we all sit and paint for a couple hours or longer. We get to leave our supplies in the Rec Hall so we can go there at will and paint. I have contributed a lot of my supplies for others to try out like my colored pencils and watercolor paints. I am excited to be painting again.

Eddie, our friend we've talked about, has decided to take his boat to Houston next week and wants Brett and I to take it with him. It's about a 24 hour sail through the Gulf or we may take the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway). Brett wants us to go the Gulf so Eddie and I can experience it and learn from it. It will be an overnighter which is a little bit frightening aspect on a 24 foot boat but Brett feels confident that I am ready for it. Eddie has sailed for 40 years but never out of Tres Palacios Bay. His boat is a BEAUTIFUL Pacific Seacrest. He has totally outfitted it with tons of electronics and generators, etc etc. It's very funny all the equipment he has installed just to sail in the Tres Palacios Bay (a branch of the Matagarda Bay here).

I am nervous but excited to be able to do this with them this time. It's a deeper plunge than I wanted, sailing at night in the Gulf so soon, but the winds and weather sound like they may cooperate. And Eddie has an autopilot so it shouldn't be too bad. The only part I am apprehensive about is my turns for night watches and the Galveston shipping channel can be hairy, too. But Brett has been there done that, and I have a lot of confidence in his ability to keep us safe.

I am contimplating a job at the ACE hardware store for temporary income. We have been jobless awhile and boat jobs fell through for Brett. I owe a LOT in sales tax the end of the month and am getting worried. We are doing okay but it's a constant thorn in my side to have the bills we do. I am hoping I get into some shows starting February to pick back up our income.

The weather has been incredibly warm this month, much warmer and dryer than last year. We have been averaging the 70s! I have been wearing tee shirts most days! It is really weird. Last year, I wore my ski coat a lot. It has been really windy though. We've not been able to take the boat out because the days we wanted to, were too windy and then the calm days, we were working on her.

A lot of people here don't understand that when you are working on a boat or living aboard, you can't just drop the lines and go. Also, a lot of people don't understand that this boat is very old and hasn't been stressed in years. We want to make sure everything is up to par. Her hull is strong enough but we want to really inspect the thru-hull fittings and the prop, etc before we really stress her. We're trying to be safe and level-headed about it. We have no qualms about the sea and would LOVE to take her out in a gale northerly.

A lot of people at the park and other boaters that take their small day sailors out in Northerlies just don't understand why we don't take our boat out for a spin. The new people, Steve and Pam, also get the same thing. They just bought a full keel, 36' Cape Dory here and have moved aboard. They have spent weeks trying to go through all the gear that was on the boat and to try to adapt to this small way of living on a boat. They are brand new to sailing a large boat and have a lot of things to learn before they take her out. A lot of the RVers and boaters have questioned them as well about not taking their boat out. Outfitting a boat for cruising and living aboard is complicated and time consuming and I think a lot of people don't realize that.

Well I am really rambling, and I am sure I've lost half of you in my sailing terminology. But I hope you are all well. I love you and miss you dearly. I definitely have that home itch again but with all the work we're doing on the boat, it keeps me occupied.

The internet (as USUAL) is not working right so I'll have to upload my pictures onto Picasa web album and you'll have to see our new pictures there, Sorry. It's under MY FAVORITES and then My Pictures. There are a lot of new pictures, too. I put them under album "011208".

"I WAS NOT ABLE TO GET ANY MORE PICTURES ON HERE. PLEASE GO TO THE LINK "MY PICTURES" TO SEE THE REST. THE INTERNET IS JUST NOT WORKING...."

PROGRESS SOARING

Brett has been working diligantly on the boat. He has been building the galley in and it is looking awesome. We had a good Christmas. Brett smoked a turkey for the park again. We sailed on Bill and Mary Lou's boat and then we all four jumped on our boat for a quick sail before dark. We easily soared at 6 knots with main only yet she glided through the water. I cut my finger on the main halyard as I was raising the mast. I pulled muscles in my back trying to get the main down. Taking our boat out is showing me areas I need to improve like sailing gloves and stronger arms. We also discussed a step near the mast because I am just too short to get the main sail down. We had a great time though, with Mary Lou and Bill. It was great! They are now considering buying a larger, fin keel boat after sailing on theirs compared to ours.

We've just been working away at the boat and jewelry and Christmas. I thought I'd throw some pictures on here for everyone.

Miss y'all.

Kyla (and Brett)

Sailing on My Birthday

It was fantastic! Good winds. It started out warm but got humid and chilly later in the sail. Bill (Popeye as he is known around here) went with us. Charl showed Brett an area we could sail with our deep 5'8" keel. We had always thought we needed to stay in the channel which limited our sailing during certain winds. But discovering this new area was wonderful and opened up a lot more sailing opportunities for us.

We motored out to the channel and thew up the main sail. I had brought our GPS with us so we could monitor our speed. We averaged around 3 knots so we threw up the Genoa.


The Genoa is a large forsail. Genoas are different than Jibs in that they are larger, and usually overlap the main sail. Our boat carries 4 Genoas. This particular Genoa is called a "130%". It means that it is 100% forsail with a 30% overlap on the main. We have a 120, 130, 150, 170! This one is a very light dacron material weight. We sped up to around 6.5 knots with the Genoa. She heeled more than with just the main but she was easy to walk on and very smooth! Even with the horrible main sail shape, we still did very well!

During our second tack with the genoa, I looked up and saw a huge tear near the top of the genoa. I hollered to the guys about it and we all three worked quickly to bring the sail down before the tear worsened. We are pretty sure it tore on our radar tower. We knew this might happen but we got anxious to use the foresails and paid for it. We ended up with about a 3ft tear, not on a seam either, near the top of the sail. It took a bit for us to all get her down. This particular kind of tear is difficult to patch but it can be done. There were already 2 other repairs on that thin sail from previous sails. We had another genoa with us, the thick, small one, and so Bill and I heaved the torn sail into the vee berth and Brett helped me haul out the other genoa into the cockpit. As we were handing it to Bill, we saw the rip. It had a rip too! It was small but using it would make the tear worse, so we had to bail on a forsail for the rest of the trip.

Other than the torn sail, it was a SPLENDID time! I got to drive a lot but had allergies so I didn't drive too much. I did run the lines and hoist up the mainsail though. It takes all I got to get those sails going so I have more arm strength to gain.














Before we went sailing, D'na brought me over a lemon dessert that I LOVE. That was SO sweet of her to make it just for me! I got a card and gift from Roger and Jo , friends of ours here at the park, too. It was so lovely to be treated by my friends here at Serendipity.








After sailing, we were invited to the yacht club for dinner. Mary Lou, Bill, Russell, Mary Lee, Steve and Pam brought gifts and made a fantastic dinner! It was awesome. We visited with them from 5pm to 10pm. Steve and Pam finalized the purchase of their boat on my birthday, too, so it was a double celebration at the yacht club last night! With the sailing and my friends here at the park, and Brett being so sweet and talking with my family, I felt super blessed. This was definitely one of my best birthdays that I'll never forget!

FIRST SEA TRIAL ON BENEVOLENCE

We took Benevolence out on her first sea trial on

Friday, Dec 14th. We weren't sure we would go out as the winds were blowing and it was cloudy. We offered Dennis to go with us as we felt we he would enjoy it and that we wouldnt be this far without him.

With camera in hand, I video taped. Brett steered her, I hoisted the mast and ran the main sheet. Dennis helped when he could with the main sail and steering. The boat did very well. Even with poor sail shape, she pointed high into the wind and reacted well to every one of Brett's moves. The engine did well, even with the too-large prop. She backed right out of her slip and reared into action. She plowed right through where we wanted to go. We went out past the main markers, to the first marker and tacked around. It was BLOWING. We decided that it was blowing much more than the 8-10 knots that the weather report predicted. We tacked with only the main sail and amazingly, she took very well to it. Boat's don't generally tack with just a main, they usually need a headsail to get her all the way around.

As predicted, the strong East wind was blowing us toward the shallows on the port side of the channel, so we started up the engine and motor sailed back. We were out appx 32 minutes. Brett coasted her right into her slip without a problem.

She is in excellent boat as we hoped. Brett and I were absolutely exhausted from the stress and excitement. Dennis really enjoyed himself. I was so glad that we invited him to go with us. We found out that the winds were blowing 18 knots with gusts to 26. So it was definitely blustery out there. The whole RV park and yacht club missed it!! No pictures but I did get video.. We hope to go out again on our boat today, my 30th birthday.

It was extremely exciting and she did so well...

Benevolence is almost ready for her sea trial! VIDEO ATTACHED

Brett has spent the last few days hooking and priming the engine up so it's ready to try out. We tested it yesterday with the shifting gears. So far so good! Charl and Brett went through and watched it run for awhile today. Everything looks good. We have minor leaks but can easily be fixed down the road. We did discover that the prop is too big for our engine. When you have a bigger engine, it spins faster and so you need a smaller prop that will keep up with it. Our prop was for a small, slow engine so it has a bigger prop on it. This is a setback but we can do sea trials like it is for now. We'll need to replace the prop when we can afford to haul it out.

Today, I hauled out the sails in the storage and swept off the lizards and cockroaches. Unfortunately I unrolled the sails on the gravel and got my hands slapped. Sails should ALWAYS be unrolled in the grass. While unrolling the last one, I hit my leg with a metal ring on the sail as I was shaking it out. It didn't hurt too terribly bad but as I jogged around the sail, straightening it out, I brushed my leg where I had hit. There was a huge round thing under my jeans! I sat down on the ground and pulled up my pant leg. The bump was the size of a golf ball and growing! I raised my leg in the air and the swelling went down.

Later in the afternoon, Brett and I switched main sails as the one on the boat was ripped. I took off all the lights and decorations that we had painstakingly put up the stays. Definitely a worthy sacrifice to have to take them down to take the boat out! We ran the both sails up. They don't have great shape, we're not sure why. But they'll do the job. While working with the main, it popped out of a cleat and the boom came crashing down and swept my shoulder. It didn't hurt but if I'd been under the boom, it would have cracked my head. It really reminds us that such a big boat with big gear needs careful attentiveness.

Working with the heavy sails really wore me out today and hurt my hands, including a broken nail past the skin. It feels so good to be working with the boat again but it was also an eye opener for the safety measures and slow speed I need to change gears to.

Tonight, I'll be cleaning the inside so it's ready, too. We are hoping and praying to be able to take it out tomorrow! Weather is the only thing that will hold us back. The wind can't be blowing more than 10 knots and the water has to be higher than it is and no swells. So we'll see.....But we're pretty much ready to do this! Very exciting!

Below is a VIDEO that I shot of us working on the sails...

One More Thing To Add....

I ordered our Mexican ceramic sink... I ordered the one that Brett wanted...

Shows and Christmas are Upon Us

Sorry it's taken me so long to write. We went to Galveston's Dickens On The Strand show the weekend of the 1st. It was a GREAT show. THe most wonderful costumes and really really nice vendors. We stopped in Lake Jackson on our way to Galveston to pick up last minute decorations and the dreaded 10 lb fire extinguisher needed for this show. We ended up having to buy a 15 lb at Lowes for $60. But we were set. We stopped at Walmart and spent another $80 on shoes and decorations! I still didn't feel that I had enough to meet the requirements of the show but we were on our way.

It ended up being so much easier and less strict than the paperwork led me to believe. We were one of the nicer decorated booths of the whole show. Everything was absolutely beautiful. The kerosene lamps looked beautiful and although you couldn't see my jewelry AT ALL in these lights, I continued to sell Saturday night. We had the most wonderful neighbors as vendors.

We did very well that first day and Brett and I could sigh relief finally. The fire marshall casually strolled by and we asked him about the extinguisher. The 8 1/2 lb one from the park would have been sufficient. Oh well. We got a lot of compliments on our costumes which were HAND-sewn and purchased at the thrift shop here in Palacios. I did order Brett a $28 Bowler (Derby) hat from a company that we ended up not using because he found a GREAT hat at the Galveston Surplus shop on the Strand. It fit him better and really looked awesome with his outfit. It was a dark blue Greek Fishermans Hat. for $10. I hand sewed all my costume from the skirt to the hat. It was amazing how many people liked my costume as all these beautifully expensive costumes were walking around.

Unfortunately Brett and I didn't get a picture together that I wanted so badly. On Saturday night we drove back to the Galveston State park for the night and found a couple with dogs setting up their tent in our site. At 9pm, we had to make them move. It was terrible, we felt evil.

I sat and made a new wooden/painted sign for the booth and Brett relaxed in front of the tv. It was so nice to stay in a park where we had electricity and water. Much better than the Walmart parking lot.

We settled into bed around 10pm and were about asleep around 11pm. Brett got up and rushed to the bathroom. I woke up and asked him what was wrong. He was sick. I started to feel nausiated. I wont go too far into detail but soon we were both sharing the bathroom, sicker than dogs at both ends. We were up ALL night. Both of us felt like we needed to go to the hospital or at least some medicine from Walmart but we were about a 20 minute drive from anywhere and both of us too sick to drive at 3am. In the morning we decided to go back to the show and pack everything and head home and to the doctor. It took absolutely everything we had to get going. We were very late to the show and new we'd have to dolly EVERYTHING out of the show, about 15 min each way to the truck from our booth... We had narrowed the sickness down to a lunch we ate from an oriental vendor of chicken and rice. Brett had eaten most of it, I had one or two bites. He was MUCH sicker than I was.

After dragging ourselves into the cab, we headed toward Walmart to get some medicine... Getting out of the wretched camper made me feel a tiny bit better and I decided that I could just sit at the booth for the day. I dreaded the thought of packing up the booth in the middle of everyone and hauling all of it one load at a time through the streets. Brett was much sicker than I was and stayed in the camper for awhile while I attempted to set up the jewelry in the booth. Our neighbor, Mary, wanted us to call to talk to the show coordinators but we didnt see them. I sat during the show and did manage to sell pieces even though death had rolled over me. It was unbearably hot, too, and I was wearing 3 layers of hot clothing and a hot hat.

Brett was finally able to come to the booth. I started to cry as I had horrible chills and fever. For some INSANE reason, we stayed through the show till 530pm. Even while breaking down the booth, people were still buying from us. We did manage to eat half of a baked pretzel and some water and soda. After breaking down the booth, we both started feeling really bad again.

The camper was in an unlivable state. We started the drive home, not even knowing what we had made during the show. After getting through Galveston, Brett decided we needed to stay in a hotel for the night. He couldn't make it home and the camper was not livable... So we stopped at a Super 8 (sorry Dave) and crashed for the night after taking baths and showers.

That ended up being the best decision in the world for us. In the morning, we were still sick but managed to eat a small breakfast at IHOP before heading home. We stopped at Lowes and was able to return the fire extinguisher. We were going to keep it for the boat but the one we bought, of course, had been opened and someone had busted the tie on the handle. So we just ended up returning it anyway. So it worked out.

We later found out that we probably had salmonella poisoning from the chicken we had eaten. We also found out that if you have chills and fever, you are supposed to go to the hospital. We were so insane not to go to a doctor and to finish the show. It was definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done. But we made the extra money we were needing. It took us about 5 days to start feeling normal again..We did report it to the Galveston Historical Foundation and they knew which vendor it was and was glad we had reported it. I did lose 2 lbs from it but I wouldn't recommend THAT as a diet plan. Geeesshhh!!

We were now able to order a lot of boat supplies needed to move onto the boat. I was also able to now buy Christmas presents, too. So we've been very busy this last week trying to get Christmas going and the boat. Brett has been working on the wiring for a week. He has gotten the engine panel installed and it works great- Dennis, once again, graciously donated some parts to us that Brett thought would take weeks for us to get. Our dream would definitely be delayed if Dennis wasnt so gracious to us in every way. We are forever indebted to him and our friends' and families' support.

Brett has gotten part of the galley built in and a lot of wiring done.

We finally bought another refrigerator. We had been living out of a tiny ice cooler for a month. It was awful. The thing weighed a ton, would collect water when the ice would melt, ruining a lot of food. If we forgot ice for the day,we'd have to throw everything away. Every other day, I'd have to haul the thing out of the hole- empty the WET contents and drain it outside. Then put ice in and load it back up. TERRIBLE TERRIBLE So we finally bought another bigger refrigerator. I am SO SOOOOO glad we did. It's SO nice having a place to put yogurt again...

I have been feeling down a lot lately as the Galveston show was my last show and I am now out of work and money. I also hate being away for the holidays. I am also turning 30 in a few days and did not meet any of my goals for this special birthday, the biggest one being to move aboard the boat. We still have about a month's worth of work before we can move aboard... So I decided to prod Brett and get a feel for what he thought about maybe seeing if we can get the engine running and take the boat out on Christmas as our gift to each other. At first he said we'd need a flex coupling ($200) and I had to give up the idea. But after some thought, we decided to make the coupling work we had for now just to putt around the bay. So we made a list of things to get for the engine to make it run. The biggest thing was the altenator- Charl had given us his old one. We took it into Presley's and they tested it. It didn't work. They offered to re build it for us and we accepted. But then I reminded Brett that he wanted a bigger one and why don't we just buy the one we want for a little more. So Presley's helped us come up with the best one and we ended up with a rebuilt one that had everything on it that Brett needed. It was more than we could really afford but we now have our altenator without having to jimmy rig it for one ride.

We purchased the other parts needed to get it running. We spent the rest of our money to do this but I think we both really needed SOMETHING like this to get our moral boosted. We were still able to get the plywood for the galley so he has a ton of projects lined up now. Everything has to get done, we just changed the order a little bit. Last night, I was able to get almost everything else we needed around here for the engine.

So hopefully everything will go alright and we will be able to take that boat out for a short motor ride on Christmas. I am SO excited about it. It really lifted my spirits finding out that Brett agreed to this and that it was definitely possible.

For Christmas, I put lights on the boat! I wanted to decorate so badly and I started to decorate the camper with my garland leftover from the show... Brett said "Why don't you decorate the boat instead?" So, for Christmas (before we decided to take the boat out), I got to go buy Christmas lights and we strung them up the stays and along the boom. It was SO fun and it looks so good- the pictures don't do it justice at all. It's beautiful though. A lot of people in the park like them. I put garland and copper poinsettas around the boom and a copper wreath at the bow. I bought two stockings and hung them at the bow too. Then I used my leftover copper clips and put them on the boat. It's probably silly but it was fun.

Well this one is super long and I am sure there is more to say but I am busy busy with Christmas stuff and jewelry orders. I hope everyone is having a good holiday season. I miss everyone horribly bad again. I'll try to write again, soon. I will try to get a bunch of our pictures onto my link under MY FAVORITES, MY PICTURES for you so you can see more pictures of the boat progress, show and lights.

Happy Holidays!