Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Thanksgiving in San Diego

Since it is but two days to Thanksgiving and we are still here, this year it will not be celebrated in Mexico.  Here is the most current, and sorriest reason yet for not leaving - we have to wait for the bank to send us new credit cards.  No, they were not lost and they did not expire.  Mike literally wore his out at West Marine.  The damn thing is about to break in half.  The magnetic strip is damaged.  And of course you cannot just walk into the bank and get a new one.  Not possible!  So we wait.  And wait.  Now that the boat is ready to go, it is terribly frustrating.

My medical tests came back and while the doctor did not label me as officially diabetic, I have to test my blood twice a day and I cannot eat anything that actually tastes good.  Fruit!  Who would have thought they could take that away!  But I am being overly dramatic - it is no worse than Weight Watchers, which I know I can do, and it is sort of interesting to do the blood tests. 

The first time I could not get the machine to work properly, so I had to call customer service.  After the guy on the phone walked me through the recalibration and reset process, he had me do a test.  I left the phone on the settee and went to wash my hands for the test.  Mike wanted to know what I was doing, so I told him I was washing my hands for the test.  He said "Why?  Did they tell you it was not okay just to lick your finger before poking it?"  The guy on the phone heard him, so after that it was just one big phone party with laughing as the guy talked me through the process.  There - enough about my health.

Although we haven 't left yet, I do love living on this boat.  I can clean it from stem to stern in an hour or so, and that includes vacuming.  Even though it is cold (by SoCal standards) we have a space heater.  I still do not miss TV, only when I am sitting around at night and am not in the mood to read or Mikeis talking too much for me to read.  We have watched a couple of movies downloaded from Netflicks, but the internet connection at this marina is not very good.  I know for a fact it is much better at Baja Naval, the marina in Ensenada, but I have to learn how to use a "US Proxy" in order to be able to see Netflicks and Hulu down there.  I have had to learn not to generate clutter, which for anyone that knows me, is something very difficult for me.  Especially paper clutter.  But I have gotten pretty good at it - in fact, junk mail does not leave the post office.

I am currently reading "Kidnappped" by Robert Louis Stevenson.  I never read it as a kid.  I am really enjoying it.  After this will come "Robinson Crusoe."  I love my Kindle!  It broke once, but I called Amazon and again there was a person on the end of the line to talk me through the reset process.  I feel bad for anyone who actually reads this - we haven't done anything noteworthy.  But please stay with me - I promise it will get better!      

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

test post only

The only purpose of this post is to see if I can do it through the short wave radio. Here's hoping@!

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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Foiled Again

Of course things were going too smoothly.  I went to the doctor mainly to get written Rx's, and they decided my blood sugar was too high so now I have to have more tests to make sure I am not diabetic which of course I am not.  It foils us because now we have to stay here for a follow up appointment after I take some horrid test that involves drinking sweet stuff and then having my blood checked.  All this for what I know will be a false alarm.  I think if a person has diabetes there are symptoms and I have none.  Mike of course now has something to blame all my bad temper on. 

The boat is ready with the exception of the dinghy motor davit, and the boat guys measured something wrong, so it did not get put on when it was supposed to.  This is all a bit discouraging, but we will deal with it.  I sure hope I get to spend Thanksgiving in Mexico!    

Friday, November 5, 2010

The depth meter works!

Yesterday was wonderful and not just because Mike got the depth meter to work.  We spent the whole day out on the bay.  There was hardly any wind, but Magda Jean managed to ghost along anyway, which was really amazing.  It is actually harder to sail in light wind than it is in heavy wind. (hurricane force excluded of course.)  I took the helm for a good portion of the day and managed to hold the course - another thing that is difficult when there is no wind.  It was also over 80 degrees - in November!  But it was wonderful.

This helming (steering) thing for me is pretty big.  I have not been a good helmsman in the past.  But the last time we went out, and I got blisters on my hands from handling the sheets (the ropes that are used to move the sails back and forth) I realized that helming is a lot easier than sheet handling.  And if I am at the helm. Mike cannot annoy me by shouting "Pull!  Pull!" when I am already pulling as hard as I can.  So I decided that no matter what it took, I was going to take over the helm and let him drag those sheets around.  I particularly disliked handling the large genoa, which is a big jib sheet at the bow of the boat.  It is extremely heavy.  And Mike did not seem to appreciate how heavy that sheet is.  I concentrated hard, paid close attention to how things went, and I now feel like I can handle the helm for everything except docking.  I need more practice for that.  I also felt really vindicated as Mike got blisters on his hands and was looking at them with wonder.   

Helming isn't quite like driving a car, because when you are in a car, the road beneath you isn't moving like the water is, and you are not as affected by the wind.  In a sailboat, you can hold the helm perfectly straight and you will not necessarily go perfectly straight.  The wind will try and blow you sideways, and the water is at times going the opposite direction you are.  That is also why helming in light wind is harder - there is no wind to counter whatever the water is doing.  So the boat drifts and you have to really watch it and keep the boat going the course you want to go.  In the bay I use a landmark, but at sea you have to rely on your compass reading.

So all of this means that we are really close to being able to leave.  There remains the davit for the stern rail, but that is being fabricated as we speak and should be put in next week.  Oh Mexico - so close and yet so far.             

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Closer and Closer

Since we haven't left yet, it seems sort of silly to keep writing this blog as there is nothing that interesting to tell anyone yet.  However, that isn't stopping me.

The elections are over.  Thank goodness.  I hope to never have to live through another election cycle here.  I only want to read about it from afar.

We now have air conditioning!  Really!  Mike bought a generator and a small ac unit.  If we are at a marina, we only have to position the unit in the space between the cockpit and the cabin (the companionway) and turn it on.  If we are anchored with no shore power, we use the generator.  Amazing if you ask me.  I feel like a megayacht owner!  Not really, but having ac is likely to save me in the tropics.  A few people have asked me why, since I do not do real well in hot weather, I want to go to the tropics.  Well, I only do poorly in heat when I can't get out of it.  Since I am not working and will be surrounded by water, I can jump in and cool off.  I can take a nap during the hottest part of the day.  I can put the shade up over the cockpit so the sun isn't beating down on me.  I can schedule work projects for early morning and evening when the sun isn't so high.  When I went to Cancun, I spent most of my time sitting under a palapa on the beach rather than in the direct sunlight.  I don't plan on getting sick from the heat.  I know how to handle myself. 

We also got a dinghy.  It is a ten foot inflatable with a hard bottom and a 10 hp engine.  We rigged up a way to lift it up on the boat so it can be stored when we are underway.  The boat guys are building a davit system that will double as an antenna tower so the engine can  be lifted off the davit and stored on the back of the boat for sailing.  If we are using the dinghy everyday, the engine stays on and we just hoist it in the air next to the boat at night so it won't get stolen.  Your dinghy is your everyday car.  Last night a friend came into town and we took her and her friend to dinner - using the dinghy to go across the bay to the restaurant instead of driving.  It was really fun.  I like riding in the dinghy - it is almost as much fun as Magda Jean herself.

The only thing keeping us from leaving is a problem with the sonar, which acts as our depth gauge and fish finder.  I could live without the fish finder stuff, b ut a depth gauge is essential.  The boat guys are having trouble figuring it out, and it looks like we might have to haul the boat out.  I am hoping not - besides the expense and time, I don't want to live in that dirty shipyard anymore.  The fun wore off a long time ago.  Shipyards are filthy places, and everything gets dirty.  In addition, I really want to get underway.  Interestingly, I am experiencing a small but unpleasant depression, and I am not sure of the cause.  I can't blame Mike for everything!

Anyway - that is the story so far.  Please stay with me - I promise things will get more interesting eventually!