Saturday, September 6, 2014

A Few Photos from Life in Utah

It was 45 degrees at 11,000' when we went running through the aspens.

Is the GoPro on?

Third pitch of one of our favorite climbs in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Will this be our new home? Guess we will have to wait until September 30th to see!

What climbs up must rappel down...unless you can BASE jump that is...


Over looking Desolation Lake at 10,000'

Oktoberfest in August at Snowbird. 

Kala is still enjoying the mountain hikes!

Baxter's daily north-bound commute home.

Happy days at Porcupine!

Kala can't hold still for a family photo!

Chasing down speedy Molly...

Still chasing Molly!
Yes, we're biking A LOT and Molly loves her Yeti.

Tasty vegan pizza.

Can work be all that bad if you can wear a tie dye? This was just to celebrate Jerry Garcia's birthday and "the days between".

This reminds me of the phone book scene in the Steve Martin movie "The Jerk".

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Hurricane Season Fun!

As we sat on Terrapin in Deltaville, Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay we realized that we had two choices for spending hurricane season: 1) Sail to Maine and work remotely from the anchorage and make some money or 2) Put Terrapin on the hard and drive to Utah and go to an office every day (for the same companies that allowed us to work remote) and really contribute to the cruising kitty.

When our air conditioner went out, Kala's vote was cool mountain air...

It is amazing how fast we were able to rejoin the working world.  Life is great, everyone is so happy and our future is filled with dreams of adventure to come!

Here's the last two months in photos...

Terrapin all covered up and ready to weather out hurricane season in Deltaville, Va.

Looks like someone is happy to be back in the mountains hiking her favorite trails!

Since we are a one car family, we decided to pass the Sportsmobile on to someone who would enjoy it more and to get a fuel efficient, sleek Subaru Outback adventure wagon. We're stoked!
What would time in Utah be without a little BASE jumping. This is Baxter's shadow on the cliff he just jumped.

All dressed up and ready to go to the offices. 

We have been lucky enough to see Bob Weir in a lot of venues. We had only been back in SLC for a few weeks when his solo band "Rat Dog" came through town.

Baxter's Yeti in the Colorado snow at 12, 500

The app "Strava" has been addictive, just like playing with sailing data. Strava mapped one of Baxter's rides above the Colorado town of Durango. We're now riding harder and faster.

Salt Lake has a fantastic rail commuter system. Here is the train Baxter takes to work.

We've had fun catching up with friends!

...and have been able to see Ted, Maggie & Chessie as they passed through Salt Lake on their way back to the east coast. We haven't seen them since the Bahamas on Stella Blue and we're not able to make it to their wedding due to last Summer's "engine adventure" so catching up with them was GREAT!

Molly rally-ing (bro speak) her Yeti on the trails close to our apartment.

Kala and Molly have been spending lots of time connecting with their friends!

Baxter's ride on the Wasatch Crest Trail this weekend. The trail traverses the ridge between Salt Lake and Park City.

We've been running in a weekly trail run series after work. The runs have been very brutal as they are at ski resorts, start at 8000' altitude, and are over 8 miles in length with A LOT of elevation gain. 

Friday, June 6, 2014

Winches, Faucets and Bungs

We're taking the time we have at the dock to refine a few systems and to fix a few items that we identified on the passage back the the US...

During the passage the winch we use for the staysail sheets and jib furling line was irritatingly squeaky despite Baxter's best efforts to disassemble, clean and lube many times throughout the winter.  It was #1 on the list of to-dos.  

In order to focus on the problem, since it hasn't been resolved previously, we watched several Lewmar videos but our winch was circa 198? so the differences between ours and the newer models seemed to make a difference.  Finally, we struck "gold" and found a pdf that diagramed a "key" that had to be released in order to remove the stem (where the winch handle fits.)  We saw the part, but it didn't look like it was removable. In fact, the key was so dirty and imbedded that we thought it was just a discolored part of the winch shaft.  It turns out the key was so dirty and grimy (probably never having been removed) that it was just jammed in the slot.  Not anymore.  Key removed, stem removed - winch parts cleaned with diesel and lubed.  Hopefully, that will take care of that issue.

#2 - Mast step leaks - We were enjoying dinner one night when it started to sprinkle.  Then we felt drops on our head - in the cabin.  Seriously?  We've been through this before.  Baxter spent the next day (rearranging all his other to-dos) to put an end to this once and for all.  He removed the metal ring around the mast step on the deck and we rebedded all the bolts again.  Sounds simple - I must not have mentioned removing the teak trim, the headliner, running to West Marine for new bolts since the previous ones were trimmed and the nuts no longer threaded correctly.  (Surely there was a good reason for that.)  Eight hours later - mast leak fixed.

#3  - Forepeak leaks - Do the leaks on a boat ever end?  During the passage, Daniel mentioned that the area he put his head in the forward cabin was wet.  After lengthy examination, Baxter realized there were two issues:  a) the stantions needed to be rebedded - yep, big shocker there and b) the screws under the bungs that attach the toe rail to the hull were screwed in without any sealant.  As he ran a hose over the deck, he could watch the water drip right through the screw holes.  Again - remove the headliner, the 1" marine plywood supports and grab a tube of 4000.  That resolved the problem for rebedding the screws.  In order to resolve the issue with the bungs - he removed all of the bungs on the bow, replaced them, chiseled them flush, sanded down the toe rail and then revarnished the toe rail.  4 days later, leaks are fixed.

#4)  Faucets don't like salt water.  Once the corrosion begins, you should start your search for its replacement.  As we left the Chesapeake in November, we had a single spot of metal corrosion on our galley faucet.  As we pulled into Georgia seven months later, there was not a spot that wasn't "eaten" away.  A quick trip to Home Depot, a brainstorming session on how to connect the "house" hoses to our marine plumbing - another trip to West Marine and new sink in place.  

Don't get me wrong, boat projects are like house projects - they are endless.  They can be and usually are fun because you get to know your boat really well.   Hopefully, these issues are resolved and they won't be of concern for a long time.

The innards of the Lewmar winch.  Baxter is holding the "key" that fits into that small slot on the center of the stem.  The key is actually white - this was before he cleaned it.

GUNK
Corroded galley faucet

Pretty new faucet sans salt

The port forepeak exposed to rebed the stations.

Happy girl with new toys.

Headliner removed, wrench in hand.

Bow bungs removed ready to be replaced, sanded and revarnished.

Tools of destruction.

Anatomy of a bung.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

How Far We've Come

The other day,  I happened to look at my watch and realized it was June 2.  What were you doing last year on June 2? 

As I thought about it for a minute, I realized in 2013, Baxter and I were in Jersey City, NJ – across the Hudson from the new WTC, and had arrived just the day before via Sea Tow, on a boat that we had sailed for less than 7 hours before the engine died. 

We were pretty frustrated and faced with the question of “Do we sell the boat…how can we without an engine?”…”How much is this going to cost?”…”How do we make money to pay for this?”…”Will we ever sail this boat to fun places?” but then we made a commitment to Terrapin and ourselves to chase our dreams....
New rigging and new engine took us 2,000 miles south of New York.  Putting our feet up in St Anne, Martinique was a fantastic way to relish in our achievement.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Reconnecting

After making landfall at Brunswick Landing Marina, it has not taken us long to reconnect to the world beyond Terrapin.  In less than one week, we have been able to visit with family, access free wi-fi from the boat, do laundry for free, and Kala has been able to run on terra firma as many times per day as she would like.  We also are plugged into shore power and have free water at our disposal as needed.

Though these amenities have high value, I'm sure it won't take long for us to be overcome with the complexity of it all, the cost of it all and want to break free and get back on the water.

Sarah and Jimmy giving us a warm welcome to Georgia!!

We love all boats!!  Helping Jimmy with a boot stripe.

Great to be enjoying family in person!  (The lady in the back doesn't seem to be too thrilled...just disappointed she wasn't invited to our party!)

Another road trip!  Wonder where we're going this time.



Thursday, May 29, 2014

A Few Fun Photos




Enjoying a sundowner during Verne's visit

If the Captain has to tell you twice there is gonna be trouble!

Bow duty during departure.

Ohhh, artsy sail photo
Sailing Away
Offshore bliss

More artsy sunsets…