Madrona is back in the water, and her time in the yard did her well. In addition to painting the bottom we replaced the Cransiron (which fits over the bowsprit and holds all the rig attachments) and a stem fitting which attaches the bobstay to the boat at the waterline. Both were stainless steel custom fabricated replacements for our tired out fittings.
We also had our headsail professionally re-stiched. Carrie sewed up our weather cloths (which protect the cockpit from wind), and she also sewed me a pair of fleece pants, and altered the kids' fleece pants (because they're growing).
As of the 30th of May we are in the Marina frantically getting ready to head off shore for Fiji; a journey that will be around 10 to 12 days. One snag we discovered this evening is that we're having some trouble with the sailmail on our SSB radio. The weather faxes are working fine. I will download the newest version of sailmail and see if that fixes anything.
Lots to do before we set off, but it's a good weather window, so we'll try and get on our way.
So if we do leave tomorrow, don't fret if you don't heard from us for a while. A note for nervous family - we do have an EPIRB distress beacon should we get into trouble (we wouldn't send an email anyway if we had trouble).
The kids are well. Excited to do something different.
We will upload pictures in Fiji; the internet here is very expensive. We've heard it's better in Fiji. But heres a nice picture of Madrona in Doug's Boatyard in The Bay of Islands.
Love to all.
