sunday share.

This week brought us to the beginning of July and that meant we needed to make sure all our boat registration and documentation was up to date. When we purchased Interlude, we registered her to have her home port in Racine for tax purposes. Since she's a coast guard documented vessel, this means her hull should have her name and home port on the hull, 4 inches tall and clearly visible. Oops. Up until now, her hull has been emblazoned with Park Ridge IL as her home port (and not even in 4 inch type). 

Last week I ordered the decals from Boat US with the new home port city and when we went up, we applied the new ones. First though, we had to remove the old location (which was painted on). We scoured the internet for advice and found that a solvent and a rag should do the trick, albeit slowly. Acetone is a good option because it won't damage the gel coat and dries very quickly. Luckily we had some acetone on hand and plenty of rags to get us started. Oy! It was slow going. I spent 15 minutes working on one letter with little progress being made. At this rate, it'd take all day! Meanwhile, Josh taped a piece of brown paper bag to the letters on his end and was dampening it over and over with acetone in hopes that it'd loosen the paint and would rub off easier. Josh, the smarty pants he is, thought maybe a scrubber might work and sure enough, it turned our interminable affair into a blink of an eye's worth of effort. 

Once one side was completed, we turned the boat around in the slip so we could get at the other side. It took 30 minutes to clean off both sides, tops. 

Then came the application of the new home port. The instructions were very simple--wipe the surface clean with glass cleaner, put masking tape on either end of the decal (before removing the backing), line it up, put a strip of masking tape down the middle once it's where you want it to be, peel the backing one end at a time, and press down using the squeegee provided. Then repeat with the other end of the decal. Voila! Repeat on the other side. 

sunday share.

Finally back on the Sunday sharing project I started months ago. Oops! Sorry about falling off the earth with it!

This one is a quick little d.i.y. for convenience and comfort on passages where the waves are less than optimal for eating. Basically what we're doing is giving the bottom of our dishes a non-skid surface to keep them from sliding across the table while we're trying to down our breakfast.

You need plates, bowls (we have the melamine kind but any kind should work), food grade caulk (get the kitchen kind), a caulk gun, and wax paper.

Turn all your plates and bowls over so bottoms are facing up. Lay out some wax paper (enough to fit all your plates and bowls). Fire up your caulk gun and run a bead around the rim on the bottom of the dishes. I was a little messy and didn't exactly keep a nice smooth line but you get the idea. Once you've got the bead along the bottoms of all of them, flip them over so they're bottoms down (the idea is to flatten out the bead so it'll sit level when you go to use the dishes) on the wax paper. Then you leave them to sit and dry. Once the caulk is clear and no longer white, the dishes are ready to use. I hand wash ours and have used them in the microwave with no issues. Easy peasy and makes eating underway much more comfortable!

long time gone.

It was a long, cold winter here in the midwest. Lots and lots of snow and plenty of frigid temps keeping us huddled inside around the radiator. But I am happy to announce, it seems to be behind us? It's still not exactly summer here in Chicago but we'll take it. Especially since we were finally able to put Interlude back in the water! Yep, finally we are afloat and back at Reef Point Marina. Unfortunately, Larsen is still being pains in our rears regarding the fixing of the chainplates so that issue is still outstanding. Supposedly they'll come sometime this summer to measure and then haul her out once the chainplates have been fabricated and are ready for installation (most likely at the end of the season). But in the meantime, we have some big news to share...

There is about to be a baby onboard the Allen boat. Initially we had hoped to shove off and head to the Caribbean this August, but were pleasantly surprised right before Christmas when I found I was expecting our first baby! After years of trying and finally making peace that it just wasn't going to happen for us, SURPRISE of a lifetime,  we are a mere 11 weeks from the birth of our baby (we're waiting to find out the sex until the birth). Needless to say, since I am due in August, our date of departure has been pushed a year. It's an exciting new aspect to our plans and we couldn't be more thrilled. 

For now, it's baby bump on board, which is, in itself, providing a whole new set of exciting and exhausting challenges (like changing sheets in the v-berth and closing the head door once I'm inside). I'll try to be better about updating the blog on how being a big-bellied lady aboard a sailboat is full of adventure and keep you abreast of all the projects we're doing this season ahead of our summer 2015 departure (you know, while we still have the time and free hands to do them before baby arrives).  

Here are a few photos from this weekend of Interlude and one of the growing belly :-)

geek out, sailor style.

We attended Strictly Sail Chicago last weekend as we have in years past and this year was even better than the last. Seems like every year they raise the bar with the vendors and speakers they invite and man, oh man, I have NO idea how they are possibly going to top themselves next year.

When Josh decided more than 10 years ago that he wanted to sail, after the usual course of action of learning as much as he could from a practical standpoint (barring actually getting out on a boat since sailing is not a huge hobby in our area along the Mississippi River), he found some memoirs about sailing.  One of the very first, and one that cemented his desire to do more than just learn how to sail, was "Cruising in Seraffyn" by Lin and Larry Pardey. He then gave it to me to read. Let me tell you, I couldn't put it down. After that, I too was sold.

Lin and Larry were adventurous and practical and frugal and dead set on doing things their way. And you know what? 48 years and 11 books later they did it. They blazed a trail for all of those who have our eyes set on doing exactly what they did (albeit we're doing it with an engine and a few electronics on our boat) and saw the world from a perspective that most people could never imagine. Back when they began voyaging, the world was quite a different place--still rather wild and "untamed". And they loved every challenging minute about it. Even if you're not all about sailing, I still highly recommend "Cruising in Seraffyn". They are widely considered to be experts on long-term cruising and we have almost all of their books which are immeasurably helpful and practical volumes all about how to do everything from provision to how to budget to how to deal with storms.

So, the whole build up here is to say that Lin and Larry Pardey were presenters at Strictly Sail Chicago this year (previously, it had been 9 years since they had been there) and not only did we sit in on both of the seminars they gave on Saturday, but we also got to hang out with them. SQUEE!!! We invited them to dinner but unfortunately they were exhausted with the excitement of the day but invited us to hang out at their booth while they signed books and talked to convention-goers. We chatted with both of them about our lives and goals and dreams, and I am happy to report they are the most down to earth people and supportive people we've met in the sailing community. They were very encouraging towards our desire to set out and see the world at such a young age and they gave us lots of recommendations for further reading and weather predicting (also, side note: we sat in on a super awesome and informative weather seminar put on by Lee Chesneau later in the day and now I am geekily excited about learning how to predict weather!). One of the things that really stuck with me about them is that they said that there is ALWAYS going to be someone who doesn't want you to live your adventure (whatever it is)--whether it be your boss, who doesn't want to have to train someone to take over your job, or your kids who don't want you to be far away for so long. The trick is to listen to yourself. What/who is stopping YOU from having your adventure? Let it start today.

in for winter.

It's only about 60 days until I'll have some sea-bound adventures for you since winter is now smothering us with inches upon inches of snow. There have also been a few other big changes going on with us, but that's another day and another post.

Our beloved Interlude has been sitting cozily amongst friends in a boatyard just across the river from Reef Point Marina. We dropped and stowed sails, tidied the cabin, and emptied the water tank before motoring over to Pugh's boatyard at the end of October. We had to wait a bit, as the weather was less than jolly (hello, autumn!) but eventually we got to see the big old crane (technical name, as you can guess) slide these wide straps under her keel and hoist her out of the water. It was actually pretty cool. Josh was geeking out too. They pressure washed her hull and set her on a cradle where she'll stay until April. A few weeks later we tarped her so we could still climb aboard and get on and below deck.

After the first of the year we went back up to check on our tarp job which I'm sad to say was less than stellar. If we were planning on sticking around here much longer I think we might seriously consider a custom canvas cover. We needed to get batteries so we can trickle charge them until we get ready to launch. Josh bought a charger and we bundled up and went to get the oh-so-heavy batteries and I lowered them over the lifelines so Josh could carry them down the ladder. It was slightly treacherous as the snow had been melting and freezing for quite some time and both of us wiped out as we were carrying things back and forth to the car. All in all, it only took about 4 hours before we were thawing in the car on our way home. Successful outing, indeed. Next up is getting Larsen to fix the chain plates before launch and we are set!

perhaps?

After my recent bout with tossing my cookies I figured I should get serious about making a move to get my seasickness under control. First up in testing is sea bands. You know, those ridiculous elastic wrist things that you wear on the pressure points on the inside forearm. They run around $13 and since my mom has owned a pair since they came on the market I knew what to expect--I just had yet tried them for water excursions. 

We saw the wind was very light a few Sundays ago but also that the swells were nonexistent. Perfect. I slid those oh-so-chic looking wrist bands on as we motored out and we were off. My only only real complaint is that the little nobby bit that pushes on your pressure point starts to hurt a little upon extended wear. I felt just peachy the 4 hours we were being carried along by the breeze. I wouldn't say this is a definitive review, as the sea was a calm one, but for now, I'll be using them again. I'm also looking for a product recommended to me by my sister-in-law called Motion Eaze, which I have yet to find. Will keep you posted!

out and about.

This week we are out of the Midwest! Tuesday we flew into Las Vegas for a weeklong birthday celebration/vacation with some people we love and adore. We rented a Mustang convertible and drove down LA Wednesday morning for a quick 24 hours as part of our adventure. We met up with my cousins and their adorable son and had lunch at a food truck meet up, ate donuts from Sidecar Donuts, and then drove up the PCH. We stopped at Huntington Beach for a quick dip of the toes in the ocean then headed further north to meet up with a long lost (ok, so not really lost, just out of touch as of late) friend of Josh's from his congressional page days for dinner. We ate at this very hip little place called Picca (you may have heard it referenced on the most recent episode of New Girl!) and then got donuts from Randy's Donuts (you know, the one from all the tv shows with the giant donut on top). We stayed in Culver City then drove back down to Irvine for brunch, meandering and beach time with Erin, Brian, and Nolen. That kid is the cutest, most inquisitive 3 1/2 year old I know. He's full of "whys?" and somehow I ended up trying to explain chemical bonds to him. So interested in the world around him, for sure!

We made it back to Vegas around 8 last night. Long 24 hours! We ate ramen out with Hannah and Chris, put gracious hosts then hit the hay! More later about the rest of our adventures to come.