Three weeks and counting!!!!

It is hard to believe that it is only three weeks to go until time to cast off the lines and sail Astraea 760 miles to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Last week I flew to Little Rock to see my mother and sister and attend my 42nd (yikes) high school reunion. Then this past Tuesday it was back to the boat to get some work done. Time is getting short and I am starting to freak out!  How will I ever be ready!!!!

However right now it is Fall in San Diego and the weather is changing and it is absolutely beautiful. The mornings are foggy, the days bright and sunny but cooler.  The nights are getting downright chilly, soqn in rhw loq 70's.  Brrrrr. 

There are so many things that I want to get done before leaving, but time is getting short therefore I am starting to prioritize those jobs which really need to be done before leaving from those that I can do once in Mexico.

The reefer and freezer are working How much time is left???

perfectly. I have been purchasing all the last minute "must have" items like dinghy wheels (who ever heard of wheels on a boat, but yes, they are necessary in Mexico), spare parts for the engine, and all those other necessities that may be needed once extended sailing begins.

This week I was able to connect the new salt water pump at the galley sink to the thru hull, fix the leak on the sink in the head, install three 12V fans, and complete a few other small but important jobs. It seems like every project on a boat takes much more time and money than is planned.

I brought all the upholstered cushions from the main salon of the boat to Palm Springs to clean them. They have several years of sun tan lotion, sweat, salt water, wine, and other things on them and are a bit musty. Today I set them out by he pool in the Palm Springs sun and cleaned them with an upholsterey cleaner device from Rug Doctor. I cleaned them three times as the first pass produced disgustingly dirty water, the second pass light brown water, and it was not until the third cleaning that the water from cleaning the cushions showed that the cushions were actually clean. It is amazing how dirty these chusions had gotten.

Some people poke fun at my "flower tapestry" upholstery. I like it a lot. It reminds me of the amazing flowers that I saw in French Polynesia back in the Spring of 2008 during my month sailing there with Modern Sailing Academy. Most modern boats have blue ultra suede or faux leather that looks great in the showroom but would not necessarily hold up well under the conditions normally found on a cruising boat.

When Dave and Ingrid lived aboard Astraea Ingrid made the upholstery. Ingrid is a master seamstress and she did an incredible job making these cushions. She even perfectly matched the complex pattern at every seam. The fabric itself is thick and bulletproof. When I had new cushions made for the quarterberth and the v-berth those four relatively simple cushions and the upholstery for them cost $3200. I cannot imagine how much it would cost to try to reproduce Ingrid's work. She said that that making these was so labor intensive that she almost got carpel tunnel syndrome. Now after a thorough cleaning and sitting in the Palm Springs sun they are clean and bright and ready to go back aboard.

Cabin cushions from Astraea drying
in the sun at the house in
Palm Springs arter three
cleanings with a Rug
Doctor upholstery cleaner.

I am home in Palm Springs for this week and will be back in San Diego in a week to do the final preparations, provisioning, fueling, cleaning, and stowing of gear in preparation for getting underway. Will I be ready to leave on October 26th? Probably not. Will I leave anyway, definitely yes.