Getting Ready…

OK, we’re starting a new cruising season.  We’ve met some fabulous new people up here in Port Townsend, Washington.  Having a lot of fun.  What a wonderful place!

For now, we’ll just post a few pics – we’re doing some boat work, but not hauling out this year.  We’ve done so much work on Charisma over the past five years, we’re thinking we can “slip” for a year.  She’s looking good – varnish is still shiny, hull polish still looking good, etc.  Amazing how a northern climate (i.e. not in the tropics) is so much less harsh on things.

 

Puget Sound from Port Townsend (with Mt Ranier in the background)

Looking back at Port Townsend where Charisma has been all winter.

 

 

Anyway, one BIG issue we wanted to test is the radar.  There’s fog up here and while we try to avoid it, you never know when you might get “snuck  up on” by it.  Our radar went haywire after the long passage and multiple electrical storms.  I’ve been working on it and finally think I’ve come up with a fix.  It worked at the dock, but the key is to test it out on the water, with lots of turning to make sure the fix would “stick”.

So, today we fired the engine up and went out for a little cruise into the “Sound” to check if all was working.  Blessedly everything went well.  After turning left, right, backwards, forwards and all around the radar and the chart plotter remained in agreement.  I feel good that we’re in business.  Also nice to run the engine after being at the dock for six months.  (Thank you soooo much Jim Heumann (Sockdolager) for running Charisma’s engine almost every week at the dock to keep things running so well).

Speaking of boat work, Ann wore her fingers down today polishing the stainless steel on the starboard side.  Good thing because Brian Toss, who has a rigging shop here in town but is basically a legendary rigger, known throughout the world, dropped by on his way to a party on our neighbor’s boat and after being pigeonholed by Ann pronounced Charisma “ship shape”.  Whew!

So…we’re a couple weeks or less from throwing off the dock lines yet again to head out for a new voyage.  We’re not sure where we’re going other than “north”.

Serendipity – that’s our plan!

 

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