The Waiting Game...

This is the hard part...the waiting.  Waiting for the maintenance work to be done.  Waiting for the electronics installation to be completed.  Waiting to try new things out on test runs.

The weather has not been very cooperative.  We've had a few good days mixed with lots of rainy, windy days.  We were supposed to take the boat out with the electrician on board late Saturday afternoon.  The new batteries had not been installed and Todd was concerned after the dead battery problem at launch.  He tried to start the port engine and there was nothing in that battery.  The starboard started fine.  Once again he tried jumping the starboard battery to the port.  There just wasn't enough cranking power to turn that engine over.  So the trip with the electrician was scuttled.

Todd called the mechanic to check on the new batteries.  Yes, they were in but the mechanic was out on an emergency call.  There was no one in the shop to bring them out and install them.  So Todd called the electrician and cancelled the appointment.

Time was not wasted.  Todd worked on his laptop, learning new computer charting software.  He has compiled the list of charts, waterway guides and software we need for the trip.  That order will be placed soon.

While he worked on his laptop, I filled the fresh water tanks.  We've been on city water since the boat was launched.  We've had a lot of water collecting in the bilge (the basement of a boat).  I wanted to switch the boat to the water pump to see if it would run intermittently or stand quiet.  The pump ran which meant water was squirting out a pipe (or pipes) somewhere.  I dove into the underground world of the bilge.  Right away I could see one of the fittings on the hot water heater squirting.  Add another problem to the list!

Meanwhile, our old problem with the leak from the lines leading to the holding tank (think septic tank) has started again.  I knew Sunday's task...clean up the mess and flush out the bilge.  Nothing is ever that easy.  There is one drain scupper that loves to clog.  It is located in such a tight spot.  So Gumby (that's me) has to snake in with the drain cleaning brush and get the mess moving.

After I finished my job in the mid-bilge, Todd decided to clean out the starboard side of the aft-bilge.  It had collected dirt and leaves over the winter.  Once both projects were completed, we looked proudly into our clean bilge.

We left the boat on Monday and stopped by the mechanic's shop on the way home.  The batteries would go in Tuesday (today) and they would start work on the head (toilet) problem as soon as we pump out the holding tank.  We will go to the boat tomorrow and pump out the head.  Until then drip, drip, drip...

Splashdown 2010...

After the delay from Friday to Monday, we got a beautiful day for launch 2010.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky.  The breeze was minimal out of the NW.  We couldn't ask for a better day.

The electrician began his day of work on Ocean Breeze at 10:30AM.  He finished making some connections to test once we were in the water.

I spent the time preparing the dock, hooking up the power line extension and the water hose for the boat.  I sorted through the lines in the dock box trying to remember which one goes where.  One of these years I'm going to wise up and mark the lines to match the chocks on the dock!  And as I handled those lines, I considered which ones I would be taking in August for back up lines on the trip.

Almost everything we do or touch these days brings thoughts and conversation about the trip ahead.  We go about tasks and converse as though there is no possible road block.  I guess I should call whatever might cause a problem a water block!

As 1PM approached, the marina manager came by to make sure we were ready.  John Paul has been so very good to us all these years...at least 20 years.  He has known all but two of our boats and taken care of them as if they were his own during launch, during the week when we're not aboard and at end of season pull out.

On the road again...toting one heck of a big load again!

Into reverse...

This is the part I hate!  Backing up over the well.

See how close those wheels are to the well edge?

Splashdown...well, no real splash.  Just a gentle settling in.

Launch itself went off without a hitch.  The starboard engine cranked and cranked and finally came to life after it's long winter's nap.  However, the port engine battery didn't have enough power to start that big diesel engine.  When these big guys hibernate, they really go to sleep and need a lot of power the get them going!

Any other time, I have been able to get our generator started to add a charge to the batteries but for some reason today little Genny wouldn't start either.  Todd has always carried jumper cables since an incident early in our boating where we desperately needed a jump start.  A simple crossover switch would do the same thing, but there is none on Ocean Breeze.  Jumping the starboard battery to the port battery worked.

With both engines warmed and running well, we took Ocean Breeze to her dock without incident.  I spent the afternoon setting lines, hooking up our water source and getting the power to the boat, with Todd's help.  That one task takes two of us because of the huge 50 amp power cords we have to use.

With those tasks completed, I left to go shopping so I could stay out of Todd's and the electrician's way while they tested the electronics.  Before I went, I knew that the radar, depth sounder, radios, backup camera and GPSs were all functional.  As they started up each unit, there was excitement!  There was a small glitch with the autopilot that caused cushions on the salon couch to fly as the electrician grumbled his way to the power box secured in a storage area under the couch.  With that, I was ready to flee the scene.

I returned from the store well stocked and ready to put our groceries away but the boat wasn't ready for me.  Todd and the electrician had been tracking a problem with the AIS since I left.  There was frustration in the air.  Both finally gave up to work on it sometime today.

It was time to settle in to Ocean Breeze and we did.  The bed is comfortable, although the mattress is new and we both have to get used to it.  The ice maker is making ice, the refrigerator is cold and the freezer goods are frozen solid, the water is running and the heads are flushing.  Home sweet boat, intermittently now until we move aboard full time in August.

Oh yes, and what a difference a day makes...100% chance of rain...and it is...buckets!

The Forecast Seems Partly Oily...

Todd and I have been watching the situation in the Gulf very closely since it began.  The Great Loop website had dedicated a whole thread to it.  The whole vision makes us feel somewhat melancholy with all the planning we've done as well as our growing excitement for 'cast off'.

The Loopers in the area are scampering to rivers and lakes north of Mobile Bay.  Their talk it peppered with seeing boats working the slick bringing tricklings of oil into the Bay when they come home, places to run their boats in the rivers and lakes to avoid the inevitable, and concerns of flood waters coming from the north with debris that could damage their boats.  If we think we've got problems as we anticipate the 'what if's, all we have to do it consider the boaters that are already in the Gulf or in the area of Mobile Bay.  We are fortunate.

So where are we in the 'what if's ?  Todd and I do continue working toward the final goal and 'cast off' date (August 12, 2010).  Yesterday Todd did more research on the Loop while I researched digital cameras.  However at the end of the day, we were still saying,"What will we do if...".  Neither of us wants to dive into that depressing dark hole.

We've decided two decision points, June and August.  If the Gulf Oil Spill is still unresolved by June (the well continues to pump with no relief in sight), we may consider taking the Eastern route out to the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway and going to Florida and the Keys to winter.  Should the Gulf Stream pick up the oil and send it up the Atlantic, my preference would be to take Ocean Breeze to the Thousand Islands, go into Montreal, Quebec, CA and follow the summer side of the Great Loop.  We would bring the boat back by way of Lake Huron instead of going down Lake Michigan to Chicago and the rivers, delaying the rest of the Loop until next year.

Should BP have the secondary rigs actively pumping mud into the bleeding well by June, it would make sense to continue active planning with no diversion.  We would be able to abort the trip the first of August and, realistically, even in September if necessary.  We won't magically be sucked from Chicago into the the river system and carried ultimately to Mobile Bay.  At any point, we can turn 180* and bring Ocean Breeze back to her dock in the clean water of Lake Erie.

Time to get out the worry stone and rub a little!

No soup Today!

Or maybe it would be better to say, lots of soup today!  It's gray and nasty outside.  We were supposed to launch today at 1PM.  The forecast is horrible.  We already had a series of thunderstorms roll through this morning.  The weather radar shows more on the way.  So we changed our launch to Monday at 1PM.

Our electrician is hard at work trying to finish up his work today.  He can work inside and not mind what's going on outside with the weather.  Todd will help him install the Satellite TV dome next week.  They will be testing the newly installed navigation that same day.

This morning the new Fortress Guardian Anchor arrived at the door.  I ordered it from EBay Wednesday.  Our primary anchor is a Delta Fast Set plow anchor.  The Guardian will be our secondary anchor primarily to use off the stern to limit swing radius in tight quarters.  It is lighter (18#) and easier to manage by hand than the Danforth anchors I have acquired along the way.  The Danforth that came with Ocean Breeze is very heavy and not as reliable as our Fortress anchors have been in the past.  It bent the first time anchored this boat, so I have very little faith in it.  Next up, try to sell two Danforth anchors on EBay!

The Hillbilly RV...

At least, that's what we thought and laughed about all the way to Bay Point.  Today was a great day to pick up our new mattress for the master stateroom.  We drove to Toledo and the mattress shop late this morning.

Our first hint of concern came when there were no men to help us load the mattress on our SRX.  When we asked for some way to tie the mattress to the top of the car, we were given a huge roll of twine and a pair of scissors.  Luckily, the 'Bungee Queen' (Paula) had made sure our longest bungee chords where in the car.

Todd and I worked to attach the mattress to the top of the car the best we could.  We used all of the bungee cords and a bunch of the twine.  When we stepped back to look at the package, we both laughed and said it looked like something out of the Beverly Hillbillies.

I plotted a course through Toledo that would keep us off of the freeways.  We didn't trust the restraints in any kind of wind or at high speeds.  All went well as we drove through streets in Toledo that we'd never travel at night.

My concern reached a high alert level as we drove toward the new I-280 bridge over the Maumee River.  We wanted to take Route 2 to Bay Point and the only way to get there was that segment of I-280.  Luckily, we were routed over the old bridge and the wind over the river was minimal.

We had some excitement when the wind picked up out of the south as we made our way ever so slowly down Route 2.  Whenever the road wound around to the south, the mattress would lift up off the roof of the car.  Todd thought this was a good time for me to get out and sit on the mattress to hold it down.  I passed at his attempt to make me a replica of Granny in the rocking chair in the Beverly Hillbillies.

It took us more than an hour and a half to travel 46 miles, but we got to Bay Point without losing the mattress.  After some tight maneuvering, we managed to get the mattress from the car, onto the boat (which is still on land), through the salon, down the stairs and through the lower hallway, into the master stateroom and onto the bed.  It was a perfect fit!  And comfortable...well, we are now wondering why we didn't do this a long time ago!

Of course, the trip had to be topped off with a reward of a mushroom cheeseburger, fries and cold beer at Terry's Tavern in Bayview before heading home.

Thursday, Todd and the electrician will finish their work installing the last of the electronics.  The hull has been waxed and the bottom paint in on.  Friday we will hit the water at 1PM...and I wish I could say we are on our way.  We have 3 months of work ahead of us.

We are also keeping in close contact with the Great Loop Association on the Gulf Oil Spill.  They are currently pulling boats in the Mobile Bay marinas and putting them on the 'hard'.  Those that can't be pulled are being sent up the rivers to avoid the crude oil that is slowly working it's way toward land.  We will know by August if we will be able to traverse the Gulf in November.

The Work Continues as the Worry Starts...

Todd has continued to work with the electrician installing our new electronics.  Thursday the winter wrap came off and Friday the radar arch began to demonstrate our new technology.  I haven't been up to see the new equipment and have been warned the boat is still 'a mess' inside.  I don't want to see the mess.

The radar arch now sports a new Raymarine radar dome, 2 new GPS receivers and a new AIS receiver.  There is a new rear view camera for sterning into docks but the picture isn't clear enough to see it (I need to clean Todd's phone lens!).

Ocean Breeze is scheduled for launch next Friday, May 7th.  The mattress is ready to be taken to the boat.  We plan to take it over Thursday or Friday and get it into the boat before launch.  I always get a little panicky around this time thinking 'what if...'

Worse yet, we have begun to worry about the Gulf Oil Spill and the impact it could have on us and our plans.  Obviously, we don't want to start down the river system from Chicago without some certainty we will be able to enter the Gulf waters in November.  A thread has started on the Great Loop web site giving us some view of on site conditions and forecasting from the area of concern.  This doesn't only impact those of us getting ready to start the Loop, but also those currently Looping and looking forward to going home to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

We can't overlook the impact on those living in the Gulf and dependant on the Gulf waters for their livelihood.  Our thoughts and prayers are for all of these folks.