Now we gotta go!

Everything is happening way too fast - except for the projects of course.  Here is what we have been up to!

Presents and Schnitzel!

Our wonderful dock buddies threw us a great going away party. Lots of fun, laughter and gifts.

Plus, Ed and Karen made a huge batch of Jaeger Schnitzel. Our favorite from our Germany trips. We all loved it!

The Beater

We sold The Beater - our car!

It sold to the first person who saw it - less than 24 hours. Amazing.

It's a relief, but now we are without a ride. Good thing we have such a great sharing group here at the dock and have access to the community Car Pool!

Bill and Rise come to visit!

Bill and Rise, great friends from New Mexico, just happened to be in the neighborhood and stopped by for a visit.

We loved spending time and catching up with them.  Hope they meet us again in Fiji!

Barnacle Bill

We are definitely not ready to leave the first of May, but we are making progress.  Here's what we have wrapped up:

Wonderful friends - going to miss them!

• Furler has been rebuilt
• Jib is up
• Life Raft has been re-certified
• New halyards are spliced and put in place
• Lockers have been purged and inventoried
• Provisioning lists have been made and major shopping has started
• Collected a bunch of goodies for Fanning Island
• Sourdough starter is active and ready to make some bread
• And lots more...

Enjoying the sunset

Still lots to do and lots to buy!

We also need to anchor out for a couple of days to make sure all systems are working perfectly.

Our first stop is 10 days away, so we don't want any surprises.

Mystery tree?

If we get out of town by May 15 - we will be very happy.

In the meantime, we are enjoying every minute with out dock buddies.  We are going to miss them and beautiful Ko Olina!

Making progress!

It's been a bit of a blur, but we are making some progress. Here is what we have been up to!

Hope we never have to use it!

 Life rafts are expensive, but necessary.

We had to get ours recertified, which was interesting and informative.

They unpacked it and blew it up.  Now they are checking everything and replacing all the expired water, food, and other products.  All for about $1400 - ouch!

We were excited to see that it worked - good to know!

How many people....

Our new forestay is in place - thanks to the help from our dock buddies.

Now, Doug is re-fitting and servicing the furling system - making sure everything works.

Next, we get to raise the jib.  Almost a sailboat again!

Splicing new halyards

One of the benefits of working at West Marine - great discounts on line.

Doug has been replacing all of our dock lines and halyards.  The new halyards are Endura, which Doug is learning how to splice.

Supposed to be stronger, smaller, and lighter weight. Hope so!

Medical kit - oh my

I have been overwhelmed - organizing our medical kits and ditch bag. There is too much stuff, too many things to plan for, plus too much data to sift through.

But, I am getting close!

When Pigs Fly!

Doug is still working on the re-bedding project. Trying to plug all the leaks before we head out. Plus lots and lots of shopping.

Our list is getting shorter, but we have a long way to go.

We are still shooting for the first of May. Wish you were all here to help!

Moondance is back in the water - safe!

And it was fast - hauled out of the water on Thursday; back in the water on Monday.  Of course, fast doesn't mean cheap.

You have to pay for the haul out/haul in; lay days; plus the actual work.

Humpies off of Waikiki

Like having the bottom sanded and painted, replacing the cutlass bearing, and the really expensive part (drum roll please) replacing 9 seacocks. Ouch!

But, it had to be done. Our seacocks were over 30 years old and we were afraid to touch them (not good).

Ready for haul out

Keehi Marine Center was very professional and took good care of us.

Restrooms, but no shower facilities, and a mini-mart with a really old grumpy guy - avoid him.

The spooky part!

Bonus - L&L Drive Inn (close by) has wonderful egg and bacon (tons of bacon) breakfast sandwiches for $3.40.  Worth a stop!

La Mariana Sailing Club is close by:  food ok; drinks ok; service very slow... But, we had a great time celebrating with our dock buddies!

Burgee party at La Mariana

We were satisfied with the work that MRM services did on our bottom and thru-hulls.

They worked all weekend to get us back in the water and Moondance didn't leak - yeah!

Back in our slip

Glad we can cross that off the list and get busy on the rest of the stuff.

We are very grateful for having our friend's boat to stay on during all of this, plus their vehicle.  It made life so much easier and less stressful. 

Thanks Ed and Karen!

And now, the really good news, I am retired - again. 

Life just keeps getting better and better and our sailing date closer and closer - oh my!

Is bigger really better?

Hope so - cause we just spent a lot of money upgrading our anchor!

The new Rocna

Our new anchor - a Rocna 33kg = 73 lbs.

Our old anchor - a Bruce "type" = 44 lbs.

That's a big difference and should really keep us from dragging (piece of mind). 

We chose the Rocna because:

• Design allowed us to go bigger - it fit on our anchor roller.
• Known for "superior" holding 
• Plus the price was right with Doug's West Marine discount!

Of course, we still have to figure out how and what to deploy for our second/back up anchor.  But I know that Doug will make it happen.

Big event tomorrow! 

Sailing/motoring down to Keehi Marine Center to be hauled out for bottom maintenance.  A fresh coat of paint and new thru-hulls - Moondance will be good to go.

Great friends we have!  Some have "volunteered" to make the trip with Doug; others have offered us their boat to sleep in, plus their van for transportation. 

What a wonderful group!

The Plan

Well, The "as far as we know right now" Plan!

Hawaii to Fiji - with lots of stops along the way!

Looks like short hops, huh? Except for the first one - it is about 10 days sailing to Fanning. Fortunately, it is supposed to be a downwind sail (going with the wind - better!).  And, we won't be in a hurry. We are going to enjoy the adventure and see as many places we can - probably our only chance. The best part of cruising - no schedule.  Well, except that weather thing! Thanks to friends on Tao for letting us copy their route!

Inventory Time

Love these sunsets!

So, the work on Moondance continues.

We are inventorying every locker and making our lists - and definitely checking them twice.
 
Who would have thought that a cruising boat needed so much stuff?  But, it does!  Especially when you are heading to remote destinations.

We have definitely changed.  It used to be hard to shed personal items, clothing, toys, etc..  It is definitely getting easier.  We always need more space for provisions and spare parts.

Guess we really are Cruisers!


"Not all who wander are lost." - JRR Tolkien

It has started...

The saying "Goodbye's" that is along with the tears!

Aloha Dan and Sandra

Besides Moondance, there are so many of our wonderful friends from the Ko Olina Marina leaving over the next several months.

All heading different directions of course - some by air; some by sea.

Enjoying the Eats

Dan, Sandra, and Sevin (crew of the Jolly Lama) are the first. Going back to Hotlanta.

So our R&R Yacht Club threw them a helluva bash last night.

The Manly Men

We started with a great potluck on the promenade and then walked over to watch the sunset.

Catching the sunset

It was beautiful and almost a green flash - almost.

We ended up in the laundry room (warm and dry).

Love The Band!

That's when the party really got started.

The Band showed up and played all of our favorite sing-a-long songs.

Michael on the ukulele and Dave playing the guitar and the harmonica - what a treat.

The Laundry Room Girls

 And then the Girls got to do some dancing to Mel's version of the Pineapple Hula. Very entertaining I am sure.

Another beautiful sunset

It is amazing what lifelong friends you can make in such a short time.

We are going to miss the gang from the R&R Yacht Club for sure - so many wonderful memories.
A Hui Kaua (Until we meet again)!

You would think...

That after 4 big cruising adventures, Moondance and crew would be better prepared - but we are definitely not.

The Big Ass Boat!

 
We are scheduled to sail away in April, but instead of our project and shopping lists shrinking, they continue to grow.

That's not good. Are we getting to old for this cruising thing?  Not yet!

Dock Buddies

Everyone makes fun of my spreadsheets, but there is no way we would be able to remember half the stuff we gotta do before leaving.

Current projects include:

• Re-bedding chain plates and ports (yes, during the rainy season)
• Rebuilding and installing new winches
• Installing new VHF radio (with AIS - yeah)
• Revamping blower outlet
• And more

Surf's Up

And the shopping list is even bigger and more expensive.  Good thing Doug is working at West Marine.

All this and we are still working.  I am really looking forward to our 2nd retirement!

I know it is all going to work out just fine, but it is a little stressful. Whine, whine, whine.

PS: The Big Ass Boat is rumored to belong to Larry Ellison (arch enemy). This is his "small" boat!