Every time we put to sea we learn a lot at the moment about what works and what doesn’t on board. What is easy and what is difficult to do when the boat is pitching around. The simplest of tasks can seem like you are climbing Everest in the middle of the night. Lots of little things like boiling water and transferring it into the freeze dry bucket with out scalding your self and just having stuff close to hand when you need it in the galley I have been sorting out.
Dorade herself held up well in the Islands race other than a minor sail repair the boat it’s self was good. I discovered something like a crack in the goose neck fitting and I have had it checked now and it is 100% ok but I am happy knowing it was checked. We discovered that our VHF transmission was not adequate as no body seemed to want to talk to us. Now I have run a new cable in the mast and it had tested much better. Tomorrow I will fit the new antenna which is much more suitable for a wooden boat.
I did a full engine service yesterday so now she is ready for the charging that will be needed on the way to Cabo and the long motor home after the race. The rig check went well and all looked perfect. We wet sanded the hull down to a 400 Finnish and they guys at Driscoll boat yard did a fantastic job. The propeller was polished and the boat splashed again.
I’m just at North sails San Diego picking everything up they have been storing for us and once I stow them on board we will be ready to leave for Newport Harbor yacht club tomorrow.
There are lots of other little jobs I have on the list but I am saving them for when the race crew arrive on Wednesday to keep them busy. I’m looking forward to the Cabo race a lot and getting a serious bit of offshore sailing in. The weather looks light at the moment but Dorade is gong to be fast so all should be well.
Ben