Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: we went to the beach for the walk. It was 73. The beach is on Isle of Palms and is about 15 minutes from our house. And, for anyone who cares, here's a picture of the rental house:

Besides the fact that it's a Centex house, it actually is great for us. (Hey, I'm just kidding about the derogatory Centex reference. To my friends at Centex in Chicago: they really do build a nice house down here.) Being elevated, the lower level has a huge amount of storage, which we have basically filled. I thought I had gotten rid of a lot of junk with my multiple trips to the dump during the last few months, but it's amazing how much one can collect over time.

On to boat issues. We have lined up a new captain (Jorge) for the trip to Trinidad, and I think he'll be great. In his picture, he looks young and strong, and I think the girls think he's "hot". The company he works for does deliveries for Lagoon and the Moorings, among others, and he's made the trip from South Africa to the Caribbean, by way of Brazil, several times. He's a native of Portugal, and besides Portugeuse (which is what is spoken in Brazil), he's fluent in French, Spanish and, yes, English. I thought it was interesting that he lives in the Azores. I'm told that after sailing through the islands a few times, he decided he liked it, bought some land with a cottage needing work, and settled there. Cool story.

We also heard yesterday that the boat is on schedule to be launched February 12th and ready for sea trials February 14th. (What a great way to celebrate my 50th birthday on the 13th!!) Jorge is going to Brazil early to visit friends and will meet us in Aracaju on the 13th or 14th. It will be nice to have him there for the trials, particularly since Phil Berman and Junior Pimenta (of Dolphin) can't be there since the Miami Boat Show starts February 16th. Assuming all goes well with the trials and there aren't too many major items to be fixed/adjusted, that means we should leave Brazil by the 17th or 18th. Since this will allow us plenty of time to spend in Trinidad and still meet Brien and Patrick in the Grenandines by March 17th, this also means we won't have to cancel our planned stop at Fernando de Norhona. This is great news, because that should be a highlight.

Lots of little details still to work out, but it all seems to be falling together. I think we're going to get there. More later.

January 29, 2006

Spent a lot of time the last several days trying to get our Coast Guard documentation straightened out. The boat will be registered with the Coast Guard, which requires some fairly detailed forms. The catch 22 is that you can't apply until the boat is "finished", but as of last week they told me they were working on applications submitted in early December. They do have a procedure where you can ask for expedited review and processing and that's what I am pursuing. All necessary documents were sent last Thursday, with supplemental explanatory documents added Friday. I sent a self addressed, prepaid Fed Ex envelope with the application and now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the approval document, with my Coast Guard Number, arrive by this Friday. If it doesn't, it's not the end of the world, but it's going to be a heck of a lot easier checking into countries with an official registration for the boat.

We've also been finishing up buying various supplies that we'll need, but that can't be purchased in Brazil (or are very expensive to purchase). Lots of trips to West Marine and Lowe's for things like an additional safety harness, miscellaneous tools, sail repair stuff, engine spares, first aid kits, cruising guides and charts, waterproof flashlights, etc., etc. We've laid all the stuff out on the dining room table to inventory it and see if it will really fit on our bags. Look at this:

Besides this stuff, we have a screecher sail, a flat screen TV and all of our clothes, snorkels, books and other personal stuff. It's going to be interesting going throught the airports, and Customs in Brazil should be really fun.

January 31, 2006

Today was a good news day. First, the Coast Guard came through: we got our Coast Guard documentation. After hearing all of the horror stories, I was pleasantly surprised at how helpful and prompt they were. After sending in the initial package, I received a call from the woman reviewing the application saying we needed one clarifying document. After it was faxed to her, she called again to let me know she received it and then again yesterday to say everything was approved and she was putting it in the Fed Ex package. And today it showed up!!

Second, I heard from the sailmaker that our Screecher had been sent and should arrive Thursday. The screecher is a large lighter air sail that can be used at many wind angles, although it's best off of the wind. This sail should be particularly handy on the trip from Brazil to Trinidad, where the prevailing winds are from the east while we'll be heading mostly northwest, and where the doldrums can bring low wind (or no wind!). The big advantage this sail has over a spinnaker is that the screecher is permanently mounted on a roller furler on the bow sprit, so it's easy to use it and take it in. I found out the sail was actually made in Malaysia, is being sent to us in SC and we will lug it down to Brazil. It will be a well-traveled sail before we even use it!

Third, Jim Kauss said he had submitted our boat to MTV's Pimp My Ride show and they should be doing a number on roam pretty soon. Thanks, Jim, it's good to know you've got our backs!

Tomorrow is also a big day, as Bridey and Patrick are driving down. Patrick's planning on leaving early (3 am) and driving straight through. It's about a 15 or 16 hour drive, and I've done it like that and it's tiring! Oh well, he's young.

That's it. Time to go watch George's State of the Union. Oh boy.