Return to Dataw

In early October, we returned to Dataw and began the process of preparing the boat for cruising. I've said it before, you can leave a boat in perfect working condition in the summer, and return in the fall to find multiple problems. So, after driving to Charleston to have the sails repaired and returning to Charleston to pick them up again, we discovered that the engine water pump was leaking.....not a good thing. The only replacement immediately available was, you guessed it, Charleston. So for the 3rd time in 5 days, we drove the 5 hour round trip.The trips did provide us with an opportunity to have lunch with friends, Charlie and Jennifer Black. After lunch we drove by artist, Jennifer's gallery window on King Street and looked at her beautiful art work.

In addition to the sails and the pump, Rick found dozens of other projects, putting the sails back on, gel coat repairs, door handle repairs, slight leak in the top of the water tank, washing, waxing, provisioning, he even found a bilge he'd never noticed hidden under the shower. It was filled with all sorts of nasty stuff, including dust from the original construction. This points out the Mars/Venus difference between men and women. Rick was almost gleeful when he found the previously undiscovered bilge. Another project! Hooray! I'm sorry, but women do not generally think that dirt and mold encrusted hard to get to spots represent an interesting challenge.
Be that as it may, we are now down to a single task, reattaching the wind generator. We've studied the weather and it looks as if we may be set to leave on Thursday October 24th