Sucia Rendezvous, Countdown

I won't bore you with details about itinerary or course because I haven't a clue. But a cruise of any kind requires much the same preparation.

Is the boat seaworthy? Saga has been completely re-caulked and painted. She's a boat of a certain age who holds her years well.

Last season suggested some changes and the first is, lighten your load. I'll be on the water approximately two weeks, no need to take two months worth of food, as happened last year. Perhaps the extra provisions were simply wishful thinking.
Because the truth is, I could spend the rest of my life living from anchorage to anchorage. Two weeks is just not enough.

This year Saga will sport a jib. The theoretical implications might be endless, though I am willing to just see what happens. Though a designer by training, I prefer to learn by educated trial, with intuition as the impetus. There is an element of art in boat building which beguiles the scientific and mathematical.

You might also know that I support recycling and repurposing. There was this old wood box full of junk in the shed that once belonged to a shipwright from the steel yards after the last world war. He was a simple old man who lived close to the earth and saved everything. When he passed, imagine the cornucopia of hardware he left behind. This box probably has a history beyond my years. Never, in  the thirty years I've had it has the old wood box had a lid, but now it does. (made from leftover scrap).

The green bag holds the head.

 As the more astute will note, the top of the box is the perfect size for my old Salish Sea cruising atlas, which predates the Salish Sea by more than twenty years (1980). New technology has it's place, but much of the datum on these charts is close to a hundred years old, so a chart from 1980 is just as helpful as your newest GPS. Please note that the lid is reversible and upside-down it will make a fine dining tray (the mess kit is inside)..






Next to the old/new box is 200 feet of new anchor rode on the spare, collapsible anchor. I had to use this backup anchor last year and the old rode was simply unacceptable.

To the rear of the cockpit is Saga's new sign board. Beautifully done by Brandon Ford.

You've all heard about the new deadeyes. This photo is included here because it's incredible.

The cockpit tent we threw together last year was a failure. It leaked. This time there will be a new tent. Possibly a bit of over-kill, this new design is made from 10oz. vinyl coated nylon. The material must have been weighed before coating, because it's heavy as a truck tarp. A 20# (total weight) tarp is much more than enough. At any rate, it's not done yet but I'll post a picture as soon as it is.




Only a few days left until Sucia Island Rendezvous 2012. It's going to be great.