Leaving Home

Bella Vita out of the water

So much has happened the last three weeks.  The same day that we left work we hauled our boat out at Canal Boat Yard.  We’ve been using Canal for many years as we think they have a good staff and the yard is run by a great manager, Ivaylo Minkov.  While there we did many jobs, but the main ones were to replace our cutlass bearing and repaint the bottom.  We had put on Smart Solutions by Seahawk the year prior and it had performed VERY well, but since we were about to put a LOT of miles on the bottom, we wanted something a little harder.  The local Seahawk rep (Tony Bulpin) recommended we go with Tropikote Biocide Plus.  The paint went on well and we did two full coats with an extra coat at waterline.  We’ll report back on how it performed after we get to the South Pacific. 

Brett & Pat re-install the max-prop

While in the yard we also had our prop serviced (thanks for the quick turnaround PYI!) and our thanks go out to our good friend Pat (Pat’s Marine Engines) for helping us remove/re-install the max prop and for replacing some engine mounts.  We’d also like to thank Paul Zigler (Northwest Fiberglass) and his son Henry for the work they did to prep the bottom for painting, waxing the entire boat and lastly – for cutting a big hole so that we could install one more port light for galley ventilation.  Who knew the cockpit would be so damn thick?  J  Paul and Pat have become good friends that we will miss dearly.

Brett, Dad & Greg inside our storage container

After getting back on the water we started the process of closing our short term storage and moving whatever wasn’t going to live on the boat into our long term storage down in Kent.  Big thanks to my dad and brother (Dennis and Greg) for getting up early and providing their big muscles and packing knowledge to make everything fit!  It was a lot of work to pack it all up and a HUGE  relief to get it done.

Final additions - yikes!!!

After that it was on to final parts provisioning and getting everything stowed.  There were definitely those moments when you look around and want to cry as there is just NO WAY all that stuff is going to find a home.  But this boat is amazing and we did eventually find a place for everything. 

Departure Party

On the 2^nd of September we had our big “bon voyage” party.  We saw many of the folks we care about and it was wonderful to see everyone once more before our departure.  My only regret is that we couldn’t spend more time with each of them.  I can’t thank my immediate family enough for helping us put the party together and supplying all of the food, plates, pop, beer, wine, etc.  Having that taken care of while we dealt with the chaos all around us meant more than I can say.

The process of saying goodbye to friends and family members is one of the hardest things we have ever had to do (think buckets of tears).  Even though we know we will see many of them in the coming year through visits and plans already made, it's tough to know that we won't have the casual interactions we have come to take for granted.  Walks with my dear friend Susan, lunches with my Mom, visits with Dad and Linda, adultapoluza (!!!), dinner parties with Dena & Heidi (and their husbands) and beers at Kelly's with good friends.  We were surrounded by so many wonderful people - how can we leave it all behind?  But a dream is a dream and while I'll miss them all, I can't not go just because I'll miss them.   We have to move forward and know that we will see them all again very soon.

So!  As I type we are currently lying in Neah Bay and planning to leave here tomorrow to make our way down to San Francisco.  It’s very strange to think this is our last anchorage in Puget Sound for many years to come.  But the winds are forecast to be good, so it’s time to make that leap of faith and hope for the best.

Goodbye Seattle!