Matagorda to Taylor Outflow Bayou Days 5-8

This Group of American Avocets were an unexpected sight along the ICW.

Always a good view of the South Texas Nuclear Project along the ICW coming into Freeport.

This is a little one, we would become friends with these guys as you seem to travel together for several days.

This smoke greeted us in Freeport. What the heck is it?

The Admiral providing a little relief to the Captain on the way to Galveston.

A train had just gone by and the Galveston Causeway railway bridge opened just in time for us to pass.

Harbor House, a great little Marina right downtown Galveston by the Strand

Raptors were everywhere along the Boliver Island portion of the ICW, the Admiral is getting a lot better with her new camera.

This is the Taylor Bayou Channel where anchored for the night, a wide, long channel but we anchored off to the side just in case some traffic came by in the middle of the night.

The Port Arthur refineries...really lit up the night.

Day5 We stayed a third day in Matagorda due to the high winds.We were glad to get underway to Freeport on 11/27:

Day6 Matagorda to Freeport

avg speed 5.8kts, 65degrees,sunny 10-20N-NW winds, underway 7:23hrs, 42.5km.

We had mostly favorable current and I still can't figure out how to understand the tide charts in the ICW. The tide was ebb most of the trip so I guess it just depends where you are relative to the nearest outlet to the Gulf.We had to slow for the Caney Creek Swing Bridge to open, the Brazos River Locks, and a couple of Tows to pass. The Brazos gates were closed to commercial traffic as they were doing repairs on the west gate so most of the tows were just parked waiting which made this part of the passage easy. As we were approaching Freeport we noticed a huge plum of smoke in the sky ahead. We began to speculate, it was a dark smoke and since there is so much petroleum industry here I speculated it was some type of release by one of the plants polluting. This is not uncommon to see in the Corpus Christi area. The Tow Captains were talking about it also, one mentioned it was a wildfire. Great, we just hoped it would not be blowing right over Bridge Harbor when we got there. We made Bridge Harbor about 14:30 and the Harbor Master was very accommodating as he allowed us to pull into the fuel dock and stay there for the night. This allowed us to top off the tanks and not have to move the boat to another slip in this area of the marina where the fairway is narrow and difficult to maneuver a boat this size. I have been trying to keep the rpm's down under 2000 since we can do 6kts or just a bit more and our fuel use stays at 1 gallon per hour. I estimated that we would need 27 gallons based on the number of hours we used the engine, I was right on. With the cost of fuel somewhere between $3-4 this makes a difference in the cruising budget for sure. Fortunately there was no smoke so we could breath easy.
Several Admirals mentioned to Lynn that doing laundry was what they disliked the most about cruising, so I will do the laundry. Since this marina had a washer/dryer I gathered up the clothes and went immediately to get that done before I bought a pack of beer!

Day7 Freeport to Galveston Harbor House Marina
Avg.speed 6.0 knts. , 60 degrees sunny, 5-10 N winds, underway 7:04hrs., 42.5Km.

We had favorable current 90%,stopped three times to allow tows to pass & still avg. 6knts. Our max speed was 8.3kts. The Admiral was busy with her camera getting pics of all the raptors lined up along the way. We saw the result of the wildfire, a large area of the Brazoria National Wildlife Preserve burned all the way up to the edge of the ICW. We had considerable barge traffic as we neared Galveston. Thought we better call the marina we planned to stay in for the night, Stingaree about 12 miles down Boliver. The harbor master Pete said there was no water in there due to the unusually low tides so we had to quickly get a plan B. I wanted to go to Harbor House in Galveston since this is where I stayed with the crew of Apothaker and wanted the Admiral to see it and enjoy the nearby restaurants and a walk down the Strand. Their website says you can slip your boat there if you are renting a room for the night, but we called and checked anyway. Yep they were empty so they happily gave us a slip 102 and I knew I would earn a few points for this. We arrived by 1400 hrs. So we had plenty of time for a long walk down the strand and easily made a great happy hour at a grill right next to the marina. Now this is what it's all about!

Day8 Galveston to Taylor Outflow Bayou

Avg. speed 6.2kts, 65 degrees, sunny 10-15 ESE winds, underway 9:17hrs., 57.8 Km.

We left at 0700, from this point forward would be new to us as soon as we entered the ICW at Boliver Island. Man, the AIS was showing tows all over the place. Boliver is home to lots of tow companies so you have to pick out the moving tows on the display from those just parked. After passing this section the tows were easy, we passed Stingaree and wondered why we could not get in as there was a fair size sailboat in there. Anyway we know where it is now for future reference. Eventually we came to a narrow section of the ICW and began following a tow. We stayed behind him through a white knuckle shallow, curvy area called Horseshoe Bend. No way to pass a tow here, in fact you want to follow them through to make sure you do not run aground. The Admiral was busy shooting pics as this trip was almost all nature sanctuary, lots of birds. We made it to the Taylor Bayou Outfall Canal around 1700 and eased down the canal right next to the Big Hill Bayou Wildlife Management Area. No one here. We tried to set our Rocna but it kept dragging when we backed down on it? Light was fading so I sat our danforth and the Rocna. We were very disappointed in our Rocna! No wifi here, this is where the IPad started earning it's keep. The Admiral sorted out things below while I organized the cockpit & deck for our departure in the early am. Time for a cold one, I sat in the cockpit as the last bit of daylight was fading when a hawk came and landed on our dingy davits. I called Lynn up to identify it but when she opened the companionway and the lights from inside glowed the raptor flew. Next time I will be much more careful, this was a great point winner if he had just stayed for a while. My part Indian mother in law finally gave me my Indian name "He who sits with hawks". The nearby refinery in Port Arthur lit up the place with an industrial glow, I blew out the Cintranella candle and went below.

Corpus Christi to Matagorda Harbor Day1-4

I wanted to add these two pics to this post, the Gumbo Cookoff was the best part of Matagorda...Friggen Great Gumbo...I sampled at least 5 different ones and ate at least 3-4 full cups.

Here the Admiral gets her first cup, one of our favorites.

I think this Spoonbill was telling my birding Admiral goodbye from all the birds in Port A.

This is just a small example of the up close views of the Whopping Cranes, a mom and her juvenile enjoying the crabs together.

Wand'rin Star entering the West Gate of the Colorado river Flood Gates.





Here we are approaching the West flood gate.

We are now in the Colorado River, the Tows in the East Lock are trying to get close together so they can close the gate and lock them through.

This little Juvenile Raptor was watching it all with the rest of us.

Looking South down the Colorado, these guys decided to keep on fishin while they wait.

The Tow in the back had to get sideways so they could close the gate.

Good, the Gate is Closed...we are next.

Here the little fishing boats are all over the place but we are coming down the middle!

That's right boys, get in a single file and move over!

There were 4 boats in the parade, I think this one got 1st Place.

This picture does not do the fireworks justice..they were amazing great...with really loud BOOMS!

11/ 23 Day 1 Corpus Christi to Fulton

33.5 Km. Avg. speed 6.o Kts. 75 degrees, sunny, 10-20 NE winds. Underway 5:36 hrs.
We motored sailed across CC bay with 100% Genoa and made 7+ kts. As we got into the Ship channel near Port A the winds were on the nose so Go Yanmar rest of the way to Fulton. The Admiral was not much impressed yet as she wondered how she would endure hours on the boat every day for two weeks or more. We did have a pleasant time in Fulton but nothing new. Planned to get up at 5:30 am to get a early start to Port O'Conner as we would be crossing San Antonio Bay and this is not Lynn's favorite as the last time we were there was in a fog so bad we could barely see our bow.

11/24 Day 2 Fulton to Port O'Conner

42.1 Km. avg speed 6.0 kt.s, sunny, 5-10 NE winds to SE winds. Underway 6:58 hrs.

We were delayed by fog leaving and the Admiral already experiencing fog on the ICW was not ready to go till we could clearly see the Tows from our slip. We slipped out at 10:30 am and again winds on the nose, even after they clocked around to the SE since we were making our way around the coastal bend. Even though it was a Flood tide most of the trip about 1/3 was slack current, 1/3 counter, and 1/3 running with so we averaged 6 kts. The Tide charts are not real helpful since it affects each part of the ICW differently...need local knowledge but I figure we only have a set amount of daylight in the winter months so you just have to get up early and make the best of it since the ICW would be a bit nuts at night with all the Tow traffic.

The Admiral rated this day a 10 since we got to go through the Aransas National Preserve and we saw over 30 Whooping Cranes and the entire spectrum of shore birds and migrating hawks. I slowed to a crawl several times so she could get all the pics she needed. We made Port O'Conner just about 5pm as the sun was going down. Definitely have to be in no later then 5:30 on this portion of the trip. We tied up to a familiar bulkhead at the Inn at Clarks'. Got off the boat for a fast walk exercise, Our own version of Thanksgiving dinner aboard and when the Admiral is Happy the Captain is Happy!

11/25 Day3 Port O'Conner to Matagorda Harbor

31.7 Km. Avg. speed 5.4 Kts. 78 degrees, sunny, 15-20 SE winds. Underway 5:49 hrs.

The winds at first looked as if we just may be able to get the Genoa out again so I put out about 80% and we were moving along just fine. The AIS indicated a lot of barge traffic and just as we were about to pass our first barge a single, we ran aground. Well the Admiral was not to impressed with this as our bow swung out into the channel near the passing barge, fortunately we just had bit of headsail out so it was easy to furl and after the barge passed the Yanmar juice pushed us off.
Well I think I used up all the points I banked from the previous day so I made sure the rest of the trip just had positive moments. When you pass a barge in narrow areas of the ICW you can see the water rushing away from the banks as the barge moves toward you. So that must mean the water is also rushing away from the bottom of our little sailboat to which makes you get pretty friggen close to the barge to make sure not to run aground. Just as you get past the nose of the barge your speed increases by about 7-9 tenths of a knot. Then you get in their prop wash and your depth meter freaks from all the stirred up mud. You just have to be alert and pay attention to the details in front of you and pray that there is not another mound of mud waiting for your keel.

As we neared the Colorado River Flood Gates we were between two tows. Everyone slowed to about 1 knot as we notified the tenders who and what we were and which direction we wanted to pass. Well there were tows stacked up on both sides of the river as well as a bunch of recreational boaters in the river waiting in line to get through. Fortunately we were directed to go ahead of the Tows and pass through the West gate and hang out in the Colorado until the East Gate was opened for us to pass on through. We speed up to get on through the West Lock as the last thing I wanted was a bunch of Tows waiting on us since we would be out here for the next couple of weeks needing their help and courtesy. When we got out into the Colorado there were a couple of dozen small fishing boats milling about waiting to pass. There were two barges in the East Lock trying to cram in there so they could close the doors and lock them through. We did slow circles for 30 minutes but there was plenty of scenery to entertain us and the Admiral got several good pics of raptors. Fortunately there was little river current. They opened the doors and all the recreational boats started heading for the gate, they notified us on VHF 13 to pass through with them. Well there were lots of them passing both directions. The current and turbulence in the lock was proving to be challenging so I just stayed in the middle and pushed the rpms up, there had to be 3+ knots of current against use. The little fishing boats parted like the Red Sea. The Matagorda Harbor Master met us on the dock to help us in. As he checked us in he informed us that there would be a Gumbo cook off at 5pm for $5.00 a head and a Christmas light boat parade soon following with fireworks after the parade, all at the marina and we had a perfect view from our slip. Man I was thrilled, more points banked for the next grounding! I had 4 small bowls of the various gumbo's and the Admiral tasted three. I could write a whole posting on just the incredible food!

We are holding in Matagorda for an extra day to let a major front pass through. We should be able to leave early am for Freeport then on to Galveston...Maybe Offetts Bayou if the weather remains good.

November- Down to the Nitty Gritty

The realities or practical details of a matter. (1952 )

Humm...I guess this will do. I guess "Nitty Gritty" is an individual thing. My definition is based on the Idea " Down to the Nitty Gritty". Well what do you leave to do last? I leave the most unfavorable thing to Me to do last. The Admiral has asked me to take care of a few things that would definitely make the boat better but they were not issues concerning safety or Fun! Since I had taken care of all the things I was concerned with I decided to tackle those less pleasant task just for the Admiral. The Nitty Gritty. After all it is much better to do this stuff in a familiar town where you have a car and know where to go to get the stuff you need to get it fixed.

November has been a non stop effort to address the 23 items found in Mike Firestone's Survey.
Each of the items were relatively inexpensive to accomplish individually but when you add it all up it has been the most expensive month especially when you add in the provisioning to go cruising with the Admiral. Wandr'in Star is loaded down and I joked with my dockmates we would be cruising a submarine that is Sloop rigged. I reminded the Admiral that we would not be leaving the US for the 1st year.....but I think she talked to a few previous cruising Admirals who each had their own suggestion of what to bring along.

Well Guess what, it is ok that we will burn a little extra diesel or go a sail a little slower...We are Going. If you happen to be one of our friends or family and can join us along the way please pack small...and you will be sleeping in the Salon since the V-berth is full of everything we need to do an Atlantic crossing.
Thanks to Dean and Aleta on S/V Adagio who made a recent cruise to and from New Orleans, we have a wealth of knowledge to begin our cruise. We learned that Skipper Bob's is the goto cruising guide. ActiveCaptin is essential to have on the Ipad for local information. SeaClear II is an essential for the laptop since you can download the most current NOAA Raster charts and do all your route planning. We have all of our electronics and backups up to date.
We also got a debriefing from Steve and Carol who made the trip on their Defeavor 44 and are now is Carrabel Florida. They drove back to CC for Dr. visits and celebrated with us in a little Bon Voyage party Wendy & Randy hosted for us. Man ... it is time to go, We hope to Go Wednesday but weather will tell. It will be all ICW to New Orleans, then after getting fat there we will move to Mobile Bay and eventually move slowly about around can Florida to the East Coast.
If you have our email let me know if you would like a link to our Spot. Or you can just find us on Facebook and Spot will update there. To busy to post pics on this post....see you on the GICW.

October...Chaos Toward Orginization

Checkin off the list....plenty left to do

September was the calm before the storm....The Admiral & I were enjoying Port A and Corpus, completing perhaps 1 small project per day. Then October. October really began with a week in Austin to visit all our children, grand children, brother, sister...A great week of fun where being with the entire family was actually relaxing, fun, and memorable. Then back to the boat where preparations to depart heightened to incredible levels where everyday was spent checking off the list, writing new list, trying to determine what were the most important things to accomplish before departing since we knew we could not get it all done and would have to deal with the small stuff along the way. This transition #2 seemed to be just as big as getting out of Austin, but I knew it couldn't be all that. I had to stop and admire those that just sold everything moved immediately on the boat, spent 1 year getting ready to go, entirely focused on the dream, and took off. We accepted the distractions and found several things to take us away from just getting the boat ready to go. Birding, the Bay Yacht Club, Racing, go off on short cruising spots around Corpus Christi Bay. Of course we completed much needed work on Wand'rin Star during this time but the distractions persisted. After the mini family reunion I chaotically selected those projects from the list that I felt I could muster each day the last couple of weeks of October. This system now has many projects complete or in process and now I am able to actually organize the remaining list to those things I want to absolutely achieve before we wait Corpus. Little did I know that the last three months prior to departure would be among the most expensive.

The Admiral is up visiting her parents this week so I can tear into two areas without worry of keeping the interior in perfect living condition. After these two projects are complete, about 2 days worth I can begin to concentrate on planning the navigation to New Orleans and beyond. All of our electronics are now updated with charts, our new Ipad is ready to go with all the necessary apps for navigation, AIS, Marine info, weather, tides/currents...what a great back up device! There are few pics for this post as the LIST has been central to everyday in October. Thanks to our friends who have done this trip before us in providing things to do and not to do...and I am sure we will find plenty of those along the way. Oh I forgot to mention...I crewed for Apotheker again this year for the 2011 Harvest Moon Regatta....more on that in the next post. Thanksgiving weekend is our agreed upon departure date. Weather of course will determine the exact day....we will leave on the Heels of a front to get 3-4 days of good sailing in up front.

The Mike Firestone Survey

This is just one of the discoveries, Mike pointed out that the anchor locker hatch had been cut into 2 sections and the forward section was glassed in to support the windlass. I had assumed this was the way it was from the builder, he also mentioned I need to install backing plates on the hatch hinges.

Look at that mast, One of the things I take pride in is tuning the mast to perfection.

A bottom up look at the mast. Finely Tuned.

The Masthead
Mike inspected the Standing rigging from the masthead down. Here you can see the Raymarine anometer and wind direction instrument, the VHF antenna, The LED tricolor navigation light, and the visual wind index. The little wire brush you see sticking up is supposed to be a lightening ground system but it's effectiveness is questionable at best.

Mike inspected every chainplate from top to bottom and yanked on it to make sure all was secure.

I was glad to learn that our auto pilot was connected to the rudder post independent of the quardrant. This is important in the event of a quardrant or wheel steering failure, then the auto pilot can be used as a first back up system before the need to use the emergancy tiller.

When we were having Wand'rin Star decommissioned in Port Townsend, WA. for the trip back to Texas there was this boat being hauled out in front of us. There were two thirty something females with an awesome ocean racer looking boat and the same surveyor we contracted with to survey Wand'rin Star. I saw Alain near the travel lift and hollard out to him. I told him thank you for helping us buy the boat. He acknowledged and continued with the survey of the ocean racer. I asked one of the women if they were having the boat surveyed for a pending purchase, and she said no, that they planned on taking the boat across the Pacific to Hawaii and they needed a survey for the trip for their insurance company. Also they wanted to make sure the boat was ready to make such a trip. I did not forget this as it made complete sense to me to have a qualified professional to objectively survey a vessel prior to tossing off the lines to go anywhere long distance.

We have had thousand of dollars of upgrades and maintenance in the last three years to prepare Wand'rin Star to go cruising. The Admiral & I have discussed several times the need to have an updated survey for Wand'rin Star to get the insured value closer to our investment. I knew this would be important prior to departing on our cruise. I did not expect to learn much new about our boat during the survey due to working on the boat for the last 3 years and being so involved in the maintenance and upgrades.

Since it was time to have the boat hauled for a bottom job I knew it was the right time to hire a surveyor. I called Mike Firestone, he is the most respected surveyor in the Coastal Bend. He is the guy you want if you need a complete report on the condition of your boat but he is not the guy to call if you are selling your boat!

Mike helped us immediately identify a problem with our rudder during haul out and made suggestions working with our insurance company Boat US. He spent several hours inspecting the hull throughout and assisted in directing the repairs to the rudder. The result was complete confidence in the repairs and the out of the water work completed in preparation for the cruise.

A couple of weeks passed by before he could return to complete an in the water portion of the survey. Mike showed up at 0900 hours and did not stop till 17:30 hours. I stayed by his side all the way through the survey. He pointed out several things that I could not believe I had not noticed during my many projects. His attention to detail is incredible, he pointed out things that needed attention or correcting throughout this portion of the survey. I had a 1 1/2 pages of notes of issues that needed attention. All were relatively minor in terms of cost, mostly in labor, but at the same time much easier to correct prior to departing. Mike stated that we had done a very good job of preparing this boat for a cruise and he would not hesitate to take the vessel in it's currant condition across an ocean. It is difficult to explain how I felt at that moment to have my work validated by one of the most respected professionals on the Gulf Coast. The very next day I began addressing the list I compiled during his survey while simultaneously working on the 2 page list I had compiled to complete prior to departure.

The fact is, and your read it over and over again in the cruising and sailing magazines, you can never be 100% ready to cast off the lines...there is always something that needs attention. if you are going to go then go....fix it on the way. We are already there, the remaining time waiting for hurricane season to pass will be spent getting all the remaining small stuff done, and there will always be small and not so small stuff to attend to.....Paradise is not free

Below the Waterline

This is Matt, He takes care of everything below the waterline, and a few things above on the mast, he is the best in Corpus!

Here Wand'rin Star is lifted out of the water with the 15 Ton Travel Lift.
Here is the Starboard side showing the marine growth just 1 month after Matt cleaned the bottom.

This is after getting powered sprayed. You can see the paint was wearing and time for a bottom job.

The Endeavour 42 has a big keel, modified full keel with a cut away forefoot. The ballast is incapsulated in the keel. So the hull and the keel are all one piece. This is unlike a bolt on keel that is just a big piece of lead shaped into a keel and bolted on.

We discovered we had a crack extending about 14 inches up diagonally fron the rudder post.

And there was this crack at the top of the rudder right at the rudder post.

Here you can see how the Prop is full of barnacles.

The prop has been scrapped and cleaned ready for painting.

This is the line cutter we had installed when we re-commissioned the boat in Kemah. I wanted this after being out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico when one of the boats traveling with us had a big piece of line foul their propeller and the skipper had to jump in with a knife and cut it free so he could get his engine started.

This is a grounding plate on the bottom of the hull. A big copper cable runs from the top of the mast to this plate and supposedly if we got hit by lightening this grounding system would save our electronics.

Here we discovered the area sealife was having a bit of luch from this wood block spacer on the Garmin Sounding unit.

Here is the almost complete repair where Jimmy removed the wood and fiberglassed in a new spacer.

This is our Surveyor Mike Firestone inspecting the rudder damage. Jimmy drilled a couple of holes to expose the core to determine is there had been any water damage to the core.

This is a close up of the one of the 3/4" holes drilled into the rudder to inspect the core.

Here is the completed fiberglassed repair at the rudder post.

This is the other completed crack repair.

This is Jimmey's Son Enis putting on the finishing touches on the shaft and proeller.

The repair and bottom job is complete. ready to go back in the water.














Matt is the our goto guy for taking care of the below the waterline parts of Wand'rin Star. He cleans the bottom on a regular basis. The going rate for such work here in Corpus is $75 per cleaning. This is a bargain since it means I do not have to don a wet suit, get out my diving gear and spend a couple of hours doing this on my own in the murky water of the marina where we often have more than our share of jellyfish around. In the colder winter months you can go 3 to 4 months between cleaning but when the water warms up in the summer you need a cleaning every two months for sure. In the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest about every 6 months is normal. The paint on our bottom was due for a bottom job Matt told us just after cleaning the hull recently. I knew he was right and I purposely delayed hauling the boat out since we are near starting our cruise and I wanted to have the boat hauled out, re-surveyed, and bottom painted all at the same time. I went to almost every boat yard in the area checking prices and trying to guage the quality of work done in each yard. I asked several BYC members and got their recomendations. We finally setteled on have Jimmy Sanchez and his crew do the work at the Corpus Christi Mrina Yard. His estimated price of $1765 for the work was reasonable and many people in the area said they would only let Jimmy touch their boats. The only concern I had was their relatively small 15 Ton Travelift. Wand'rin Star weighs about 27,500 pounds loaded with water fuel and all our gear. That would leave a small margin for error on a well used rusty travel lift. We have been haul out 3 times before but with 40 ton or larger travel lifts so there was no concern. This time I emptied the water tanks to get 150 gallons of weight off and we hauled about 3 carloads of stuff off the boat since it would be in the high humidity and over 100 degree temperture for a week or longer.

The Rudder Damage

Right after having the boat hauled out Jimmy's crew power washed the bottom of the hull to remove all the marine growth of the last two months. This allowed a close up view to evaluate the condition of the fiberglass on the hull below the waterline. I was interested to see if any blisters had formed on the hull. To my surprise there were no significant blisters and that made me and my pocket book happy. Each blister can cost $35-$50 to repair depending on the size. The warm water of the Gulf seems to contribute to blisters. The hull on it's last bottom job was sanded down completely and a epoxy barrier coat put on before the bottom job so obviously this was very effective in protecting below the waterline. Then Jimmy got my attention as he was intently inspecting the rudder, his quick eyes from over 40 years of experience spoted two cracks in our rudder. Holy Cow!, this was going to not only cost alot of boat bucs but also had the potential to take weeks to fix. I immediately contacted Mike Firestone a Marine Surveyor I had contracted with to update our three year old marine survey. Then I started researching the internet to see what all is involved in buying a new rudder. Well a company in Florida could build us one for about $2500 and take about 2-3 weeks.

The Marine Survey

I wanted to get the boat re-surveyed so we could get the insured value up on the boat before departing on our cruise since we have done so much work on her. Mike Firestone is the most reputable of the surveyors in the area and he has already proved a valuable asset to us in this process. Mike Met the next morning first thing to begin the out of water portion of the survey and inspect the rudder damage. He said is was probably due to running aground so I recounted to him about the 3 times we had run aground in the ICW bringing the boat to Corpus. One of those groundings was a hard one and we were helped off by a passing Tow captain who just directed his props at us and shot lots of water at our stern helping us float off. Karen Glandt of Gulf Stream Marine suggested contacting our boat insurance and filing a claim. Mike then directed Jimmy to drill two holes in the rudder to see if there was any water in the rudder or any core damage. Fortuantely there was no water in the rudder and Mike determined the rudder did not need replacement, just a bit of fiberglass repair. This was a big relief as both the time and money of having a new rudder installed was weighing pretty heavy. Our Insurance Boat US came through in a big way and paid all of the yard bill except for our deductable. Jimmy gave the boat all of his attention and had the whole job done and back in the water in 5 days.We are now back aboard and I am making my have to do list before departing. I plan to get at least 1 task done everyday for the next 2 months so all we will need to leave is a few days of decent weather.