Monday, January 9, 2017

Ala Wai Chilling


 As typical for this time of the year, there is the Aloha Gym Fest, and to support our troops, we bring the guns, and the boat to Oahu for a few days.
With the engine slowly dying, and a windy marina it was a stressfull early morning.
Actually it has been quite a while since I sailed Traces, and I was up for a a busy morning, between winds shifting, fuel leaks and other enjoyments.

This was not the Vendee Globe, but quite sport for me. Wind direction was way more on the beam that you would expect, there was a lot of North in those NE Trades. Was there any E at all ?

A bit rough in Kaiwi Channel, 
even with "only" 20 knots of wind,
and 9 feets of swell 

Well, sailing the islands is always the same. Not enough wind. Too much wind. and always on the nose. Which convinced me that I really need this engine fixed :)

Arriving at night at Ala Wai, it was easy-peasy, glassy enough that the engine did not cry too much. 1000 rpm is the max I can expect at this point, and that ain't much.
I have unlimited Tow with BoatUS, just in case, and it has been a while since I used them.
No concern to get towed time to time. 
That's part of the sport. 

Chilling in glassy Ala Wai Harbor

Already working on some projects the day of the arrival. 
Bimini extension was not finished.
Dusted of my Boat Land ride. Cruise it,  baby.



I setup a few rules for this stay on Oahu.
I usually try to do too much, between the normal day of work, the boat and the rest.
I always start saying I am gonna hold a month and break down after few weeks, tired and upset.
This time, life balance will take precedence.
Few rules I am gonna try to enforce
   - Train every day like at home.
   - Work in good conditions - I just signed off for a full month at a coworking place that is awesome.
   - One Boat project at a time, time permitting - mostly late afternoon.
   - Take the time to do the groceries, and shop around
   - Go on some surfing trips during the week end that time.

For that, the actual projects I want to be tackled are actually few :
   - Emergency items (Fuel & Transmission leaks, etc...)
   - Bottom paint at the end of month
   - Windlass electrical
   - 2nd Solar Panel setup
   - Safety for the liferaft
   - Engine Fuel Pump

The rest can wait.
That's the theory.
Let's see how that hold up.

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