Finisterra becoming ours

We have owned Finisterra now for over 5 months, and she is slowly transforming into our boat.  We traded the in-mast furling for a new mast with a classic main, added a larger Rocna anchor, and reviewed the various items which need updating.  Such as: autopilot, instruments, storage, windlass, SSB, canvas, solar panels, dinghy...  After looking at our fine print, two page list, it appears we may not complete it.  But, we'll give it a go.  Our older dinghy was sold in 2 days on Craigslist, and now we're hunting for a RIB replacement.  The fiberglass bottom should hold up to coral reefs better than an air floor.   The boat also has an older spinnaker in a sock which we flew earlier this fall, really nice to have. I guess it's a little large for our purposes, so we may add a smaller one to the sail inventory.  We also added a stack pack and track for the main sail which makes it quite easily doused in windy conditions. 
  On the happier side, we did manage to sail to the Isthmus awhile back, with excellent wind, sun and lovely weather overall.  On the return trip we ran into a fog bank which lasted the entire trip, allowing us to learn about the radar, and how wonderful it is to have!  We played with the various blips on the screen by searching them out to find out exactly what we were looking at.  Good to know that sailboats put out a small one, freighters a large one, and the blips are reliable.  On Honcho we managed without radar, and thankfully lived to tell about it.  On our future travels it will be nice to have some fore-knowledge of what's ahead, or behind. 



Finisterra pre-new mast at Emerald Bay.

   I've been kept busy with sanding and sealing the teak toe rails, and learning how to cycle the water maker so it stays fresh.  As Leif is so busy with the heavy lifting jobs, it's the least I can do to learn the basics of some of the systems on the boat.  I'm also head boat washer and stainless cleaner. 



The new stack pack being measured and installed.

Meet the new ride- "Finisterra"

After selling Honcho, I figured we'd be boatless for quite awhile... not so.  As it turns out, we had an idea of which boat and model we liked and began looking online.  Then we travelled to San Rafael, Ventura, and San Diego to find the perfect one for us.  We thought we found the cleanest, nicest one in San Rafael, and were about to sign on the dotted line, when... a fellow two docks over from where we had Honcho called us and said he'd like to sell his Beneteau 423! 
   We knew the boat, had stopped by to chat with the owner awhile back asking him if we could look at his boat as we were interested in buying one.  He took our number, and lo and behold, he called just in the nick of time.  It was formerly called " The Cat's Meow", and was covered with cute little stick on cat's paws.  Needless to say, they have been Leif's first job, removing them.  The boat is pristine, lovingly cared for by her owner and not sailed much.  I'm not a fan of green, but she has green canvas and it's in fairly good shape, so it stays for awhile.  The boat is well equipped, 8 gal. per hour water maker, tank less water heater, radar, sonar, deck wash down hose, aft shower, hot and cold, two heads, front loading refrigerator and freezer, and of course a lovely settee that will hold several couples for parties!  I can't believe our luck, it's just perfect... well sort of.
   Leif doesn't like a roller furling main, so we are getting rid of the mast, purchasing a new one with the classic main that will drop into a stack pack.  We'll keep the roller furler on the head sail. 

   So, off we go again!!!  It will take awhile to sort out the boat, but we already have plans for Catalina for the 4th of July.  Not the best time to go, but we had a great time last year with the small crowds, so we're looking forward to learning more about the Finisterra.

Name Change??

I guess my blog will need a name change soon, as the Honcho was just sold and is moving to her new home in Canada!  What a well travelled boat, from Texas, California, Mexico, and now Canada.  She is a great boat, and I'm a bit sad to say goodbye, but... now on to a larger home on the water.  More to come soon, as things progress.

Life in California

Here we are, still freezing in sunny southern California.  The irony of it all is that we had hoped to do some skiing this winter up at Mammoth, and lo and behold, they have the least snow in years.  Honcho is looking spectacular still, all cleaned up and pristine.  It's tough to go down there and not feel like we can relax and enjoy her, for fear of needing to clean when we leave.  We have sailed a few times, and had some great harbor cruises under power just to get out on the water again.  Hopefully the temperatures will warm up just a little so we can go to Isthmus and enjoy hiking soon.  Such a great boat, such fun to sail and relax aboard.  Many of our friends are headed south from Mexico, and it would be great to have joined them... that's in our future plans.