More Great Improvements

A few months ago we had a roll of metal tape get dropped from the top of the mast. When it landed on the hatch, the glass was destroyed but stayed intact. Instead of replacing the glass in it, we decided instead to turn it into a helm station. Now that it is complete, it has plexiglass in the front of all the navigation equipment, is protected from the weather, and can be easily viewed by the helmsman.

The library has had the bookshelves for a while now, but the cabinetry was desperately needed.

The storage cabinet for whomever is residing in the library.

The bottom of this cabinetry was to cover the back of the sink installed in the bathroom. Then Tamer decided to turn the upper portion into more book shelves for paperbacks. It serves as our little lending library that we trade out of whenever we find places ashore to do so.

YAH!!!! I was so excited to have the fuel system enclosed in a cabinet. It was all out in the open in the starboard aft corner of the salon and looked really messy. Thanks Baby!!

Then the little door on the right covers up the electrical panel and our 12 volt charging system. Very clever, eh??

More Refit (We Will Never Get Bored!)

The start of the new paint system on the deck area. Because Tamer was in Alaska, and I was working continuously, I do not have any pictures of the work in progress :-) So you will just have to have all the finished ones!

Tamer sanded down and applied linseed oil to the helm seat and steering wheel right before the Schooner Race (post coming soon).

The paint still needs to be finished on the aft deck, but this was to highlight the new paint job on the deck box and the freezer.

The sand is more of a highlight color and then the non-skid is a new shade of almond.

I am super proud of how everything turned out. I have been visualizing a "finished deck" for years!

Starboard....

When we get down into warmer climate, I will be trimming out the windows and hatches with a black stripe. I think it will be the 'Icing'...

There were a lot of a reason the deck that required a few coats of fairing compound to fill the pitting. The above picture is the 'before'.

'After'

Valin ~ Sanding away on the deck.

Raoul and Valin re-coating the very forward area of the ship.

Raoul's Urbanna Project was to grind and sand the bilges in the aft cabin. They were never finished while we were at Glade's. I did not take near enough pictures of his accomplishments during this project. This is the area furthest forward in the aft cabin under the existing floor. The area under our bed was probably 10 times more work than this area.

More before

Here is Blayde laying inside the area and vacuuming (one of many times).

This is Raoul the contortionist applying the final coat of paint. I did not get any finished pictures before the area was re-stowed full of stuff. Rest assured that now there is no rust, and only a shiny new finished coat of Amerlock.

A big thank you goes out to Raoul for taking on this difficult project!

Washington DC ~October 3rd - 7th

Life On Land

Valin really enjoyed swimming with Rupert and playing on the beach.

One night Drake sat with an older gentleman fishing off the bridge for about 3 hours. When he returned to the boat, he had a bag with 7 fish, and an eel. Now first of all, I am not really keen on cleaning fish, but to support his bringing home dinner, I did it with a smile. BUT, when I got to the bottom of the plastic bag and was left with the eel, I had to draw the line! I think the boys will make fun of me for years to come regarding my reaction to it getting out and trying to get down the drain. While I stood tot he side and screamed like a baby, they got it outside and threw it overboard. The funny thing is that while I was retelling the story to the crew on P'tit Louis, they were shocked that I had not offered it to them, as they LOVE eel and even know how to clean and prepare it. Next time for sure :-)

A cute, funny picture of Casey... She was visiting family in Urbanna and became the boys' adopted sister for a couple weeks in August. We miss you!

Free Spirit intentionally grounded so that Tamer and Paul could use the hookah and clean the bottom of the boat. Being in this shallow of water allowed them to walk around most of the boat instead of diving. This little spit was across from the marina, and the boys would row the inflatable over there to play on the beach sometimes.

A self portrait of Daniel, Valin and Elizabeth.

A nice family picture of Patric, Katrine and Rupert walking the dock.

Dock Parties & New Friends

Blayde and their friend Daniel, playing on the boys' private beach in front of the marina building. This area provided and uncountable amount of hours of fun for the boys during our stay.

Sean coming in from a quick ride out on Jason's Kayak. I was really hoping for a 'water shot', but unfortunately he did not fall in! :-)

On the left is Riann with her and Sean's son Ryhs. Then to the left is Nathalie and Katrine. Sean and Riann became quick and lasting friends while we were in Urbanna. I will miss so many people that touched our lives here.

Our front yard, thanks Dianne! At the end of the dock is Gary and his wife Nell, Tamer, and then Dave and Leslie.

Blayde, Daniel, Drake, Valin and Elizabeth having a swimming party on the boat.

Amy & Jeannie.

Daniel, who is Elizabeth's brother, are Dave and Leslie's kids. Here he is taking a wild leap off the side of Free Spirit. The boys were swimming in the River here at least twice a day. It was just part of the daily routine.

Elizabeth :-) My constant bearer of gifts... Every time she would come to the boat, she would bring me a beautiful present!

Gary and Nell Thimson.... These wonderful folks are always welcome as guests aboard Free Spirit. They both constantly went above and beyond to help us make our stay more comfortable. Anywhere from rides, to bags of clothes for all of us, to our weekly bags of bagels & dough nuts.

There are more of you that are not pictured here, but you know who you are :-) A big heartfelt thanks to all of our new friends for making us feel so welcome and at home during our stay.