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Published: January 11th 2010
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Tsamaya under cover
Tsamaya made it into the covered barn at Beacon Bay - will be nice for working on this winter. And yes, it was not moved in with that our pickup thank goodness or it would have been the death of it! We know it has been awhile since our last entry, however, things definitely slowed down with the boat with the onset of cold winter weather. Tsamaya did get moved into a shed as we had wanted but unfortunately it doesn’t have a door as they couldn’t get her in to that one! It shouldn’t be a problem as will still have protection from most of the elements. We went up a couple of times to be sure the winterization was done and to cover it in plastic to protect from the birds and/or animals. We had the marina take the mast off the boat and put it on stands so we can work on it at ground level. We spent time taking the lines out of the mast so we can do a full inspection of the mast and replace the lines.
Work then moved to the house as had some wallboard work to do. Bob got some of that done before the holidays and will have to finish it in the new year so we can move onto painting. We (this means Janice really) have made a list of all the projects that need to be completed on the
Replacing the halyards in mast
Bob is replacing the halyards with thin nylon line so we can easily install the replacement halyards when we get them house before we can put it on the market so we can feel some sense of accomplishment when we cross them off!
Had a very nice Christmas with both sides of the family. It was great getting to see everyone as not sure when that will happen again once we set sail. This year was also special in putting up our own tree as we have so many great decorations that we have received from friends and family as well as from our travels over the years. Will take a few with us to help us celebrate on the boat next year, but many will have to be packed up and left in storage so it was great getting them all out this year.
Bob only has 15 days left of work before his official retirement date. Just went to his last BOCES principal’s meeting. Bob was reminded once again about the parts of his job that he is going to miss. This monthly meeting of like minded individuals is always filled with thought-provoking conversations (as well as a few laughs) related to improving education in our schools. He was blown away by a gift from his colleagues
Our Christmas tree
We loaded the tree this year with all of the ornaments that we have received over the years from family and friends and from our numerous trips of a Kindle (e-book reader) -what an incredibly appropriate gift from such a group of dedicated educators. Such kindness and generosity will never be forgotten.
So, what do you do to get prepared in the winter? Take courses and travel of course! There is a sailboat show in Miami in February so decided to head down to that. We are going to take it slower and actually drive down. Now that we don’t have the school calendar to worry about we can do this! What a freeing experience to not be tied to a schedule except the one that you place on yourself. We have a 6 man liferaft that has to be inspected so doing that on the way down in Charleston. We also will take the opportunity to visit our very good friends, Joe & Meredith in Hilton Head which we are looking forward to. While at the show we have signed up for a 2 day intensive weather course with the well -known (well-known to sailors anyway), Lee Chesneau. That will still leave us 2 days to “shop” for those things still on our “must have” list. After the show we are going to Ft. Myers
Sailor under the tree
Sailor decided she needed to get in the spirit as well and stayed under the tree where the packages should go-luckily she didn't want to climb this indoor tree to visit other friends from the TYC (on Cayuga Lake) sailing group, Jim and Judy which will be fun. Planning on taking about 2 weeks for the trip which will be great but then will have to buckle down again on the house as we are hoping to put it on the market sometime in March.
Another course we are taking is a 3 day diesel maintenance class in MA in March. We get a chance to work on the same type of engine that is in Tsamaya. They will have one with a problem that we will have to diagnose and fix which will definitely be more of a challenge for Janice but looking forward to it. This will definitely put her mind more at ease and that is what will make it easier to finally cut the lines and go! Not that Bob won’t be there to do the majority of the engine work, but having a better understanding will be helpful.
Still more learning and testing to do - we have our first level of ham radio license but we need to have the 2nd level so starting to study for that exam. Needless to say, there is plenty to learn!
We also just set ourselves up with a Skype account (if you haven’t heard of it check it out as you can make video phone calls for free) so we can see family/friends back home when we have a chance. Did our first test call last week and it works great! Can’t beat the price of free as long as you have wi-fi. Bob has also been talking to the Middle School Principal and it is our hope that starting in September that we will be able to hook up with the MS daily forum sharing our travels with the middle school students at South Seneca.
As you can see we will be busy this winter but not much in the way of interesting travel/sailing photos. Will get more interesting as it gets into warmer weather, but will try to keep up with a few updates as there is “news”.
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Chris Ashdown
non-member comment
Bittersweet congratulations, Bob!
As a child of two educators, I know about the "family" you leave behind when you retire, but I'm happy to say, as with any family, as you know, they will always be there for you. I'm so excited for both of you and look forward to what retirement and your travels bring.