Sea Trials Complete And Ready To Go

After two years of not leaving the dock with Ryen's Quest, today we had two great trips out into the harbour. She wanted badly to head toward the mouth of the harbour and seek out warmer climates I am sure.

Many members from the club have come by to wish us well as we get closer to the departure date. After Friday, the boat will be leaving as soon as we get a good weather window from Chris. Thank you to all of you who have come over, we appreciate your kind words and best wishes very much.

While on the topic of thanking folks, we must take this time to thank all those contractors who, without their expertise, we would never have been able to have the boat ready to go.

• Bill Pierce of A + DC Electric, our marine electrician, was here every time we needed him. Even showing up in his swimming trunks on a late Friday afternoon. Thank you, thank you!
• Ken Knickle, was the best of the best in tearing down our diesel and finding a lot of things that required maintenance. A great savings for us, not having to buy a new engine. Thank you Ken.
• To Jim Newell, of Life Line Marine, who has been here so often, we think of him as family. The work he did on the boat which included the complete overhaul of the plumbing, instrumentation installation, and all the other things he agreed to do for us. We love you Jim!
• Joe Miller, the carpenter, never gave up on the hatch installations, even after several do-overs in the sweltering heat we had in August. Can't find any better guy than Joe...thanks buddy for everything.
• Eugene, Brian, and Joe, from CMC Electronics, installed and repaired our remaining electronics and now we have a wonderful, efficient, and running auto-pilot. Leaving us with the confidence in knowing that the equipment will work and do their job for some time to come.
• Thanks to Signs Now for our new name "RYEN'S QUEST"on our transom. We love it!
• To Wayne Blundell from the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, thank you for allowing us and Atlantic Industrial Cleaners, in particular Al Cox, for permitting us to use your dock for this job.
• To Marie-Lise Sakkal, from Stratos, for her assistance and Kerissa Mott at Sat Works for their help with our satellite phone and data package. Great friends!
• Paul Moir, thank you so much for getting the outboard motors to work. Now I have to learn how to drive them. Thanks, I really mean it.
• Kevin, did bang up job getting us new upholstery in our saloon, we love it!
• Shelley, thanks for the keys to your place to do laundry and just hang out to watch the shopping channel and an occasional over-night. You have no idea what a great escape this was for me. Much love and future happiness!
• Hats off to Curtis at Millennium Sheet Metal. We love our custom sink, and it seems everyone else does too!
• A huge thank you to Dan Gallina,and staff of the Dartmouth Yacht Club, and especially the summer students who often helped me lug provisions to the boat when I could not do it myself. They are good kids!
• Bill and Pascal with Amphibian Boats thank you for an amazing job taking our tender from bleak to chic! It's better than we could have imagined.
• Thank you to my brothers, Gerard and J.J. and their wives for opening their homes to me while I wait out the time until I can join Al in Bermuda. And to my children, Dana, Corey, and Emily thank you for your support and patience while I explore some of the wonders of this world. You are each my favourite!!
• And, last but not least, Brad and Louise, who help us out in countless ways. We value your friendship and extend an open invitation to you both aboard Ryen's Quest.

There may be other folks that I have missed here; but they are in no way forgotten. Many people have played a major role in getting us to this point as we begin our journey with the sea.

We are really beginning to feel the fatigue and stress of getting this show on the road; however, we also see the faintest light at the end of the tunnel. Soon we will be able to suck back and begin to enjoy this time so fondly referred to as "retirement".

Debutante Debut - Nearly

After more than 18 months of primping, our lady Ryen's Quest is ready for her debut. She is now proudly sporting her new threads, in the way of stackpacks and sails, a boatload of new equipment on deck, including anchors, chain, lines, deck repair work, new plumbing, electrical, electronics, enclosure....wow, the list goes on and on. I don't even want to re-visit that in my thoughts ever again. And, as anyone knows, it ain't cheap. But, to us, it has been worth the four miserable months living aboard in weather conditions making it illegal to turn a dog out. Bright side? Two more weeks and this debutante will be heading south to be our home away.

So what if it rains everyday, for an hour? So what if the wind speeds are 20 knots of tropical breeze? So what if there isn't any snow.? So what if we have to learn to do nothing? So what if we have to sail our boat in crystal blue waters? So what if people call us ex-pats? So what if we learn to eat fusion food? So what if the lush, incredibly beautiful countryside finds our nature lover side? So what if people fall in love again? So what?

The First Three Didn't Hurt. OUCH!!

It truly is amazing what an impossible deadline does to people. Especially me. So I ask, why did I wait until today to get my immunization shots? And more to the point, did I really need them at all? Whatever the answers, I now have bragging rights to and ownership of a little booklet with the shots all neatly stamped, plus the often sought after "Internationally Recognized Yellow Fever" add-on to my passport. Let's see...I'm covered for yellow fever, malaria, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis diseases, cholera, and the dreaded TD (Traveller's Diarrhea, aka Montezuma's Revenge). Y'all know what I'm referring to. It's not all paradise. I digress!

So it's early morning, around 0930 hours, the nurse did a bang-up job explaining everything to me. I understood nothing. Under other circumstances I might consider her as a friend. But she was shifty too. While I was at another work station paying for this health care, Mary (not her real name) arranged the vials of active deadly bacteria (her words, not mine) on a sterile sheet. When I returned, she was rather insistent that I sit in the big comfy, blue chair; however, the hard upholstered chair I had been using was quite all right. She was most interested in what "handed" I was. Something was up, but I have never been accused of being the brightest candle on the cake. The first needle was wayyy too easy! Ha! Gimme another one just like the other one! The second one wasn't so bad either. It was at this juncture that I seriously questioned what infants really had to cry about. Needles really didn't hurt! Hardly a butterfly kiss, I thought. It wasn't like in the "old days" when a needle looked more like a spike than anything else. As my mind drifted to visions of sandy beaches, sunny days, and crying babies, Mary, the kindly nurse, drifted to my other side. My "right handed" side. What happened next should not be read by the faint of heart.

I felt her hands, cold, grip the muscle of my right arm. Her knees locked into position, and given her position I knew her feet were well planted into the cement floor hidden beneath the cheap government issue carpet. She threw her arm back and before I could yell "Jimmy cracked corn", she brought her arm forward with enough G force to shame a jet fighter plane. I know I screamed, but I heard nothing. My eyes rolled back into my head, my brain was mush, and I could feel my sweat-drenched body melt into the big comfy, blue chair. The only thing keeping my head from hitting the floor was the foot rest of the dungeon queen's torture chair. The spit of the deadly virus charged through my veins like liquid fire. I was grateful for the small gasps of air my lungs took in to keep me alive. I vowed silently to track the beast who puts my child's child through this hell on earth today or any day in my future.

Quietly, the b**** Mary said, these needles werent as comfortable as the new ones brought in, and wondered if I would be returning for the Swine Flu or Seasonal Flue shot. The question required no response. I can only be glad that the health care system is using what remains of the circa 1950's needles on us Oldtimers.

My next appointment is in two weeks! :)