New Spreader Boots and Boom topping lift

 It was time to replace my spreader boots and the old ones literally fell apart in my hands when I touched them. It's a bit of a pain to get the new ones on as they are just at my arms reach, even with the mast steps. 

Nice and new

Also replaced the boom topping lift out of an abundance of caution. The prior dyneema lift was almost 15 years old so I replaced it. Cheap and easy. New dyneema line and an excuse to go up the mast. 

The short so long

 A weekend get away is so short, and as I've said many times here, can feel so wonderfully long. Amy and I got away to Stuart Island for a mere weekend. We had calm winds and lovely weather and so motored up to Prevost Harbor for a bit more of an "away" feel than Reid. It was perfect. 

We dropped away from the crowd near the County Dock and walked out to the Tun Pt. Lighthouse on Saturday. Always a treat. 

This beautiful beast crossed our path--what a sight

Worth noting for any new to traveling these waters that there is a lot of local knowledge involved when it comes to the precise actions of the currents. Especially around Spieden Island. You have to give it a wide berth to avoid getting stuck in very powerful currents if there is either a strong ebb or flood, depending on which direction you are going. In our case, in summer, it is ebbing during the day and so we had to avoid Spieden as we headed north since it has a fast current trying to flush you out to Haro Straits. Doing this little avoidance, you can then get help along the shores of Stuart and Satellite, as the ebb is forced to turn north here to go around Turn Point. On this particular journey, I was able to average a pretty solid 5.X knots overall. 

Turn Point area

Such a gorgeous thing to behold

Morning visitors! Three species of Swallows-Violet Green, Cliff and Barn were all present on our lifelines. 

What to say? 

There is nothing like an escape up into the islands, as far north as you have time to go, to refresh and restore. 

More little things

 Was aboard this weekend to do a number of small projects, and over the years it's the small projects that add up to make a wonderfully safe and comfortable boat to journey aboard. One of the simplest and most important updates for our happiness was finally getting around to replacing the old cigarette lighter fixture on the electrical panel with a dedicated USB charging unit. For these many years, we've used a USB insert into the cigarette lighter unit and it consistently failed to maintain contact and would stop charging. 

What a little thing! And yet, now we have two USB charging outlets on this unit and no more fiddling with the cigarette lighter connection. 

About time! 

I also: 

• Replaced all the fender lines with double braided, having used 3 strand forever. Much easier to work with! 
• Reinstalled Mantus anchor as I had taken it home to rezinc some areas that had chipped and become rusty. 
• Added distilled water to all 5 lead acid batteries aboard. Never, ever forget to do this on a regular basis. 
• Treated the dodger with waterproofing liquid. 
• Greased the port side Lewmar winch with Green Grease. 
• Cleaned the top sides. 
• Installed a new towel hook in the head to replace an old knob that once held the shower head that we have never and will never use. 
• Replaced the oil absorbing roll in the bilge. Old one wasn't too oily but just gets stinky and nasty with accumulated detritus that gravity takes down there. 
• Took the fire extinguisher home to get the annual recertification. 

I think I did a few other things, but this is enough to give you an idea of what I did in only one day. The life of a boat captain who does his own maintenance. 

Aeolus is in such great shape. I could literally throw some food aboard and leave for a Vancouver Island circumnavigation tomorrow, and believe me I'm tempted.