1. Preparing for the ICW

We have bottom work to do on Foxglove, our 1982 Pearson 323, this last weekend of June 2009. I also plan to mount wooden steps on our boarding ladder so that wife Mandy and I can more easily board the boat after a swim or a fall.

After repacking of the stuffing box Monday morning we hope to be launced before noon. We'll probably anchor for a couple night in the Wye River on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. After a couple days of shakedown to learn how many amphours we really have and how long the batteries last with the usual appliances running we will formulate a plan to either replace the four group 27 wet cells with all new or buy new Trojan T-105s.

The engine and transmission have been rebuilt in the past three years so we should be good mechanically. I've purchased a few extras that I will be adding in the weeks following launch.

For the remainder of the summer we plan to take three individual weeks off from our jobs as as a perfusionist (me - I operate the heart lung machine) and nurse (Mandy) to sail and test the boat for our first winter cruise of the Southern waters and possibly the Bahamas.

Obviously, we are quitting our jobs-- in fact, I'm retiring.