Down for the count

     We made it safely to Port Townsend--actually we've been here a little over a week. I have to say that I like Port Townsend. Kyrie is docked in Boat Haven, right in the midst of the boatyard and all the marine facilities, so it's a busy place, especially because we are docked right next to the work piers where boats lifted out and returned to the water via travel lift. I am rather grateful we have avoided the necessity of Kyrie coming out of the water this time. After a week of boatyard work already while living aboard, I would dearly love to put off doing that again as long as absolutely possible!

      On Monday, Justin from Port Townsend Rigging came down to do the inspection of our rig. We knew there could be a fair bit of work that needed to be done, and we hoped there would be a way to do it without needing the mast to come off, but that wasn't to be, all because of one little pin that was both too long and severely undersized for the hole. See the bend in that pin? There is also pitting that may not be visible in the photo. That little pin was connecting both of our backstays to the top of the mast and it was just a matter of time before the pressure was too much and it gave way. With that (along with a few other smaller issues) in mind, there was no question about taking the mast down.

Kyrie at the work dock - the mast in the air!

     The mast came down Wednesday the 7th without incident. We motored Kyrie over to the work pier, the crane pulled alongside, and once the strap was firmly wrapped around the spreaders, Joe and Justin went to work unfastening all the stays. I helped steady the base of the mast once it was released from the tabernacle and the whole thing--mast, rigging and both stays for the sails--came free. Between the three of us, as well as the crane operator, Kyrie's mast moved smoothly to its cradle and was ready for a walk over to the rigging shop.

       Joe's grandparents showed up while we were walking the mast, so we got to spend some time with them. The next day, after Joe spent some time stripping the mast down, they loaded the five of us up in their RV and drove us over to Sequim for one of the biggest Costco runs I think we have ever done. At least during our original provisioning, we were able to split the shopping trips up. This was everything we needed at Costco in one fell swoop. Ouch, but necessary.
        The real "ouch but necessary" moment came the next day. Joe was cleaning up the chainplates when he noticed a problem. The starboard cap shroud chainplate had a big crack--close to halfway through to the clevis pin that held the capshroud to the chainplate. There was no way to see it while the rigging was still in place, so if we hadn't had to remove everything, we may not have known until it fully broke.... Joe went on to find less severe cracking in three of the eight other chainplates and mushrooming in the forestay's chainplate. These problems were almost all caused by the clevis pins being too small--something that will be remedied in this rerig!

The chainplate that was here
is the first one Joe noticed
was cracked.

         Ugh. In times of feeling sorry for ourselves, I feel like we're hemorrhaging money, but then I quickly come to my senses and remind myself of a few things. First, regardless, we made it safely this far. We've come over 700 miles from Juneau already. Some people don't ever journey that far from their homeport! Second, if all these problems had to emerge, Port Townsend is a great place to get all that work done and everything fixed. As I already said, there are so many marine facilities right around Boat Haven itself and anything we have to order can be shipped here fairly quickly. We are in the Lower 48 now, after all! Last, but not least, I'd much rather have all this to deal with right now, while we're still at the beginning of our adventure, while we're still fresh and excited about travel, and still have money to spend on fixing everything! Moreover, we can do one of the more demanding parts of the journey, and the one we're currently the most nervous about--the Pacific coast--knowing the entire standing rig is brand new. See? Perspective is important!
           So, Joe and I spent yesterday spinning Kyrie around at the dock in order to have the easiest time possible removing the chainplates on the starboard side, as well as the ones for the forestay and the yankee--five of the eight we need to replace. We need to remove the ones on the port side still, but today, as I type this, it is raining, so we are having a much-needed forced day of rest. So far, we've had a lazy morning with breakfast, an episode of Knight Rider, and attempts at playing the recorder and ukulele. Joe is off to the hardware store across the street from the boatyard to hopefully find a screen for our door and the kids are either reading or playing on the tablets. After a good solid week of either working on the boat, or walking all over Port Townsend, it was past time for a more restful day.

Poor naked Kyrie - No mast!

           Ha! Rather fitting that Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" just came on the Slacker Radio station we're listening to. The work will get done and we'll be able to move on. There is no reason to stress ourselves and each other out (adults and kids alike!) by fixating on these issues. After all, cruising is boat repair in exotic locations. We started this adventure for the life experiences it would provide us with--good and bad. Kyrie is down for the count at the moment, but she'll be back and better than ever by the time we're done with this round of repairs.