Sea and Ski some more

On Thursday, April 14th, we went to the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show at Jack London Square in Oakland. The real reason we went was to listen to Larry Jacobson's talk. Larry talked about his circumnavigation aka around the world in 2070 days. It was also an opportunity to show off his book, The Boy Behind the Gate, about the trip. In addition to the talk we walked around the show and made a few purchases, such as cup holders that fit on the top of our winches in the cockput and a counterpoise for our single side band radio. Since the next America's Cup will be held in San Francisco Bay, they had the actual America's Cup on display, guarded by two gentlemen, in black suits, white shirts, dark ties, with little earphones similar to what the Secret Service wear (at least in movies). Rich and I each posed beside the Cup and we took pictures. The MIB's did not smile.

Friday afternoon, Pete and Sue, of SV Kiapa, picked us up and we drove to their cabin at Bear Valley. There is so much snow we had to ride on snowmobiles to get to the cabin. It was a fun experience to ride through the snow in the light of the full moon.

Saturday morning we drove to the village, again on snowmobile so Rich and I could rent ski equipment before taking the bus up to the ski area. The skies were clear, the sun was out and it was warm. Pete wore shorts and a Giants shirt for snowboarding. Rich was in long underwear and shorts. I was in fleece pants and jacket and way too over dressed and hot! Sue led us over various runs on the front and back sides of the ski area. Spring skiing, plenty of sun, nice, deep snow, you can't beat it.

In the afternoon they had pond skimming which was fun to watch. At the bottom of a long steep straightaway, they built a long pond about 15 yards long by 5 yards wide, 3 feet deep. The idea is to come down the hill with enough speed that you can skim across the water and continue skiing off the other side. Some made it and some did not with quite a splash. Many contestants dress up. We watched Gumby, a banana, a hot dog with separate ketchup, a cheerleader and other modes of fashion attempt to skim the pond. It was all in great fun.

On Sunday, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast that Sue made for us. The highlight was Grand Marnier infused French Toast with Frambois Coulis. It was delicious! After reading and relaxing for a while, Rich and I walked to the village and back to get some exercise and some fresh air. The walk back was all uphill and the sun was bright so we would walk from one shady spot and rested then continue walking to the next spot. This morning we were up early for the snowmobile ride back to the car. The weather prediction was for rain and we were prepared for a wet ride. Instead we rode through the lightly falling snow.

It was a picture perfect weekend with fantastic hosts. Thank you Pete and Sue for the great weekend.

Sea to Snow and back again

Two weeks ago we got an invitation to join Rae's family skiing up at Alpine Meadows near Lake Tahoe. Peter and Lenora, Rae's father and stepmother made reservation last year to stay 3/20-24, at the Stanford Alpine Chalet, of which he is an alumni. Unfortunately, Timothy, Rae's oldest brother, cancelled at the last minute so there was an extra room and would we like to join them. Rich and I thought, sure why not, but we only had our ski jackets but no other ski stuff. Rae said, no problem, she would bring family extras. So on Monday, 3/21, we packed up the Subaru and headed east on I-80. Even though there was snow on the highway, the mighty Subaru got us there with no trouble and we did not have to put on chains. That evening we joined Peter, Lenora, Katie (Rae's stepsister), Jenny (Rae's twin sister) and Rae for dinner at the Chalet. We also went through some of the ski gear that Rae had brought and selected some items such as goggles and gloves and ski bibs. Tuesday morning after breakfast we got a shuttle ride, all of 5 minutes, to Alpine Meadows ski area. At the ski rental area, you filled out all of the necessary information for ski rentals, took the printout to the cash register, and after paying, on to the boot section and ski section respectively. The longest part of this process was putting on the boots. The snow was coming down in buckets and there was already a considerable amount on the ground already, as much as 2 feet of new snow in the past 24 hours. We rode up the Roundhouse chair with groomed slopes to get our ski legs back and then up the Summit chair to Alpine Bowl. This is usually an intermediate slope but with no grooming and a lot of new snow it was a lot more challenging. Leaning back was the order of the day. If you fell and your ski came off it could mean an ordeal trying to find your ski in the deep snow, much less standing up and putting it back on. We saw at least two people that day that were furiously digging in the snow looking for their lost ski. Unfortunately Rich forgot to take his meds in the morning and with the altitude, and the deep powder he was having difficulty catching his breath. Wisely he quit after a few runs and hung out at the lodge. I skied with Rae, Jenny and Peter but I was pooped by the end of the day.

Our car is somewhere under the snow

Peter, Elaine and Rae with Lake Tahoe in the background

Rae, Jenny and Katie

On Wednesday Rich and I passed on skiing and checked out Tahoe City - a small burg covered with snow. We picked up Lenora after her cross country ski lesson and the three of us went out to lunch.

Thursday we started to drive back to Emeryville. Unfortunately we spent 45 minutes going from one exit to the next and putting on chains only to be told that the road was closed for an indefinite period of time due to whiteout conditions. We stopped for lunch and then tried again. This time it took us only 30 minutes to go from the same first exit to the same second exit to find out that the road was still closed - proper signage would have been sooo helpful. So instead of going west we drove east to Reno and then south to Carson City, Nevada. As Highway 50 was our next planned road and it was closed partially for avalanche clearing we decided to stay the night and get an early start on Friday morning. The Best Western hotel included a casino so I told Rich that I wanted to play the slot machines after dinner. Of course he thought I was a little silly but he played along. I tried to put in my $10 to start playing the machine but it would not take it so I went to the cashier and got 10 - $1 tokens. I put in my token, pulled the handle and watched the things (tumblers?) spin around. After a few coins and no joy, I was resigned to just losing my $10 and going back to the room when, wait, wait, jackpot!!! $50 in tokens started to pour into the tray. WooHoo! I counted my tokens and put them in the tray I got from the cashier. I still had a few of my original 10 tokens left, so I continued and wait, wait, jackpot again!!! Another $50 in tokens poured out. I carefully counted them. Now I had $100 in tokens on my lap. I had 2 tokens left of my original 10 plus a few credits on the machine, in they went. No more pay outs. So I took my tokens and cashed them in. I had won enough to pay for our night at the hotel, dinner and breakfast the next morning. I was so proud of myself. I didn't do a happy dance (but I felt like it). Rich thinks I was channelling my father, getting something for nothing.

Friday we drove back to the boat, with little fanfare. It was a fun few days.

Passport Two

In previous posts I recounted my sad tale of trying to renew my passport. As the original renewal application was lost in the mail, I applied for a new passport in Seattle with a certified copy of my birth certificate on February 23.

As chance would have it, on exactly this same day, my renewal application is mysteriously delivered in Philadelphia with no record if having been scanned at any postal facility previously. A few days later the passport facility in Buffalo, NY (not sure how it made the transit from Philadelphia to Buffalo...) attempts to process the check that was enclosed. This was the same check that I stopped payment on, thinking that the application was lost. Of course, the check did not go through. The next week I receive a letter from Buffalo indicating the check could not be processed, and that I needed to remit payment, including a $25 surcharge within 30 days to avoid adverse action. After 30 days if no payment is received then repayment including interest and penalties must be sent to St. Louis, MO.

I quickly got on the phone and called the number provided and explained the situation. The person I talked to was very nice and explained that I needed to write a letter of clarification to the facility in Buffalo and send it overnight mail. She was able to verify that my new passport application submitted in Seattle was being processed. Sparing no time I crafted a letter and sent it off with overnight delivery.

Today I received my new passport from Seattle. With any luck the facility in Buffalo will return my old passport as I requested in the letter.

Some of my faith in 'the system' has been restored.

How long before we leave?

Tsunami

This morning we received a wake up call from the AWTWS - Alan Weber Tsunami Warning System. Alan is a friend of Rich's that lives in New Jersey and he called us early this morning at 4:30am to warn us. Alan also called us for the tsunami from the earthquake in Chile last year. Rich and I got up and turned on the computer to catch the news on the internet. Our hearts go out to people in Japan, the epicenter of the devastation.

Luckily for us here on Windarra, the tsunami was a bit of a non-event and that is how we would prefer it. In fact, we missed one of the larger surges as we were off exercising. Windarra safely rose above it all.

Has it been more than a month?

It has been more than a month since I last posted on the blog. So here is a little catching up.

On one of the sunny days in early February, Rich and I decided to go out and explore. We drove to Half Moon Bay for lunch at the Brewing Company. It was warm enough to sit outside and look out over the bay. We anchored here in 2001 on our way south and the plan is to visit again after leaving the San Francisco Bay in late June or early July. After lunch we drove down the coast a way. The ocean looks different when you are on the shore looking out as opposed to being on the water and looking back at the land.

In mid February we drove up to Portland, OR to visit the kids. As snow was predicted for the Siskyous we took Hwy 101 to Crescent City and spent the night before continuing north. On the suggestion of Chuck and Margie of SV Dreamcatcher we stopped at Los Bagels in Arcata for lunch on the way. They have great bagels, especially for the west coast. We continued up Hwy 199 to Grants Pass and on to Portland. Jesse and Rae were kind enough to let us stay at the new apartment in the downtown area. They are on the sixth floor and overlook a park. It is a short walk for Jesse to catch the light rail to work. We enjoyed visiting with them and with Sarah and her girlfriend, Ianthe. We helped Rae pick up some bookshelves at Ikea and select the style for the wedding invitations. Sarah and I went shopping for fabric. Rich helped Jesse and Rae put up pictures and shelves in the apartment.

After the weekend we took a quick drive up to Tacoma to visit my mother. She seems to be doing well and says she likes the facility which is a very positive note from her. After a bit she would close her eyes and doze. At one point she started to talk to herself, wondering who we were and would open her eyes just enough to see if we were still there. So her memory continues to fade but she is eating well and enjoyed the chocolates we brought her.

As you remember from my previous post the problems I am having with my passport. On our stop to Seattle we went to the safety deposit box so I could get the certified copy of my birth certificate. The rest of the day we ran errands and transferred items from the Subaru to the storage unit and picked up items to take back to the boat for our next set of boat projects. The next morning we went to the post office downtown and I submitted my passport application, again....

We managed to dodge the snow in Seattle and Portland and continued back to the boat. Visiting is fun but we still enjoy sleeping on the boat. It is home.

This weekend, Paul and Suzette of SV Altair are in town for Suzette's father's memorial. On Friday we joined them to check out a sailboat for sale at Marina Bay in Richmond and then we had lunch at the Red Pepper in Pt Richmond. The memorial was at Goat Hill Pizza on Potrero Hill. We sat next to Joe and Charlotte. Charlotte is a quilter and has been part of the quilting group that includes Suzette's mother, Jean. Joe is retired and his hobby is bonzai trees, of which he has over 300. We enjoyed talking to them.

As we are back on Windarra we are back to boat projects. I finished compounding and waxing the deck before we left for Portland. Now I am sewing cloth doors for the forward head and the pullman state room. Neither room has a big enough hatch for a person to get out if the door should jab so we are replacing the doors with cloth. It will still aloow some privacy as a trade for safety. Rich is filling holes with epoxy that were left in the cockpit when we moved the throttle and the VHF remote microphone to the new binnacle. After they dry and harden we will sand and paint over them.

Today we had a visit from Duey and Nan of The Great Escape. We met them during the Baja Ha-Ha in 2001 and sailed with them in Mexico. They have sold the boat and now they are land cruising in an RV. It was great to catch up and re-establish the friendship. We hope to visit them in Hollister or when we sail down to Monterey Bay.

Cheers

Passport to Limbo

Our passports expire in April of this year, so I decided it was time to renew them. When we renewed them the last time in 2001, I used the "renew by mail" process, which worked great so I decided to try it again. This time, it was not so great…

I filled out the forms, and we went to the local UPS Store which offered passport photos. Rich and I smiled, had our pictures taken. We enclosed our old passports, photos, forms and checks in the padded, manila envelopes as suggested by the website. I paid to have both envelopes sent with signature confirmation, again as suggested by the website. Hooray, off they went, we just had to wait.

A week later I checked the US Postal Service website. Rich's envelope had been received at the passport facility in Philadelphia, PA. My envelope had not even been received at the Oakland postal facility, the first stop after leaving the UPS Store. I check the passport website and Rich's check had been cashed. No such luck for mine.

So we went back to the UPS Store to see if the package was still there. The proprietor said that it had been sent. I asked if he could just take a look to confirm. He pointed to a pile on the floor behind the counter and to a cabinet. All envelopes are put in the US Mail carton inside this cabinet he said and then opened the cabinet. There were two letters but no carton. He then went to the back to look for the US Mail carton. I was feeling a little suspicious since obviously whatever the process was, it was not being followed.

The next stop was the US Postal office here in Emeryville. The person behind the counter took my information to her supervisor. After a short period, the supervisor came out and told us that the envelope had not been logged in at the mail handling facility in Oakland. Apparently the first thing that happens when a package is received at the handling facility is it is scan into the system. Somehow, my envelope had not been scanned. She never used the word, lost, but said it might turn up later. She asked if I had check at the place where I mailed it. Yes, sadly.

My passport is in Limbo. The UPS Store claims it was picked up, the US Postal service claims they never got it.

I called the passport office to report the missing passport. Since I no longer have my passport, I can not use the "renew by mail" process. I need to re-apply. In order to re-apply, I need a certified copy of my birth certificate, which is in the safety deposit box in Seattle, plus new passport photos, etc.

Aside from the inconvenience (read HASSLE), I am sorry that my passport is missing. I remember the face of the customs officer in Milan, Italy, when he looked through my passport and saw the stamp from Niue. My passport had a lot of sentimental value and now it is in Limbo, and I can't get it back.

In other countries, you learn to go with the flow, to take you time, to be patient. Living in the US, you come to expect the systems to work and it is frustrating when it does not. I think I am ready to leave now but of course, I can't. I don't have a passport.

What have we been doing?

I just realized I have been delinquent in updating the blog. So here is a little catch-up on what we have been doing.

After New Years, we enjoyed Sarah's company for about 7 days before she headed back to Portland and Reed College - just one more semester to go! Before she left we did a little touring around the area. We drove out to the coast, near Ocean City and then south along the coast, past many oyster farms, on twisty roads (not my favorite) and almost to the Golden Gate Bridge before going over to Sausalito for dinner. Another day we drove up to Napa for lunch and then around the valley looking at all of the wineries.

After Sarah left, we started back on our list of boat chores. We got a good deal on small LED flashlights at Home Depot. With some clips we now have one mounted in each room so in case of emergency, there are flashlights readily available throughout the boat. Other chores included updating the Pactor modem to version 3 for faster email via HF radio. Rich has been taking the boat apart to check all of the chainplates and the bolts. He found some bolts which were corroded and we have replaced them. When he is done we will reseal the deck plates for each shroud thrudeck. Rich also installed our Outback Flex DC monitor so we can get a better idea of amp hours in and amp hours out of our system including the solar panels and wind generator. I have started to compound and wax portions of the deck. Our deck is old and worn but this brings it back to life a little, besides it is sunny, I am able to work outside and it looks shiny afterwards.

Life has not been all work. Our boat neighbor, Bill, took us to lunch at Skates on the Bay. It is a gorgeous restaurant near the Berkeley Yacht Club with a ringside view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Make your reservations now for the 2013 America's Cup!

Last Friday we met Larry Jacobson, his partner Ken and Patrik Henderson for drinks at Trader Vic's. Larry, Ken and Patrik sailed Larry's boat, Julia, on their circumnavigation. We met them at Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta in 2001 plus other stops across the South Pacific. Larry wrote a book about their travels and it has just been published. It is titled, "The Boy Behind the Gate". It is available at Amazon and you can also order it via Larry's website, www.larryjacobson.com.

Friday night we had a visit from Alan Weston. Alan was one of Rich's customers when he worked on the LEAP (Light Exo-Atmospheric Projectile) program at Boeing, many moons ago. He found us through the internet and contacting the Corinthian Yacht Club in Seattle, of which we are members. It was a surprise to have him call us. He now works at NASA Ames so after work he drove up to visit us on Windarra. It was fun to find out about mutual acquaintances and the new projects that he is working on. One of these projects was the Lunar Impactor which confirmed there is water on the moon. We had a fun evening reestablishing contact.

Well, that brings you up to date. Now back to our other boat chores.