Lubed gears and New frontiers
I’m healing up and almost like new…so I figured I’d go back before neck breaks or speaking tours…to fill in where we left off after hat-making!
New friends to lead the way…
I sat scooping papaya into my mouth in the cockpit, wondering if the package would arrive today. A moment later my phone rang. It was Isrin calling to tell us the windlass part had arrived and they’d drop it by later!
Several teeth on my Maxwell windlass had made their final anchor pull at the bay on the other side of the island. As I had pushed the button to raise the chain, a dreadful grinding sound screeched out and echoed off the surrounding stone cliffs .
“That can’t be good…” I surmised with a furrowed brow, but a wind shift had brought onshore conditions, and we had to get out of there before the wind chop got worse, so I finished lifting the anchor despite wincing through every second of the awful noise.
Upon arriving in the next port, Raiarii and I disassembled the unit to reveal broken teeth on one of the main gears. Several Skype calls and two weeks of black sand beach breaks, murky water shark sightings, meals with the O’Connor’s, night fishing, abandoned puppy rescuing, and downhill skating later…the cardboard box arrived!! Freedom to sail on!
With the new part installed and the Windlass gears lubed like never before…we said final goodbyes and pointed the bow toward the island to the south…
Getting greasy as we take apart the broken windlass…it took a hammer, Kroil, some interesting leverage techniques, and a few bad words…but we freed all moving parts and waited for the new gear piece to arrive!
The worn out teeth on the windlass gear…
First stop…a mysto 3 foot a-frame that broke for over shallow reef for 3 hours and then never reappeared?!…followed by a mango binge :)
The glory of Nature is always near if we’re willing to pay attention…it yanks us out of our mind chatter and joins us to the Greatness that IS.
We are the creators of our reality…Swelly in Paradise!
With love all things RISE UP!!
She-pirate on commute…
With this back drop, I had to nose Swelly in for a closer look…what beauty!!
Ask and you shall receive!! Swell found some swell! Went over the falls on the way in to the beach wearing my Stormproof Patagonia backpack with all my camera gear inside…dry as could be! This exposed anchorage wasn’t safe to stay overnight, so we put in a quick surf after a long day of sailing…and an evening of beachcombing while wild horses grazed on the hillside. At 10:30pm, despite blazing fatigue, we could take no more of the sharps rolls and jarring yanks of the chain…so out to sea we sailed under starlit heavens…
What makes freedom so beautiful?
A pamplemousse giving me a morning reminder never to judge people or things by their outward appearance!
Regardless of superficial differences, we are so much more the same–sharing our Earthly ride in sorrow or joy, in glory or humility, in gain or in loss, in wonder or in doubt…so show Love to your fellow human–each of us a tiny spark in a great Fire!! Burn brighter and those around you will too…
P.S. I updated the ‘Reading Page’ to give book descriptions and I’m slowly adding short videos from this trip on my YouTube page. To view them, the YouTube button on the top right corner of this webpage will take you directly there…Enjoy :)
4 Comments
Aaron Selverston
December 1, 2012Loving your stories, Liz. Living the dream!
Jeff Byrnes
December 1, 2012Did you say “pamplemousse?” ;-)
http://www.pomplamoose.com/
So jealous of your lifestyle! Thanks for sharing.
~ J
Tom Santaniello
December 2, 2012Liz: WELCOME BACK… you’ve been missed !!!!!!
Lauren Rogers
December 4, 2012I Liz, we met several years back. I have a Cal-40 and at the time I was living on Moorea Island French Polynesia. I believe you were dealing with some sort of engine or prop shaft issue.
Nice to see your still out here exploring and checking out surf spots along the way. Hope our paths cross out here again someday.
You be well and take care
Lauren Rogers
S/V Siberian Sea