Ever closer…

I have been enjoying retirement. After 19 years at Apple, it’s been strange to decompress, but I’m getting used to it.

It’s 2 weeks ‘till I fly to South Africa, and I’m trying to pack up stuff to give away and to take with. I have 12 boxes to ship down for inclusion on the boat, and working with freight company to get that done has been… interesting. Right now the plan is to have these picked up this week, but I don’t have a specific time that they will arrive. So I’m waiting on confirmation.

I sold the car, but kept the plate. Maybe I’ll use it again if I ever come back to California.

I sold my Tesla to my sister, which was convenient. She and her husband Rod are really enjoying the car, and I’m happy that it’s gone to a good home! I still have the Toyota pickup truck, and I had to fill it up with gas for the first time in about 18 months. I already miss being able to plug in. At current prices, I hope this will be the last time I fill it up before I sell it.

Most exciting, I got a new picture of the boat from the builder in SA.

The longeron and crossbeam unit has been installed, with that long bowsprit for flying the screacher or code 0 or assymetric spinnaker.

I’m very excited to be heading down to SA, but also a little overwhelmed. It’s going to be a big adventure, and I’m sure there’s so much I’m not ready for. I’ll be spending a lot of time in Cape Town after launch getting to know the boat and taking some cruises up the coast. It will be winter there, though. I’m not looking forward to trading the long days of summer in California for the long winter nights of the Southern Hemisphere. I get a little moody in the winter, so having two winters in one year may be problematic!

I look forward to posting more pics of the boat in a few weeks. Thanks for joining me!