Get it Up

Topanga is feeling much better with her mast up and sails installed! Sean, Tim and Buck at Hop-O-Nose marina were great! Professional, helpful, laid back, patient. We would highly recommend them for mast stepping / unstepping and also just as a nice marina & restaurant to stop in the upper Hudson. They gave me time to install our new masthead wind indicator (been waiting 3 years for that one – now just have to get the cockpit display wired. Sigh). They even lent me a grinder to grind out a little bit of the mast head plate for a better fit. We actually left our mast supports there and will pick them up on the way back when we unstep there next year. Speaking of mast supports, the crew at Hop-O-Nose were very impressed (unsolicited) with our mast supports' design, fabrication and installation; simple, efficient and effective. Even how they fold up for easy storage, and these guys see a lot of mast supports! Nice!

We borrowed a car and ran some errands in Catskill. Visited Verizon and AT&T for cell phone research (it's going to be complicated), food at Price Chopper & Walmart, some beer, wine & booze (alcohol is soo cheap in the US!), laundry, etc.

We intended on only spending two days there but ended up staying four. I tightened all the rigging as best I could (trying to recall all the rigging advise my friend Charles had given me). My parents delivered our sails and we installed them together (get on that winch mom!). We also had a wonderful surprise visit from my sister and niece! Such a little cutie! We're headed to see them in Long Island but we got a little sample of this little angel now!