We have sold Tusen Takk II.<\/p>\n
When we moved aboard in July, 2005, it was with the agreement that we would stay on the boat only so long as we both wanted to. After 13 glorious years during which we both felt like we were indeed “living the dream”, one of us decided that she was ready for something else. I resisted. When that didn’t work, I begged for just one more season. That was granted, and completed in May, 2019. And so we readied the boat for the anticipated sale and for the long cruise back to the USA. Among other things, I spent a huge amount of time painting all of the bilges and surfaces in the “downstairs compartments”, and a considerable amount of time revarnishing interior surfaces “upstairs”, including the saloon table.<\/p>\n
Our very good friend Bill (nee Dolce Vita<\/em>) offered to join us for the passage, and we accepted at once; he arrived several weeks before our planned departure, the better to enjoy Bonaire one last time and to help with the preparations and to be present when a weather window appeared. Even before his arrival, I had begun preparations by opening up the middle fuel tank in order to see if it needed cleaning after our 14 years of use. It was remarkably clean, presumably due to our habit of always running the built-in fuel cleaning system whenever we were underway. When he arrived, we prophylactically took apart the stabilizers in order to check the condition of the trunions supporting the hydraulic cylinders. We replaced the John Deere serpentine belt, and I changed the JD oil and filter.<\/p>\n It was windy when Bill arrived, and it stayed windy, with no prospect for improvement, causing our minimum standards for the passage to Puerto Rico to slip a bit. We decided to depart on May 22, knowing that the first half of the trip would be somewhat bumpy. We planned on leaving around midnight to effect an late morning \/ early afternoon arrival at Puerto del Rey Marina in Puerto Rico some days and 425 nautical miles later. Just as the sun was about to go down, I expressed regret that I wouldn’t be able to see Bonaire as we were leaving. My crew mates were sympathetic, and so we made a hurried departure.<\/p>\n\n\t\t