Captain’s Log: Back on Mystic Moon

March 17 – April 7, 2021

Hi All,

Yes, we are back onboard Mystic Moon….wow o wow….what a Covid year we have had….ugh!!! Kathy and I did follow all the appropriate social distancing protocols and managed to escape being infected. We have both been vaccinated and what a liberating feeling….so very tired of isolating and ready to “party”!!! Our immediate family did have one member get the virus while 8 members of our extended family got the virus. Fortunately no one needed to be hospitalized!! It is so unfortunate that Covid became such a devisive and political issue in the USA. It is indeed a real embarrassment as the wealthiest nation in the world to have such a horrible Covid death record…..arghhhhhh!!!!

I did end up having arthroscopy surgery on my right knee….the one I tore the meniscus in Sitka in June 2019. I tried for 1.5 years to rehab it but the pain and weakness got to be too much. So I called the doc on 1/4 and had surgery on 1/12….wow, not that busy thanks to Covid!! It has now been almost 3 months and well…it still is not right….the doc said 2-3 months and 6 months before you feel normal. The pain is much less but jeez….the knee and leg are very weak. I’m trying to do my strengthening exercises but somewhat hard on the boat!!!

The knee and Covid caused us to cancel a ski trip in March w/the McYoungSchalls. We did make the YB/Jones ski trip to Tahoe in February but I did not ski….just played with the kids in the snow when I could….pretty depressing to miss the skiing but still a lot of fun/jocularity with the family!!

We came back to Mystic in Port Angeles on March 17. We rented an SUV and drove up again to ease the risk of Covid. We stayed overnight with Mark & Roseanne in Gig Harbor and drove the rest of the way to Port Angeles the next day. So how was Mystic you ask….it had been over 4 months since we had left her….probably the most time we have left her in our 17 years…..hmmmmm, within 10 minutes she had me on my hands and knees in the LAZ….yep, she was pissed….ugh!!!!

The Kabola diesel heater was not working….I estimate it shutdown sometime in late December…maybe ~1.5 months after we left. The temp was 44*F….brrrrr!! We turned on the CruiseAir….after making a few mistakes trying to remember how to set all the breakers et al….and it took ~4+ hours for the boat to become somewhat comfortable. In the meantime I worked on the Kabola to discover the same issue as July….burnt power plug. I ordered a new one from Costica, got it the next day, installed and voila, we had our trusted friend heating the boat once again. And, the fix lasted for the next 11 days until we took Mystic to Anacortes where Costica, the Kabola tech, installed a brand new burner. We had decided last July to update the Kabola with a new burner as our old one was showing signs of having issues. Costica estimated 2 days, well, it took 4…but, we now have a brand new 230volt system….the old one was 24vdc. It has been running fine but still 2 issues. The burner is running too rich and leaving a boiler odor and a nasty stain on the hull. Costica will come in a few days to test the exhaust and make the necessary burner adjustments….evidently you need to break in the burner before making any adjustments. And, the new 12v to 230v inverter shutdowns at start up on low voltage when we are just on power from the house batteries…like at anchor…obviously unacceptable. It seems the momentary load at startup is too much for the inverter so I will adjust the low voltage shutdown….but wait, you need a Victron Direct interface usb cord….$20 from Amazon…oh, good grief, whatever happened to buttons and knobs:))))

The next day we both tackled the master sump pump and switch. We knew we had an issue as the morning we left in November we discovered our bilge full of soapy water…so much fun at 6am cleaning out the mess. Of course, this sump is in an almost inaccessible area…under the master bed, tucked in a corner…almost everything I did was blind, being directed by Kathy….oh how I missed the dirty talk…oh, your almost there, push harder, back out and try again:)))) We discovered both switch and pump were bad…hmmm, that is odd….but we get both changed out and the discharge hose reconnected, turn it on and nothing, zip, nada….the pump is running but not discharging any water….oh crapola we much have a blockage somewhere, probably what burnt out the switch and pump. So, after some sailor like words, we calmed down, I got out the garden hose and hooked it up to the ER faucet and start to blast away into the discharge hose….nothing…arghhhhhh, ok, lets try again with Kathy watching the outside thru hull discharge….I soon hear her yelling, wait, something gray just came out and yea we have water discharging!!!! oh happy dance!!! We don’t have any idea what that “gray’ something was….a varmint, hair….who knows just glad it came out!!!!

That Friday we installed 10 brand new NorthStar SMS 480 batteries….ODG….what should have been a 6 hour job was 10+. These batteries now weigh 152-lbs each….no way for me to handle so hired 2, 20-somethings from Platypus…after they did 4 batteries…really 8 as it was 4 out and 4 in….they called in 2 more buddies…whoa!!! These are the same models we had before and installed in Australia. But of course, about 1/8” wider….so they would not fit in our bracket in the forward bilge….took ~2 hours to modify the bracket…..arghhhhhh!!!!

We stayed in Port Angeles for 8 days…after 3 days of Kabola, sump pump, and batteries I asked Mystic for a break….and she complied….one morning the Kabola quit…ah jeez…I went down in the Laz tools in hand and voila it started up again….I heard Mystic snicker in the background…ok old man, I’ll give you that one:)))

Kathy cleaned, took inventory, went provisioning et al. John kept doing annual maintenance but at a much slower pace. We fueled($2.51/gal…not bad!!), said good-bye to PA and headed to the San Juan’s on March 25th for 4 nights and relearn how to do everything…like the fist afternoon we anchored….Platypus had serviced the windlass, finding several worn gears and seals….they had set it up differently so it took us several attempts in between all the giggles as we were scratching our heads saying how do we do this again….I mean we have anchored a gazillion times but rarely have to set up things…anyway, we got it and laughed some more!!

On Monday, March 29 we headed to Cap Saintes marina in Anacortes so Costica could start the Kabola work. Next to us some guys were waxing a Northern Marine. I walked over, the company was “The Bright Guys” and soon made a deal for them to apply Awlcare to Mystic. We had used Awlgrip paint on Mystic in Nov 2019 and every year or so you need to apply Awlcare, a polymer, that helps seals and protects the paint. Wow….is Mystic looking shiny and smooth now….I think she is starting to say welcome back:)))) While in Anacortes, we invited Stan and Val over (mv Buffalo Nickel currently stuck in Japan). They live in Bellingham, about an hour north. Wow….did we have fun or what….this was a first for both couples…dinner with another couple in over a year….Kathy served her famous and very yummy crab bisque with sourdough grilled cheese….and of course, the wine was flowing. They spent the night as no one was in shape to drive home….good, good times:))))

Mackey from Guyer Boatworks also came to Anacortes to finalize installing the downrigger brackets on our new AB dinghy. We had ran the dinghy in the San Juan’s….wow, we both really like it….Weaver helm steering arrangement, aluminum bottom, new 25 hp 4-stroke Tohatsu engine…sweet as!!!

We are now in Gig Harbor at Mark & Roseanne’s dock. I’m actually by myself. Kathy left on Tuesday to go visit her parents in Dallas for a few days. Mark & Roseanne left Monday to go to Portland to take care of 4 grandchildren while Jessie and Robert go to Dallas as well. Mark will be back soon for a few days!! But, last Saturday was Roseanne’s big birthday…you know the one you qualify for Medicare:))) We celebrated with many of their friends on Mystic for happy hour…ODG….we have not entertained in over a year….oh what fun!!! We then went to dinner at Dan and Marsha’s….this is the fisherman couple we all met in Sitka in 2019 and then fished with in Whale Bay, on the west side of Baranof Island. Another fun filled night with lots of catching up. Dan & Marsha have been commercial fishing for over 20+ years but missed last year due to Covid. They are very anxious to get back to Alaska for the 2021 season…we hope to see them somewhere for sure!!

The Plan: we will stay in Gig until 4/13….still doing various projects/maintenance/provisioning….just getting ready for Alaska. On the 13th we will go up to Port Townsend to meet Dave and Helen from sv Jammin….we all met in Mexico and spent time together through the Caribbean as well!! They are in Portland and will drive up to meet us. After that we have about a week to go anchor in the San Juan’s to keep testing things, then on the 21st we will go to Roche Harbor for the informal Selene rendezvous. On Monday 4/26 we will start our 10 day transit passage through British Columbia to Ketchikan….Let the games begin!!!

Hope all is well!!

John
Mystic Moon
Tilden’s dock, Gig Harbor

PS: another happy dance….we just decided today to go on our scheduled Africa safari in August 2021. We booked through Natural Habitat, rolled over our trip from 2020 to 2021 due to Covid. Some of the trips are running in May/June but all are scheduled for July-Sept. Nat Hab has been running other trips with stringent Covid protocols with 100% success. There will be lots of Covid protocols to follow in Africa as well. Nat Hab is now requiring all people to be vaccinated and has reduced the potential exposure for us via their protocols. We did get the permanent slip in Sitka so Mystic will rest for part of July thru August until we come back in mid to late September!!!

—