Work, Shopping, and Farewell

Yesterday, Sunday, I dedicated to cleaning out the anchor well, giving it a preliminary sanding, and washing it out. Cleaning out meant removing various timber supports for the upper level and scraping off Sikaflex that I had applied in copious amounts at various times trying to get rid of the leaks. I then put in a couple of hours of scraping and sanding. This involved having my head and working from the deck with my head and shoulders down in the anchor well. (Ass up and head down, as they say.) John's little dog freaked out and started barking at the sight of this. I suppose that it had not seen that side of me before. Before the night was over I managed to bring some order to the boat by returning the sails to the lockers and clearing the cabin by restoring the V-berth area.

My mission today, Monday, was to make my way to Home Depot and West Marine, wherever that was, to do some shopping. Fortunately I saw Hugh and mentioned my plans and he suggested that I use Wally's bicycle to which he had a key. I got the OK from Wally and at 11 AM I was peddling my way into the wilds of Honolulu. Hugh also told me that Rob had managed to find a cheap air ticket back to his home in San Diego and would leaving tomorrow. Rob is one of those good people that you mean along the way and you hate to see go. We have exchanged contact information and we plan to see him when we sail into San Diego on our way south.


My first stop was the barber shop at the Ala Moana shopping center which turned out to be the biggest and busiest barber shop that I had ever seen. I got a top class haircut with ear and eyebrow trim thrown if for just over $13. I asked for guidance on how much to tip and the barber left it up to me. I gave him $20.

I the got on the bike and manage to overshoot Home Depot, turned back, overshot it again, reversed one more time then found it. The principal item that I needed was as small electric hand-held sander. I got a Black and Decker "mouse" with 80 grit pads. I also got sand paper, paint brushes, a mask, and other things required for the fiberglass job.

I then pushed on to West Marine and was disappointed in not being able to get those non-skid mats to keep our plates from sliding around the table in rough seas. I got a US flag, a replacement for the leaky through-deck fitting over the head that is normally used for the solar-powered solar fan, some sealant, and some other things.

I made it back to the dock at about 5 minutes to 5 PM and had just enough time to get my bag of ice and purchase a gigantic meal of pork and brown rice that I wolfed down in the boat, since I had eaten nothing other than 3 slices of toast all day.

In the evening Rob, Hugh, and I took a few photos and at this point there is a new bottle of Jim Beam beside me and I'll join them soon for a few farewell drinks.

Included is a photo of Pachuca's closest neighbor. Wally told me that it is an Alden, built in the 1930's. A businessman purchased her, did a lot of work on her, then stopped. The yawl now looks abandoned and neglected. Inside she is a shell, though she's still got the magnificent fittings of the era. This is a worthwhile project boat waiting for a young, energetic, and enthusiastic person.

There is another photo of my laptop setup when I need to connect to the internet. During the day I am surrounded by four cages of birds and visiting wild birds. There is a photo of one of the feathered visitors.

There are also photos of Rob and myself in front of Pachuca and Hugh and Rob in front of Princess Taiping. [Note, I saw afterward that these photos appeared too dark as I had feared, because they were taken at night with a flash. Apologies.]