To Do

I still have a lot to blog about but I'm simmering with my thoughts about the whole trip and I'm not prepared today to write about Catalina and the ride home. We learned so much along the way and for me, personally, I feel like I've somehow conquered, or at least begun to conquer, my biggest fear... the Ocean. For now, I thought I'd share a new "To Do" list. These are things we realized would make cruising easier. So here goes:

1. Line for our sea anchor
2. New line for our traveler
3. New blocks for our traveler
4. Autopilot (we purchased one before our trip to Dana Point but Ben wasn't able to customize it to our boat so we're back to square one on this. We have an old autopilot that we may be able to repair but either way, we need a working autopilot that fits our boat).
5. Windlass (for you non-boaties, this pulls up the anchor with little to no manpower)
6. A little coffee carafe. We can make coffee while underway but I came to realize it's not very safe to be handling boiling water while moving, so I'd prefer to have some already made that we can just warm up while underway. Simple things, ya know?
7. Wire the compass so it lights up at night.
8. A shock-absorbing mat to stand on or one of those golf-club-handle-looking things that people attach to their tiller in order to steer from a seated position. I learned that I need one or the other in order to be able to fulfill my duties on watch.
9. A chip for our GPS so we can see exactly where the buoys and other important things are while sailing.
10. A working jib

I think that's about it for now. But it goes to show, it is possible to sail or cruise without all the luxuries. However, it would be nice to have some things to make life a little simpler!

9.