Sailing Avocet

Life aboard our 1979 Cheoy Lee 41

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 25, 2021 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends! Chris and I have a lot to be thankful for this year and wanted to take the time to...

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Boat projects and sailing in the SAME video? Wild. We know! Join us as we head back to the Ventura Harbor Boatyard for another round of projects, this time on our race boat, a Victory 21' previously known as "Christopher." Eight days and a lot of sanding later we had a stronger and freshly painted boat that dawned a new name ready to sail in the Annual High Sierra Regatta on our home waters: Huntington Lake, CA. This boat not only laid the foundation for our relationship but was also one of the last projects Chris and his dad worked on before he passed, making this entire rebuild THAT much more emotional and rewarding in the end. We hope you enjoy the video!

This was filmed in July of 2021 🙂 HUGE thank you to our neighbor Ryan for fabricating our new chainplates, Mitch and Quincey for the rigging help, and to all of our wonderful friends that sent us words of encouragement and "luck" on the race course. To our Victory 21 Fresno Yacht Club Fleet: this one is for you.

Fair Winds,
Marissa, Chris, and Cleo cat

CHAPTERS:
----Boatyard-----
Intro 00:00 - 00:58
Internal Reinforcement 00:59 - 3:35
Let's Talk Chainplates 3:36 - 5:25
Glorious, Glorious Sanding 5:26 - 6:10
Painting! 6:11 - 8:27
Bottom Paint 8:28 - 9:34
Pull the Tape! 9:35 -10:16
Have You Seen the Movie "Wind"? 10:16 - 10:46
Hit the Road then the Water 10:47 - 11:34
THE NEW NAME (Finishing Touches) 11:35 - 12:47
Rigging (thank you M+Q) 12:48 - 14:00
-----Sailing------
Let's go Sailing! (Practice Day) 14:01 - 15:03
The Christening 15:04 - 17:48
Let the Regatta Begin! 17:49 - 19:04
Wait, Where'd the Wind Go? 19:05 - 19:42
Not too Bad 19:43 - 12:09
We are consistent, okay? 12:10 - 12:12
Next, on Sailing Avocet 20:12 - 20:59

Fixing our Race Boat for the High Sierra Regatta

YouTube Video VVVSRW43bWx5T09vQjUybHJkSDZDT0dnLk1tcVo5clkyZU5n

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What a week! It took 2 days to sand the failing pa

What a week! It took 2 days to sand the failing paint off the mast after we discovered that chemical paint stripper would NOT work. Once down to bare aluminum we had new winch bases welded on and some minor repair welds done to the mast head. After that it was all reinstallation - Chris has done a great job piecing the rig back together in my absence 🛠 We decided to give Nyalic a try after I did some in depth research for an article I was writing and once it got the stamp of approval from our industry friends. I think it turned out lovely and leaves the aluminum sparkling! ✨Today we are finishing up some minor details (like running some new halyards) and rebuilding our mast step out of G10. Although we didn’t get the mast stepped when we wanted to there is nothing wrong with taking a moment to breathe instead of rushing it all. Everything happens for a reason! 🤗⛵️ HUGE thanks to our pals at @derecktorventura for hosting us the past week. We appreciate it!

Day 3 in the yard brings more “glorious sanding” as @saillife_ always says. Yesterday the welder finished installing the new winch plates and repaired a small crack in our mast head, it honestly probably would have been fine but every job worth doing is worth doing well! With the welds complete the two of us were left alone to sand and are happy to report that the port side has been completed ✅ Now onto the starboard side 😎 We wrapped around 1:00 to chat with the lovely @annikarautiola for the Liveaboard podcast, AND get back to Avocet because we hosted Friendsgiving 😱 So much to do, so little time 😉We hope to have the mast reunited with Avocet before Thanksgiving… 🤞

Chris would like to note that this was the second time EVER that we have ever had to pay someone else to do part of our project. Boatyards around here won’t let us do our own welding, plus Chris is more familiar with Mig rather Tig and didn’t feel like using our mast as a trial of his skills. Although “DIY” is always nice, safety comes first and if you are not confident in your skills it may benefit you to invest in a professional.

Bye bye for now, mast! Enjoy your facelift at @der

Bye bye for now, mast! Enjoy your facelift at @derecktorventura 👋🏼 While Avocet (thankfully) remains afloat, Chris and I will be busting A$$ to get the mast finished in 8 days so it can be reunited with the boat before Thanksgiving.

Project list🛠
• Strip paint
• Minor weld repairs
• Shlap on some Nyalic
• Install new winches
• Install new rigging
• Install new mast head light

If you want to get your hands dirty in trade for brews and experience, come on down to the yard! More hands make less work 🙌

Before Avocet, there was GERONIMO!!!! However, she

Before Avocet, there was GERONIMO!!!! However, she was named “Christopher” for most of her life. This little #Victory21 has taught us a lot about sailing on and off the water and continues to hold a big piece of our heart. She was Chris’s first boat and one of the last projects he and his dad worked on before he passed. This christening was full of emotion as we were surrounded by our fleet that has watched us grow as people and sailors. If you want to catch the full transformation and dedication, the video is live on our YouTube channel ▶️🎥⛵️

*All glass was cleaned up, don’t worry 🍾