Down to the wire

Funny choice of words for this post; "Down to the Wire"...
A few weeks ago, I had my rig inspected and the Wire or officially known as standing rigging. The inspection didn't point out anything of note with respect to the "Wires" or the "Hardware", however we did note a small deformed spot on the front inboard edge of the lower spreader.

At first this was some cause for concern for me, as if the lower spreader gives way under load the risk of loosing the rig is high. To address this will at the very least take two weeks and will require pulling the sails off the boat and removing the entire mast. Once on the ground we'll have a closer look at the mast and all the parts. At this time we may as well also measure and replace all the wire and hardware. In short... this would be a significant cost in both time and money.

After some consideration, I've determined that the risk of anything catastrophic happening is low, especially since I'll not be going offshore or making any crossings the risk is quite low. That said, a crossing and some offshore runs are planned for January. This gives me enough time to get the boat to Florida and find a nice DIY Marina and have the mast pulled, allowing me to work on the mast in the warm comfort of South Florida. Ha! crisis averted!

It's been all uphill from Bermuda
This trip has been a long time coming, and since Bermuda this past June it has been the primary "next thing" on my mind to do. With 12 days to go I am feeling like I'll never have everything ready, so it'll only be a matter of leaving the dock and turning south. With a 24hour run straight to Hampton Roads, VA I'll be likely in either the Dismal Swamp or heading to Coinjock by Halloween. ...Dismal Swamp sounds like a better place, considering the time of year.