Mike here:

Sailed Forever Friday from San Pedro to Newport Harbor Shipyard on Tuesday, 8/14/2018.  A very nice, smooth, uneventful trip.  Accompanying me was dock mate Karl Kirkman who, along with wife Nora, own a beautiful Jeanneau 49 sailboat. I think he might have a tug in his future…but don’t let that get out.  Prior to leaving San Pedro it was necessary to remove several items from our upper deck(s); the radar mast & scanner, AIS antenna & two GPS antennas, loudspeaker, Mobox (our 4′ wide x 30″ high “garage” for our maintenance stuff), our large solar panel, and our Lifesling man-overboard system.  A special thanks to Murray & Jake for their skill & expertise with the radar & other electronics disconnects.  Great friends to have and way above my league in smarts.

Radar Mast Gone!

“Chase” leads identified for ease of reattachment on “other side” of the country

Mobox (garage) removed!

Farewell our lovely LA Light!

FF is in the Travel Lift!  This is one of the bigger travel lifts (85 Tons) and probably doesn’t even “feel” our little American Tug (11 tons) in her grasp.

We were originally scheduled for a Friday, 8 AM lift onto our transport trailer.  Weds and Thursday were spent boxing things up & generally getting FF “ship shape” below.  Of particular importance to us was to have all of the through hulls & items below the waterline “acid washed” to get rid of any growth/ organisms that could raise an eyebrow to inspectors along the interstate route.  In the above photo you will note the upper deck railing is still in place.  We had been advised that we would be able to keep the rails on the boat…which would save <me> a ton of effort.  As soon as the driver saw her, he indicated that the rails would have to go.  Like nearly everybody else, he’s smarter than me and I deferred to his experience.  So…a painful 4 hours later, off they were!  During construction, American Tug (TOMCO) really bedded these rails well…even after the screws were removed from each flange, it was necessary to slip a stiff putty knife between the deck & flange, and beat it with a hammer until the sealant broke free.  Oh man…you don’t want to do this too often!  We lashed the rails to the bow railing system, using “pool noodles” for cushioning & zip-tying to the existing railings.

Securely lashed to trailer (really padded the heck out of those straps!)

So, now FF is resting on her temporary home…awaiting a 3 AM start to Kentucky.  Don, our driver, assured us he would treat our baby as his own.  He’s been hauling boats for 40 years…but still, our fingers are crossed.

We cannot thank the folks at Newport Harbor Shipyard enough…Jesse and his crew are top-notch and are on top of everything.  We had FF painted here two years to the week and would sail 100 miles or more to come here.  Jesse has never said “no” to anything we’ve asked.  His “yes, we can do that,” is always comforting. This is not your grandaddy’s shipyard!

Wish us well…and please check back soon for updates!

M&M

M/V Forever Friday