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ARAGORN ... Not all those who wander are lost

Preparation for Departure

Before we got underway, we spent months preparing ARAGORN and ourselves for this undertaking.

We worked hard preparing the boat for this voyage, and we had many others help us out with the work involved. But by far the biggest contributors were the men and women at McMichael's Yacht Yard in Mamaroneck, NY. Helmut and his gang not only worked hard, but they did things right. They thought about what they were doing, and made suggestions for additional improvements. They performed their tasks with high quality, and they stood behind their work. While not the cheapest yard, they prepared the boat as if they were going on this trip themselves... and thus they were the best value. THANK YOU to Helmet and all the rest at McMichael's.
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Medical Officer in the making! Leslie learns how to suture on a pig's foot, stitches anyone? Leslie attended a week long intensive medical course at the International Yacht Master's training facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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The liferaft went to Liferaft and Survival Co. for its annual inspection. Here Dick is watching a technician inflate the raft.
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The intense preparations frequently had the boat looking like a Malian market or a Haitian cargo schooner (ask us about both). The decks are crowded with gear (sails on deck, not aloft), critical parts (like the boom) are off the boat, and two or more workers were the norm. The unseamanlike conditions will be solved before pushing off (we hope!).

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In August, Hall Spars requested that we pull the mast before they install the lighting rod. Another surprise task! Well, at least it gave them and Tony Knowles, our super surveyor, a good look at the whole stick before the crane put it back in the boat.
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While we normally haul only once a summer, events conspired that we do it three times in 2003. Here ARAGORN splashes back after the third haul-out, caused by hurricane Isabel.

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