.The Big Awning is Rigged up and Capt Heath's team is back aboard painting and sanding

 Our last Saturday Volunteer Da(May 20) was disappointing only in the light turn-out for muster.  The proximity to Mother's Day recovery weekend, and pre-Memorial Day preparation weekend must've had some influence there.  

Nevertheless, two of us did muster Saturday at 9 AM.  Weather was perfect, nothing to distract us.  A few more hands could've put a dent in the punch-list. Dave Brennen and I agreed that a priority should be up-rigging our just-repaired canvas awning.  It's two halves laced together over the foresail gaff would provide most of mid-ships a shade and even protection from rain. The redefined awning design required  some experimenting in setting correct guy-line tensions over  twelve sections of the outer edge. By early afternoon we had the awning spread over the deck area between the two masts. The one starboard-aft corner remained a problem since it could not be stretched under, over, or thru the gangway assembly.  Some alternate solution  was needed to secure that corner without interfering with the gangway operation.

And so, just this latest Wednesday, Bryan reappeared with a six-foot long poplar wood two-inch diameter dowel to rig up a a corner post for the starboard aft guy rope. I tell you, photo's don't do it justice, so there won't be posted in this blog entry.  Suffice to say that ample shade is now available across Spirit's deck, fore-to-main mast.  

Now the schooner can host productive maintenance and training sessions in comfort, rain-or-shine.  

And it appears that premise will already be challenged this coming weekend, Saturday the 27th.  Weather forecasts Gale warnings in the harbor Friday into early Saturday morning.  Decreasing winds Saturday might give opportunity to reset the awning, with fruitful activity underneath. 

Meanwhile, two of Project Manager Capt Hackett's team have been aboard all week sanding, prepping and painting/varnishing, both in the engine room, and the quarter-rounds around hatches and cabin trunks.  Apparently another team of two was called in from North Sails to go aloft and replace the radar dome and wiring.  Maybe I can can arrange to get them aloft one more time to uprig the main boom lifts and peak halyard. That would be a movement.