Covid blockades and finally making it to Newfoundland!
Updated: Dec 12, 2021
September 3, 2021:
Judith:
We were both so excited to see Hakluyt for the first time. But my excitement also included to be there on Hakluyt with Wes on his birthday! And my goal was to make it his best birthday he ever had with awesome little birthday presents!
Next day we enjoyed the drive through this beautiful province to Lewisporte to see her for the first time!!! SVHakluyt!!! Here she is …. majestic, strong and a mast longer than a giraffe’s neck.
I was more excited to watch Wes being overwhelmed by her beauty than registering what I saw. The predominant memory of boarding her for the first time is the awful diesel smell. After letting some air in it got better but to be on the safe side I pick up the conversation about exchanging the diesel motor for an electric engine and was happy that we are not only on the same page but Wes is almost obsessed with his vision to be self-sufficient, environmental friendly and healthy.
After looking through everything and filling the marina’s garage bins (yes 2 big ones) I started to feel at home and made a little happy dance when Wes agreed to my favourite place to have the kitchen. This kitchen will create the most delicious meals!!!!
We had great fun with recording our first videos and pretending we are on the ocean already sailing through storms and being pirates, discussing how our 3 legged dog will make it down the stairs, trying on the oversized ice immersion suits, wearing ridiculous pirate costumes and reading funny labelled boxes that the previous owner left!
I know one thing: this adventure will make history! Our vision of spreading the love, helping people to a healthy life style, the love for animals, promoting our sports and motivating others to make this world a better place will not only be successful but it will change people’s lives.
Wes:
Its about a 12-14 hour journey from Denver to Newfoundland. Simply put, it's a long trip - and that doesn't even get us to Lewisporte Marina... Canada opened its borders to vaccinated US citizens back in August, but of course anything that could get booked was sold out for weeks. The process for getting into Canada, on paper, is pretty simple. Then comes reality. Currently the procedure requires getting a COVID PCR test (with a negative result) no more than 72 hours from your flight time. Define - "flight time"... The ticket counter attendant or gate attendant won't let you pass without proof of a negative PCR test result. So if you arrive (as Air Canada strongly suggests) 3 hours before departure, your results must be in hand during check in. I have never been very successful walking a slack-line, let alone a tightrope. Taking a test during the Delta variant outbreak became somewhat problematic as most - if not all - appointments were booked up at the 72 hour window (eg flying out on Friday morning meant getting tested on Tuesday). I snagged one of six available appointments on Wednesday - a little less than 48 hours before my "flight time". The testing facilities of course will warn you that results could take 72 hours to be delivered. Yep... potentially a day late from my flight... Long story short, after nearly losing my mind on Friday morning, my results showed up 4 hours before my "flight time"... Slack lining seems much more enjoyable and relaxing.
We arrived at midnight September 3rd at St. John's international Airport. Newfoundland is living up to my mind's eye visions as being a wet, dark, cold and windy island in the North Atlantic.
Let The Fun Begin!!
September 5th and 6th:
Wes:
The next two days were spent inventorying items on the boat, locating the outboard for the dingy and just getting our bearings onboard. There is a LOT to digest when walking onboard a new boat. Two and a half days is nowhere near long enough to get to know our new home with complete holistic knowledge of her stores and equipment - but it was a good start. Frustratingly, there were some missing items that were promised on the contract inventory, we will work on a deeper dive into storage areas before raising too much of an alarm. There is so much on board. We filled the rental car twice with trash. The life rings seen above were better anchors than lifesavers. Dishwater still had some food on them. Enough left over laundry in a bag (conveniently labeled "dirty") to outfit a whole crew. And just a menagerie of old, cracked, worn, broken, gross items that just needed a proper dumpster burial. Don't read too much into the above statements; Grant and Pascale (the former skipper and first mate) did an absolutely amazing job of putting Arctic Ter... Uhem - Hakluyt, to bed in 2014. Their extensive documentation and organization is simply unparalleled and I am forever grateful to the lengths they went to ensure she was put to sleep properly for her new owners. I get that a certain amount of triage had to be done when they were leaving for the last time - I get it!
Check out below for a 360 view of the inside - We are still working out some technical glitches so bear with us for the time being!
No need to press the play button - just hover your mouse over the image, hold down the left click and rotate around!
Comments