The Cycle of Life

While we've been waiting for our haul-out to address the cutless bearing we've been concentrating on getting a few jobs out of the way.  Foremost was getting the cellular booster antenna to the top of the mast to give us maximum range so up the mast I went, again, and again, and again, and again (you get the idea).  There were uncounted number of trips that saw me fix the steaming light, correct what could have become a major problem with the mast sheaves (the cotter pin was gone from the shaft and the shaft had almost slipped out of one side of the mast) and get the antenna wire run for the booster.  I have a new HUGE respect for riggers who go up and down a mast numerous times a day.  The plan was to complete all this work this past weekend but then we got the call that my dad was going downhill fast so we closed up the boat and drove up to Nanaimo.  Unfortunately he was put on end of life palliative care and passed away peacefully on Monday morning.  He had been suffering both physically and mentally for some time so we are relieved that he is at peace now.  I'm fortunate that my current current consulting contract gives me a lot of freedom so we've been able to concentrate on all the details that come with a family members death.  We're almost there and get to head home tomorrow!  Good thing too, we haul out next week and get the boat back in usable order.  The picture below was from fathers day just over a week ago btw, he's looking quite debonair in his sweater and hat...