Shawnee update and Possibly Joaquin coming to Virginia, Hatteras

In August Drew flew down to Cardinal, VA to inspect the boat and see how the teak work came out. Dog scratches were the first thing that you saw before.  It looks beautiful.

New deck light installed

And Drew's report:
The work done by Zimmerman seems to be excellent.  Estimates were very close in most areas.
Some were more -
== replacing rigging had some issues due to old jib furling parts that didn’t fit new stays - took extra work, but came out fine.
== took more work than expected on removing and replacing main furling unit (old bearings were scored and needed to be replaced)
== engine work - replaced all 4 injectors (not in plan - one leaking, one had bad spray pattern, others not great); scaling build up in raw water path was much worse than expected - good they did it; engine running well; priming pump is ok - wire splices were bad, fixed them;
== teak looks great, about same price as estimated; estimate did not include anything inside of the hatchboards.  Would be nice to redo trim on inside, around companionway.
[We added them to the work schedule]
== after launching, when checking packing gland drips, they realized the packing gland hose around the shaft looks rather worn out. It is the original 15 yrs old.  Zimmerman usually replaces these at 6 or 7 years.  They suggested replacing it next time we haul the boat.  Expensive part is labor to haul, pull out the propellor shaft, replace hose and reinstall. While they are at it, probably replace the cutlass bearing, which supports the propellor shaft just in front of the rudder.  Our cutlass bearing is a bit loose, but still ok.  Was replaced in 2004. I don’t think it has been replaced since then.   I think we should have them do the work now. . . assuming they can get it done quickly and not hold up schedule for FL. [I assume they fixed the top of the mast anemometer too.]

AND NOW Hurricane Joaquin possibly Sat afternoon.  Weather guru, Chris Parker says,
"If you prepare, anticipate  65k-90k Sat afternoon, sustained wind Cat1-Cat2 Hurricane. And if Joaquin were to move NW across Norfolk and stall, say, over the center of  inland VA, this could be a very bad situation, with storm surge among the highest on record. On the other hand, landfall W of Hatteras seems more likely at this point."  Could be quite an adventure.

So we'll sit and wait to see what happens.  Shawnee is out of the water and in good hands.  They've certainly dealt with hurricanes before.

We are leaving NH on Oct. 9th driving to Virginia.  After a test sail, we'll sail to the  Snowbird Rendezvous in Hampton, VA -- a half day sail away.  Excited by the event and looking forward to seeing friends there. 
  The ultimate decision on Mazu is -- she's coming with us.  Her skin issues persisted in NH all summer so it wasn't Miami or the heat at all.  After antibiotics for weeks her skin is clear, and her ear infection healed.  She's a happy, wheaten.  I think we've figured out how to treat it all and how to deal with her on the boat when we sail (keep her down below.)  Look forward to some great pix.