Well, as previously reported we put our beloved sailboat in the slip last weekend. Much to our satisfaction it went swimmingly as the Brits say. We only had to drop the mast once to make some minor adjustments before raising it for good and then it was in the water with little fuss and no muss whatsoever. As we feared, the wind was howling with gusts past 30 MPH, which did cause us to second guess the wisdom of one, trying to raise the mast and two, motoring over to our new slip. I was able to hold the mast centered while my wife cranked on the trailer winch to raise the mast. More surprising was my flawlessly parking Bella in her new home. There was a tail wind as I motored towards our spot, but with a little judicious reverse she went right in pretty as you please. Unfortunately, the next attempt was not quite so good. No damage mind you. but lets just say it is amazing how fast some folks can run when they think your speed is a little hot as you approach your slip next to their pride and joy. Our new neighbor doesn’t strike one as the Olympic track star he most certainly was, but I’m here to tell you that man can run! Lesson Number One, make sure the centerboard is down if you want the boat to actually turn when you move the tiller and you don’t have a couple of football fields worth of space handy.

On to the pictures. The first one is of yours truly trying to remember how to tie a rolling hitch to secure the fenders for the trip down the ramp.

Next one is a photo of the ramp. Not sure why you would want to see that but here it is anyhow.

This one is my favorite so far, Bella, safe and sound in her new home. Doesn’t Precision Boat Works make a pretty sailboat?

We spent the rest of Saturday stowing and cleaning, dreaming and eating. My lovely wife prepared a beautiful salad for dinner and we had some dill havarti cheese and crackers as well. Then we retired early.  My bunkmate later proved to be a fierce combatant when it comes to who gets the warm sleeping bag in the middle of the night. With a knee to the spine she stripped me of my nice warm down sleeping bag and left me with a pathetic little fleece comforter that couldn’t keep you warm next to a fireplace, let alone in the icy cabin we woke up in. Oh well, it is amazing what a nice hot cup of coffee in the morning will make you forget. Soon the sun rose higher and the temperature as well.

The wind was still in the mid 20’s, so after we completed our chores we decided to brave the wind… almost. We decided to take a cruise under the iron sail. I wanted to test out the motor anyways, as I had only had it running in our driveway as of yet. It is a 2001 Yamaha 9.9 and it ran very nicely, I must say. I was amazed at how quiet it is, of course it is mostly just at a fast idle which got us to 4.5 knots easily. At hull speed of 6 knots it was only slightly louder. We motored up-lake to a point where we ran across this fine looking fellow. He did not seem as impressed with us however.

It was upon our return to the slip where I would prove to all that you can never judge a book by it’s cover, which I mentioned earlier. Like I said before, the man can move! Once we dropped the centerboard I was able to motor right in though. My first flawless attempt must have been a fluke as the centerboard was up that time. Oh well, I like lessons that don’t end with calls to the insurance company. Is it the weekend yet? We can’t wait to get back and take her out for an actual sail this time. Tick tock, tick tock.