10-31-2014
Well the end of the sailing season has arrived and with sadness we went over to the lake Monday evening and prepped the boat for the long journey home. We had till Nov 1st to move our boat or pay winter storage fees. We were going to do it the day before when we had all afternoon to work but the weather was so nice that someone, not me, did not want to waste it going to get the boat so we went to our favorite winery then to Grouse Ridge lake, AKA Bikini Bottom, for a relaxing float with friends.
I got off a lil early Monday so I could get all the tools I would need loaded up in the Four Runner. I double checked everything I had to make sure I could handle almost any problem we might run into.
With Cindy still in her immobilization boot from breaking for ankle on a walnut running we had to come up with a different approach for dropping the mast down but I thought I had come up with a workable solution. AS luck would have it the wind was blowing nicely when we arrived at the lake and for just a moment we had a fleeting thought of just one more sail. But knowing anything and everything can go wrong bringing the boat home we elected not to and started preparing her for the ride home.
I loosened up the standing rigging then positioned Cindy in the cockpit with one of our dock likes ran forward to the forestay hoop. I ran the line through the forestay anchor hoop and then attached it to the forestay cable. Plan was for Cindy to help control the descent of the mast by slowly letting the line out. Cindy, my lady of lil faith in my ideas, was quite concerned about the rope burning through her hands and the mast crashing down onto the rear pulpit. With the forestay cable attaching to the mast close to the top the amount of force she could put on the mast was going to far greater than what I could hold down low so I was confident it would work fine. So after re assuring my lil lady one more time I undid the mast base's front pin and we slowly let the mast down onto the crutch easier that we have ever been able to before. Now guess who the hero was???
With the mast down and all the lines tied off I jacked up the trailer and checked the bearing both hubs had a li water in them that I purged out with grease from the grease zerks I installed in the hubs back in the spring. After about 45 mins of work it was time to say good bye to the sailing site one last time for this season and take our Memory Maker home.
All was going well getting to 446 so we decided to stop at the Scenic View for fish tacos on the way home. We had a yummy dinner with Cindy and her sister each enjoying a few adult beverages as we sat outside enjoying what is probably going to be our last 80 degree day of the season. With tummies full and thirst quenched it was time to finish our journey. All went well and we had a uneventful trip home. Have to love the uneventful trips home pulling a boat.
We parked our girl in the driveway till we could get time to take the mast and pulpits off and back her into the garage so we can start her winter make over. The plan is to redo the exterior from the keel up. Being 32 years old our old boat is starting to show her age with a dull gel coat and a house exterior latex painted bottom starting to peel off. With a few leaks here and there she just needs some TLC to bring her back in line with how she sails. It is going to be a long winter with a lot of long hours to be put in prepping her for paint, removing the keel and blasting it before repainting it, and then painting the boat. But we both really enjoy our lil boat and we just want her to look as good as she really is.
We had put in for the buoy drawing again this year in hopes of getting a coveted buoy at Paynetown state dnr site. Not only was it a bit cheaper than at the sailing site, it was much closer which meant we could sail longer. Well the drawing was last weekend and we elected not to go, someone wanted to sleep in. After calling and finding out we were drawn 7th we felt pretty good about our chances till we found out that they had decided to go with the names drawn last year as they did not award any buoys last year due to a condemned dock. Once we found out we were now 17th on the list instead of 7th Cindy was just sure we would not get one again this year even after the DNR rep told me we were in a better position with last year's number than this years. He said we should hear something by the first of the year. So the waiting game begins.
Yesterday morning I got a call from the Paynetown office asking if we were still interested in keeping our boat there. I said yes and she asked if we wanted a buoy or a slip. I was like what? A buoy or a slip? She said yes, they had both open. While I was pretty sure I knew the answer I told her I would call her right back as soon as I verified with my partner which they preferred. A quick text and email to Cindy and in a few short minutes I was calling them back saying we wanted a slip!!! Guess the guy was right. We were better off with last year's number!
Taking the boat apart last night to put her in the garage while bitter sweet, was still done with a lil more enthusiasm with the knowledge that next sailing season would be spent sailing out of a slip 20 mins closer to home than what we had to travel this year to launch her each time! It is our hope to make it over to sail much more often now since we just have to jump on her and go!
The good news just kept coming yesterday as while I laid in bed before drifting off to sleep I checked the weather in the UP and they were forecasted to get snow!!!!! Can it get any better? Well yes, we could get a early snowfall here at home but right now I just want to make sure we have snow on the ground for our ski trip to the Porkies!
So while our summer sailing adventures are over for now, our winter skiing adventures are just getting cranked up! I see a very busy winter in store for us with the boat repairs, ski trips, and what ever other adventures we can squeeze in. Now we just need to get Cindy's foot healed up and get the all clear from the doc so we can start packing for the UP!!!!
