First Time Visitors!

We are at our home port of Battery Park at Sundusky, Ohio. The weekend of May 17 my best friend, Linda and her husband Luck came to visit our floating home for the first time. The weather was cold and rainy, but that didn't stop the fun. Of course, they each had to try to master the ceremonial "blowing of the conch." (Luck did better than Linda) We went to dinner at the 800 Club and played a silly game of matching wits between males and females. OF COURSE the women won! We are just too smart! Luck said the questions were stupid and slanted for women to win. HA! All in all, we had a great time. When asked what they thought of our new home, Luck said, "for a boat, it's not bad." (Obviously, he is a dedicated land dweller.) Hopefully, we'll talk him into visiting again down the road.

If anything's gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there!

On Friday, May 2, I drove up to join Chirs (Bill’s son) and Bill. It was pouring down rain, but eventually we got a bit of a break to “hank on the sails.” It’s a tedious job sorting through all the lines and getting them straight. Thank goodness Chris was there because the sails weigh a ton! (Ok, I might be exaggerating a bit.)

Chris coiling up some line.

Bill sorting through the "spaghetti"

of lines on deck.

The guys are working to put in the batens (fiberglass rods) into the stack pak, the bag that holds the sail when it's lowered.

Once we got the sails on, we left Harbor North, bound for Battery Park in Sandusky, about 12 nautical miles to the west (that’s our home port).

The captain and first mate, blissfully unaware of the impending storm.

Chris and the Huron River Light.

As I came out of the cabin with my first glass of wine to celebrate our initial passage of the season, the guys said, “look behind you.” EGADS! A nasty looking squall line was headed our way. We discussed who was going to stay at the helm to steer while it rained. No takers. So Bill set Mr. Otto (the autopilot) to take his turn at the wheel. We went down below to get out of the rain and were feeling rather smug when BAM! A 45 knot gust of wind heeled us far over to starboard (right). Bill and Chris scrambled up the companionway to assess the situation. Being the princess that I am, I stayed below and began a litany of Hail Mary’s.

The squall continued for about 20 minutes, then the clouds faded to a steady drizzle. Good ole’ Bill and Chris stayed at the helm and took us into port.

In case you’re wondering exactly how rocky is it in a boat when it’s storming…check out this video of our fruit basket. This is in the protected waters of the channel!

We made it safely to the dock and had a wonderful dinner with our boating friends, Rick and Tina and John and Daragh. I guess you could say the adventure is underway.

KERSPLASH!!!!

Welp, after months “on the hard” Wendy Michelle was more than ready to get back in the water. Thursday, May 1 was the day. The yard crew at Harbor North where we store the boat are really amazing. The following pics will give you an idea of how a launch is done, but you really need to see it in person someday…pretty cool stuff.

First, they back a trailer under the boat that has built-in support pads for the haul. Hydraulic lifts raise the pads under the boat and take the pressure off the jack stands. They then remove the jack stands.

Here’s Mark, one of the crew guys, showing off his superior strength as he holds the boat up with one hand. (yeah, right)

The boat is lifted up and SLOWLY moved down to the water.

Lifting straps are placed around the boat and a huge crane lifts it into the air.

Then they maneuver the boat over the water and lower her in.

Kersplash!

You could almost hear her say “ahhhhhh.”