I HATE SHOES

After many days in the 90s sanding, painting and fixing stuff below the waterline, she was back on the hook last Thursday morning. As far as the inboard goes, I have finally realized that it is indeed the shifting cable, and only have to tweak it. So there it is, shes ready to head south with fresh bottom and topside paint, a working inboard and all of the rigging set to go. It took a little over a year, but I brought a 50 year old "classic plastic" back from the verge of being hacked up and crushed. I have a couple of regattas in early/mid August on Weatherly  and after that I'll be pulling the hook up and starting the trip south. The plan is to head through Long Island sound, down the East River and pulling into an anchorage in New York harbor. I'll wait for a weather window and head to Cape May, possibly all the way to Norfolk if the weather holds. Then it'll be a few days of motoring along the ICW inside of Hatteras and through Beaufort, North Caro...

I honestly didn't think this winter was going to end. Even after the first sail on Lyra, even after 7 charters on Weatherly, living aboard through a blizzard, a hurricane, countless smaller snow storms, freezing fog, a desk job, and a troop of high school swimmers, it still seems surreal I'm on the other side of it. Friends are making their way back into town, and have been trickling in over the past couple of weeks. Every day I count more boats in the anchorage and mooring field. The pulse of Newport slowly begins to strengthen as she shakes off a long, cold hibernation. It was a strange path that led me back here and this past winter punctuated it well. Soveraine  is reborn as well, and when I get a new turnbuckle this afternoon she will be seaworthy for the first time since I've had her, and I'd guess a long bit before then too. The chainplates are finally complete and they mark the end of a long, long list of essential items I knew I had to tackle when I purchased...

First and foremost Sunday marked the first true sign, in my eyes at least, that the sailing season had begun and winter has officially kicked it: we went for a sail. Green's charter business On Watch Sailing  is open for customers and to shake things out after a long, cold and snowy winter he invited myself and Elizabeth to join him and his family on Lyra , their Reliance 44. We sailed down to Hammersmith Farm and up under the Newport bridge and got some great pics for his website. The shrink wrap came off Saturday. After nearly 5 months guarded from the elements of a New England winter that included a blizzard in the top five most severe of all time, a half dozen snow storms and lots of the delightful "wintery mix", she emerged unscathed. I wish I had the opportunity to paint the decks or something before her unveiling  but most of my projects this winter happened below. Most recently I completely redid the head, which started a few mo...

Currently in Maine visiting dear old Dad who has a wood working shop, including a C&C router!  I designed a logo a couple of weeks ago (see the top of the blog) and my dad helped with the toolpaths to carve it. We ran short of time to produce a finished product, but the mockup out of foam looks great!