HAUL OUT

Going up!

I KNEW it was going to be a no-good-very-bad day as soon as I woke up. You've heard of "getting out on the wrong side of the bed" right? Admittedly, that's hard to do when you sleep on a boat that doesn't have walk space around the bed. But, believe me, I got out of bed on the wrong side today!

Actually, weather-wise it couldn't be better. The sun was shining and the breeze was comfortable. Weather was not the problem.

We ran aground leaving Watch Hill. Try as we might we couldn't plow through the sand to get where we needed to be. Even the tow boat captain said the sand was shifting and filling in the channel. Before the tow arrived Lou tried putting up the head sail and gunning the engine.

KA-PLUNK! R-O-C-K-S!!!!! When the tow captain hooked up the tow rope, he said he would try to wiggle us out, but we would probably find a few more "pebbles." He was right. That is a really sickening sound. He also said we were lucky to not need the crane to lift us out of the rock field.

We got out and decided to be towed to Stonington, CT, which is just across Little Narragansett Bay from Watch Hill. It was a piece of cake to get in the travel lift to haul out the boat to check for structural damage. Except for some nicks and dings (some pretty big ones) in the keel, the boat checked out. I can't remember if we've ever had such a thorough inspection. So, maybe this was a blessing. The captain isn't so sure about that!

The next problem appeared when we tried to leave the lift and head for a mooring. The tide was out........you guessed it........and we got stuck AGAIN!!!!! It took 4 yard hands and their boat with a big engine to maneuver us around into a slip. I think they felt sorry for us and let us stay in the slip instead of the mooring at no extra charge. That saved us about $100.

THINGS THAT WERE GOOD ABOUT TODAY.........

*Lou and I didn't kill each other

*The weather was GREAT

*The floor boards got lifted up during the inspection and then the bilges got cleaned

*We're close to a cute town and will walk in for dinner

*The cell phone worked for all the calls to the insurance company

*We have $250 towing on our insurance instead of just $50 on our membership to Boat US

*Best of all this was written as an insurance claim so everything should be covered

Now my job is to remind Lou of all the positives. Tomorrow will be another beautiful day.