Stepping the Mast

A wall in Bristol

Going up!

Lou was carefully watching while the crane lifted our 54 foot mast into the air and onto the boat. These guys have done hundred of these procedures, but Lou still had to supervise it. :-)

We've been "camping out" on the boat since June 1 expecting to hit the water any day. But, we're still not there. We climb up and down about 13 feet several times a day. Actually, we've been enjoying having the time to catch up on tons of projects. This is such a cute town and area of Rhode Island, that we've done some exploring too. This is a street in Bristol.....

My birthday dinner at the New York Yacht Club in Newport was a memorable experience. We sat in the lawn chairs on top of a grassy ridge over-looking the busy harbor. Now as we sail by, we'll know how it is to actually be there. Ït took a letter of introduction for us to be able to eat there. We shared lobster macaroni and cheese. It was delicious.

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED FROM THIS SAILING LIFE:

Never set a schedule because it's bound to change. (We thought we would be in the water by June 1st.)

Only invite guests who are very flexible. (The schedule is likely to change on a moments notice.)

If it can go wrong, it probably will. (We moved the sink top. Then we discovered that that disconnected the drain hose. So, when I drained the dish water, it all went into the newly painted bilge.)

We have met the nicest people. (The marina staff are fabulous, the Commodore and his wife have gone out of their way to socialize with us, a stranger wrote a letter of recommendation for us to go to the NYYC, etc. etc. etc.)

Cleaning and maintaining a boat is darn hard work! (Lou takes Ibuprofen on a regular basis.)

Making little repairs in a timely manner is so important. (It means that you are always working on a "fix it" project.)

Sleeping in sheets is a true luxury. (Sixteen day of sleeping in sleeping bags made us appreciate a "proper" bed last night. However, it was so cold we had to break out a sleeping bag to add to the covers. Thank heavens we brought them on the boat.)