Pre-Irene

Prepping for the storm and making this video for our insurance purpose, should we need it.  Thought we'd share it in my world of Knotical Adventure.  It will truly be an adventure for RO.  She has been through many blizzards and high winds last winter.  Actually, the biggest threat we have now is not the winds but the storm surge which is expected to reach between 6-8 ft.  Call it bad timing when it will arrive at the time of high tide (8 ft) as well.  The boardwalk to the marina could potentially be underwater by tomorrow morning.   If necessary, we may leave the boat later today and stay with family in the next town.  Avalon across from the marina may also free up the vacant apts for us and other liveaboards until the storm passes.  Stay tuned....

Our solo voyage for the day!

As many of us boaters and sailors head out to sea, we hope and depend on the gods of sea and wind to keep us safe on each and every voyage.  Our solo trip was an exciting and challenging one as we make our way to Northport Bay, Long Island.  With respect to many others sleeping in at the marina, we decided to pull out at 0900 instead of at the crack of dawn.  Full of energy and ready to go at 0600 became difficult to wait for 3 hrs.  :) 

Finally, Capt Tom blew the horn by its long deep low sound to let everyone know that we were headin' out!  He did great maneuvering out of the marina, channel and finally to open sea.  With RO moving gently on the calm surface, I feel the salt water breeze blowing as I pulled the fenders back inside on the port and starboard sides and reorganize the lines for the return trip.  And I stood out on the fore deck thinking of just us and RO out in the open, it was a pretty cool feeling! 

After one hour's trip to Northport Bay, we found a great spot and tried out the anchor for practice.  We got settled in and had an early lunch before we went to work on the sundeck roof.  The sundeck roof had been repaired with epoxy on the entire roof and 4200 sealant around some stubborn areas.  We thought it was a good time as any to paint the final coat of oyster white paint with curing agent to guarantee sans leaks while the weather was still cooperative.  Over the winter, we noticed a spot here and there and they progressively got worse when the longest and wettest spring hung over us.  With a job almost complete, we ran out of the paint.  A little quart approx $70.  When you have a boat, you better be prepared for BOAT (break out another thousand).  This told us that we needed to take a break and go swimming!  So we did! 

All in all, the trip ended with us safely back to our slip by dusk and we high-five'd each other for a great success on our first solo voyage.