That time of year....

Well, it's that time of year. Spring. Curt is walking around talking to himself and making lists of projects that I can't begin to understand (How would you even begin to repair a rudder bearing? Curt knows...who knows how he knows...but he knows). Small packages from Jamestown Distributors and West Marine are showing up daily on our doorstep. Weekends are filled with the smell of Murphy's Oil Soap and industrial wax. Oh, and Curt bought wax this year used in aviation - yes, wax used on airplanes. Gee, our boat should be REALLY shiny this year!

Aquavit should be getting her new upholstery below in the next few weeks! Corrado Canvas in Bristol, RI is doing the job for us and the sooner the 1980's aqua blue can go, the better. We've chosen a mustard-gold chenille to brighten things up below, and for a nice change of pace. All very exciting stuff considering the cost of new upholstery is about the same as my first used car. We've waited a long time for this. On a side note, Kevin at Corrado Canvas says that he is working nonstop and has 60 jobs on his list right now almost all for boats over 35' - I think this says something about the improving economy...?

It's also time to start thinking about summer plans. So far, we are going to do the Leukemia Cup Regatta in early June with Erin and Mark Ward. We've got an overnight trip planned with Lynn and the triplets. We're going to visit Bryan and Michele Brown in upstate NY and sail across Lake Ontario to Toronto. We're going to spend a week on the boat in August - going to Mystic, CT and then to Block Island. We'd also like to squeeze in a Cuttyhunk Trip with Lara and Rian Ditt-Broom.

All of the plans make the 7 hours I spent yesterday buffing and waxing our beloved Aquavit worth it. I think. At least that's what I keep telling myself. It helps ease the pain from back and knees today. Time for some Advil. Oh I love this time of year!

The next boat...?

Is it bad luck to talk about the "next boat" while you still own your current boat?

We love Aquavit and plan on keeping her for several more years, but Curt and I do have our dreams of sailing into the sunset 9 years from now (Oct. 2019 seems to be a date in our heads) for about 2 years in the Caribbean. Yes, we're dreamers, but you have to dream first before the reality happens, right?

Here's our current list - we'll start looking/shopping in 3-4 years - most are older models as the late 70's and 80's were the heyday for great sailboats. They basically don't build them like they used to - not for our budget, at least. Whatever we buy will need upgrades, just like an old house.

Need: 39-44 feet, easy to sail for 2, safety, comfort, storage, tankage, decent sailing ability, excellent construction, and to be honest...a little style. Hey, we have to look good. Or at least, not bad. I like a boat with some character, Curt likes a boat that looks fast. We'll have to meet in the middle...

Lafitte 44'
C&C Landfall 43'
Pan Oceanic 43'
Wauquiez Amphitrite 43'
Pearson 424 or 422
Tartan (S&S) 42'
Tayana Vancouver 42'
Westsail 42'
Whitby or Brewer 42'
Bristol 41'
Passport 40'
Corbin 39'
Cabo Rico 38' (a gem of a boat)

Thank-you for being a friend.

Take a good look at the flame stitched 1987 upholstery in Aquavit.

This will be no more in 2011! Bye bye Golden Girls sofas and berths!

End of the 2010 Season.

The weather has turned on me. I hate this time of year as does Curt. While everyone around talks about beef stew and apple pie and back to school, I see the days getting shorter and shorter with less and less sunlight, and the temperature dropping. Depressing. Boats at Bristol Marine are being pulled out of the water - alone for the next six months, sitting on their stands. The foliage? A sign of death. Ok, so maybe that is a little dark.

I'll move on to recap our late summer...

Our last few months (August - present) of sailing were actually loads o' fun. I have no right to be depressed or complain. 2010 rocked. We took Paulina, Kevin, and Jodi out on the boat in late August and Paulina, all of 2.5 years, did fantastically well on the boat! We can't wait to have her aboard next year since now we know she has sea legs. Labor Day weekend we escaped Hurricane Earl with just some rain, but went sailing with Bryan and Michele Brown who were visiting from Buffalo to East Greenwich, RI overnight and then on to Wickford, RI. Lots of fast and fun sailing with a lot of leftover wind thanks to Earl. Bryan did very well at the helm with 30 knot winds and a whole lot of Narragansett Bay traffic! We also found our new favorite place in Wickford: Wickford Marina. Beautiful docks, lovely scenery, nice restrooms, a hot tub(!), and a nice walk to town through some historic neighborhoods. Wickford channel was dredged about a year ago and so finally our 6.5' draft can squeeze in. AHHH!

Curt and I got away by ourselves and the dogs one nice Sept. weekend (back to East Greenwich - an easy sail), and finally had my mom, Gloria, and Chet on the boat for a sail to Wickford overnight this past weekend. My mom and Chet loved the colonial atmosphere in Wickford (and my mom....the shops). Our sail home was fast and again, windy, with winds 20-25 knots out of the North-Northeast with gust to 30-35 knots. My mom turned a new shade of ghostly white on the ride home - I think she didn't expect "sailing" to be quite so adventurous. Thank goodness for that "free" little jib that Curt got last year (that he tried paying for three times with no success - that's another story for another day).

Aquavit comes out of the water in a week. We do not plan on sailing next weekend, because Curt says "it's over" and he is after all the Cap'n. It's time for beef stew and apple pie and short days and for me to grumble.

Fall project lists for both the house and the boat need to be made. We'd like to do new boat upholstery as a big project this winter. Curt is talking about replacing the windows to our house. The chimney needs to be swept. The garage needs to be cleaned out. The cars haven't been cleaned out since May. The boat needs to be cleaned out completely, winterized, and Curt and I need to do a shot of the dreaded Linie Aquavit as a thank-you to our boat and Poseidon for fair travels in the summer of 2010.

I'll also be counting the days until boating season 2011 begins...194 days....