Tony's first time at the helm.

Friday afternoon, Kelley and Tony drove over to the marina and I joined them after I got out of work. Traffic was a little heavy but not too bad. I got there and they were all settled in and Tony was really enjoying his first visit to the boat. His comment? "Hmmmmm...I claim this vessel as my own!"

After checking out the delicious hot dog's at Max and Marley's, we had an enjoyable evening just hanging out on the dock and talking to our fellow slip mates. It's really wonderful having "instant friends" who all share a common interest. Our next door neighbors, George and Jane, introduced us to Richard and Dave. Richard has read Chapman's Boating and Piloting Guide cover to cover several times and knows just about anything you could want to know about boats. We hung out on his boat, Forewater, and had a great time recounting all our mis-adventures on the water.

The next morning, Kelley made a great breakfast for us and we prepared Golightly for her first sail on Lake Michigan with team Nelson at the helm. everything went great. We motored out of the marina, crossed Muskegon Lake over to the channel, and headed out onto Lake Michigan.

It was a lovely day for casual sailing. The wind was a little light but we were in no hurry. Tony took to the helm with no problems and we just enjoyed the sun and waves. It was very nice and very relaxing. Sadly, it was over too soon as Tony needed to get back home so he could be at work by 5 pm. We turned around and headed back to the marina.

Our docking is getting better and (other than I over compensated a little bit) we got Golightly back into her slip with little hassle. Tony and Kelley got themselves packed up and away they went, leaving me alone with Golightly.

It was kind of an odd sensation, to say the least. Just me and the boat. Oh, well, time to try and work on some little projects. Or so I thought. Just as I was working on clearing the nav station, my brother called me on my cell phone and told me they were just outside of Muskegon harbor. So, they cruised on over and I went for a little ride on his Searay 280. Then, when I got back, Melissa and Ken Harris called and came over to check out our new boat. It was a very pleasant evening but I wound up not getting much done!

The next morning, Geoff, a buddy from work, came over to the marina to visit and get to know Golightly. The winds were kind of aggressive so we wound up not sailing but had a great time just talking, eating, and enjoying a few bevvies. Around 3 in the afternoon, I cleaned up and buttoned up the boat and headed home.

Yet another fine boat weekend!

This shows old teak (lower right), clean teak (just above) and oiled teak (the darker part). Kelley is doing an awesome job!

Perfect day for our first solo sail!

We zipped over to the marina after work and got settled for our second weekend on Golightly. Despite being Memorial Day weekend, the traffic wasn't too bad. We spent the evening doing a little more cleaning and arranging and making our beautiful ship more "ours".

Saturday morning, Kelley got a chance to work in a real galley and made a wonderful breakfast of eggs with mushrooms and bacon. The marina wifi leaves a lot to be desired so we didn't get a chance to enjoy our weekend tradition of coffee and crosswords but we'll get that rectified soon.

Around noon, we decided to take Golightly out for a little cruise on the lake. This would be our very first time of piloting the boat all by ourselves. Leaving the slip was a bit of an ordeal. It has become very apparent that she doesn't turn very well in reverse. Fumbling around with the controls, I finally got her pointed in the right direction. We looked like idiots but we didn't hit anything! Score!

We got out on the lake, avoided a beercan race and raised the sails. Man, oh, man, does she sail nice! We spent about four hours on the water just leisurely sailing back and forth, getting a good feel for her and reflecting on our great fortune. Pure bliss!

Around four in the afternoon, we reluctantly started the motor, lowered the sails and headed back. We took our time and experimented with driving under power. Turning, stopping, going in reverse, trying to turn in reverse, trying to go around in a circle; we got a slightly better feel for how she reacts. We headed into the marina and got her tucked into her slip with very little issue. She definitely handles better in forward than reverse!

That evening, we enjoyed the marina ambiance (Jimmy Buffett music playing in the distance, the laughter of our fellow boaters) and had a nice light dinner in the cockpit.

Sunday was a boat project day. We went to West Marine and purchased supplies for working on the teak. We began the project and then got a call from my brother who had just splashed his boat in a town a little south of us. George, his bride, Laurie, my sister, Kris, and her husband, Mike, all came over and checked out our girl. They were very impressed and we had a great time on the boat and then went out to dinner. Our first choice was aborted due to a TWO HOUR wait to get seated so we went to Mango's and got seated immediately. Good food, good times, great family.

After everyone went on their way, Kelley began working on the teak again. She's doing a phenomenal job and only had one little mishap. While spraying off the teak cleaning products on the deck, she neglected to close all the portholes and nicely soaked the settee cushions. She was mortified but I assured her it was no biggie. After all, it's a boat!

We spent the remainder of the evening with John and Karen on their boat, Paws Aboard, and watched a little bit of a movie until we were just too tired to keep our eyes open.

Monday, we had another wonderful breakfast, listened to the sounds of the Memorial Day parade that went right past the marina, and visited a bit with Dave and Mary Kay aboard Clair De Lune. Very fun! The last boat project of the weekend entailed removing the "dorm room fridge" that was taking up a big chunk of the quarter berth. We had no issue getting it out of the boat and into the back of the car. We packed up the rest of our gear and, reluctantly, headed back home.

Goodbye, Golightly, we'll see you very soon!

Well, after many ups and downs and sleepless nights, we are now the proud owners of "golightly", a 35 foot Young Sun Cutter rigged sloop!

Friday morning, I drove over to Muskegon and launched the boat with her previous owner to sea trial. After a couple of bumps with the water filter, we took to the lake in very unseasonably cold temps. With both of us in winter jackets, we motored out into the lake and went over the usual sea trial stuff. Originally, the weather looked like it would be "meh" for sailing. We raised the sails anyway to make sure all was well. As we did, the wind picked up and we enjoyed a great sail. It went longer than we had planned simply because it was soooo nice to be sailing back and forth and enjoying the sunny but cold morning. She sails like a dream!

We reluctantly headed over to her new slip, tied her off and finalized the deal. I sent a text to Kelley. "We.Are.Boat people!"

My buddy, John, had just closed on his Chriscraft motor yacht and was in the slip across from me. His girlfriend, Karen, and Kelley both had to work and were driving up to enjoy the weekend on our new boats. We had a few hours to kill so John and I relaxed on his new vessel ("Paws OnBoard") and raised a glass to our good fortune.

When the girls arrived, we each played on our respective boats and then had pizza and cocktails over on the Chriscraft. It was a lot of fun but, exhausted, Kelley and I called it a night around 9:30! We climbed into our comfy vee berth (so glad I brought the ceramic disk heater!) and fell fast asleep.

At least, until one am when I woke up and was too excited to fall back out!

The rest of the weekend we spent organizing and cleaning and just getting used to our new floating home. It was too bloody cold and the winds were too harsh to do any sailing but we were content just sitting there unable to believe our good fortune.

Sunday, we reluctantly left "golightly" and headed home, the whole time saying back and forth, "I don't want to go!"

Now comes the fun of more cleaning, fixing, adjusting, boat projects and a host of other things that will make us think, "Why in the world did we buy a boat?" But, really, one look at her and we know. We know!