SPLASH!
03 November 2010
Karen
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
We are IN the Water!
What a big day...I ran this morning to Pricesmart for one final stock up while Jim scrubbed the cockpit and got the boat ready for her big moment this afternoon. The liferaft was delivered around 2pm, and all 200 lbs of it hoisted (by two guys - thank goodness) into its cubby on the back of the boat. I finalized the details with the office, and the guys came and put us in the launch cradle so AK could paint the last bits of the bottom for us. 3pm comes...and goes. The marina manager who launches all Cats had a meeting that ran long...it ran until 5pm, and so we launched about 5:15 pm (kind of like when we left St. Martin!). We almost missed Raymond and Cort, who were coming on the seatrials with us. They caught up to us at the last minute, and jumped on board. The launch was a little tricky, as the launch cradle lifted the front wheels of the tractor off the ground and so it had no traction. For a few minutes there it seemed like it was coming in with us...but they got it stopped, hooked up the bigger tractor to it and out we floated. I ran around the boat looking for leaks and checking the thru hulls, while Jim concentrated on driving. We had a little trouble starting the port engine...but starboard kicked right over and we ran them thru their paces at full power. Everything looked and sounded good - acted the way it should and so we dodged off to the marina across the way where we have booked a few nights. We were tied up right around 6pm. Remember....sunset is 5:45! So we were cutting it pretty fine by our standards - but it all worked out.
Our friends were standing by as we came in, and we had hands on the dock to take our lines so had no problem tying up. However, it truly was a nerve wracking experience doing everything in such a close space of time. So we have checked in, had a dip in the pool, and burgers for dinner and here we sit, with a breeze coming thru the hatches, the motion of the water below us and all is very well.