After spending last weekend on the boat freezing to death and getting almost nothing checked off our to do list, Friday is fast approaching and we have lots left to do. We managed to get the lazy jack up on the boom but micheal (the nice British gentleman who sold us the boat) came by and told me it was all wrong. (Even though I did it just as the YouTube instructional video showed) I looked at pictures of the boat from last year and he's right, his way looks a lot cleaner so I have to fix that. I found out the west marine in rochester has a lifeline assembly station I can use myself to fix the lifelines so I need to stop in there this week and get that done. Two of the new lines Michael bought were too long and two others need to be replaced. These are important, you D-ring yourself to these in bad weather in case you get tossed over, they have to be right. I studied the charts and spoke to an old timer at west marine in sayreville and he gave me some directions. Getting out of the marina is going to be an adventure in itself. With a powerboat, you get in and go. Not so with a boat with a 50 foot mast and 6 foot draft in a tidal basin with low bridges. Here is what I've been told: we are in cheese quake creek near sayreville, NJ. To get out, you have to time your exit to within plus or minus one hour of high slack tide in order to have the depth you need for your draft. There are also two lift bridges very close to each other right at the entrance to raritan bay. The second of the two is Rt 35 which only opens on the hour on demand. SOOOO.....you have to time the high slack tide to near an on the hour opening of the bridge. If you're not at slack tide, you'll get under the first bridge, get stuck between the two in a narrow high current channel and end up on a bridge abutment. Are you kidding me?? I've been going over the tide tables and it looks like 2-4 PM on Friday is when we have to make a dash for it. They tell me it's about 4 hours across to the mouth of the Hudson. I've scoped out some marinas right near manhattan so we will probably stay in that area. We want to flounder around and try out our non existent sailing skills a title bit before we head up the Hudson. We will also need time to take pics of lady liberty when we sail by. We're nervous and excited and a little apprehensive but we've been in some tight spots together in boats and gotten through it ok so I'm confident we'll be fine on this trip too. It can't be any worse than the trip back from Toronto in the cruiser in 8 footers when Dorice tied a huge bumper to her leg in case she went over.....or the time we came out of flood wood with waves coming over the bow....or the time we woke up at 4 AM off the sandy pond shoreline in 4 footers with the transom of the four winns slamming in the sand and had to find our way back to the pond in the pitch dark. Pic attached......meet the "Dorice Ann"