Dave and Jill came down for a day sail. Maddy came along, and she and Lily spent the day together, first at the pool at the marina, then to Grandma's.

We had help leaving the slip, as two B&J deckhands were helping someone else leave their slip. When they were done, they came over and helped us. Perfect. Easy.

It was hot and there was a nice breeze: not too much, but enough for a nice sail, maybe 10 knots. We motored out into the Sound, and then raised sail. I left the reef in the main for Patti, but rolled out all of the genny. We were soon sailing along at about 3.5 - 4 knots. First, we headed south east, then almost directly east.

Conditions were fabulous: about five degrees of heel, with no chop. Very comfortable for all. Jill and Dave were very impressed with the new Hukilau. They both want to come on an overnight trip. They kept asking "were could you go in this boat?"

We sailed east for awhile, going past the Thimbles (there were a lot of boats in the anchorage there) and out to about Sachem Head before we decided to turn around and head back for a mooring. We sailed back about a full knot slower than before, but again, things were beautiful. We had lunch (sandwiches from Ray and Mikes) and some soft drinks while we meandered. Eventually, we wound up back at the harbor entrance and we struck sail.

At this point, it was dead low tide, and I was mildly concerned about the depth at the mooring field. But I remembered that the last time we were there at low tide, we didn't have a problem.

Heading in, we could see the field was mostly empty, and ol' 210 was free and waiting for us. We had a little more than three feet of water under the keel when we tied up. Patti easily handled the line and then washed up below (Note to self: get some hand soap!); she remembered to turn the water on before we moored.

We were all over the side quickly, with everyone very pleased with the water temp. A great swim and float, followed by some adult beverages and chatting.

We stayed there for a couple of hours; all told, I think we spent about 5 hours on the boat before redocking. One of our neighbors -- I don't remember seeing him before -- helped us dock.

One of fender lines pulled through again, and I had had enough at that point. While Jill and Patti went off to change, Dave and I lengthened the lines so they went all the way through the fender and then back up. No more relying on knots. I then tied up the bimini in anticipation of the remnants of the hurricane making their way to us by Tuesday. I set up the shore power, and then we joined the ladies. A quick change, then pick up dinner at Cheshire Pizza. Dave also needed to see the Spark 40. Too cool.