Cheryl’s Notes:

Well, we are finally back on Leprechaun. Our last year has been a new adventure. We spent the winter setting up housekeeping in our new condo. We both worked part-time to re-equip our new space, and to keep busy. Our short foray into retail was a learning experience and they are holding our jobs for when we get back to Minnesota. We evidently made a good impression in our old age.

We started our new adventure by attending my nephew’s graduation from UW Madison. Congratulations, Andrew. Spent two days with family, and then while all of our family headed west to the Twin Cities, we headed east towards Virginia. We arrived and I think that Leprechaun gave a sigh of relief. She looked pretty sad up on her jack stands. We have spent the past week sanding, cleaning and painting the bottom. John spent time waxing the hull while I removed the stainless frames topside. We finally got her launched on Wednesday then they pulled the stick. We get to float here in the water until it is time to load the truck. I showed up here a whiter shade of pale from the long Minnesota winter. I have not been this white in four years. I have since added too much color, but the sunburn will fade to tan.

It looks like the hauler will be here next week to start our over the road journey to Sandusky, OH. Once we get there we are going to spend some time putting the boat back together and with my sister, Barb who lives in Cleveland. There has been some talk about the roller coasters at Cedar Point. We are also going to take them on a sail out to Put-in-Bay. Hope that we all survive.

John’s Notes:

We’ve been absent from Leprechaun and the cruising life for far too long. It didn’t take more than a day for me, at least for me, to get back to “cruise” mode. No shirt, no shoes, no shit, who cares. My hair is a couple of shades lighter and longer, my skin is several shades darker (lost that MN/WI winter white, thank God.

Have put in about 50 hours of what could be considered “work” for most people. The end result is that for the most part I feel great. There is just something about working on boats with your partner in crime that makes you feel like you have accomplished something. It’s even better when things work out “almost” the way you planned.

We have had a few problems along the way. I guess when you leave a boat sit for a few months in an unnatural environment (out of the water) you have to expect that some of your systems will not weather well. So far, nothing that can’t be dealt with. I have noticed that the price of everything is getting like my forehead, higher each year. When working on the hull or bottom, the boat seems to get a couple of feet longer each year too. At the rate we are going, in a few more years, it will seem like we are sailing the QE2.

At present, it looks like next week might be the shipping week to move the boat to Sandusky, OH. Once we get there, we have a few more issues to deal with regarding the boat. Nothing major, but never say never. I just have the feeling that the crew in Sandusky might be a little more capable of handling some of the things we have to fix. The people here at Coan River are great but just a little suspect when it comes to the finer points of maintenance and repair. Somehow, I have to add an inch or two to the length of the backstay in order to get a few turns on the turnbuckles. This has been a problem since the very first time I ever un-stepped the mast. I think I know how it all started but the fix is a little more difficult. I also have to pour a new Spar-Tite collar for the mast partner. After 13 years, it is not going to make another season.

The repairs/refurbishment that we have done so far have worked out well. The reefer problem turned out to be almost a non issue. Anything that only costs $50 is a non issue. The new bottom paint is fantastic and costs only a fraction of what we have been using for the last 4 years. I just hope it holds up as well. According to a dock neighbor, it will. Just have to wait and see.

Going back to cruising only 6 months a year will see some changes in how we do things. We will no longer have to have “everything” we own and value onboard. Once we get back to Lake Superior and unload some of the “extras” we have with us now, the boat will once again seem much bigger. I can’t say enough about the pure pleasure of the cruising life, but there is a lot to be said for less clutter.

It’s not that I’m a neat freak. According to my wife, I’m just “quirky.” I have no idea what she is talking about………………

We still have a few tasks before shipping day. I don’t think that it’s anything that we can’t handle in our spare time. Damn, I love retirement. It does look, however, that we are going to learn a few skills this summer, or, somebody is going to get paid lots of money to give us the “experience.” I hate those teaching lessons.