Splash!

At long last, Launch Day Cometh.....

29 May 2014

Thirty-nine seemed to be my lucky number.

First, the truck arrived at 0939 to haul the boat to the launch ramp in Marion.  Neighbors came over to wish me well, a thoughtful gesture.  One even brought a gift of a bottle of champagne: a very thoughtful gesture.

One neighbor (a retired judge) wanted to correct the grammar on the truck's front bumper.  Mr. Three-Stripes just kept his mouth shut.

Thankfully, the boat haulers did not tear up the flowers my wife planted over the weekend.  I had been warned of serious consequences should that happen.  The guys from Brownell were just super.

"Oversize Load."

We snaked our way through town, arriving at the town boat ramp near Tabor Academy.

At the boat ramp, the haulers stepped the mast and backed the boat into the water at 1039.  

My friend assisting was the PO (Previous Owner) of the boat, who had donated the boat to MMA last year.  I sure was grateful that he on-hand to help.  He tells me, "You're a nice guy, but you don't know what the [expletive] you are doing."  Good friend.  There was a moment of anxiety as I tried to start the outboard motor -- a neighbor who used the same mechanic discovered upon launch of his boat that the engine transmission did not work.  I was more fortunate.

My first real test came as I had to maneuver the boat over to a nearby dock without crashing into one of very many, very expensive yachts in the harbor, including another sailboat that was tied up at the same dock ahead of us.  Dockside, we tinkered with the rigging and put on the mainsail.  It was too windy for us to fix the battens, so we decided to defer that task for another day.  There were also problems rigging the jib: the jib halyard ran free through the foil on the furler, but the jib itself kept jamming when we tried to hoist it.  After three or four attempts, we opted to defer that task also to another day.

The Admiral was on hand to do the christening.  I didn't want to shatter glass all over the town boat ramp or dock, so we opted to use Chinese baijiu (白酒) instead of French champagne.  I figured, a boat with a Chinese name deserves a christening with a Chinese libation.

The Admiral christened the boat using Chinese alcohol that I brought home from Sichuan.
I was loathe to waste it, but I'm the only one who seems to like it.  Years of practice, baby....

At 1139 we cast off and threaded our way through the harbor channel, heading out to Buzzards Bay. 

There are some very nice, very big, and very expensive sailboats in Sippican Harbor -- just outside the frame of the above photograph.  Watch out.  Eyes forward.

'Maneuvering with Difficulty'

It was a beautifully day -- the nicest day of the week.  We motored the 'Piao' out of Sippican Harbor, around Bird Island, and made for my mooring on the Weweantic River.

Piao heading NNE on Buzzards Bay, making for Great Hill and the Weweantic River.

The trip ran about ten nautical miles and took us about three hours.  Friends with a powerboat awaited us near the mouth of the river, but gave up after a while and returned to their mooring.  "What took you so long?," they later asked.  That trip takes them fifteen minutes, tops.

But what is the hurry?

In a separate post, I will upload the trip info from the 'Captains Blog' app that my friend designed.  I wish we could have tried out the sails, but that will come in time.

We arrived at the mooring in Dexter's Cove at 1439.  Finished with Engine.

Later that afternoon, after my crewmate had gone home, the Admiral came by the mooring to celebrate with a couple of cold adult beverages.  She borrowed a dinghy and rowed out to the boat.  Ruf start, but eventually she got the hang of it.