Lost my sea legs ...

First off let me say that any weekend we spend on the boat is likely a better weekend than it would have been had we spent it somewhere else. We don't live and work on a boat 2 or 3 (or sometimes 4) days a week because someone is threatening to cut off my hair (Good luck with that!), drain all the gas out of my motorcycle, or take away my birthday. No, we love being at the lake and on the water. In fact, I am slowly learning to kind of like my boat again ... slowly ... kind of ...

But the truth is a weekend spent at the dock is not quite as good as a weekend spent out on the lake. Sailing the day away, spending the night snug in our favorite cove to sail the next day away as well? Those days are so good that I don't think they count against the days we get to spend on this earth. I think they are freebies, with a hint of heaven in them already. Besides, I miss my Sunday night case of the leans from having had a moving boat under me for the better part of 48 hours.

It is easier to get work done while on the dock with Air Con, AC power available, unlimited water, the dock box near by, (Chuck full of extra tools and necessary chemicals - where do true cruisers put that stuff?) and ready advise from any (or all) of the assembled. And yes, there is plenty of work to do. The current list of "big stuff" to get done before we take to blue water includes the dodger (haven't yet screwed up the courage to start that project), self-steering rig, (don't know about the courage but lacking the cash at the moment), we still have to decide on dingy type, size, and power, there are oil leaks to track down and beat into submission, solar power, wind vane ... you get the idea.

There was a well-attended raft up Saturday night, but Ye Old Depth meter still reads "0.0" under the keel while sitting at the dock.  We decided to stay in.  The report Sunday was that most everyone bumped bottom somewhere, that some bumped pretty hard, and that at least one hit something with enough umph to have crew on deck grabbing rigging to stay on board. As of this moment the forecast is for a slight chance of showers, temps back in the 100s, without a good, soaking rain, in sight.  Except for bumming occasional rides with our shallower friends (keels, not personality), for the foreseeable future we will spend weekends living on a sailboat without actually sailing the boat. I guess Mother Nature wants us working on the boat instead.

But my sea legs are getting pretty weak.