So close ...

We are so close!

Cameron Marine Transport got us out of the Midwest a couple of weeks later then we had hoped. But they made a blazing two day trip across the Allegheny mountains to the side near the ocean and, most importantly, delivered Kintala to the Oak Harbor Marina without so much as a scratch. The last few hundred yards of the trip were down a driveway that looked way too narrow and overhung with trees for boat and truck to squeeze through. The good folks at Oak Harbor assured me there would be no problem, that bigger boats had come that way more times than could be counted. And of course they were right. By mid afternoon Kintala was sitting in sight of the creek that joins the river which flows into the bay that leads to the ocean. Less than two hours later her mast was secure on the rack and she was secure in her second set of stands in almost as many days.

There had been a small hope that the boat would go straight from the truck to the water but the guys at Oak Harbor suggested we not be in such a rush. There is still the propeller issue to settle along with a couple of other minor jobs below the waterline. Taking a few extra days at this point to ensure everything is done right is the smart way to go. We did get the dodger and Bimini back up, then headed off to spend the night with family; where I sit in air conditioned splendor, stretched out on the world's most comfortable couch, and bang on this keyboard. (Ed note: sorry about the smudge on the camera lens that was not discovered until too late. It was a very hot and sweaty day...)

These have been some of the most remarkable, busy, hot, and challenging couple of weeks I have ever had; and I am feeling the miles and hours of work. This final transition from old life to new has been a fantastic journey all of its own. New experiences, new friends, new places; the sadness of saying good-byes, trying to imagine what will come up next; and now the final couple of days before The Retirement Project is a project no more. Perhaps I should be elated that we are finally here, but mostly I'm just tired. It is a good kind of tired though, the kind that comes of hard efforts to do a worthy thing. Within a few days we can write about splashing, stepping the mast, casting off, a first night on the hook, our first day on the Bay.


But for tonight I am content knowing we are so close.