Home Sweet Home

In years past, we have stood at the end of the dock at the Annapolis Sailboat Show and looked longingly at the cruising boats anchored in the bay, saying that some year it was going to be us there. Although we opted not to anchor in the bay this year because it was easier with our guests, we were without any doubt in full cruising mode at the show. We spent the vast majority of our time perusing the vendor booths, looking to tick as many things off our list as possible at boat show discounts. We were, for the most part, successful, but the items we didn't find were a bit surprising to me. I had hoped to find an oil changing pump/container which I did not, and also a Hella Marine Turbo fan. I never even saw a fan in the whole place except for one on a display for a marine mechanic school. I guess the 60° rainy weather discouraged the fan market. We did locate our outboard engine hoisting strap at a price I couldn't even buy the materials to make it for, our Mantus anchor chain snubber hook, and as Tim mentioned in his post, our VHF/AIS unit with remote and a new GPSMap 441 to replace the old one that didn't have the right charts. The charts are no longer available for our old unit and, to be honest, they would have cost almost as much as the new unit did at boat show prices so we bit the bullet.

Tim wanted to see some of the racing style monohulls so I used the time to rest my feet in any available chair while he did that. I had no interest in seeing the inside of any boats this year. I went into 2 of them, one of them the Tartan 43 that is most similar to ours in size and use, and after two I was done. We have worked hard enough these past 2 years to make our boat our home that all of these boats left me with an oddly flat reaction. They were sterile, lacking any personality. They were also for the most part, as Tim mentioned, ridiculously out of our price range and societal bracket. In spite of 2 days of traipsing around in pouring down rain and sloshing through puddles it was a good show because it reinforced my belief that we have chosen well. Have we had our trials and traumas? Yes. Have we had more than our share of mechanical difficulties? Undoubtedly. But last night after finishing the VHF/AIS install we hung the last of the LED light bars under the nav station shelf, complete with dimmer switch, and I looked around the boat with a smile. The place has become firmly ours,the atmosphere is comfortable and warm and inviting. Kintala is without any doubt now our home.