We left Poulsbo early last Friday morning headed for Sidney, BC. Our destination was Avalon Brightwork in Sidney. It’s time for a little brightwork TLC on our old boat. The weather was great for the beginning of our trip. Winds were calm, sunrise was pretty, and the tide was ebbing in our favor most of the way north. A nice day to be on the boat.
As the title suggests, we have not been kind to ours. We expect our dinghy to transport us to shore and back, take us exploring, adventuring, joyriding, and perhaps even rescue us in the event of an emergency. Yet we treat ours poorly. Not intentionally. We always have the best of intentions. I’d call it benign neglect.
We’ve had our boat a bit over six years now. The inflatable came attached to the stern. Back in early ’12, we installed new davits, seats, steering, and a new 20 hp Tohatsu outboard. For anyone wishing to relive that exciting story, visit this post.
Since that time, the dinghy has lived on the davits on the back of our boat. Good weather and bad. Tipped up on the stern, it’s convenient to use, but not to work on. We wash it and keep it mostly clean, but that’s just about the extent of our care. As for the motor, I check the oil from time to time. I also check to make sure it is still firmly attached to the dinghy.
The most recent abuse came from sitting in salt water for a month while our boat was in the yard. Barnacles and various slimy things were growing on it when we finally pulled it out of the water. Yuck.
I fired up the engines, untied the lines, and we were off at 5:35 this morning. Time to head home. Wind speeds had been 19 knots overnight, but the indicator showed 1.5 knots this morning and everything was calm in Roche Harbor.
The day started out great. More sun and fine weather. By afternoon, the wind had come up and clouds had covered the sky. Before that, though, I went for a nice walk. There were many canada geese over on the grass. Many babies around. It’s that time of year.
Friday started out (after coffee and doughnuts) with a talk by Bill Davis, the current PSGBOA president, about safety and dealing with emergencies afloat. A good subject and cause for thought. Kim and I think we are generally prepared, but we’ve not spent much time discussing and planning emergency procedures. That will soon change.
Another gorgeous morning in Roche Harbor. Americas Odyssey, a Grand Banks 49, is backing into the slip in the foreground. Funny that we should meet up with this boat. It was for sale in San Francisco for several years. Kim and I looked at it several times and seriously considered buying it at one point. It’s a beautiful boat.
Another beautiful morning. This one started in Friday Harbor. We took care of a couple errands, cleaned the boat a bit, and headed for Roche Harbor.
