Scuttled Again

The joy of out-smarting the weather gods by launching Corsair a day early last week was short-lived. Now that she was finally in the water and in anticipation of an approaching "spring break" sailing week with my family,  I wanted to spend a day practicing docking under the watchful eye of an instructor from The Sailing Academy. I originally arranged to do so last Friday but as the day approached the weather forecast deteriorated (what a surprise!).  So, I rescheduled for Sunday, but that went bad as well. Finally, it looked like today, Monday 31 March, would be perfect. Temps were forecast to be in the mid-60s and there would be some light winds but nothing too difficult to manage.  

I traveled back up to Northern Virginia late Saturday evening so I could spend Sunday on the boat. There were inventories to complete and safety equipment to inspect in anticipation of finally casting off.  Arriving at the boat around noon on Sunday, I found the weather again progressively worsening. By 3pm the wind was howling at a steady 25knts with gusts over 40knts. The rain was bitter cold and at one point was mixed with large snowflakes. I then got a call from my instructor informing me that the wind forecast for Monday had changed and while the sun would be shining the winds would not abate and there was no way we could undertake the docking instruction. We'd have to reschedule again.  

Now, I had a new dilemma. Herrington Harbor North had given me until 9am today (Monday 31 March) to "get out of town." They are busy launching boats and need temporary slip space. With weather as an excuse I could stay another day but work requirements meant I wouldn't be able to get back to the Marina before Friday. How was I going to get the Corsair to her new home in Herrington Harbor South? 

It turns out my unlimited "gold" towing package with my BoatUS membership allows for such requirements. After a few phone calls I had arranged for Capt "Mike" of TowBoatUS to tow Corsair over to her slip at HHS on Tuesday morning.  

Stay tuned;  someday soon I may actually take the helm of the boat I have owned since last September.

While hunkering down I played around with a fish-eye lens attachment for my iPhone.  Here are some of interior shots.