Back on the Hard

In sailing lingo, having your boat out of the water is calling being on the "hard". Today it was time to take the boat out of the water. At Lake Nockamixon you need to haul your boat out by the end of October. Since we will be in Key West at the end of the month, today was the day.

For our first time hauling out we did not do too bad. Forgot to raise the keel, but it came up by itself anyway. Backing up a trailer is not hard if you take it slow and use small adjustments. Since I only get to practice twice a year, my learning curve is slow. We did get Sailohr back home safely. A little power washing and the bottom looks pretty good. Touch paint will be in order and I need to replace the halyard on the roller furling. All in all, a successful season.

Hopefully I will get to help sail some larger sailboats in Key West. We are taking a couple snorkel tours and I will see if I can lend a hand. Can't cause too much harm trimming a jib sheet. I'll let you know.

I definitely could not do all of this without my lovely wife Ruth! She is interested in the sailing and I'm very lucky to have a spouse that supports my hobbies. Pictures from the day: