Turtle put to bed, BVI coming up!

Our marina at Lake Nockamixon requires us to have the boat out of the water by 10/31 each year. This is really a shame as the leaves are a really nice color right now and there is usually a bit more wind this time of year. Ruth and I took the boat out two weeks ago and the Turtle is sitting safely in our front yard. A few things we do to put her away for the winter include:

• Power wash the bottom to get all the gunk off
• Neatly stow the lines for next year
• Inspect the sails and put them in their bags
• Make sure the mast and rigging is tightly secured
• Empty out the gas in the carburetor 
• Cover the boat

Next spring we will do a touch up paint on the hull and top sides then lubricate any motor parts for the season. Pretty easy to do as long as you stay on top of everything. Last phase will be to do a thorough inspection of the rigging to make sure it's good for the year.

Sailing is almost over for the season for us. We have a great trip planned for BVI in November and look forward to sharing pictures from our trip in this blog. This time we are planning on sailing out to Anegada Island if wind and sea cooperate with us. I normally like sailing monohulls but we have a big 40' catamaran chartered this time. Hopefully our ASA 118 training will do us well.

Happy sailing!