An auspicious start: finally on the water!!

We've beginning to learn what patience really is, and how complicated arranging all the bits and pieces required to make things happen in the sailing world is. We finally splashed today though and started our adventure with this view as we motored to our mooring. 

To fill you in on the last few days and some of the gory details, the engine controllers that we were waiting for arrived on the island - as advertised - after one week, and were delivered to our boatyard the next day.  We had a new hurdle, though...finding another captain to help us splash (since we haven't been officially checked-out for insurance purposes). The captain we had originally arranged was unavailable for our new splash date due to another commitment so our local contact had to scramble to find another captain who was free. This was no mean feat since it seems that the entire COVID-wearied world has decided to charter boats and all the captains are fully booked at the moment.  As luck would have it, we were able to find a captain who was willing to modify his plans and help us out.  The next step was to find out if the boatyard had an opening this afternoon to put the boat in the water.  Keep in mind that the entire cruising community has been waiting for the end of hurricane season and have been furiously preparing their boats and reserving launch slots so the first response was "you want to launch this afternoon?" followed by a deer in the headlights look.  After a phone call to the boatyard manager, Johnny, the response changed to "they'll see if they can fit you in".  Not too long after, Johnny stopped by our boat and said, "I expect to see some smiling faces here.  You're going to launch today!"

[Editorial note:  Spice Island Marine Services was fantastic.  The guys there are very professional, know their business and do whatever they can to accommodate schedules.  We were very pleased with our experience here.]

I thought some of the technophiles who may be reading would be interested in seeing the transport used to get our boat from the hard into the water...not much margin for error, as you can see in the second photo!

 

While Steve did the difficult work of maneuvering Starry Night out of the tight launch space and into the windy, crowded mooring field, I did at least take a turn at the helm to start getting a feel for how the boat handles.  Lots of learning to do on my side!!

We ended the day with a swim off the stern at sunset, champagne, and star-gazing from the Starry Night Lounge.

This is what's it's all about.

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