Getting the Boat Ready
The year we made a decision to move onto the boat, we knew our previous three-month summer cruise in the Pacific Northwest would give us a good idea of what the boat needed. When we ended the trip, we sharpened our pencils and made a list. Then we shipped the boat to Mobile, Alabama to prepare for what is called “America’s Great Loop.”
Our power boat, called Sea Bear, was a 32-foot Nordic Tug with a salon, dining, galley combination, an elevated steering station in the center, and a forward double birth for sleeping. It also had a small head (bathroom for you landlubbers) with a fresh water toilet, a hand-held shower, and sink. It had good storage and great visibility. It weighed about 15,000 pounds and was as sturdy as a boulder.
First up was repairing the leak in the fresh water tank and fixing a defective anchor light. Next were additions: a roof railing creating an upper deck, a new oven-sized microwave, radio, barbecue, screens for aft and side doors, and a beautiful custom bookcase built by my husband’s talented brother, Keith Gibson.
After three months out of the water at Dog River Marina, the boat was splashed—that means put back in the water—and taken to another marina where the trip would begin.
We cruised out of the marina on a blustery day on Mobile Bay, with wind building. The four-hour trip eastward across the bay to the entrance to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was rough. Once in protected waters it was a pleasant ride. Sea Bear passed revelers at Lulu’s, a famous restaurant owned by the late singer Jimmy Buffet’s sister Lucy, and a marina where a piece of submerged artwork called Lady in the Lake shows the head and knees of a giant woman just above the water line.
The boat arrived at its new temporary home in Orange Beach Marina around sunset, having negotiated some very shallow channels to get there. But this is not the west coast of Canada’s Vancouver Island where charts are in fathoms. This is the shallow Gulf where you have a narrow span of tidal difference and lots of shoaling, so you ride with one eye always on the fathometer.
The boat got there safely and the best part? I was not on board.
Mark’s brother Keith went with him on the wild ride while I finished rewriting the last two chapters of my second Love in Wine Country novel. (I had a deadline!)
Remember when I said I was a fair-weather sailor? The day of the move would have been a delay day because Mark and I have a deal…if there’s a small craft advisory, we don’t go. The boat is sturdy and performs just fine. I do not. So when I say “we” cruised out of Mobile Bay, I did it in our car. Mark’s brother would later drive the car to his home for storage during our trip.
Final preparations are under way.
Next Week: Provisioning for the First Leg.