Final countdown

Launch in three days.

I spent the weekend applying some finishing touches to Wolf, loading sails/lines/life jackets/etc on-board, replacing the bilge pump, and finally finding that one last leak in the inflatable.

The poor inflatable is more patch than original material at this point.

I'd been tempted to purchase another RIB to replace the much-bedraggled Endeavour.Instead I splurged on $50 worth of glue and patch material. It took a few attempts, but I finally patched the last leak. After sharing this story with my friend Clive I was informed that I was a 'cheap prick', an epithet I wear with great pride...
 

Somehow I got the lettering straight and even...

 Sunday, Clive came by and we went over the stick, reasoning out how the mainsail furling system works and checking the rig. Wolf's rig is essentially new; the previous owner had replaced the standing rigging a year before he sold her. The rigging was built with Sta-Lock terminals which means that in an emergency I can replace a stay myself rather than deal with a rigging shop.

When we were done I dumped the dinghy in at the Salisbury town ramp, fired up the engine and then motored out to the mooring field to make sure my mooring was in place (it was, but one year it wasn't, and that was a very bad day for all concerned, and filled with yelling).

The mooring was in place, and it was a nice day, so before I went home for the day I puttered around Newburyport Harbor for a while. I hadn't been on the water since October, and the sense of calm that I felt was remarkable.

I miss all of this during the winter. A few years' back I almost let someone talk me into getting out of sailing entirely, and I almost fell for it. I'm glad I didn't.