Saturday, November 7, 2009

2009 Winter Decommissioning



2009 sailing season is over. Where oh where did the summer go?

On October 12th, we took Wind Runner along with Englishman Phil and Francine from our home dock at Westerly, RI to the Yankee boat yard in Portland, CT. It turned out to be an eight hour boat ride as the winds were right out of the west starting out at 10 to 15 in the AM and 15 to 25 in the PM. It was however a sunny fall day and the ride up the Connecticut River is always nice especially with all the fall colors.

Decommissioning at the dock takes us about a week to complete especially with all of the various water systems - engine, generator, sails and rigging plus taking most of the 'stuff' off the boat. We just can't believe all the stuff we have!

It is always exciting to see just how well the bottom faired during the season.



Wind Runner sits in the Pawcatuck River which is famous for its alga and true to form the green bottom was pure black. Good news was we had no barnacles!

Once out of the water, it is pressure washed and hauled across the road and up the hill to its winter resting place.



Once covered, its wait, wait, and wait some more until spring when we are on the water again. Back to the airport and land loving activities for now.

We will do a little boat camping over the winter months and focus on the upcoming season.



We plan on going to the Miami Boat Show in February to look for new toys.