It's May 17 and the new boating season is officially underway. Well at least my boat, Pursuit of Happiness, is in the water so with some major improvement in the weather pattern we have been experiencing of late I am ready for my first outing of the season. I'm pretty sure this easily sets a new personal record for how early the launch date is. I've been known to be rushing around at the last minute to get in the water before the 4th of July so clearly being afloat by the middle of May will extend the season considerably (weather permitting.)
Of course if things had been left entirely up to me I would have procrastinated for a few more weeks just to stay in character but a confluence of events dictated the earlier launch date. I think this is a good thing and although there is much to be done before before POH is truly shipshape (a term I apply loosely), what needs to be done can be done (or put off) as easily on the mooring as on the hard. And if the weather turns glorious I can go for a boat ride whether or not all the work is done!
The launching itself was uneventful (which is good) and went as smoothely as these things can be expected to go. The low point was the weather, which was damp and dreary with a breeze out of the northeast (conditions an old salt might describe as "snotty") but at least the rain held off for the duration of the event so it was not a totally miserable ride down the river to the mooring - in fact it was quite enjoyable since I had put on enough layers of clothing to stay warm and I even felt a little smug as I cruised through the mooring field and saw that almost all of the moorings were unoccupied. It's not just early for me I guess, it's early for almost everybody.
As I said, there is still work to be done and on the way down river I noticed a couple of mechanical issues that may need to be addressed but all in all I think I can declare the 2011 boating season underway! Tonight I believe I will drink a toast in thanks to the boating gods who conspired to make it happen.
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