Today was one of those amazing early Spring days that made you believe that winter is done for good and it’s not just Mother Nature playing a cruel joke on you.
Now watch us get hit with a freak snowstorm or another polar vortex tomorrow… this was that kind of winter.
This evening, we decided on a whim that it would be a great day to move the boat over to D dock, where our yearly slip awaits us. We had gotten quite comfy here on B dock, and were ready for a change of scenery. That’s a perk of living on a boat… if you don’t like the view, you can move your house!
We begin to prepare the boat for the first time in what feels like an eternity.
Thru hulls open? Check.
Shore power unplugged? Check
Engines on and cycling water? Check.
Fenders off? Check.
Lines off? Check.
As we shoved off and began to back away I’ll admit, I was a little sad. We had a fun group of neighbors living near us that we became good friends with over the winter. We all earned the ‘Living on a Sailboat During the Worst Winter in Decades” badge of honor together. But, alas it was time.
Matt eased the throttle in reverse and we slowly slipped out of the spot that was our home for the past five months. It felt so good to be off the dock and free in the water! The feel of the engines knocking… the sound of water splashing… the breeze on your face. THIS is what it was all meant for. We looked out towards our new spot on D dock just around the marina office to our left….aaannnddd saw that there were already two City of Annapolis boats tied up exactly where our spot was. We had nowhere to go.
In all of that preparation, we actually forgot to walk over and see if our spot was open. Whoops.
A split second later, I leaned over the starboard hull and saw that the engine had stopped spitting water and there was black smoke billowing out. Shit.
Luckily we were super close to the pier still. Like less than 10 feet. So, back into our old spot we went. Guess tonight just wasn’t our night after all. At least it was a good dry run of getting on & off the dock. We haven’t done that in a while and could use the practice!
After we got situated again, Matt took a look at the engine and discovered that it had an air lock. He worked it out and now the thing is running like new again. I am thankful every single day that at least he knows what the hell he’s doing. Seriously.
So…. looks like we’ll try again tomorrow. AFTER checking to be sure our spot is open! Ha!
