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| Forecast is- The Suck. |
We were pretty excited that the bilge pumps are now installed because with a bilge pump, we can go for a little day sail to see how all of the new wiring, pumps, etc are functioning. We were rushing to be able to do this because the next major part of the refit involves upgrading all of the deck hardware. That means removal of all the old stuff which will leave the boat firmly tied to the dock for a few weeks or months.
I rushed to get the kids ready to go, got to the boat only to find 30 mph+ gusts of winds. Yes, I checked the weather before heading out but I was hopeful- for what I amnot exactly sure. Probably hoping that the weather forecasters would hold true to their reputation for hyperbole and exaggeration and be wrong.
Our boat is most definitely designed to handle conditions this, but I opted to sit it out. I felt that not being 100% certain of how the new installs will hold up would be one issue (most concerning is the new engine wiring harness) and then- oh yeah we have a toddler aboard and that is a whole other issue. Last time we sailed she was decidely less head strong. I felt that if we had calmer weather to test the new installs or if Kitty was a little more predicatable on the boat we could go but I am Chicken Little and just felt a bit concerned about taking on two big challenges. One or the other for a start, but not both. So we opted to wait for the next day and hope for better weather. We stowed everything on the boat so we could leave quickly in the morning and went to bed with our fingers crossed.
When I awoke this morning, it was grey and overcast with periods of calm punctuated by impressive gusts of wind. I checked with NOAA , the Weather Channel- heck even Yahoo and they are all saying the same thing. Might be ok, but also might really, really suck. To say I am disappointed would be a gross understatement. I was lamenting the weather when a friend of mine (we are friends even though she Drives? Operates? a power boat) commented that we need to always put safety first. To which I replied "Safety is the biggest ruiner of fun ever". And yes, ruiner is so a word.
*sigh*
I'll join your sigh with another big one. Sigh! Yes, safety is definitely one of the worst ruiners of fun. But if I had an active toddler, I likely would have done the same thing, unfortunately. We sailed through a really nasty storm with 30 knot winds on Easter weekend several years ago. Both my kids were on the boat, which was a Catalina 27 back then. It was not very much fun at all, and having the kids on board made it much worse for us. Sometimes being a grownup does suck.
ReplyDeleteYes...Safety. It was super windy here also. But the sky did not fall.
ReplyDeleteDani