Haul out day has arrived!

Mitch, our tow operator, had pulled alongside Imprimis and lashed us up side-by-side. I (Heather) was prepared to take some pictures and video of Long Island Sound on the way to the marina during the tow. The morning was a little brisk and I thought I might get my jacket just in case. Mitch, stated that I might want to go ahead and get it before we get out on the water and I have to steer. Huh? I kind of ignored that and got my jacket. He then asked if I had VHF and I said of course we do. I went below decks, set the channel, and let him know I was connected. He had me get on his channel and call him to make sure it worked. He wanted to make sure I could reach him in case of emergency. Ok, weird. Our boat was literally connected to his boat and I was thinking, “If I need to talk to him, he’s right here, but ok.”

We slowly made our way out of the marina and past the buoys. Once outside the channel, we suddenly stopped and Mitch stated he was going to hook onto the bow of our boat and pull me behind him. He also let me know that I would probably need to steer our boat to stay directly behind him. Ummm, excuse me? This was supposed to be a relaxing ride for me. I was not mentally prepared to have to steer the boat..at all.

I was able to get a couple videos and a few pictures during the 3.5 hour trip. I am glad I was on the boat, it definitely made me feel better about being on the water. Imprimis handles very well when under way. The ride itself was actually pretty pleasant even though I had to steer the entire time. There were no leaks anywhere and our boat cut through the water like nobody’s business. Of course we’ll have to see how she does under sail, but I am pretty confident she’ll do great.

I can certainly see why Long Island Sound is for the experienced sailing crowd. I had plenty of opportunities to notice the shifts in the water, currents, and crazy wind shifts. We even got hit with a set of random steep waves that appeared to be standing waves.

There was a bit of confusion getting into the marina as there were 2 areas for hauling out and the marina thought we were a different boat coming in. Once that was settled, we were able to pull right up into the haul out area. It didn’t take long before a couple guys were setting about to unstep our mast. They got the mast into the work garage and we were able to measure the mast, inspect the rigging, and wiring in the mast. All in all, they all said everything looked really good.

Next thing we knew, our boat was being put in the sling and hoisted out of the water for the first time in what appeared to be a very long time. There wasn’t a ton of growth on the bottom, but there were a few barnacles, with one affecting our speedometer. She’s definitely going to need a good sandblasting and bottom painting once we get her to Florida. But that’s a story for another day.