Yard Work (noun). Work done in maintaining a lawn and related landscaping activities. Examples: mowing, weeding, trimming bushes, raking leaves.
For the boater, yardwork takes on a whole new meaning. The pleasure of laying on your back sanding and painting the bottom, crawling into the engine compartment in a pretzel-like position to connect wiring and replace hoses, re-stepping the masts and re-installing the sails and rigging.
At long last, the yardwork is complete! We are ready to bid farewell to the fine folks at Hurricane Boatyard and proceed out the Bay River to begin our trek north.
I need to take a moment to thank several people that helped get us to this point. Dale Baer for housing us between the sale of our “dirt house” and our sailing adventure. Billy Ray Davis and Scott Leamy at the Columbia Sailing Club as well as the Gamecock Sailing Team members who helped drop the masts and prep for transport. Dale Hedin who traveled to Bayboro twice to help install new electronics. My brother, Bob, for allowing us to stay at his river house during “yardwork”, and his neighbor, Max, for transporting us from Enterprise car rental in New Bern back to the boat at Hurricane Boatyard.
After Hosea lowered Stealaway down into salt water for the first time in 14 years, Bev & I began hauling food, clothes, dishes, bicycles, linens and Storm (the cat) down the dock. Cart after cart. One would think we were provisioning the Queen Mary for an ocean crossing. Not sure how, but the boot stripe was still above the water line!
All is aboard, it’s time for our first night onboard and departure is set for first light tomorrow.