The never-ending project to fill my hole in the ocean while bailing it out

Sailing Season '08 Officially Begins
Launching Chip Ahoy
-- Page 4 --

Description

Oh brother, how to ruin an otherwise perfect launch -- what's that glub, glub, glub sound I'm hearing -- like water coming in steadily?!?  Did the boatyard forget to do something when they rehung the keel?  A quick search below determines that the bilges are dry, the waterline looks good, a pass by the ramp and Wally confirms it looks normal.  The unsettling sound has faded then stopped.  I hope it remains gone.  Oh yeah, almost forgot, dig out the life vest from its locker and have it at least handy, just in case!

With everything seemingly normal, I'm on my way.  If I'm going to take on water I'm at least in a pretty good place for it to happen, Marblehead Harbor surrounded by boats and boatyards.

That AF 28-300 zoom lens on my Nikon D50 really reaches out.  The "glubbing" sound is gone; it stopped and never returned.  I wonder what caused it, probably always will.

On my way through the harbor and out into Salem Sound.  It was so awfully tempting to hoist sails once clear of the moored boats -- I couldn't have asked for a better day -- but first things first.  I expect my mooring to be ready and waiting, but one never knows on the first day on the water . . .

When I reached it, there were no pennants attached, just the mooring cone!  I grabbed an empty one nearby and called the mooring company.  "Did Rich know you were going in?" I was asked.  "For crying out loud, it's June already!" I snapped.  Rich, his assistant, and the Jordan's Marine mooring boat were on the scene within fifteen minutes.  My mooring was made available, and I moved Chip Ahoy onto it.  Oh well, at least the pennant lines are perfectly clean -- more than I can say about them last season, or the mooring I just borrowed that was bearded with algae and literally crawling with strange aquatic life.
Back home on its mooring at last -- with a beautiful summer weather forecast for the coming weekend.  It doesn't get any better than this!  (Jun. 3, 2008)