August 1999 - Land Livin'
I debated calling this log "We hauled our boat out of the water into dry dock and we might as well have given the boatyard a blank check and all of the other marine and sailing stores in Seattle our Visa number, too," but thought it a tad long. But, that pretty much sums up the month of August '99 for us.
The day before Jenny P was to be hauled out to get her bottom painted ($700), several thru-hulls serviced ($58 per hour), and a blister repaired (another $58 per hour), we had to remove the roller-furling headsail due to its heavy weight up front. Heck, we thought, we might as well take off the mainsail and bring it to a sail repair shop to be cleaned and restiched (which it was badly in need of anyway). So, after the sail is cleaned (52¢ per square foot) and is repaired ($50 per hour), we should have a nice clean sail in about a month.
We also dropped the kitties off at Great-mom's so the boat repair guys wouldn't have to chase them around the boatyard after they escaped ($35.57 for catnip and extra kitty supplies).
When your sailboat is hovering above the ground on stilts, you are not allowed to discharge any grey water (i.e. no washing dishes), so cooking onboard was pretty difficult. We ate dinners out all that week (and shelled out $80 for other people to cook for us). We also felt it was necessary to treat ourselves to a couple of bottles of wine ($25), to deal with the stress, you know .
We decided it would be a perfect weekend for getting out of town, also as it was Michael's 25th birthday. Boatless ourselves, we took the Victoria Clipper up through the San Juan Islands to Victoria ($150) and stayed at a lovely cozy hotel, complete with a Jacuzzi tub and fireplace ($300). Had some champagne, too ($30). We also ate out, a lot (unknown sum. Haven't been brave enough to count up receipts yet).
Thankfully, Jenny P was only in the boatyard for a week. We returned from Victoria on Sunday, and on Monday morning, she was put back into the water. Had it been another day or two, I swear I would have moved into a Days Inn. Land living is not for us, at least in a boat ten feet above the ground. We much prefer to be securely on the water, with fresh water, drains, and a functional head. And we're very glad to have our kitties back home, too.
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