May 03, 1999 - The Survey
We suddenly realized that we had a million things to do before Jenny P would be ours. We had to find a reputable surveyor, schedule the haul-out with the boatyard, decide if we were going to paint the bottom, find out about insurance, mooring...the list seemed endless. We hired Lynne Reister to do the survey on May 3rd. We were impressed with her thoroughness; the survey was going to take almost all day and she was even going to include photos in the report. The boatyard at Shilshole was going to be full for about a month, but we were able to schedule an hour-long haul-out. We'll have to paint the bottom later this summer. Before we knew it, we were standing at the dock that Monday morning with Monte waiting for Lynne to arrive. When she did, she quickly got busy taking notes, asking questions about the boat, and crawling all around it inspecting every nook and cranny. After several hours, we weren't surprised to hear that she could find nothing wrong with the ship.
As three o'clock neared, the time the haul-out was scheduled, the wind in the marina began to pick up. As we backed out of the slip and motored over to the slings, some impressive gusts began to wash over us. We were thankful that Monte was at the helm as we swung around and backed into the narrow pilings that held the lift. Immediately, we knew things weren't going to go smoothly. The wind was refusing to cooperate as it pushed us diagonally into the slings. Jenny P's starboard bow started careening towards the barnacle-covered piling; with three other boatyard workers, we rushed over to try to keep her from slamming into the wooden posts. Just as we got bumpers between the boat and the piling, a gust of wind would push us backward and try to slam the bow again. After several close calls, we finally got Jenny P straightened out and the slings properly placed under her. We climbed the rusty ladder up to the platform and Jenny was lifted out of the water. Lynne and her partner, Lee, continued their examination of Jenny's hull. It was quite fascinating to be standing underneath her. Her full keel was amazingly robust, and we were glad to hear again that she was in near perfect condition.
During her time out of the water, an older couple stopped by and remarked how beautiful she was. Michael and I just grinned as Monte told us that we'd be hearing that a lot. We practically felt like proud parents. We felt a bit of relief as we watched her being lowered into the (now) completely calm water where she belonged.
We hadn't planned on doing anything more that day than the survey, but after it was finished we all decided that it was a perfect time for a sea trial! I (Sara) was going to get to sail at last. As we motored out of the marina into Puget Sound, I knew that I was going to love it. At last we could take advantage of the wind that had blown us about earlier trying to get Jenny P into the lift slings. It was actually a bit rough, with 3-5 foot seas. After motoring out a ways, Monte and Michael lifted the mainsail and staysail while I steered her into the wind. The sails quickly caught the wind and we were off. I can only describe the experience as magnificent as we peacefully cut through the waves, the only sound being the wind through the sails and waves splashing along the side. Jenny P sailed wonderfully, despite the rough waters and our inexperience. Her strength was apparent, and we felt very safe in her presence.
The freezing wind finally got to us and Monte was unfortunately developing some seasickness, so we (successfully!) tacked and headed back towards the marina. Just as we were to arrive, the clouds parted a bit and a beautiful sunset followed us in. Although it was a short sail, we didn't stop smiling for hours afterward, and are looking forward more each day to the next time out sailing with Jenny P.
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