Finally, our mast is back up and we’re sailing.

Following in the rich naval traditions of conscription and impressment, JB and Christopher’s supposed day of sailing started with a day of forced labor. Our guests graciously helped us step the mast, which had been down since our hurricane prep. We only suffered one bent T-bolt and I had some minor bruising from resting the mast on my shoulder (again). People claim that they can rig a mast our size in as little as half an hour, and I remain incredulous. It took us about two hours to raise it and tune the rig, and even then, I’m not sure it’s tuned exactly right. The Loos gauge certainly helps move things along, but I feel like there’s an element of art to it that I’m missing.

With the sails and running rigging re-rigged, we set off under overcast skies and a nice breeze. We put a reef in the main and even without the jib had the keel cable singing as we headed north on a beam reach. I had planned to go to Toms River, but with low inky clouds rolling in from the west, we came about near 38 and headed back, just to be on the safe side. We hoped that we could sail past the marina and continue on to the south, but it started raining and we had to call it before we even got into the daiquiris. When we arrived at the dock the thunder started, so I think we made the right decision, although we would have liked to float around a bit longer.

We really appreciated the help getting the boat back together and are looking forward to some fall sailing.

"Prepare to fend off the bridge abutment."