Well, I'm sailiiiiiing...

After two lessons and some practice picking up a mooring ball and docking the boat under power, we felt brave enough yesterday to raise the sails and take this beast out of its burrow. It went quite well. Only four things in the cabin went flying from their perches, and only one to its doom.  We didn't hit any rocks, lobster pots, or other potential hazards, and we both felt pretty comfortable. I guess it would be more accurate to say, Jon felt very comfortable sailing the boat. I felt mostly comfortable with my few practiced tasks but not so much steering under sail; that triumphant day has not yet arrived. But that is why we're getting joyous, wonderful, worth-every-penny lessons.

We haven't been sleeping remarkably well because of the aforementioned rock and roll harbor. As a result I've been feeling a little bit like a zombie most days, but last night we both slept soundly through the night. In addition to the near constant side-to-side motion, the other hindrance to a good night's sleep had been the sound of our dinghy crashing against our boat as the wind and the tide (and seemingly its mood) changed. Usually this would happen right at the moment where I had almost drifted off to sleep, and then - BANG! - continuing sporadically until morning. So last night Jon added some padding around the rail of the dinghy which seems to have considerably lessened that irritation for now.

Adding some cushioning to the dinghy is just one out of a growing list of repairs and changes to accomplish before we leave. I read a theory yesterday that the common thread linking all sailors is a love of problem solving. I would say that rings true for us as well, and that without a lot of different kinds of problems to solve we get bored. So from that perspective, it's a blessing that living on this boat will be rife with possibility to indulge in many forms of creative problem solving.

Look at that, I just found a way to turn the huge gap in our resumes into a highly desirable job skill.