To Boat-Abbreviated First Season

Himself was available the weekend Launch Day, so we christened the boat then, as i had changed her name. I felt the boat wanted to be called something different--non boat owners will think that sounds daft, but boat owners won't laugh. Some won't buy a boat if they don't like the name because they have to go through a special ceremony to rename the boat. And no, i didn't do that with AS. But i thought it best to do it with Himself. And so we did. Her new name had come to me when i was trying to figure out a name that would show that she had been out of commission for awhile, but now was back. Lost then found. Relaunched. Rediscovered.

And then the name jumped out at me. Retrouvé. French for "found again."

We did christen her...

only to find out that the guys who stepped the mast hadn't done the job completely. A neighbouring boater told us and helped us to lower the mast, tighten the tangs on the spreaders so the stays would stay in place, and put on the spreader boots. So we learned a lot that day, thanked our boating neighbour, and finally were able to go for a sail.

Two weeks later, a hurricane was making its way up the coast. Since we had just paid to have her put in, i didn't want to pay again to take her out then drop her back in. I decided we were going to take our chances, and i battened down the hatches wrapped the mooring line in bubble wrap, and prayed. The hurricane just missed us and went a surprising degree westward.

We kept her in until mid-October, and i was still unsure if we should keep her. Himself and a few others thought giving it a proper sailing season rather than such an abbreviated one to decide was best.