Monday, March 21, 2011

The arrival of an old friend...

Well, folks, today is the first day of spring, and I could not be any more giddy. (Well, maybe if it was 70 degrees outside and I had an old-fashioned Baltimore snowball in my hand...)

This was my first real winter aboard. I made it through the entire winter (with an occasional night at my parents' house or a friend's house) on Misty Rose -- and I lived to tell the tale! Last winter I wussed out and spent almost two months at my parents' house with blizzards and sickness. But this year, I managed to make it through. I didn't fall in and become a victim of the dreaded ice. No, readers, I made it with an electric blanket, two West Marine heaters, a down blaket, a faux Snuggie, some hiking socks and fleece pants, countless cups of tea and the kindness of the staff at Tidewater, who moved me to the sheltered dock close to the bathrooms for the duration.

Baltimore is starting to get warm, and you boaters out there know what that means -- work time!

Projects planned for my spring haulout include: replacing the floor inside the cabin salon, painting the bottom, painting the non-skid portions of the deck, re-varnishing the door boards, caulking the port holes, replacing some lines and cleats that aren't working well and, of course, going sailing!

Jeez, I'm tired just thinking about it all. Maybe we should stay with this whole winter thing for a couple more weeks...

3 comments:

  1. Hi, Allie, much enjoying your blog...ran across while researching Baltimore liveaboard marinas. You may remember me from Gangplank...I've been there more or less forever and am likely to remain as long...I now have a "real boat" actually two, a 30' sailboat down on lower Patuxent and a trawler in DC replacing a rather tired houseboat on A dock. I intend to bring one or the other up to Baltimore this summer.

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  2. Eugene, I think I do remember you! Well I heartily recommend Tidewater if you're thinking of living up here for a few months or bringing one of your boats to Baltimore. You get a haul-out and blocking with a year's slip fees; the bathrooms here are unparalleled; the staff is insanely easy to work with (and no, they don't pay me to say that!) Anyway, it's the best marina I've lived in (of four). I loved Gangplank's location, (aside from the car that got blown up in the parking lot last year), but Tidewater is definitely the nicest place I've lived yet. :)

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