Okay, it’s done. Eight gallons of antifreeze; sails in the bags; canvas in the garage. Of course the wind was blowing around 20 knots while we were taking down the Genny but it never hit the water so all is well.
Now we wait: only four months till launch and counting. I guess it’s also time to change the keg over from Landshark to Killians – ah, the silver lining. First trip of spring will be Barnegat Bay to Annapolis – one of my favorites. Time to plan…

Although I’m thankful for many things, I’m definitely not thankful that I live in the North East and have to pickle my boat every fall. Pickling, in my book, is for cucumbers, pigs feet and people – not necessarily in that order!

Well, I’ve stalled as much as I could but it’s time to winterize. What a terrible word – “winterize”- ick. Time to stop stalling and act like a grown up… I don’t wanna!

Brother John is coming tomorrow and by the end of the day the “sv/DonnaMarie” will be pickled – as, with a little help from Mr. Killian, will be captain and crew…

IP38-134 will be staying in the water this winter in preparation for an early start of next year’s season when we hope to make a Spring shot from Barnegat Bay to the Chesapeake.

Tangentially, we’re discussing the resurrection of the Del-Mar-Va circumnavigation race (anyone interested send a post; we’ll put together a group (Lat’s and Att’s forum?) and see if there’s enough interest.

Now for a night-cap and dreams about sailing Sanibel-Captiva and the Florida Keys…Sigh

I’m tickled to have had, not only the time but, the good weather to get the canvas installed today. Last week Mark-the-Canvas-Guy repaired the chafed dodger. (lesson: there IS a reason not to leave the dodger on under the winter cover). I double waterproofed the dodger, bimini and filler panel during the week and everything installed quite nicely. With the help of the Admiral (the real Donna Marie) all went well and looks good.
Tomorrow I tackle the forward cabin sole. An adventure begins…. I fear!

Well, this is the exciting part of the sailing season. The anticipation of great weather. The boat’s in the water – after a couple of chilly weekends scraping and painting the bottom and getting the hull mirror-shined. ( I have to admit, without my son, TJ, and the real Donna Marie, jumping in one Saturday we’d be sailing a dirty looking boat with lots of barnacles on the bottom. There was a lot more work than I could tackle alone.)

Then, into the water she went…a pretty sight made even better when the engine started at the first turn of the key. YAY!
Now, there are plenty of things to do: cleaning, getting the sails on and stuff like that. But that’s part of the fun.
I especially like the early season because (no matter how many times Mother Nature has pulled the football out from under us in the past) we really think every sailing day is going to come with perfect weather. Well, sometimes it fun even when it rains.

The boat, a 1991 Island Packet cutter (that’s a sloop with two head-sails) is the Donna Marie. Named after my bride of 35 years . . . she still introduces me as her first husband! Scary.
The Donna Marie measures 38 feet from bow to stern. Throw in the swim platform and bow pulpit and she’s 44 feet overall. A gorgeous boat, with really sleek, traditional sailboat lines. She takes a great picture.

Our plans are lofty for this season: a couple of trips to Beach Haven – gotta eat at the Chicken or the Egg. A walk around the oldest resort city on Long Beach Island – also known as The Queen City. And, of course, at least a long weekend at Trump Marina in Atlantic City where there’s great night life at the tiki bar – which is big enough to sometimes host two bands at once!
A favorite relaxing place for us to unwind is Meyers Hole at Barnegat Light. An interesting history, Meyers Holes is a large six to seven foot deep bowl dug out of the Barnegat Light inlet area by the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. They used the material dug up to create what is now a long isthmus extending from High Bar Harbor to the spot where Double Creek meets the main channel. Apparently the isthmus was designed to create a barrier so enemy subs couldn’t send a torpedo through the inlet and hit the mainland.

We’ll also be heading up under the Seaside/Toms River bridge to explore the bay north of Toms River. A trip down the coast to Cape May for a few days is in the works and, if all goes well, we’ll work on a trip to the Chesapeake Bay (our old sailing grounds) for a couple of weeks.

Then – oh, then. At the end of the season I’ll be sailing the Donna Marie down the Intracoastal Waterway to Key West. A 30 day trip. With any luck we’ll keep her there for the winter and return to Barnegat bay in April 2011. As I said, “lofty plans” for this year.

Nephew, Tyler, as a graduation event is bringing some of his friends from Cab Calloway High School For The Performing Arts for a weekend sail. Now, that’s going to be an entertaining weekend. These are kids are heading to professional careers as professional actors, musicians and dancers. Since music is at the heart of the Donna Marie’s soul – always great music mixes, brother John and myself with guitars – we’re very excited to have a group of this caliper on board. If all goes well we should ruin them in one weekend. LOL.

This week’s work included bringing the canvas home (dodger and bimini ) for repairs and waterproofing. If there’s no rain tomorrow I’ll bring them up and install them. Well, that’s a quick look at the life and times of the sailing yacht, Donna Marie.
Stay with me for the ride… I’ll include some photos and report the fun.