We were only waiting for this moment to arrive…
Sideways Sally and Sunshine
After the long winter months of living in a waterfall on the West Coast, the spring sun is immensely welcome. Dock chairs are dusted off and where one or two gather, soon there are five or six.
Happy Hour on G-Dock
Micha, Ron, Mikey, Lora, Lisa
and of course, Shelby
Safety is an ongoing big deal, after a year of living with the pandemic, we are starting to see the light at the end of this very long, dark tunnel. So we sit, distanced but close in spirit as we crack open happy hour.
In the distance, the sounds of machinery coming to life in the boatyard as preparations for the summer boating season commence. It’s a yearly activity, but each time is like the first. The anticipation of spanking clean boat bottoms, waxed hulls and completed repairs lifts the mood even in the moodiest of times.
The promise of letting the lines go, to fill the sails under a warm sun in a fresh breeze is all the motivation sailors need to toil in the lengthening days. So we prepare and take pleasure in doing some boat gawking of those on the hard, while OMOO waits her turn to be lifted out of the water.
Along the docks planters spring to life with daffodils, while snow drops cover the ground in a white blanket, beckoning the summer to draw nigh.
There’s a renewed sense of cheer and happiness in choosing this lifestyle. We take a leisurely stroll along neighboring marinas and marvel at the boats that are docked in the bay.
Strolling the docks at Genoa Bay
Friends and strangers start to wander the docks and stop to say hi or chat awhile. There is nothing like lounging in our cockpit and doing an impromptu meet and greet with people dreaming of the boating lifestyle, or neighbors walking past on the way to their boats with arm loads of supplies for whatever project they’re working on..
One may be surprised at the devotion of boaters. The love we have of caring for and maintaining our vessels is a sign of the joy we experience as we prepare to wander on the highway to the world. It’s the experience of freedom we feel as we harness the wind, which takes us away to new and old mooring fields.
Sideways Sally pages coming soon…
