All Aboard!

September 18, 2018

It finally happened! We....(drumroll)..........(dramatic pause).......cleaned out the transom locker!

Oh, yeah, and we left!

Our last view of Buffalo's inner harbor until May. Probably.

But before I can talk about our departure, we had a lot of exciting things happen back in Buffalo.

The most important thing, of course, was getting our furrier crew members on board! On Wednesday afternoon, we plopped them into their carriers and drove them to the local community college to get rabies shots. They weren't terribly happy about the whole getting-in-crates-and-leaving-home-for-the-foreseeable-future thing.

Apollo was angry.

Sputnik was terrified.

Tiny was just confused...But then she's always confused...

You know what? Why am I doing all of the talking? I'll let them describe their experiences.

Tiny: Meow, meow meow! Meow meow....Meow! Meeeeeow, meow meow meow.

Sputnik: Meow.

Apollo: (Hides.)

I just remembered most of my readers don't speak cat, sorry. The rabies shot experience was not nearly as terrible as I thought it would be. We were in and out in about fifteen minutes, and Sputnik only panic peed in his crate once. The car ride was definitely the worst part of the whole thing. But once we got on the boat and the sun had set, all three furry crew members had a great time sniffing and exploring their new home. I haven't let them on deck yet, even though they were very excited by the multitude of outdoors they could smell beyond the hatch.

"I can haz naps?"

Next, we had to decapitate our boat. No, that doesn't mean get rid of the head (head is bathroom in boatspeak.) I would never allow that. We had to take the mast off of the boat so we'll be able to fit under the low bridges on the canal. (Just like the song! Low bridge, everybody down! Low bridge, because you're coming to a town.... If you don't know that song, I'm sorry you were never a fourth grader.)

Before the mast could come down, we had to take the sails off. Removing the sails was fairly easy, but folding them up and tucking them neatly away in our sail bags was a completely different story.

Think about how difficult it is to fold a fitted sheet. Now imagine doing that to something five times as big and ten times as thick. I felt like we were doing giant origami.

Pancake sail

Sushi sail

We also discovered we have a spinnaker sail, which is used in very low winds. We got to put that away too. It's super pretty, which makes me a little sad that we'll almost never use it, and it comes in its own little sock. Even though I think it looks a little more like something else than a sock....

It could be a banana

Taking the mast down was a little bit terrifying but mostly really cool, like many aspects of sailing. Luckily, we had the help of some very able and experienced guys from our boatyard helping us out. (I'm pretty sure all of them are named Bill.) First, we drove our boat to a special slip that can be easily accessed on all sides. Then, one of the Bills drove over a giant truck with a crane on top, hooked it up to our mast, and picked it up into the air like it's nothing more than a chopstick.

Once the mast was dangling in the air, another Bill gently guided it (so it doesn't ram anything accidentally) onto land. Next, we wrapped all of our rigging around the mast so that we don't have big metal wires flopping around while we're on the canal. Finally, a Bill lifted the mast back into the air and set it down on some temporary supports Justin built on top of the boat.

You might recognize our old friend, the travel lift!

Then the mast was finally strapped down and we officially became a very awkward, very slow power boat.

We also got to try out our brand new dinghy! It's super cute and just big enough for us to take to shore when we're anchored somewhere. I unfolded it from its bag, blew it up (no I didn't use my own hot air, I used a pump,) and plopped it in the water. It is officially a seaworthy craft. Of course, we just deflated it a couple days later since we're not going to need it in the canal.

Our dinghy is a Hufflepuff

Justin worked on pressure-washing the boat and getting it all nice and shiny for our adventure. Since our slip is right below some serious road construction on the Skyway, our boat has turned a very dingry gray.

On Monday afternoon, I jumped in the car for one of the biggest grocery shops of my life. About a week ago, we bought a ton of Rubbermaid containers to store everything from cat litter to Coke. After an initial move in on Wednesday, we realized there was plenty of room for more stuff, so I went and cleared out the local WalMart and BJs. Long story short, our boat is now riding several inches lower in the water than it ever has before.

So much stuff

Seriously, we're just two people and three cats. We brought way too much.

After one last night at the RCR Marina in Buffalo, we finished packing everything up, unearthed Sputnik who was hiding behind an electrical panel, and shoved off! Stay tuned next week for details of our adventure on the Erie Canal.