A few memories that are permanently in my brain ...
* I should have known better ... when Mr. Right and I were dating and he had me at the marina on weekends doing boat maintenance in February and March. His reasoning was that he wanted the boat ready and in the water for my birthday - which I thought was sweet. April 16th on that year was a balmy 57 degrees with high winds and drizzle. Of course we went out - Mr. Right in thermals and rain gear, and me in my sassiest jeans, fashionable boots and spring sweater. Soaked, freezing and clinging to the life lines I was baptised by fire to the life of a Captain's significant other. My ultra sensitive partner did his best to dump me into the Bay all day long - grinning from ear to ear as I asked for the 100th time, "will this boat tip over?" 100 times he responded, "I'm not sure, let's try."
* Lots of friends and family for day sails and weekend trips - or sailing while hurricanes are working their way up the East Coast. Hurricane Floyd was a good one. The outer most bands were in the area as we anchored one night outside of St. Michael's. Many beers later, Mr. Right slept like a baby while I planned my escape from the sinking boat (in my mind) as I listened to the wind whip across the hatch and the lines clang into the mast ALL NIGHT LONG.
* Speaking of hurricanes - the morning after Hurricane Isabel blew through town - wading through waist deep water in the marina parking lot, watching groups of men push 40' and 50' yachts back into brackets. These boats that were out of the water for the season or maintenance looked like a bad version of bumper boats. Then continuing to wade down the dock to see that Slipknot was still tied in our slip but floating well above me instead of below. The marina was pretty beaten up, lots of docks were washed out, but only 1 boat sank ... and ours was remarkably perfect.
* 4th of July fireworks from the water
* Many trips to St. Michael's - a nice weekend getaway for the best summer dinner ever - huge piles of Blue Crabs dumped onto the table at The Crab Claw. My absolute favorite St. Michael's trips were the ones we took the first weekend of December for a few years in a row. It was the last sail of the year before the boat came out of the water. The weather was lovely - crisp, but crystal clear. There were never many boats out, so it was very peaceful. We would dock at a marina instead of anchoring out since the water taxis didn't run that late in the year and opted for dinner at a local restaurant next to a roaring fireplace instead of our normal summer ritual. Really good "us" time.
* Seeing a submarine in the water in front of Annapolis harbor.
* Being terrified during sudden and not so sudden but, "dammit-we're-sailing-today", thunderstorms on the bay.
* Fully understanding where The Princess and the Pea fairy tale comes from. Some poor, VERY pregnant, woman trying to sleep on a sailboat.
* Taking #1 on the boat for the first time. Mr. Right was so proud. It was a "daddy and his boy" afternoon and although #1 had moments of love and hate - daddy was all love. I definitely didn't belong on that trip ... but there were more "just boys" trips in the future.
I'm sure Mr. Right's memories go on for pages ... and are likely not suitable for this audience ... or any audience. Boys ...
Slipknot is gone, but I'm sure there will be another boat in the future. The minis need to grow up a little and be patient enough to sit longer than 10 minutes. Mr. Right is already researching the next perfect vessel to rebuild from the bottom up. I hope #1 and #2 share the same love for tools and cleaning caulk out of screw threads with a needle. He's also planning the next bare boat charter in the Caribbean. Who's in?
p.s. Happy Birthday Uncle Mark! Hope you're in a pub celebrating as I write this ... or taking a well deserved nap since your mini likes to party all night ... JUST LIKE YOU!
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