Sailing

Had a beautiful sail last night. It was what we’ve been working towards with all the work done on the boat.

My good friend, Ben May, and I rowed out from the boat launch at 5:30 pm after what felt like a never-ending day stuck in a cubicle. We sailed straight east through the mouth of the harbor and between islands finally breaking out into open ocean and passing Portland Head Light to our starboard. There was significant sailboat traffic and we were one of many boats heading out to sea. 3 of them were large schooners, and while they were much faster we able to get closer to the wind and beat them out. The current was strong, it took an hour and a half to head out and about 30 minutes to return home.

Niki was unexpected waiting on the dock as we returned, and shortly after we were in a local dive on a pier eating shellfish. It was a great day.

Epiphany Launch

The Boat (Epiphany) has found her home on a mooring off the east end beach in Casco Bay, just minutes from our home. She's a 22 sloop, a Rhodes design built in 1993. It’s been a big effort to bring her up to speed, find a home for her, and get everything legal, but it’d done.

I filled out an application at the harbor master in April of 2011 and was told early this spring (more than a year later) that a mooring permit may be possible. I visited the harbormaster in person every three weeks thereafter, which was necessary because they don’t return emails and are little help on the phone. They gave me a half-assed nod that everything should be a go about 3 weeks ago and that’s when the full scramble began. Niki and Riley took off for Michigan for a week and I headed north to Vinalhaven to get the boat with help from parents. My buddy, Hiram, on Vinalhaven extracted her from her spot in the woods and gave the trailer a full tune up. We packed the boat with stuff, loaded the ferry, and with leaves and tarpes flailing headed for Portland. She sat in the driveway for a week while I scrubbed, painted, and waxed. Weeks before this I began calling licensed, approved mooring service providers and after being blown off by almost all received two quotes: one of them was half the other. I went with the smaller of the two and after extensive correspondence a mooring was installed last Thursday. It’s about 200 feet from shore and in the midst of other sailboats; a comfy home. The mooring, a mushroom anchor, weighs 250lbs is connected to 40 feet of massive coast guard chain, shackles, a swivel, and buoy. It’s big storm proof so we call all sleep well at night.

With the mooring finalized and the boat cleaned and shiny, Dad, Ben, Andrew and I took her to the launch in the rain Sunday morning. We raised (stepped) the mast using the trailer winch – a slightly stressful and unnerving experience, but a successful one. The registration and excise tax were completed today and all that is left is sailing. Plans have been made to go tomorrow, but I may try to convince Niki to let me take Riley out after work this afternoon; it’s beautiful weather. With Riley only being 3.5 I’m not sure how she’ll do out in the Bay. She doesn’t sit still well. But we’ll see. I’m so happy to be able to provide our children with the experience of growing up sailing. Now that the mooring setup is complete, putting the boat in every year should be no sweat.

Niki’s pregnancy has been going well. She’s almost 4 months and generally feels good, and the baby lump is swelling beautifully. She and baby are healthy and we’ll know boy or girl in a few weeks. Stay tuned.

Mike made the long drive from Wilmington, NC, memorial day weekend and spent 4 days with us on Vinalhaven -  it was a great time. Mom and dad were there also and took Riley into their cabin 2 nights to let us catch up on sleep, bless them. Mike has an incredible wealth of knowledge, and is one of those people that is always teaching you new things and providing interesting perspective. This is combination with keeping people laughing makes him great company. One night we went to party of locals on the island and had a wonderful time. Other nights we laid low, but all nights and days we laughed and laughed; I really wish he lived closer. We spent a great deal of time together in high school, and maybe now more than ever have a ton in common. His attitude, views, and understanding of relationships astounds me. The night before he left the two of us hit the town and enjoyed chatting over dark beer. At one point I told him he was enlightened, and that many spend their entire lives working toward the perspective he has. He shrugged and brushed it off.

Meanwhile, Riley has been growing and testing boundaries more than ever lately. As her personality explodes we are caught fighting to keep up with her. We've been working on discipline and trying to curb the never-ending stream of demands that she spews. 3's have definitely been more challenging than 2's. I've been trying to take walks with her through the neighborhood every day, but this has been difficult because of all the rain we've been getting: the storm that pounded us last weekend dropped about 7 inches, and the sump pump that I thought was ridiculously overpowered moved about 10-12 gallons of water a minute from the little hole in the basement. Incredible. It's nice and dry down there, though.

As I write it's early Saturday morning and Riley is next to me watching Curious George. The sun is streaming through the windows and the weather man has been spreading good news about the weekend. We'll eat some pancakes when I'm done here and head off to the farmer's market. It was a good week for me and Niki. She had a doctor's appointment that went well, we both got a ton done at work, and the details of a house refinance have been solidified. Now to go make pancakes...

Spring

It's incredible how much the change of seasons affects our lives. Keeping Riley pent up in the house all winter is a true bummer, especially when there is no snow, so spring has been more than welcome.

We've really begun to settle into the groove: Riley is with her grandparents Monday and Tuesday, attends her day-school Wednesday and Thursday, and is home with mom on Friday. Saturday and Sunday are spent out of the house exploring was Portland has to offer: playgrounds, beach, farmer's market, farms, friends houses, etc. Niki's new role as the assistant general manager of the Brunswick Old Navy has been going well: they beat sales goals for the first time in more than a year, and my work has become more comfortable as I've settled into my responsibilities and built a strong relationship with my sole client.

About a month ago we acquired a swingset for Riley, and it has been a great addition. It also cost us nothing, which makes me love it even more. We spend hours out in the yard every week, and kids in the neighborhood drop by the play. Around the swing set we've been working on the gardens and planting vegatables. It's been a pleasant surprise to see what pops from the ground around the house; we only moved in 10 months ago, so weren't here at this time last year. The couple that sold us the house put much love into the place.

Yesterday, we went to the Spring Festival at Wolfe's Neck Farm in Freeport, a truly magical place. This makes two weekends in a row we've been on a farm, I hope to make it a theme for the summer. Riley loves the animals, and it's a great way to get outside and support the local community. While we were at the farm this weekend mom and dad were on Vinalhaven getting the place organized and warmed up. We plan to take a four day weekend for memorial day and are really looking forward to it - I just can't wait. Running the chainsaw, playing with the kid, and working on sailboats make up the agenda. Hopefully this year we'll be able to bring the big sailboat to Portland and place it on a mooring of the east end beach, right in Casco Bay and just outside Portland harbor. The plans aren't a 100%, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed (and toes). While at the beach with Riley this afternoon I was gazing out into the bay and daydreaming about what the future holds.