Hear No Evil

Living and working on a boat for the past year and eight months has gifted me with a keen sense of hearing.  At first everything sounded foreign to me. Over time I've learned what causes each sound, what sounds can be stifled, and what sounds I'll have to live with.  The sound of a dinghy banging against a fiberglass boat can be stopped by rearranging fenders or adjusting the painter.  The sound of a line slapping against a mast can be muted by tightening the slack in the line.  The vibrating hum that travels down the mast into the cabin can be lulled by adjusting the boom.  The whiny cry of the baby seagull can be quieted by throwing pennies at him. (Never throw food or you'll attract an even noisier crowd of gulls!)  I've spent countless hours listening and adjusting and readjusting... even getting up out of bed in the middle of the night in order to create some peace.  It's been quite a learning curve, really.  But I'm to the point now where I can tell pretty quickly what is normal and what is not. 

This morning, as I sat here working, I heard a new sound... that of a bird I didn't recognize.  I listened for a few minutes before my curiosity got the best of me and I had to get up to see just who this mystery bird was.  Once I got outside, it took me a few more minutes to find his hiding spot atop our neighbor's mast, and then it occurred to me that this is actually the second time I've heard this sound; the last time was at the boatyard when we did the haul out. 

Maiden Voyage of 2010

I guess I was feeling a little guilty about not posting over the past few weeks, but in retrospect, I didn't really have much to say. This blog is supposed to be about sailing and living aboard a boat and, truth be told, we hadn't sailed since our trip home from the boatyard in November. We also haven't done any "home improvements" since we hooked up the new icebox. So it wasn't that I wasn't thinking about all of you... it was that I had nothing particularly relevant to share. Until now...

On Saturday, after three full months (plus) of being stationary, we finally got off the ball.  Our intention was to get our Coast Guard inspection, which is semi-mandatory in order to keep a boat moored here in the Bay.  I say "semi-mandatory" because while it is a requirement, it doesn't seem to be very strictly enforced.  Anyway, like the law-abiding little live-aboards that we are, we moseyed over to the dock for our inspection early Saturday morning, waited 45 minutes while the Coast Guard Auxiliary dilly-dallied around, and then we realized that the registration we had on board was an expired copy and we couldn't get the boat inspected without the current copy in hand.  So we did what any sailor without a current copy of his registration on board would do...

We went sailing!!

We brought Justin and Anna along and took advantage of the gorgeous weather by sailing out to the ocean and then back to the ball before the fog rolled in just before sunset.  It was a beautiful day.  And of course we have pictures to share:

Tall Ship off our starboard bow

Justin, Anna & Ben

San Diego Skyline, complete with cruise ships

Gaff-rigged ketch off Point Loma

Point Loma, heading back into the Bay

What beautiful sails you have ;)

The fog rolling in over Point Loma

looked like a tidal wave crashing behind us

Anna & Justin

Lola making faces at the camera

Luckily, the fact that we never got our Coast Guard inspection means there will probably be more sailing adventures in the near future. Stay tuned...

Misty Morning

We went for our first sail of 2010 yesterday.  I'll be posting pictures soon.  I know I've been slacking on posting lately but I think I found my inspiration again... out on the sea...

Mission Trails

Somewhere Over the Mooring Field