Cool Change Sailing

Here we go! After 5 months of waiting, we have finally coordinated the pick up and delivery of my boat from Westbrook, CT to Port Clinton, OH tomorrow, June 23rd.

I had long ago spoken to several trucking companies to learn how/when/where they could do such a large delivery. I’d received rates that were all in the $7,000+ range so I assumed that’s what I’d have to pay once the boat was ready for the trip. Over the winter, it was stored at a marina called Safe Harbor–which owns multiple marinas of that same name throughout the country–and I actually found a trucking company by that same name but unrelated to the marinas. Safe Harbor Hauling offered to provide this service for $2,000 less than all the others, so they’re the company involved with today’s endeavor.

The driver, Don Ramos, called me yesterday and announced that he’d just arrived in Westbrook, CT and was looking at my boat. He was astonished at how beautiful it looked. After all, he’s familiar with the overall conditions of sailboats of this age (20+ years old) and was impressed at how well maintained it must have been from the previous owner. His trip to CT began in Seattle, WA, then San Diego, CA, Charleston, SC and finally Westbook, CT. Talk about a road trip! They loaded it onto trailer that afternoon and began the journey to Ohio this morning. The arrival time will be early enough on Friday, 6/23 to allow the marina to lift it from the trailer and place it on supports that same day. Then, my fun begins.

I’ll have many things to add which will make it a fully-functional vessel such as solar panels, a stainless transom arch for solar above and dinghy davits beneath. Those are a must-have if I intend to lift and lower my dinghy by myself. The dual pulley system will make this task very easy.

Another must-have will be the transponder/transceiver to install at the navigation station. This device will permit me to sleep while underway on long distances and if any other vessel approaches within a programmed distance, such as 5 miles, an alarm will go off to notify me of their presence. Without someone at the helm 24 hours a day, this device is an absolute must as it acts as a full crew instead of just one person.

We’ll remove the former name and put Cool Change on instead. I’ll sand the hull and apply fresh anti-fouling paint to match the beautiful blue color already there. Fresh wax will be applied to the topsides–above the waterline–and polish her to shine in the sun.

I can hardly wait to begin.