Shakedown

Buffy's due aboard tomorrow. I hope she enjoys Spring Break on the boat. This will be her first experience cruising. I took her out overnight in the Chesapeake last summer, and she spent a month aboard at a marina in January. Spending a week aboard without a hot shower and a host of other inconveniences will be a lot different.

The Indian River is an almost ideal location for an introduction to cruising. There's little tide to deal with, and I've yet to encounter any tugboats or commercial vessels to steer clear of. Yesterday, when I was sailing down from Titusville, a stiff breeze kicked up which carried us quickly down to Melbourne. If I'd been on the ocean, the wind would have kicked up some seas. But with the shore close, the most the waves built were a light chop.

Fred said that after his week aboard it took two days at home before the ground stopped swaying under his feet. Hopefully, Buffy won't have the same feeling. I want her to return to work tanned and rested.

I consider this a "shakedown cruise" for Buffy. She's thinking of sailing with me from the Chesapeake to Martha's Vineyard this summer. If this week goes well, maybe she'll even consider spending a larger chunk of the summer aboard.

Hopefully this week, the worst that will happen is that we'll run aground, snag a crab pot or two and get jostled by some motorboat wakes. That would be pretty much par for a week aboard sailing in my usual cruising grounds on the Chesapeake.