When to Bring the Boat Down?

We bought our boat in Mamaroneck, NY when we still lived in CT. Six weeks later we moved to Maryland. This wasn't the way we planned to do it. Our original grand plan called for us to put our house on the market in February, move in May or June, then buy a boat in Maryland after we arrived. It didn't quite work out that way. We sold our house before we even listed it and moved about 5 months before we had planned. We also found THE boat earlier than planned in a state far from where we currently live. (I know, it is all relative. Some people buy boats in foreign countries.) Although I am very grateful that the house sold so easily and we found a boat that we love, I sometimes wish it had worked out the way we had planned.

The boat is now on the hard in Mamaroneck waiting for us to sail her down to the Chesapeake. Our friends and family often ask, "when are you bringing the boat down?" We ask ourselves the same question as the weather finally warms up here. For a while we thought we would deliver the boat sometime around the end of April. We have hired a captain to help us make the journey. Then I began to get really nervous thinking of making that trip without knowing much of anything about the boat and without even trying to cook anything in the galley. If we make the delivery at the end of April it will be too cold in New York for us to stay on the unheated boat overnight prior to starting the trip. It is true that we could ask the captain to deliver the boat without us. Then, we could take our time getting to know her after she is here. But, we don't want to miss the opportunity to ride along on the delivery and learn from the captain. It seems too good an opportunity to waste.

Since we are the boat owners it seems as if we should know a little about the boat when we make the trip. We will also be in charge of provisioning and cooking (a huge source of anxiety for me). So, our current plan is to wait until the weather warms up in New York. We think it will be warm enough by mid-May to stay on the boat for several nights, begin learning the various systems and practice provisioning and cooking. Then we can make the delivery trip at the end of May. After that we look forward to many happy days of cruising on the Chesapeake.

 

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