She didn’t get her usual winter beauty sleep last year. Yup, stayed awake for a year and a half and travelled 6,000 miles without any major problems. Pretty good for a 43 year old boat. Today the XO and I cruised her to the Moby Dick Marina in Fairhaven, Massachusetts where she was taken out of the water and put up on jackstands for a well deserved rest.
We started the day at 6 AM with a good breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast.
Bikes are ready for the short trip to the waterfront.
Salty II awaits in 4 feet of water.
I wade out, untie Salty, and bring him ashore. The XO climbs aboard and I shove off.
The engine refuses to start so we have to row out to Ginger Lee. Damn that ethanol gas. It wreaks havoc with marine engines.
We’re off at 7:45 AM. Salty stays behind hooked to the mooring. I will use our other dinghy Pepper to retrieve him later when I remove the mooring ball and pennants for the winter. At that time I will attach a winter stick to the chain so we can reverse the process next spring.
Pepper and winter stick are ready.
The XO at the helm heading for New Bedford Harbor. Seas are one foot or less. Wind is negligible. Perfect conditions for the 4 hour trip.
Approaching the New Bedford Hurricane Barrier. They close these gates for storms to protect one of the largest fishing fleets in the nation.
Going through.
Inside the harbor, we must wait for this swing bridge to open at 11:15.
We have some time to kill so we take a tour.
We are surprised to see this small cruise ship which we encountered many times during our Great Loop adventure. It cruised the Intracoastal Waterway along the Atlantic.
The bridge opens on time.
They are ready for us.
No waiting!
The XO stays on board for the lift.
Power washing the bottom.
It’s a relief to get ol’ Ginger Lee out of the water, but kinda sad in a way. We went through so much together. She carried us safely through so many miles, so many ports, so many locks and docks. She was our home for a year. Our very lives depended on her and she never let us down.
You can rest now Ginger Lee, you did well. Thank you for everything. We’ll wake you up in the Spring when we will no doubt have many more adventures together.