We stepped (raised) the mast today. Before I get into that, though, I have a few things to tell you about last night.

Remember I told you about John, the fellow Canadian also headed south, who invited us over for supper? Well, we went over (we were late arriving, which will be no surprise to some of you, but being late in the boat-world is no big deal ;). John and his friend, Andy, are sailing south on Andy’s boat, “Between the Sheets” (note that sheet is a nautical term for a line that controls a sail, and both John and Andy have left their female significant others at home in Canada. I think they would appreciate me pointing that out).

Well, John and Andy hosted quite a party on Andy’s 38 foot sailboat! In addition to Phill, me, Andy and John, there were Chris & Liz (s/v Groovin’), Matt & Jessica (s/v Serendipity) and Denis & Christine (s/v Chances) all packed into the cockpit of Between the Sheets. Andy cooked a fantastic dinner for us all (each boat brought a tasty contribution) and John made sure all glasses were full and plates loaded. When dinner was finished, Chris (from Groovin’) went to get his guitar and harmonica and put on a show! We had a great sing-along. This was our first boat party and it set the bar high.

We had a big day planned so we packed it in early (we were back to the boat by 10 pm).  And this brings me to something I was considering filing under its own post in “Nothin’s Easy“, but it probably belongs here, because sometimes a thing isn’t easy because we do something stupid, like last night. We left the boat to go to John & Andy’s boat party without a flashlight. We were tied up on the opposite side of the canal from the other boats, and it wasn’t quite a bush-whack, but a bit of a hike between us. Anyways, we get back from the boat party, no flashlight, and can’t see to get our own combination lock to the companionway (the front door to our boat) open. Good thing neither of us was called to safe-cracking as a career because neither of us has a talent for “feeling” a lock open. We gave up and decided we NEED light, so I walked to a big power boat moored a few hundred feet from us (it was late in boat-world, so I was quite reluctant to disturb them). They kindly lent us a flashlight and we finally gained access to our boat. Lesson learned.

Waterford to Castleton on Hudson, NY (09-Sep-2012)

When we started the engine to leave this morning, and switched the isolator (I think that’s what it’s called, Phill’s not here at the moment to confirm) to “both”, meaning it’s trying to charge both the starting battery and the house batteries, we heard a distinct squealing sound. Reminded me of the sound my old Mazda would make in the winter. Anyhow, Phill diagnosed that the alternator belt was loose.

Anyone who knows Phill knows he’s supernaturally mechanically inclined (he might make me change this later, but I’m posting it!). If he was here he would snort and say “Anybody’d know that the alternator belt was loose from listening and just looking’ at it“. Maybe, maybe not. He fixed it so the alternator belt was tighter (he was mildly annoyed at my picture-taking), it no longer made the noise, and we got moving.

We had a nice motor to the Hudson River. Here are some pictures (leaving Waterford, our last lock, etc)…

We arrived at Castleton on Hudson around 12:30…just after lunch. We got busy preparing to step the mast shortly after 1 p,. Martin and Bridget (from s/v Shin Dera) kindly offered to help step our mast.

All went well…it took us about four hours when all was said and done, because Nothin’s Easy.

This is Water Music with her mast successfully raised and a big barge passing in the background (the fellas in the Castleton Boat Club Pub tell me the passing barge does not rank high on the scale of barge enormity – a banana barge and a volkswagen barge from Japan blocked out the sun!).

Anyhow, here we are in Castleton, NY. We’ve done our last lock for while (I’ll gather the stats if I have time), and we’re in a land where tides will have an impact on our lives. So we’re in training for what’s to come. It’s all very fun.

I’ll sign off for now…until the next free WiFi.