Back on the water

After all the repairs to the boat and an insufferably hot month of July we finally made it out of our slip today! Went from having no wind, to being close-hauled in such a wind that I wasn't exactly having fun, to having our genoa somehow tangle around a spare halyard in 15kts downwind, to me stepping through an open skylight (ouch!), to being anchored in Shaw Bay off the Wye River. We were treated to a beautiful display of bald eagles and osprey before a line of rain and thunderstorms rolled through. I enjoyed a refreshing shower on the transom in the middle of the rain! Movie night on board was a hit--Iron Man 2! And now it's time for a drink and a cigar in the cockpit, while we stargaze (or identify our neighbors' anchor lights!).

Sky Lab!

We picked an extremely hot and humid weekend to tackle two long-awaited jobs. One was the re-sealing of the cabin skylight. Permatex flowable windshield sealant topped with 3M 4000uv may have done the trick there...so far, so good! But the real remarkable job was the install of the solar panels, a.k.a. "Sky Lab". I'm really proud of the Captain--totally designed the install of the entire system. While it's not hooked up yet, the panels are in place and it looks good! Bring on 450 watts!