March 9, 2015 was an exciting day for us at NW Sailing Adventures. Diminuendo finally made it to her new home port in Bellingham.
Ready…
She has been “on the hard” in Anacortes so the experts at Marine Service Center could freshen up her bottom. They started by removing multiple layers of bottom paint. They touched up a few rust spots on her cast iron fin keel and a few dings on the rudder. They applied two coats of epoxy over the whole bottom, sealed the joint between the hull and the keel, and applied two coats of anti-fowling bottom paint to keep unwanted critters from making it their home. As you can see in the photos, the bottom looks great! Too bad that fish are the only ones who will see it for the next few years!
Set…
The boat was back in the water at 1400 (2:00pm) and we set out for Bellingham. It was low tide, so we had to be careful not to stray from the dredged channel as we made our way out of Anacortes. Although we had gotten a late start, we just couldn’t resist the temptation to make sail as we cleared Guemes Island. The wind was light but we were still making seven plus knots. Diminuendo seemed anxious to show us what she could do. We sailed over to Cypress Island and checked out Deep Bay for potential anchorages, then headed for home.
GO!!!!!
We reached Bellingham shortly after sunset and made our way to our designated slip, R-2. With Diminuendo nestled in her berth, we spent the night aboard. The cabins are very comfortable! It’s nice to be sleeping on a boat again. In the morning, other boaters stopped by to greet their new neighbors. There is a real sense of community in a marina, where you get to know your neighbors and we all look out for one another.
So now the work begins. We have much to do to get Diminuendo ready for her inaugural season in the San Juans.
