the fateful trip to bring her home

My lady and I planned for me to go fetch our new home while she maintained our presence on the shore and provided support for the adventure. This was a terrible plan! Never leave your love behind while working on your life together! It's sad to move in to your future without the companion you planned it for. Lesson learned.

Eric met me in Virginia for our first effort at setting out in the new vessel. He stayed the night before my arival with his friend Dana. The two became my greatest resources for my time in port before the trip. Dana shuttled us about in her car and put us up for the first night I spent in town. Eric worked tirelessly cleaning the cabin of the boat and patching the dinghy.
Eric and I spent the whole day Saturday cleaning, fiddling with the inboard and rigging the boat. We decided the motor was too big a job to justify the time it would take, so we bought an eight horsepower outboard and mounted it on the stern.

sails mounted and ready to raise at fuel dock

Sunday we set out for a shakedown cruise. We stopped at the fuel dock and filled our outboard's tank before setting off.
We motored out of the marina and down the river. The little motor pushed us at a respectable three knots. Once we had enough room we hoisted the main and cut the motor. Lady Grace sailed!!! Eric and I took turns at the helm. We hoisted the jib and tacked a few times. She was easy to steer and pretty well behaved. I thought I would be able to single hand her alright when the time came.

the pirate at the helm

After our shakedown ride, we put back in to our slip. Eric had to be back to work, so he decided to train out the next morning. I hooked up with Rod, our marina guy who drove me to Walmart for some last minute supplies.

The next morning, Monday, I got an early start re-rigging a few things and topping up the little fuel tank, then set out alone for my voyage home.