'twas the time for the shakedown cruise... We worked like crazy bats and still managed to cast off the lines only at 4pm on the Saturday. Still, some basic questions remained: Would the batteries work properly? Would the inverter run the fridge? heck, where was the GPS??
I bought extras of each at West Marine (just in case) and we zoomed out. Crew was Alyssum, nutricionist extra-ordinaire, who has spent several seasons in Alaska commercial fishing - a good person to have around.
We sailed upwind for a few hours but progress was slow. As evening closed in, and a fog bank rolled in, it got interesting. Particularly as the rowboat (that was being towed) suddenly plunged underwater and pretended to be a submarine. We hauled the confused vessel on deck with the help of the mast halyard. We motorsailed from then on at a brisk 8.5 knots.With very poor visibilty, happiness is to have a radar. Even if we don't actually know how to use it (!) at least it provides psychological relief. We dropped anchor 2 hours after dark at Smuggler's Cove. Pulled out the lawn chairs and enjoyed from stars from the deck.
Success for the first day!
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