Hauling out Reel Fun - an end to the 2014 season

My 2013 season was short - only 1 month after purchasing my boat and then the marina telling me I couldn't use the slip for the remainder of the season.

Due to my car accident, I didn't get the work performed to make Reel Fun seaworthy again until late August. I found a great place to keep her, so even though the 2014 season was only 2 weeks, it was still a lot of fun.

I got up early again to make sure I had the boat ramp to myself. I used my folding bike to get from the ramp to my marina and had a nice motor back to the ramp. I wish I could have sailed over, but I needed to get to the office.

A beautiful sunrise over Thayer's Landing

And I'm off

Boat ramp casualties, luckily it's not mine

Sails stored, mast lowered, boom put away and she's ready for transport

A couple of sails on Reel Fun for 2014 - MUCH better than 2013

So with the ASA 101 class just behind me, I'm feeling good handling Reel Fun. I took my kids out for a couple of sails and things went great. They are still a little nervous when we're heeling over when closed hauled, so I'm trying to convince them it's normal.

It's great to see Weymouth from a different perspective. I had never really been down this area before.

Thayer's Landing

Now that I have my ASA 101 course behind me, I want to get some sailing in for 2014. I planned on getting a mooring at Wessagusset Yacht Club. I had taken a tour of the facility the year before. Now that I had the work done and could get Reel Fun in the water, I called them to see what they could do. They close early and pull the slips in mid-October, so that wasn't going to work.

I was on Craigslist when I spotted an ad for Thayer's Landing. I had never heard of this place and couldn't find much information about it online. Jeff Thayer, owner of Thayer's Landing, was offering use of the slip for the rest of 2014 (until Nov 1) with the payment for 2015. I took a tour and knew this was a better option than a mooring. It's only 10 minutes from my house and offers onsite parking and a nice grilling/picnic area.

Jeff has a beautiful old house. According to Jeff  - "I am the fifth generation of my family to own this wonderful home. It was built in the late 1600's by Captain Thomas White and was purchased by Dr. Cotton Tufts for his son Cotton Tufts Jr. in the late 1700's. Dr. Cotton Tufts was Abigail Adams Uncle, he delivered John Quincy Adams and was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Medical Society and Tufts University. Dr. Tufts also helped manage the Adams farm and property while John and Abigail were away during John Adams presidency."

I signed up and put my boat in the water on Oct 17th. This was my first time putting a boat in the water. Being nervous around boat ramps, I arrived very early in the morning, set her up, and backed her down the ramp as the sun came up. It went easier than I thought it would and then I had an uneventful motor over to my slip. I had purchased a folding bike, so I put that in the cabin and used it to get back over to my car. It's about 4 miles from my marina to the boat ramp, so it's pretty convenient.

Two weeks in the water is better than nothing!

I can use this big slip for this year, but will have to move to the inside next year.

Thayer's Landing - what a nice quite spot!

I had considered Braintree Yacht club, which is right down the river, but thought it would take too long to get to under the 3A bridge and set sail. I have found that I can motor 5 minutes down the river and set sail before the bridge, so it's perfect. A friend tried talking me into a slip at Quincy Bay Marina, but that's at least 10 more minutes from my house and the Boston traffic can make it longer than that.