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In The Water Just Before Leaving Berkeley

She creaked, moaned and popped around us as if beseeching us to make it stop.  Tears welled up in my eyes and I thought, “What are we doing?  How can this be the right thing?”  It was Wednesday May 13th and Joey and I were frantically trying to finish everything on Le Petit Canard so that the truck and its driver, Gerry, could leave.  We still had a couple of hours left so we suggested to Gerry that he go get a shower and something to eat.  He had to move the trailer to unhitch the truck and we just kept on working.  He only moved about 10 feet, but in that short distance I heard some of the most agonizing sounds come from a boat that I’ve ever heard and knowing that she had thousands of miles to go to get to our destination made them that much worse.

But, yes, that does mean that she is FINALLY on her way.  What a trial to get there!  The truck was supposed to arrive on Friday May 8th and leave the following day.  Despite our best efforts, we just weren’t going to be ready so Joey called the trucking company a few days earlier to have the truck postponed to Monday.  That didn’t seem to be a problem until we got a call on Thursday: “We’re still on schedule to pick up your boat tomorrow, right?”  Joey:  ”Nooo, I rescheduled that for Monday.”  ”Oh, yeah”  Monday rolls around (what am I saying, Monday steamed in like a freight train)  Truck company calls: “There’s been a delay with the truck.  It was actually a really good thing that you rescheduled.  I might be able to get it there late today, but it probably won’t be until tomorrow.  I’ll give you a call later.”  We still frantically worked to get as much done as possible, not really knowing what to expect at this point.  We were also supposed to fly out Tuesday night.  A few hours go by without a word about the truck so Joey gives them a call – no answer.

Tuesday morning we were still running around preparing the boat when we get a call.  ”I won’t be able to get a truck to you until maybe Thursday, probably Friday.”  Oookkaay…  We switched gears again and tried to finish up other things with the thought that I might still make the flight that night if we were in a good spot for Joey to finish up on his own.  A few hours later, we were packing things into the storage unit when we got another call. “I found a truck for you.  It will get there tonight and he wants to be loaded up first thing in the morning and out by noon.”  Did I mention that the engine wasn’t in the boat yet?  We switched gears again and I finally realized that I would not be making the flight that night.  I loaded the boat with the final things we needed on it – and what we could get on it at this point.  The engine compartment has to be moved out of the way to put the engine back in place and this takes up most of the cabin.  We had to wait until the engine was in to load some things.  Joey finished anything he could think of while he still had use of the wood shop.  As promised, our driver and truck showed up Tuesday evening.

In The Lift

Because of a low tide, we didn’t get pulled from the water and put on the trailer until noon.  Gerry spent the next seven hours securing the boat and our two masts to the trailer.  We secured what we could, but were still waiting for the engine, which went in around 4:00.

Going On The Trailer

The engine was an incredibly tight fit as the companionway opening had been altered since the engine was pulled.  I was watching from below, terrified.  Joey was in the boat, guiding the engine  into place, while Eric directed the crane.

Engine Going In

After the engine was in and secured, we had to stow everything that was left: booms, tiller, handrails, bikes.  Poor Gerry!  He was so patient and we really appreciate his help.  We were finally finished a little after 10:00 and completely pooped!

Ready To Go

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