Splashin’ Tomorrow

Hey there, Mentally Sailing friends! Skye here – I’m off of Zoya and back to writing our weekly updates. Truth be told, I think Steve actually enjoyed writing last week’s adventures, but now it’s my turn again.

Steve told you I made the last minute decision to jump on a plane and sail with some friends from Daytona back to Norfolk.  Well, some things came up and it just worked out that I could hop off in Southport.  Little did I know, Steve was trying to surprise me and visit anyway.  So when I decided to jump off, it was already planned that he’d be there!  How perfect was that?!

First, I want to talk a little about my trip, and then we’ll get into some big boat updates!  

I met Terry and Lena when I was working on my Uncle’s boat at Cobb’s, had just started dating Steve, and began getting more into this whole sailing thing.  Steve introduced Terry as “the guy who helped me put on my autopilot.”  (Which, might I add, is a huge deal and a huge thank you because we use it ALL the time.)  As we were aboard Batland more, we hung out with them more, went sailing a few afternoons, and they ended up being very good friends that even came to our boat renaming ceremony!  We were always very happy to hang out, and they were always very helpful when we had questions or needed some suggestions.

Long story short, I knew I would have a blast if I joined them aboard Zoya.  Man was I right.  We motored up the ICW until St. Augustine, jumped out from there and came into Charleston, waited a few days for a good weather window, and then jumped out again and came into Southport.  Throughout that week we made so many good meals, including French bread which was a huge hit, we caught FIVE tuna in one afternoon, made some very tasty cocktails, and had lots of good conversation.  I learned so much from the two of them, and also from just being on a different boat and getting to learn the ins and outs of another vessel.  I truly loved that adventure.  

For all of the Tar Heels out there, or really anyone following March Madness, I was able to listen to the UNC v Duke game on 97.3 radio on my phone until the last 2 minutes, then I was only getting text updates from Steve, THEN that went out so I frantically tried to reconnect and when I did I’d heard the good news:  We had handed Coach K his final loss in his final game EVER, and we were headed to the championship! Granted, we didn’t pull it off this year, but I am SO proud of that team.  Once a Tar Heel, always a Tar Heel.

Alright, now it’s time for some boat news…

We are going back in the water tomorrow!!!  Yes, you heard me right!  Josh, who we have working on the boat, has been working so hard and it is finally done and painted and ready to splash tomorrow afternoon.  He has reinforced the hull with an I-beam, because apparently it should’ve never been made without that kind of support.  He’s glassed over the holes after Steve worked very hard to clean and sand them out, and now the inside is also glassed to the I-beam to increase support and decrease the amount of flex that was happening in the hull.

Talking with him today, Josh said that he was very confident that we’d be able to go wherever in this boat, and safely at that.  Man did that feel good to hear!  So, just so you all know, Batland lives on!

Here’s some pictures of the boat progress:

Steve and I are so excited to get back to the boat. We are still keeping our apartment lease until mid June, because we really want to clean and work on the boat with as much as we need to so that it’s ready for full liveaboard again. And hey, there’s no better time to deep clean than when the boat is virtually empty, right?

We’re very excited with how things are coming along, because it’s been a longggg time coming.  I moved into the apartment with Steve today, so I’ve got my hands full with unpacking and dinner plans and making this place feel like home for the next few months!  So with that being said, I hope your Tuesday is wonderful and we will give more updates next week!  

Cheers!

Skye