Our first voyage?

The route Betty might take to Peddocks Island this spring.

The winter is in its last weeks, so we're finally starting to think about life aboard beyond snow on the docks and keeping the heat ahead of the icy water below.  This weekend we did some planning.  What do we need to do to get the boat ready for actually taking her out to sea? What do we need to know?  What do we need to fix?  How much will it cost?  

We've got a long list - deck repair, engine re-commissioning, fresh water tank, air conditioning replacement, navigation equipment testing, hiring a diver to inspect the props, zincs and bottom of the hull, etc.

Alice and I have to continue our training.  I took the boat safety class in the fall, and Alice is signed up for hers March 10th.   Then we both go for Basic Navigation class on March 31. Also we're going to do some some on-the-water training in our boat.  Can we get in an and out of our slip without hitting anything? Stay tuned!

I spent the afternoon reading my charts and Chapman's piloting book.  Then I used my Navionics app to "plot" (really auto-plot) what might be our first trip:  Peddocks Island.  You can find it at 42°17'40.8"N 70°56'08.3"W

Its one of the Boston Harbor Islands. Its not even 8 miles away, but for me it might as well be the Caribbean.  I'm very excited to see if we can do it, hopefully sometime in May.

Peddocks Island in the Boston Harbor

 This is a place many boaters and sailors like to visit for day trips, or stay over camping either on the Island or staying on their boat overnight.  The views of Boston are spectacular.