Stepping Our Mast!

This morning we didn't have to leave at the crack of dawn. We would be catching the 9 AM opening of the bridge and only had a few miles to travel. Before we left though, we had to remove the jib sail. We didn't take it down when we removed the main, it was our safety net in case of engine trouble. You never know and we have had to use it before for that exact reason. We got it down and were under way. The tide was going out which meant we had a good ride to the Charleston Harbor but when we made the turn to go up river to the boat yard it meant a slow go. The tide and wind were opposing, which meant lots of waves. Fortunately for us the waves were with us and we surfed all the way up river, considering we were only doing 4 knots.

We arrived at the boat yard and Tom and the crew were waiting for us. They did the prep while they were waiting for the crane. The crane was stepping a mast on another boat. The picture shows Tom up the mast fastening the strap from the crane to the mast.

This picture shows the mast being lifted off the boat and moved up to the parking lot. Where they removed the rigging and put it on a trailer for transport to the Seldon factory. We don't know for sure when we will see the new one back. Until then we plan to anchor out just South of the bridge we came under this morning. The only difference we don't need to wait for and opening. Not having a mast has certain advantages.