Frances takes the helm

While a cormorant dried its wings on a nearby dock (with a duck fast asleep next to him), we tackled a few things before we take off for Block Island.

We've had a tiny leak from around our new Bomar hatch for some time so this weekend we examined it carefully and added some sealant that appears to have done the trick. We also washed the entire boat, something we should do more often. We scrubbed off a lot of grime and now it looks fairly presentable.

Shrimp Scampi

Anyone who can cook can make scampi, right? Making it in the confined space of our galley makes it a little more work but Frances carries enough equipment on the boat to cater a wedding so on Saturday night, Shrimp Scampi it was.

This particular version comes from a recipe in The New York Times and it's remarkably easy, even on a boat. Even with the windows and hatches open, the boat smelled like an Italian restaurant as the cooking got underway and that's fine with us. The result was an excellent dinner that we heatedly enjoyed.

Frances takes the helm

For some time, we've planned to have Frances get some helm time, especially in close quarters. She regularly drives the boat out in open water but she wanted some practice in and around places like our harbor and gas dock. On Sunday afternoon, out we went with dock mate John H. riding shotgun.  Once Frances became at ease with using just the transmissions to steer the boat, she did okay and we expect to have more lessons in the future.  We've included some video of Frances at the helm. Listen carefully and you'll hear some of her comments.

Pooka on the fly bridge

Pooka, the Boat Cat has lived his entire life inside but he has taken to the boat very well over the last few summers. He's grown more and more confident to the point of actually climbing the ladder to our bridge. Frances finally recorded one of his climbs and we've included that in the video, as well.

Sunday visitors

On Sunday, we got a chance to meet some friends developed though the Silverton Owner's Club. Ed and Dana are experiencing their first summer on a 40 ft. Silverton convertible. They keep their boat in Niantic and had visited Montauk over the weekend. On the way back, they wanted to pickup some family members at our marina and give them a ride back to Niantic.

We had a chance to tour their boat and it is certainly the nicest big Silverton we have ever seen. It was a lot of fun finally meeting them and see how much more room they have than we do on our 34 footer. Their boat has an interesting back story, which at least partially explains why the boat is a beautiful and well-equipped as it is. We got a chance to sit in the boat's Stidd Helm Chairs, which cost more than both of our engines combined.

We included some video of Ed and Dana arriving and leaving. We hope to see them again soon.