Spending Time on Lutra

Well, a few months have gone by since the actual purchase of Lutra went down. After all of the paper work was said and done, I took possession of Lutra a few days after Christmas ... Mad Dog joined me over in Seattle, at Shilshole Bay Marina, and we motored her a few slips over to her new berth. It was fairly late in the day when we finally had her tied up and secured to shore power. I thanked Bob the Broker very much, we shook hands, and he headed off (we actually still keep in contact ... he's a great guy).

That's me in the salty wool sailor cap (scruffy beard and all), and Mad Dog in camo jacket; Lutra is in the background.

So, she was really mine, and an adventure was really in the making. Woo-hoo!!!

We spent a couple of nights on board ... making a list of things that needed doing ... and began punching away at those items. Over the 6 or so months that have passed since then, quite a few things have been completed from that list, and we're making good progress in having a very safe, ocean-going, live aboard sailboat. I'm quite pleased.

Hoses and clamps have been replaced (dang marine grade hoses are expensive!!!). The galley plumbing has been replaced. All of the thru-hull valves have been sprayed (PB Blaster) and made operational. The propeller has been changed (now there's a story!). I've purchased a chartplotter (she didn't have one), but it still needs to be installed. We made sure all of the proper safety gear (noise makers, signaling devices, PFD's, etc.) are on board and accessible. The decks have been cleaned and washed (cockpit too). The sail covers and the bimini top have been cleaned (lots of bird poo and algae). The documentation number has been forever affixed to the hull. Of course, after applying for a new number - well, not really a new number, but actually changing ownership - it took pretty close to 6 months to receive the new documents!! Most all of the interior lights have all been upgraded to LED (very nice - low power consumption). All of the existing wiring has been traced and a 12V system diagram has been made; we now know what needs to be replaced, what needs to be added, what needs to be eliminated, and how we think we might want to go about it. All I want to say about that right now is, dang there are a lot of lights inside this boat!! And a very solemn de-naming and re-christening ceremony has occurred ... and she now has a name and hailing port sweetly affixed to the stern quarters!

The de- and renaming were fairly quirky and dramatic. I'm a bit of a stickler for nautical tradition. So, after I got the name graphics, we pulled everything off of the boat that had the old names on them (Clear Horizon and Amiga). We also made sure that nothing with the new name had been taken on board. It was the 4th of July, and a couple of local live aboard folks (Sam and Dave) strolled over and helped in the celebration. I stood on the bow and invoked Poseidon to erase from memory and records the old names, tossed an ingot of metal with the old names written on it overboard, and dumped a bottle of huckleberry mead into the surrounding waters, as well a little on her bow ... and we toasted all of the previous owners and all who may have sailed aboard her in the past. Then I invoked the blessing of Poseidon for the newly renamed vessel, and all who might sail aboard her in the future. And I dumped more huckleberry mead. We invoked the blessings of Aeolus, ruler over the winds, and all of the lesser gods who help rule over the various cardinal winds ... and we made toasts ... and I sprayed champagne toward each of the four cardinal compass points. I also sprayed champagne onto the sails and asked for the blessings of the gentle breeze-nymphs (can't forget the nymphs - what's a boat without happy nymphs!). Finally, we made more toasts, dropped a silver dollar deep into the chain locker for the boat to have for all time (I can't get under the mast) and dumped a whole new bottle of champagne on the bow while asking blessings for the newly named craft, Lutra!! Afterward, Mad Dog and I affixed the new graphics to her stern quarters ... name and hailing port ... I could feel a new inspiration fill the hull ... and everything was just right!

So, a lot has been going on, and it's taking time. Especially since I can only get over to Lutra once a month or so, and usually only for a weekend. But I have to say, she feels like home. She feels safe and solid. She feels right! The nights I spend aboard are so peaceful ... and I sleep very well. And I love to sit in the cockpit, drinking a beer, and listening to music. Or just listening to the birds and the seals. I can only imagine how fine it will feel when we're actually anchored up somewhere drastically more isolated! I laid out on the deck one night earlier this July and watched the stars ... winning! There are odd, soft pops and poings that can be heard at times, while you lie in your bunk, below decks ... it's pretty cool. I think many people would freak out, but to me it's peaceful.

One quite amazing thing that I've come to love is the bioluminescence that sometimes occurs around the marina. Unfortunately, I don't have a camera that can capture it. I noticed that it was quite strong one night recently. The lightest touch or swirl of anything in the water caused a magnificent light show ... all kinds of silent explosions of bluish light ... very ghostly! We found that by taking the scrub brush, on a long handle, and easing the brush head straight down into the water, we could hold onto the end of the handle and then push quickly and forcefully straight down into the water ... a giant mass of bioluminescence would explode outward and down from the brush head, traveling down, deep into the water ... it was simply amazing! Yeah, I'm easily amused, and very much like a kid when it comes to creatures and phenomena of the watery kind.

Very soon we hope to be able to take her out for day sails. The nav lights still haven't been rewired, so, until then, we'll only be able to day sail around the local waters. I'll try and keep more updated on these posts.