The Season Ends

       More Letters From Paradise      
           The Season Ends  
I got to thinking about one of the differences between sailing here in Hawaii, and sailing in Michigan. It never freezes here,and the sailing season is year-round. The sailing season in Michigan is limited to about three months. When the snow and cold arrives, it is time to pull your boat out of the water,and make it ready for winter.    

First, the sails are removed from the boat and taken ashore, where they are folded and placed two bags, one for the main sail, and another for the jib. If there are other sails they are put in their separate bags.

Next you cast off, and motor to the dock where the"Gin Pole" is located. This is a very light-weight crane which is used to raise and lower the masts on all of the sailboats. No boats in our area are      wintered over with their masts raised.
 
The boat is tied to the dock and made as steady as possible. The boom is separated from the mast and laid on the top of the cabin. Turnbuckles are made loose. (These are used to hold the wire cables (shrouds) that hold up the mast).The Gin Pole raises the mast out of the Tabenacle (base) a few inches so that  connections for the radio,   cabin lights, and radio can be un-plugged.   The turnbuckles (long threaded bolts) are let free and the mast is supported only by the fore stay and the back stay (cables front and back), and a person holding a rope halyard.The gin pole is operated with a hand crank by a person  on the dock. The mast is raised, the fore stays and back stays are freed, and the mast is now free of the boat. It is gently lowered down to be placed with the boom on the top of the cabin. As the mast is much longer than the boat itself, a wood crutch aft (behind) the cabin, holds up and supports the mast.This becomes important later as it helps to form a canvas tent covering the boat for the winter. The radio antenna and wind gauge are removed from the top of the mast.
         
The hard part is now over. Next, the boat is cast off from the dock and motors to another dock where a very large four- wheeled lifting crane straddles the boat. Two padded slings are passed under the boat and fastened . The crane lifts the boat out of the water and carries it to the wood cradle where it will rest all winter, surrounded by many other boats. If the sailboat is smaller than some of the larger ones, the crane sets it on a trailer, to be hauled away and  stored elsewhere. If the boat has an outboard motor, it is removed. If the boat has an inboard marine engine, anti-freeze is run through the engine. The final step to end the sailing season is to remove the radio and anything that would freeze, and provide for ventilation by cracking open some hatches, and covering the boat with canvas,firmly tied to the wood cradle.       And when the ice and snow depart, the whole process is repeated in reverse.

This blog entry is for readers here in Hawaii. Sailors in the North know this all too well.

       Aloha
       Grant