That’s the sound of happiness!  It’s also what we say when our boat goes back into the water-as in; “We splashed today” after 21 days.  I can’t remember the last time I worked 21 days straight without a break.  Neither can Ann.

Yippeee!

It feels so good to be back in the water.  Charisma’s happy and we’re happy.  Nice to not have to climb the ladder-up and down 10, 15 times per day, wipe our dirty feet on a mat at the base of the ladder and several other not to be mentioned indignities of being “on the hard”.

So-did I say we launched this morning?  Here’s a few of the latest pics.

Here's our view from the last night. The crane was positioned Thursday night so we would be ready to go in first thing Friday morning.

All ready and the sun's coming up...

It's been fun (OK, not exactly) but this is a great yard and they have taken exceptional care of us. In case you can't read the crane; "Riverside Drive Marina" is the place to go. Just ask for; "Ray Roberts' place" and they will take care of you like family.

Like a dog when you pull out the leash to go for a walk. I swear she was ready to leap in the water herself.

All that's left of our spot is some red paint on the ground...

Yup, that's a happy (and highly polished) boat. She's floating much better on her lines with the new paint job at the boot top.

So, what now?  I spent the rest of the day almost finishing up the sanding.  Tomorrow I hope to bleach the raw wood (oxolic acid) so it’s all the same color then we start varnishing (cetol).  Taping and at least three coats on each side plus midships trim-probably seven days give or take depending on weather.

Then we’ll spend at least a week or two touring New Zealand by car before we start thinking about next steps on the cruising agenda.

Oh and did you hear we decided to elope to New Zealand?  Ann’s researching some spots where we might get married (we’ll have a reception back in the US in December some time).

So that’s today’s news from Kiwi-land.