Horizon is in her new home

Saturday was a really great day.  It started with the JSI Marine Flea Market where we scored two treaures I have wanted for quite a while: a pair of Dahon Stainless Steel fold up bikes!  They are in immaculate condition and we got them for a really good price.

After the flea market we met up with Eoin and Devin for breakfast at Skyway Jacks then we all headed off to Maximo to get Horizon.  She looked great and we spent only a little time getting the gear ready for her maiden sail.  The first 2 hours were motoring through the inland waterways, then motor sailing until we rounded the point at Fort Desoto.  At that point we started to get some breeze so we shut the motor off and sailed most of the rest of the trip to the marina.  She sure sails nice!  The most wind we had was probably 15 knots but the GPS showed she held 7.3 knots for long periods with less than 1 kt flood.  We had a beam reach to the Skyway, then were hard to after the turn north.  I am actually really happy with the way she sails.  I was a little worried about the lack of feedback with hydraulic steering but didn't miss it a bit.  She balances well with the 135%, main, and mizzen - and with the hydraulic steering I didn't have to touch the helm for minutes at a time even with pretty significant changes in wind speed.  Anyway, everything worked great and I was happy as a pig in ... well, lets say I sported a SEG ...  lets say I was happy!

On Monday we got the new LED anchor/tri-color light and the anemometer mounted at masthead.  Now to figure how to run those wires to the engine room...

So this entire week we have been busy scrubbing and working on Horizon, trying to quickly get her ready for whatever her future holds.