The winds were 15 to 20 mph out of the south southwest. Baby Quinn is the proud new owner of an infant pfd. Coastguard approved, mind you. I sort of view that as a tacit acceptance of what I'm doing.
We spent the weekend in Gloucester with the parents, looking at another boat that we shouldn't buy for a year or so. In fact, it was the perfect boat. Manageable, but seaworthy, roomy, but compact. Well built and well maintained. Oddly, the usual mental conflict associated with boat shopping all melted away on the water this afternoon. The Quinn Anne's Revenge is enough for now.
As we left breakfast this morning with friends, it was 85 degrees and windy in Newport News. It seemed like a great day to go sailing. Or, at least what I used to consider a great day to go sailing. My neck was sore, Quinn was mildly fussy, and Deanna had a lot of billing to get done before any fun could be had. I had a pretty desperate bathroom that needed to be cleaned as soon as we got home too.
Billing was done, bathroom was clean and Quinn was even more unhappy. We were an hour and a half behind our target departure time, and still we pressed on. It was worth it. By six Quinn was on the boat in her new hammock, Deanna and Tiza ( the dog ) sat somewhat apprehensively in the cockpit as I backed the boat into the water. The outboard stared right up. I parked the truck and we were off.
This was our first true family cruise. No extra crew. Family and boat performed well in spite being short-handed. We sailed around the harbor and watched the larger boats come in from what had to be a nice afternoon cruise on the Sound. In the parking lot we stepped the mast, packaged her up, and enjoyed sandwiches and beers as the sun set. Quinn was in great mood on the boat. She snoozed in the hammock for the first half of the cruise and sat in Deanna's lap looking around for the second half. The Quinn Anne's Revenge truly is plenty of boat for right now.
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