Boat Ramp Fun!

After a restless night, we were up at 0700 hours. The wind had picked up during the night and white caps were rolling in the sea outside the harbor. Before breakfast, we prepared the Nomad for travel by stowing our gear, removing the anchor,  and tying everything down. 

At the snack bar, we enjoyed a cup of our favorite breakfast beverage and a breakfast sandwich while reviewing our ramping procedures. At 0800, the trailer was pushed down the ramp and into the briny  grass covered water. We walked back to the boat; Anna Marie released the dock lines and I sailed the Cooter from our spot on the sea wall to the ramp. Once the bow came in contact with the trailer bunks, I goosed the engine and the Cooter inched up the trailer. The electric winch was useful in helping to get the boat further up the trailer until it stopped working. Anna Marie had to get into the knee deep water to crank the boat four of the last six feet up the trailer bed. For some reason, the winch started working again and it pulled the boat up the last couple of feet to the winch post. With no clear way for me to get off the off the vessel, Anna Marie was left to drive the boat out of the ramp. She had hoped to avoid this responsibility as visions of the boat, trailer and truck sliding back into the water filled her head! Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened. She slowly dragged us up the ramp and stopped at the staging area where we secured the boat for travel. 

Two hours after putting the trailer in the water, we were on our way. Our old F-250 diesel pulled the boat with relative ease. In six hours we made it to our storage facility in  Vero Beach. We'll continue to work on the boat until we take her to NJ sometime in early March.