DIANTHUS is home in her slip on Rock Creek, just off the Patapsco River.  Months of planning, 2 trips to RI to work on the boat, uncounted phone calls and lots of finger crossing were involved.  While the boat was in really good condition, the fact was it had sat on the hard for a year and a half.  Things were untested, I had never actually sailed the boat and of course "issues" did rear their ugly little head.  Oh, and let's not forget that planning on doing a 3 day delivery when you pick the date 2 months in advance is like throwing the dice that the weather will cooperate!  Throw in the fact that the yard had a mechanical breakdown and lost 3 days of launching boats the week prior and you have the makings of a nightmare.

So, Wed, May 16th,  Carol (the Admiral) myself and a friend Doug flew up to Providence on SWA courtesy of my credit card points.  I got the card last fall because I knew I'd be going to Providence a lot; despite my dislike of annual fees I have made up the $69 fee 10 times by using the points to fund my travel.  But I digress.  It was gray and rainy but forecast to improve.  By the time we took a taxi to Bristol and got settled on the boat  it was already clearing out.  We set about organizing "stuff", had a crew briefing, and readied the boat for sailing.  The yard had put the cutless bearing in the day before (THAT is a whole other story) and about 4pm the trailer came to move the boat to the dock where the Travellift would splash her.
Exciting as it was to put her in the water, that was quickly tempered by the fact that water was just GUSHING in through the packing gland.  We pulled her back up in the slings, a yard worker came on w/ some big pipe wrenches to tweak the nuts and we were good to go. 

I won't bore you w/ all the details of getting ready to go but suffice it to say that the next morning was HECTIC, made more  so by the fact I couldn't get the instruments to come on, the electrician was coming by to tweak some stuff and we had to finish provisioning.  (Finally figured out that not only must I turn on the instrument breaker, but the log counter on the electrical panel also.  And that is where the rheostat for the lighting is too.)

Next up, Sailing!