Well....it didn't start out to be moving day.....I loaded the car to the roof (for the third time) and set off on the 3 hour trek to Kinsale. (First time I got there and was informed the marina was holding the boat for debts, second time I destroyed a tire about halfway there and had to return home....)
A little backstory....here are the photos of the marina and boat from when I bought it back at the end of May, when I found out it wasn't really mine after all......
http://www.dreamingofcruising.com/boatshopping2/index.html
You can see that the marina has seen better days.
Anyway, after a late start and a pit stop to vote, I got there and found this:
http://vimeo.com/7425161/
The marina was deserted. The docks were under water. I actually braved the flood and waded out to the end where my boat was to find there was no way I was actually going to be able to get on it. Had a winch fall out of the bag and disappear forever. My boat had sustained some damage to the hull as it was slamming into the top of the piling. As I was standing there wondering what ELSE could go wrong, a boat went by out on the river. As I watched the waves roll even higher over the dock in disgust and amazement I noticed many of the boards bobbing up and down as they were apparently only attached at on end. That was it. I had visions of all the boards drifting away one by one as I stood on an island of intact dock that kept shrinking. I even more gingerly waded back to the car and tried to keep from crying. So I was standing there, trying to figure out what the heck to do and angrier than I have been in a long time. I was perilously close to saying "screw this" and walking away from the boat for good. I pulled up the tide tables on my phone and found it was almost high tide. I decided I would go drive around and check out the other marinas in the area.....while there are quite a few, only two have the equipment to haul a sailboat. So I might have had to haul it at one place and move it again afterwards. I had been told to stay away from Port Kinsale (which was one of the two) as it was the most expensive marina around. I figured I'd go sightsee and come back at low tide and try again.
Well, none of these marinas are on my gps and the phone wasn't working great out in the boonies either. So I set off blindly, remembering I had driven by Kinsale Bridge Rd and thinking it had to lead to the bridge that leads into downtown Kinsale. I found the road, and immediately saw signs for White Point Marina and Port Kinsale Marina. I came to Port Kinsale first and decided to check it out despite the naysayers. I got out of the car, took a couple photos, and some guy came zooming up on a huge lawnmower. (I actually thought it was a golf cart!) I must have looked a bit distraught as he asked if I needed help.
I told him I had bought a 22' sailboat and was looking for a place to keep it, and that I needed it hauled, scraped and bottom painted. He said, "Well we can sure do the work, be glad to, but I don't know if you want to keep it here, we're the most expensive marina around. A slip at Kinsale Harbor just down the road would probably only cost half what we charge." I was suprised, that's pretty refreshing. He told me the fees for the hauling and whatnot and they were all comparable to what I'd seen other places. He said, "We can do it today, you wanna bring the boat over?" I said, "Well, I can't really do that....do think it's possible someone could go get it for me?" He said "Sure!" Two mechanics jumped in a little runabout and zoomed off. It was about 1.5 miles away by water. They towed it back....they were back so quickly I didn't even see them coming. I didn't even ask before they left what that was gonna cost me, I didn't care at that point. The situation had to be taken care of. When they totaled up my bill, the tow charge was $100. I was thrilled. Talk about money well spent.
Anyway, when they hauled the boat it had barnacles like I've never seen. It was awful. They scraped for at least an hour. I have decided to leave it out for the winter and try to get some work done on it. Then in the spring I think I want to keep it there. They have a bar and restaurant, showers, wi-fi, water and electric at each slip, kayak/dinghy storage, a little store, a screened in deck overlooking the water, a pool, some cottages and a B&B, and a campground. I'm in the mood for amenities, and if this place is $2000 per year and the other place is $1000....well it isn't that much more money in the big scheme of things. And these people seem super nice and not looking to gouge a new boater.
Here are lots of photos of the marina and the haulout and also Kinsale Harbor Marina. Kinsale Harbor was a charming place too. However, it didn't look like they have electricity at the docks, and the restaurant/office/store is closed Mon-Tue. Which just so happens to be my days off. No repair facilities at all, either. So I'm leaning towards Port Kinsale.
http://s717.photobucket.com/albums/ww179/DreamingOfCruising/Cirrus%...
http://vimeo.com/7425152/
Oh, and one thing I didn't think of when I ventured out onto that flooded dock at Sandy Point......a guy I worked with said, "Wow, good thing you didn't have electric there." I never even thought of that. I didn't, but there were outlets at some of the slips. I'm very lucky that there were no cords in the water. I'm so glad to be out of there. I felt like a big weight is off my chest. My shoes are still wet today. Unreal.
Hopefully it gets better from here.
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