A career opportunity threw a big curveball into the mix end of 2022. We ended up moving back across the US for a position in Wisconsin we perceived to, at least for the time being, swing the pendulum of priorities in a new direction. Aries was winterized and kept in the water in Noank, CT till now. Since then, we've been talking about "what's next". We settled on hiring a captain to move Aries from Connecticut to Wisconsin via water as the cost was comparable, at worst, to trucking her back to the Midwest. After finding a captain we began dreaming up plans to join Aries on her way to the Great Lakes. We thought this would be a great educational vacation, with an experienced person along to help us through some of the predictable challenges, such as unstepping the masts for the trip through the Erie Canal.
Britt may share her story of how we prepped for this trip as she took care of the logistics and planning. For this post, we arrived back in Noank on the 28th, late Sunday evening.
Opening up a sailboat after seven months or so in the water, over winter, in the Northeast, is an experience of mixed emotions. Immediately, we're greeted by varnish peeling badly in a few spots. Inside, walls have mildew in spots. There's a damp smell throughout and as we begin checking the various systems, various problems emerge. The bilge has quite a bit of water standing. More than I'm comfortable with by quite a bit, and it turns out the a series of problems are needing attention. The bilge pump fuse had blown, but when fixed, it's evident the float switch is defective as well, probably leading to the fuse failing. When the bilge pump is set to "auto" it now runs constantly.
After a quick check of systems and rudimentary cleaning of cabins, we called it a night.