When Brian and I drove through the boatyard gates on Friday morning, I had no expectations. We had plans of putting Illusion back in the water, but six weeks of labor on an old boat had taught me that nothing goes as planned; the hard projects took the allotted time, but projects that seemed easy stretched on for days (or weeks) and multiplied. Our pre-launching to-do list included seven projects, so I assumed that at least one of them would go awry. If that occurred, it was possible that we wouldn’t have enough time to get Illusion back in the water before the end of the day, and it was Friday, meaning it would have to wait until Monday.

We put on the last two sea cocks – ones that had frozen on us earlier in the week and prevented an earlier launching, made sure the others were closed, hooked up the second bilge pump, vacuumed out the bilge, checked all the hose clamps, organized the mess, and painted the last few areas on the bottom that needed a second coat without so much as a hitch. The traveling lift scooped Illusion off her stilts, carried her to the ramp, and lowered her back into a cradle of saltwater at 2:30 pm.

Brian jumped aboard to check for leaks, then the Rockville crew grabbed the lines, and pulled Illusion towards a nearby slip (we still haven’t hooked up the engine). As she pivoted around the boat at the end of the dock, one of the men lost his hold on a line. I looked over my shoulder to see her stern swinging wide and the entire vessel moving towards shore. The narrow waterway didn’t leave much leeway, but they managed to tow her back into position and safely into the slip. When things finally settled down, Illusion took her place amongst the other boats, and we cheered. Cold beers were cracked; high fives were exchanged, and we sat for a while and admired the view – from the water.

I am exhausted, relieved, and filled with an expanding sense of gratitude and excitement. I can’t wait to be on our way!