April 20, 2013 3:20 PM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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There are many stories and photos from this winter season in Marathon that we want to catch up on, but that will be the topic for later blog entries. She's due to arrive in Victoria around May 9th and we're driving across country to meet her and to begin some years of cruising in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Divers were in the water to help position the huge lifting straps under the hull and make sure they were clear of the stabilizer fins. At the last minute we had to lower 6 antennas so they would clear the overhead lifting bar. Once everything was ready for lifting we boarded a small launch and waited near the ship to watch her get settled on deck. We've seen our boat hauled out of the water for maintenance periodically, but it's a different feeling watching our home lifted high out of the water an onto the deck of a ship! On Thursday we were allowed back into the Port and aboard the ship so we could put the antennas back up - the loadmaster told us the antennas would ride better upright. It was very interesting to get aboard and see the deck full of more boats, and the welded cradles and stands, and all the straps holding boats to the deck. The crew had still not finished installing the spiderweb of straps, but it's a pretty impressive operation. The EUROGRACHT finally departed around midnight on Thursday, heading for the Panama Canal. We have a long drive ahead of us, and we'll use that time to catch up on the blog from our busy winter. We'll also be watching the weather to see what the EUROGRACHT and ADVENTURES are experiencing. Victoria, here we come!
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