There were lots of moving pieces to create a successful Townshend haulout today and all of those pieces fell into place with a good plan and solid teamwork.  We met in the classroom as we usually do and discussed the various aspects of the Haulout plan:  What happens before, during and after Townshend hauls out?

3 Teams were made:

— Scrubbers & Hosers (raingear needed)

— Mast unsteppers and lashers

— Bilge pumpers

Each team had a specific plan as to what they would do after the boat was on the trailer and moved to the wash down area at Boat Haven.  As you can see in the photos, there was much activity as we worked together to get Townshend out of the way of other boaters using the ramp.

Before we even got to Boat Haven for haulout we had our usual snack, Moment of Silence, and Naturalist Report.  Audrey was the journalist / photographer today and she broke the Moment of Silence with the quote:  “The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well,” by Alfred Adler.  Kyle shared a brief naturalist report about the Great Blue Heron.  Snack was quick and yummy (apples, Kind bars, crackers and hummus) – THANKS to the Food Co-op!  Then we rowed to meet the truck and trailer at 2 o’clock.

Hauled out, lashed down, and ready to drive down Water Street, Townshend was moved and Bravo Team got to jump in Martha J for a motorboat ride back to Pt. Hudson with Ossian and Ace.  After storing gear back in the bosun’s locker we ended our class with our high and low tides.  Many people didn’t have low tides but a few said:  cold toes and wet shoes.  High tides were: a smooth haulout, riding in Martha J, beautiful weather, rowing, taking photographs, and solid teamwork!

Next week we’ll start on maintenance with the guidance of Scott and Riley in the boatshop.  Thanks to Admiral Ship Supply we were donated Tyvek suits for haulout.  Stay tuned about our maintenance progress in the corner of the boatshop!