Olympia continued her trajectory of awesomeness at TrawlerFest 2015, this year held at Riviera Beach, FL. I arranged to attend the last day on January 25 and landed in West Palm Beach airport at 10 am. I met 2 other Krogen owners who I invited to stay aboard with me that night and hitch a ride back to Stuart on what would be Olympia's maiden voyage the following day. Yes, she had already plied the seas, but now she would have her proud mama at the helm, so this was THE maiden voyage for both of us!
It happens every time....as I rounded the corner of the dock to where Olympia was holding court, I looked up and suddenly saw her imposing bow rising above me - and I caught my breath in wonder. What a start to what would be a most extraordinary week!
She's beautiful from every direction!
The guys sent me this picture of Olympia once she got settled in her slip. I told you that bow of hers is imposing! Olympia is snuggled up to a sister KKY - Alba is a brand new and gorgeous 48 AE. There's not a lot of room at these shows is there?
The day was fun - the KKY staff did a great job of reminding folks that Olympia was a private vessel so that no one decided to make themselves at home...
I loved listening to comments as folks entered the salon and had a look around. There was no doubt who the owner was when they looked in my direction - the room was lit up with my proud smile! The KKY staff does an incredible job at these shows. It is an exhausting day for them since they always have to be "on" - answering questions, giving tours, making sure no one sneaks by or keeps their shoes on - all while standing outside in the elements. Sunday was a gorgeous day - sunny, no wind and moderate temperatures. It seemed as if Mother Nature did everything in her power to welcome me to the show and the ride "home" on Olympia.
The next morning was THE day I had been dreaming of for 2 years - me at Olympia's helm taking her home to her slip in Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart. We were up early and had our girl ready to go by 7:15 am. My trusty mentor Mike Warren would be at the helm with me, never mind with me - actually glued to my side - for the almost 5 hour run to Stuart.
The departure was quite tricky - you saw from the pics above that Olympia was in her slip with not much room to spare. Captain Mike said we would have to "walk" her away from the dock since there was little room to move forward and NO room to move her backward. I was very happy to be co-captain at this point and listened intently to his instructions. We held a pre-departure conference with the "crew"...
With that accomplished, Mike and I wave bye bye to Riviera Beach and go to our battle stations...
Luckily, we had some early morning help getting us away from the dock. Since Olympia was so tightly docked in her slip, we had to take care as we headed out that her stern was completely clear of the dock while her bow was kept safely away from the end of the dock.
Only now did I breathe a sigh of relief...
Check out that beautiful sky by the way and the way the rising sun is kissing the pilothouse.
So now that we're off, Alba could leave her slip and follow us back to Stuart. Luckily for me, Larry of KKY was aboard Alba and offered to take some wonderful shots of our maiden voyage. I was thrilled with the outcome. But before you see those, I know you've been waiting to see these,,,,
These pics are what a dream looks like when it comes true......
Now that I've wiped some tears away, look at these wonderful pics of Olympia in her element!
I love this one - I'm actually taking her under a bridge, after calling for an opening on the radio! This is important stuff!
I hope you enjoyed these long-overdue pictures of Olympia and I finally getting to know one another. The next post will re-capture her christening ceremony later in that week.
Please stand by.
