Thursday was a quiet day. We hung out at the Seabrook Marina pool and got to know some of the other local boat owners. We will miss Seabrook Marina. It has been a marvelous home for Dolce Vitaville for the last month. Thursday evening Eric and his friend, Dave, arrived with the truck. We had a great dinner at Skipper's.

Friday we all arose early prepared for a big day. The guys spent most of the morning preparing and adjusting things on the truck to fit the exact needs of the boat. They did a super job of building the trailer to fit. They scheduled us for the actual lift in the late afternoon so everyone enjoyed a little midday rest in the cool of our motel rooms.

We re-convened later that day for the actual lift onto the truck. We drove the boat over to the shipyard where the marine travelift was waiting to do the job.

They washed the boat off after it came out if the water.

Then it was on to the trailer. Everything fit perfect.

They secured things and tied things down. They put on the signs and flags.

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Saturday morning they spent more time making sure things were perfect and ready for an early start on Sunday morning.

We enjoyed our last day at Seabrook Marina. We hung out at the pool area some and went for lunch at Skipper's. That evening we would get to visit with our old dock neighbors, Art and Barbara. We were thrilled to finally get a chance to visit their boat, the Work of Art, an 80' long hull which they have finished themselves over the last twelve years. The work they have done on the interior of the boat is beautiful and original. They go soon to Florida where they will get outfitted with a mast and sails.

Sunday morning we took off early. We left Seabrook at 6 a.m. and took back roads across South Houston to Sugarland, eventually ending up on Highway 71 headed to Austin and Lake Travis.

The trailer had a flat tire along the way. Apparently, that 's to be expected and they had several spares.

There were a couple of wrong turns along the complicated route given us by Tx Dot but we still managed to arrive at Emerald Point before 4 p.m., a successful journey.

The driving team…..Eric and David Stough and Dave.

Life is good.

Fair winds,

Franci and Stephen

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Wednesday, July 10

Tuesday we took Dolce Vitaville out for her final sail on Galveston Bay. Our friend, Lyse, came with us and it was a great day for sailing. We were among the few folks out sailing that day. There was a lovely southeast breeze and we enjoyed sailing all morning and long into the afternoon.

Wednesday morning we were up early ready to greet the guys from Stix N'Rign at 7a.m. They went to work dismantling the wiring and lines about the mast. They put away the screecher and jib sail. They marked and labeled each of the lines and wires as they disconnected them.

About 9 a.m, we drove the boat over to the shipyard where they began the process of taking down the jib furler, the boom and finally the mast itself. They used a crane and a large rope attached by a guy who went up the mast in a boson's chair. It was fun to watch. The guys at the Seabrook Shipyard really knew how to do it. The Stix N Rign crew along with the shipyard guys did a great job. We were impressed with their skill and expertise.

They labeled things and took pictures.

They took down the sails, then the boom and the mast.

Viewing was good in the shade.

The guys from Stix N'Rign would go on to wrap the mast and other parts in plastic wrap. They took apart the radar and shrouds and wrapped them safely in bubble wrap and delivered them back to the boat ready for the long adventure ahead. We were impressed with the thoroughness of the job. By Friday, everything would be wrapped and ready for transport.

After the mast was done, we enjoyed an afternoon by the pool and leftovers on the boat for dinner.

Life is good,

Fair winds,

Franci and Stephen

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June 27, 2013

Recently our good friends, Jim Neece, and his lovely wife, Nancy, bought a new boat. Jim and Nancy are our long time friends who invited us to join them on their honeymoon in the BVI's back in 2009. We've been hooked on sailboat charters ever since. Jim and Nancy recently sold their sailboat on Lake Travis (27 foot monohull) and bought a 32' O'Day sailboat. Our friends from Houston, Helyn and Gary Mack, bought the 27 ft boat not realizing that all parties involved were friends of ours. Soon both parties discovered that they shared our friendship in common.

When the day came to unstep the mast of the boat and put it on a trailer for transport to Houston we could not resist attending the event. We had also learned that they had hired the same rigger and transporter who would soon be moving our boat from Seabrook to Lake Travis. What an opportunity. Here are few photos from that June morning at Lake Travis.

We only stayed for the taking down of the mast. We had other things to do that afternoon but it was a good introduction for the adventure ahead.

Life is good,

Fair winds,

Franci and Stephen

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Folks,

We could not resist one more sail on the bay so today we went out. The mast comes down on Wed. The the boat goes on the trailer Friday. It trucks to Lake Travis on Sunday with launch Monday the 15th. It sounds simpler than it probably will be. Hope you enjoy these short videos.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0zf7trF8VCXlbrj72vkGsUkDo8QIe8hEO. This link will let you follow us on a map in real time. If you get email notice of new blogs be sure to click on the name at the top of the post to get the pictures and videos or go to dolcevitaville.com