Slip #46

After playing musical chairs for a little bit because of quite a few ins and outs at West Basin Marina this fall, Mercedes has committed to moving from slip #83 to slip #46 next season!  This is not near slip #8 on the wall near the entrance to the marina, where we were first assigned.  Rather, it is inside the basin along the west wall, about 2/3 of the way from north to south.  Our access to the dock will be from the port side of the boat instead of starboard side.  

Slip #46 at West Basin Marina

This is a very pretty spot and has some advantages: 

-  excellent protection from winds from all directions and from any river surge, 
-  longer length for the dock and pylons for more secure belaying with stern and spring lines,
-  very easy straight-in approach to and egress from the dock,
-  no dock for the power to route so much less chance of the power being shut off on account of high water, 
-  grassy lawn for folding sails, 
-  good availability of nearby parking, 
-  close to the bathrooms in the northwest corner, 
-  picnic tables and shade trees nearby for socializing,
-  easy walking distance to the yacht club for food and drinks,
-  reasonably close to staging vehicles for loading/unloading gear,
-  safer distance from boats who are maneuvering into the fuel dock with, shall we say, less than perfect control,
-  our friends on the racing boats are nearby, including Captain Blood, who is moving to the south wall near the yacht club.

Fair to say, there are a few potential disadvantages for that slip, or things that we will miss:

-  geese hang out nearby and there are a lot of geese droppings on the dock and the grounds (watch your step!),
-  further from the fuel dock,
-  further from the ice machine,
-  that corner of the marina tends to build up silt, and draft could be a problem if the water level becomes very low,
-  further from transient slips where we used to meet, at least in past seasons, interesting people visiting from all points around the lake,
-  nothing to hang the bow lines on when leaving the dock to grab them when returning; we may need a clever engineering solution for this!

Looking forward to next season.  Let's hope that sailing and racing becomes free of the stress of coronavirus exposure!