Trying to get everything we brought with us stored somewhere logical, safe, and efficient was an intense, high-level Tetris game. Eventually, we gave in and jammed the least-used items in the most inaccessible places.
We lived on the hard in the marina from December 11th until January 3rd. The ladder was the bane of our existence (it has since lost the title to our shitty, shitty dock cart, but that bane is gone as well!), but it was all part of the grand adventure. And it was satisfying to throw things into the garbage from high above. We unpacked, renamed the boat (all ceremonies observed), visited cute North Carolina towns (Beaufort and New Bern), and couldn’t wait to get the boat in the water.
We were rewarded for all our hard work, perseverance, and ladder climbing when Tocino finally splashed on January 3rd, 2020. A few more details and some more ‘organizing’ and we finally hit the ICW on January 8th, 2020. Even if we had known what was coming, I’m not sure our decisions and plans would have changed that much. Click here for next post.
![](https://www.sailingtocino.com//wp-content/uploads/2020/10/speck-on-deck-at-bock-rotated.jpg)
![](https://www.sailingtocino.com//wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ladder-heat-gun.jpg)
![](https://www.sailingtocino.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Speck-on-lookout-dec-2019.jpg)
![](https://www.sailingtocino.com//wp-content/uploads/2020/10/view-from-beaufort-hotel-rotated.jpg)
![](https://www.sailingtocino.com//wp-content/uploads/2020/10/beaufort-nc-main-street.jpg)
![](https://www.sailingtocino.com//wp-content/uploads/2020/10/beaufort-nc-boardwalk-nautical-flags.jpg)