“Spontaneity is the best kind of adventure,” I don’t know who said that first, but they are right. Wednesday night I was heading out to Gemini to complete some engine work, when Mrs. Gemini called. As it turns out, she had a better plan for the evening than just boat work.

After only getting the engine started less than a week ago, I have been trying to fix any and all oil/water leaks. The previous night I installed a new gasket with RTV on the exhaust manifold/coolant resevior. Wednesday night’s task was to fill it with water and make sure the cooling system was working. I was planning my evening of work while driving to the marina when Mrs. Gemini called me. She told me she had both of our sons, our friend Chris, and a cooler of cold beer, and she was on her way to the marina.

Not entirely thrilled with another evening of nothing but work, I was suddenly exhilarated contemplating the possibility of an evening sail. I arrived at the boat, topped it off with coolant and fired up the little diesel. Before I could even test the system, my crew had arrived. I let the engine run for a few minutes keeping a watchful eye to the temperature gauge. Once I was sure we weren’t going to overheat the motor, we made the decision to finally cast off the lines, and leave the slip. Just as we were preparing to leave, our crew grew by one more as Brandon happened to show up and join us.

Mrs. Gemini and crew Chris

Brandon and I were in a deep discussion when this candid photo was taken

I had sailed the boat once, by myself, the day that I took the engine out of the boat, but that trip didn’t even compare to this one. Motoring away from the slip this evening was an immensely rewarding feeling. After all the hard work and time that was spent rebuilding our Universal M18, I couldn’t help but feel pride when the inboard was propelling us forward.

With a gentle breeze, we motored Gemini out into Machodoc Creek, and set the sails. Not less than five minutes later, virtually all wind in the creek died, and we sat there bobbing on the water. We all sat in the cockpit, enjoying our cold refreshments, revelling in the joy of finally being on the water on Gemini. Georgie hung out in the v berth while Charlie got to play in the cockpit. After an hour or two, we decided that with no wind, it was time to motor back to the dock.











We furled the jib and flaked the main, fired up the inboard, and made our way back. This being the first time trying to berth the boat under power, my first attempt was aborted, and we managed to get her in on the second try. Back at the dock, we enjoyed another round and a few more minutes of each other’s company before calling it a night.

The sail may have been a short one, and with little to no wind, but it was a memorable sail. That first time leaving the dock, together, as a family, and under the power of our fresh motor was moment we will remember for a long time. We can not wait to take so many more adventures aboard Gemini and letting our sons grow up on the boat.



