I kept some of the old information from the original Nicro vent and incorporated what I recently did with the new Marinco vent as there was a lot of information about how I chose that particular style of vent and why.

For some time, the old vent had been getting slower and slower, and it finally stopped running even in bright sunshine. It was time for a replacement.

Thanks to editor Chris Szepessy for giving the Mariner some publicity.

My father and I unstepped the mast at the mooring, then he met me at the Niantic River launch ramp with the trailer while I motored over.

Just when I think I have collected copies of all the advertisements published featuring the Mariner, I stumble across a new one!

I just added fourteen pictures from sailing in the river, participating in August’s Rendezvous, and meeting up with friends.

I recently found out it is slated to be published in the December edition of WindCheck magazine as well as the next edition of Small Craft Advisor.

We had an absolute blast despite the extremely hot weather, and I plan on writing an after-action report about it soon.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and it was certainly a pleasure to sail with Chris, Dan, and Alan.

I also sailed over and saw my sister who had seen me by car from the Niantic bridges and pulled off the road at a nearby park where there was a floating dock.

We arrived in Niantic without incident, and I was happy to have my father help me step the mast in the launch ramp parking lot.

Fortunately, her topsides and deck are still in excellent condition, but she needed a new coat of bottom paint, bootstripe, and maintenance varnish on her coaming tops and hatchboard slides.

I began the process at the beginning of January, and while it all went relatively quickly, it was incredibly involved with many hoops to jump through.

While the factory itself has changed considerably since O’Day left, the tall, narrow windows facing the street were instantly recognizable as I approached.

While we have been calling it various names during the year - shed, new shed, farmstand - it is, at least from November to April, “The Boatshed.”

Everything went extremely smoothly, and I’m happy to have her safe on the hard before the weather gets too cold and blustery.

The foliage was absolutely beautiful, and I ended up sailing as far north as I could toward the area called Golden Spur.

One by one, boats are disappearing from the mooring field, but I have been able to take advantage of some fair weather days to enjoy ORION for a little bit longer.

Let me tell you - I was absolutely blown away. It is an incredibly generous gift, and I can't thank everyone enough.

They include some photos from an afternoon with a friend, a sail up the river to go swimming with my son, a couple from the Rendezvous, and a couple from today.