I put it off as long as I dared, but by Thanksgiving weekend, the weather report was threatening deep freezing temperatures at the marina. It was time to winterize the Tartar Sauce. To prepare her for the long(but hopefully not TOO long) winter’s nap in her berth.

I had decided to leave her in the water for this winter, since it had a fresh bottom job and had only been splashed for the season at the end of July. This was simpler than finding a yard to haul her and store her on the hard at, since my marina doesn’t have the capability for that, but it made the gravity of winterizing more intense – a failure to winterize the systems properly could result in the Sauce taking on water and slowly sinking in her slip into the cold, brackish water of the Sassafras River. So, the day before Thanksgiving I headed down to the boat early to have all day to slowly make my way through the winterization process.

Being my first time sleeping the Sauce, the process started with me making lists. Broken down by system, each component to be checked and winterized. Freshwater system: Empty the tank – check; Flush cheap vodka through the pumps – check. Side note – the internet claims that using cheap vodka instead of RV antifreeze in the freshwater system is an effective antifreeze while eliminating the funky taste of the antifreeze the next season. I bought into it enough to try it – if the boat was going to stay somewhere that regularly saw sub-zero temps, then I’m not sure that would be as good of an idea, but it’s worth a shot. I’m likely going to replace the whole freshwater system in the spring anyway, so it’s a relatively low risk experiment and will be good data for the new system.

I won’t bore with the whole list, but it was fairly painless – although I did discover that my raw water strainer was slowly leaking, and was being pressurized from my dripless shaft seal. I clamped off the shaft seal, and will replace the strainer in the spring. The engine went to sleep in a cloud of fogging oil and all thru-hull seacocks were closed and backfilled with antifreeze.

Up on deck, the sails were unbent and folded – which was a bit of an adventure getting them tidy as a one-man folding crew, but we got it done. I removed the dodger canvas and collapsed the frame. I removed and stowed all the safety gear and other rail-mounted hardware. Before replacing the halyards with their sacrificial messengers, I rigged the mast ladder to the mail halyard and went up the mast. Being my first time up the mast, I inspected all the rigging connections on my way up. I got to the top and removed the masthead instrument. I should have removed the boom topping lift as well, but completely forgot until it was too late.

After the bulk of the boat was winterized, I moved on to a project I’d been meaning to do for a while – lettering the boat with her new name! I’d been driving around with the Tartar Sauce lettering in my truck for 3 months, it was time to finally get it on. After a small adventure getting the dinghy pumped up, I launched it and rowed allllll the way around the marina (typically the tide is low enough to sneak under the docks). Tied up on the stern, Emma L came off and Tartar Sauce was emblazoned on the transom.

By this time the day was waning, and I was feeling about done for the day. I cleaned up everything and went in search of an end of season cigar and a quick dinner. Finding both and returning to the boat, it was getting pretty cold and blustery on deck, so I cozied up below decks with a glass of whiskey and a wonderful cigar and enjoyed both under the light of my oil lantern, while listening to the wind howling outside the boat. The wind must’ve been gusting to the high 20’s into the 30’s, as the boat was heeling over in her slip almost 10 degrees with bare poles! Cigar & whiskey complete, the day was done and I retired for a good sleep before I returned home the following day with a truck full of sails and cushions, and a gratitude for the life that’s allowed me to experience owning and sailing a classic like the Sauce.