As a professional project manager, I was embarrassed by how badly we foundered on our Ship Shipment project tasks. We had acquired no insurance (Task 1), our sea trial involved no sailing (Task 2), our trucker came with no assurances (Task 3), and our mast removal left us with a mess (Task 4 & 5). Though the deck dismantling (Task 6) went surprisingly well, our next undertaking was about to pulverize the entire plan.

Our transporter was scheduled to arrive for the pick up in Pawcatuck bright and early Sunday morning. Don was booked to fly back to Florida with our cat Halley that afternoon, and my parents intended to drive home to Ohio after dropping him off at the airport.

On that blessed day the stick hung from the crane, the boat bobbed in the well, and the lift laid at the ready. But the truck never turned up.

Our carefully corroborate transport company had backed out at the last moment, leaving me to blindly hire another service. So this new guy's no-show blunder did little to boost my confidence in his credentials. Before the clock struck noon, however, the trucker called to explain that the DOTDepartment of Transportation. was to blame, and promised to appear the next morning. Mark another milestone missed! We were quite worried about Don not being present to witness the loading process (Step 7), so mom and dad decided to stand in our stead. Though it can scarcely be said that they were ship shipping savvy, they at least could be sure that the boat hadn't rolled off the bed.

My father called Monday morning to verify that Vulcania had vacated the yard. He mentioned having a nice chat with our trucker Hugh, and afterward felt our little ship was in good hands. Once dad confirmed she was on her way, I contacted the receiving yard, Bradenton Beach Marina to rearrange our unloading, launching, and mast stepping schedule from Tuesday to Wednesday.

According to the transporter's contract, heavy charges would be applied for any wait time beyond an hour after arrival. And since we weren't renting a slip where she was being splashed, the marina master wanted us to pull away from their dock as promptly as possible. Pressure to synchronize all the key participants was coming from every quarter.

Unfortunately, on Monday our truck with vessel in tow only made it as far as Maryland. Hugh called to report that, oddly unbeknownst to all of us, the state required an escort. And of course one couldn't be obtained until the following morning. Another red mark against Step 7, and another day's delay!

Regrettably, Bradenton Beach Marina was unable to accommodate the adjustment this time. Their travel lift was otherwise engaged until the following week. I called all the surrounding boatyards to no avail. All were booked up with launching the vessels that had been previously hauled for the hurricane. Katrina kicked our butts both coming and going.

What do you do with a 10 ton ship when there's no way to get it in the water? All I kept thinking was get out the check book!

I must admit that the calls I had with Hugh did much to assuage all my angst. He was quite the character, funny, friendly, and light-hearted. I immediately understood why dad liked him. He seemed to be as excited as we were about our new-to-us boat delivery.

When I lamented to him that we couldn't unload until the 26^th – 5 days hence, he blithely provided a solution for no additional fee.

"I'm a snowbird with property in Orlando. I've got a gated lot behind the house where I lock up my rig, so I can just park your boat in there meantime. It'll be safe. We'll see you on Monday!" Hugh's flexibility saved the day!

The anticipation to take possession of our prize was piercing – but at least we'd mastered one part of Task 7 – The Waiting!