Final Engine & Systems Test

The vessel is quiet this morning. A thin layer of mist hangs over the marina and the water is flat as glass. It is difficult to imagine that, within a few weeks, she will be a thousand miles from here.

We ran the engines through their full cycle — starting, warming, holding load, shutting down cleanly. No smoke, no unusual sounds, temperatures steady. The systems check that comes before the systems check.

There is a particular hush that settles over a boat the day before departure, as though the vessel herself is listening for the first turn of the engine. Tomorrow we begin.