Glen JusticeIn California's Newport Harbor, there is no splash date. Boats stay in the water year round.

I am setting the date. As captain, I'm decreeing that on April 5, spring maintenance chores will be completed and life on the water will resume.

Weather permitting – and if I can get the work done – we will take Anonymous Source out of Annapolis and up the Severn River with friends to mark the day. It's also my 11th wedding anniversary, so I may have to do a bit more than just show up 30 minutes early to warm up the engine. But I'll get to that.

As I mentioned yesterday, I've decided to take some of the advice we dispense here on Mad Mariner and unwrap my boat this year in accordance with our two-part Spring Commissioning Series. The series said that setting a "Splash Date" is a good idea, because it provides a goal to work toward. In fact, I inserted that particular recommendation.

Is it a good idea? So far, I think it is – but it is harder than one might think.

I began with late March in mind. A friend of mine is coming down from New York, and he loves the boat. I have two sons under age four and it really helps Petula and I to have at least one crew member aboard.

Then, I had to look at schedules. I was open March 29, but Petula was working. That forced the splash back a week – to our anniversary. This added a new wrinkle: I needed permission. I caught up with my wife at 4 a.m. Friday – thanks to the kids, we talk at odd hours – and she seemed amenable to the idea of launching the boat on our anniversary.

I was elated – until the doubts crept in. What did I just commit to? I'm a guy who has been repeatedly bushwhacked in the romance department. Eleven years ago, thinking that diamonds were presented at the altar, I proposed with a black onyx ring I bought at Best Buy for $38. I'd like to tell you I'm an older, wiser man now, but there is evidence to the contrary. Valentines Day landed during the Miami Boat Show last month, and I completely botched it. No gift. No card. Nothing.

So, where do I stand? Hell if I know. It is possible that when I said "let's launch the boat," she heard "let's have an anniversary party with all of our friends, to atone up for the shafting at Valentines Day."

Now, let me be clear: My wife is no dummy. She'll expect me to fail at anything that involves proper matrimonial skills. But that does not mean there aren't expectations – and that failures will not be logged in the Book of Guilt for future use.

I'll let you know how this evolves.