SV Orion - Annapolis, MD

Late December - If Its Tuesday . . .

12/31/2008

We prepare to board the Carolinian on route to FL.

From Rochester, NY to Emporia, VA to Winston-Salem, NC to Raleigh, NC to Jacksonville, FL – we’ve made another Christmas pilgrimage to see the family and have returned to Orion to welcome in the New Year. It was a good trip, but it feels good to be home again.

Christmas Celebrations

After doing what we could to help out Dave’s parents as they moved out of their house, and enjoying some time with Dave’s sister Wendy and her family, we began heading south to join our children for Christmas. The frigid temperatures and blanket of snow gradually gave way to bare ground and much warmer temperatures as we made our way south, leaving the heavy coats and sweaters behind.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we were with our children’s families, enjoying their thrill as they waited for Santa and the awe of discovering he had actually come.

The day after Christmas, we moved further south to Winston-Salem, NC for a few days with Cathy’s family, enjoying several days with her mom, sisters and their families.

Train Travel

For the first time, we left NC by train, catching Amtrak’s “Carolinian” from the old Southern Railway station in downtown Greensboro to Raleigh. The old station had closed back in 1979, the year Cathy and her family had moved away from Greensboro after she graduated from high school there. (With her dad’s frequent use of the Greensboro station during the time he lived there, Cathy joked that that must have been the reason it closed upon their departure.) In the interim, it had been restored and finally re-opened in 2005, looking better than ever.

We had a long (11 hour) layover in Raleigh, so we took advantage of the time to tour the downtown of NC’s state capital. It’s a great place to spend the day, with so many free tours and museums a short walk from the station. We toured the historic Capitol building, the State Legislature building, the Museum of History and the Nature and Science Center. In the afternoon, we met up with Cathy’s niece, Christine, to see her new town house and eat supper before returning to the station to catch our train to Jacksonville.

We arrived in Jacksonville around 7:15am New Year’s Eve morning and caught the bus back to the marina, arriving there before 9am. Not a bad trip.

Orion Starts up

The big question in Dave’s mind when we returned to the boat was: will she start? We lost little time before putting the key in the ignition and giving it a try. Well, it wasn’t the first try, but she started on the 2nd try without us having to bleed the fuel lines. It’s a good sign, but only time will tell for sure.

Plans on Hold

We are in Jacksonville for a little while longer as we wait to see how some family situations resolve themselves. We plan to get some more projects done on the boat while we wait and – maybe we’ll go to Disney World.

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Early December - Christmas Travels

12/15/2008

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Grandpa reads to Jayden

After a couple of weeks in Jacksonville, we boarded a train bound for southern Virginia where we spent the weekend with our children and grandchildren. We then headed further north by car to Rochester, NY to help Dave’s parents move from their house to an apartment in a senior living community nearby.

All Aboard

One of the reasons we chose the Palm Cove Marina near Jacksonville was its proximity to the bus line into Jacksonville. The bus that ran right by the Marina ended its run at the Amtrak station. This made it easy to get to the train station for our trip north. We took a trial run on the bus into downtown Jacksonville a few days early. The bus system was easy to navigate and cheap (only a $1). We explored The Landing, a mall of shops by the river. It was windy that day, and the St. John’s River had a strong opposing current, which made it look . . . ahh . . . interesting. There was plenty of free dockage along the river wall. We learned that you can stay for 72 hours, but you must be prepared to allow boats to raft to you. We stored that info away for future reference. The docks are just beyond an on-request opening bridge (the Main street bridge). If a marina stay is preferred, there is one on the south side of the river opposite the Landing. A water taxi will cross to the north side of the river for a few bucks or the monorail for 50 cents. Pretty easy. We explored downtown by (free) trolley, which dropped us off at the bus transfer station so we could catch our ride back to the marina.

So, on the 5th of December, we caught the bus one more time to catch our late evening train north to Petersburg, VA. We enjoy traveling by train for a number of reasons. The Amtrak personnel couldn’t be more helpful. We had plenty of room at our seats. The train was served by a dining car, where we enjoyed a hot breakfast and got to meet a fellow traveler who was seated at our table. And we arrived in Petersburg right on time. It’s a much easier way to travel than driving.

Barb and Dave, Dave's parents

Dave’s parents had begun the process of moving from their house to an apartment in early October. We arrived to help with the final process of packing up and moving out, as the movers arrived the day after we did. We helped pack, load and unload boxes and furniture and then clean the rooms in the house as they were emptied. The bulk of the work for the move is now done, and his parents are in a position to enjoy the holidays as they begin their life at their new place.

In addition to our move activities, we spent some of the time in Rochester enjoying holiday festivities and taking care of some personal business, which included seeing the dentist and our financial advisors, since we don’t get this far north that often.

Little Troy with Grandpa

Time with the Grandkids

We enjoyed our brief stay in Virginia, visiting with the kids. We plan to return south to be with them at Christmas, before traveling to NC to be with Cathy’s family.

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Late November - Florida - Sunny and Cold

11/30/2008

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Although we’ve arrived in Florida, the warm weather we normally associate with this location is still pretty elusive. Thanks to our little heaters and some blankets, we’re staying warm though. We made it as far south as Jacksonville, before pulling in for an extended stay, while we travel north to visit family for the holidays. On the way south, we visited Beaufort, SC (pronounced byew-fort), our first time visiting this historic city.

Beaufort, SC

Beaufort sits on a bend on a river of the same name in southern SC, about 10 miles inland from Port Royal Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is almost 300 years old, and has survived 2 wars, Indian uprisings and a few storms over the centuries. It has so many historic homes dating back to the 19th century that much of the downtown is considered a National Historic district. As with many cities we have visited with well-preserved historic structures, the reason they remain intact is a result of both the city’s good and bad fortunes in the preceding centuries.

Perhaps the most significant element of good fortune Beaufort experienced was the fact that it saw so little action during the Civil War. Instead, the city was taken by the Union forces without any significant resistance, and spent the war under Union occupation. This and the respectful treatment of the city by the occupying army left much of the property unharmed by the ravages of war, unlike so many other southern cities.

But it usually takes some bad fortunes to keep a city from clearing out the old in favor of the new. For Beaufort, this came after the war, as the economy struggled to recover with the loss of the large plantations and the markets derived from supporting them and selling their crops. The result of this downturn was that little new capital investment was possible. This meant that it was cheaper to repair and refurbish the buildings that already existed, rather than raze them and replace with newer structures.

This made us the beneficiaries of Beaufort’s good and bad times, as we strolled the oak-lined streets past dozens of homes dating back to the 1800’s and even earlier. One of the oldest buildings in town is St. Helena’s Episcopal Church, which dates back to the 1700’s. In her graveyard are the graves of 2 British soldiers killed in a Revolutionary War skirmish, as well as those of Civil War soldiers, each marked by the flag under which he fought. Inside the recently restored church sanctuary, a well-informed docent told us about the church’s history and invited us to join them for a chicken dinner that night.

A sailboat approaches the Ladies Island bridge southbound.

Ladies Island Bridge - Closed Until Further Notice

The indefinite closing of an opening bridge on the waterway is, at best, an unsettling inconvenience to the many sailboats that travel it. With so many older opening bridges in desperate need of repair, the Coast Guard’s securite announcements are becoming more frequent. It was with an incredible sense of relief and dismay that we heard this announcement for Beaufort’s Ladies Island Bridge – the day after we passed through.

The Ladies Island Bridge crosses from downtown Beaufort across to Ladies Island. Although it is an opening bridge, it is tall enough for most trawlers and powerboats to pass under, but not for sailboats and a few commercial tugs and fishing boats that travel the Beaufort river. While we were touring downtown the day after we arrived, we learned that the bridge had had trouble opening, was stuck for a period of time and now was closed to boat traffic indefinitely. The next morning, as we made preparations to leave for our outside run to Fernandina Beach, we heard the Coast Guard securite announcement about the bridge closing indefinitely.

While the maintenance people worked on the bridge, sailboats started accumulating in the river above the bridge, anchoring wherever possible. A tug and barge tied up to the fenders of the fixed bridge below Ladies Island, just off the dock of Port Royal Marina, where we were staying. Confusing announcements were made and then retracted about a possible opening. First it was going to be 10 and 2. Then 10am passed without an opening. Then it was going to 12 noon and maybe 3 or maybe not. When it became apparent that 12 noon was going to be the first opening in 24 hours, the commercial tugs began preparing to move. They were going to be traveling with the current behind them and with it near its max velocity. This would mean they have to pass through the narrow opening with the least amount of control as a result. Usually they can have an opening on demand, which allows them to pick the river’s state. Several tense conversations were held with the bridge tender to determine whether this would be safe.

As we left the dock to head for the ocean, the boats started moving through the bridge behind us. The sailboats had to clear the channel above the bridge to allow the tugs through and then they began filing through. Shortly after the bridge closed, we heard the call of a sailboat that didn’t make it. The bridge tender told him to standby. The bridge would probably open sometime in a few hours. She just didn’t know when.

We were glad that the drama was all behind us as we made for the open ocean.

Notice to boaters that water will be turned off due to freezing temperatures.

Beaufort, SC to Fernandina Beach, FL

It had been cold in Beaufort, so cold that the water to the docks had been turned off to prevent them from freezing at night. We were ready to get further south. We were far enough south that the jump to the St. Mary’s inlet at the Georgia-Florida border was only a 20 hour run. This meant a later start from Beaufort around noon so we would arrive after sunup the next day. Just before sunset, we were passing the busier Tybee Roads channel to Savannah. We saw 3 larger ships on the horizon. It became apparent that 2 were anchored, but the 3rd one was underway and appeared that it would come uncomfortably close. After Cathy had some troubles getting AIS working, she woke Dave to help with the problem. Fred was calling the ship on 13 and 16 and getting no response. With his radar (and later confirmed by our AIS), he determined we were going to have a closest point of approach of ¼ mille. Too close. With our AIS problems, we couldn’t get the ship’s name, but Dave saw the pilot boat coming to meet him. We contacted the pilot boat, got the ship’s name and finally got him to answer us. He slowed his speed to allow us to cross in front with more room. Dave later complained to the Coast Guard about the ship’s unresponsiveness.

Anchored ships off the Savannah entrance.

Other than that, we had a calm day and early evening, until the winds started building behind us as the night wore on, eventually gusting to 30 knots by the time the sun rose the next morning. We were glad to tie up to a mooring ball in Fernandina, although it took us 2 tries in the wind to secure it.

Tucked in at Palm Cove Marina

We said goodbye to Pat and Fred for a bit at Fernandina Beach, as they headed to Vero Beach for Thanksgiving. We were going to cover that ground a little slower, but reconnect with them later. However, some family news changed our plans a little and made us tie up to a dock near Jacksonville, at Palm Cove Marina, where we’ve been since the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We met a few couples on the dock who are traveling as well, but most have either moved on or are leaving their boats here for a bit while they travel. The rest of the boats are mostly locals, so there’s not a lot of activity on the docks except on weekends. We spent Thanksgiving here and treated ourselves to a Chinese restaurant’s buffet dinner. Very untraditional, although they did have turkey on the buffet. We’re within walking distance of several stores, so we also managed to get some Christmas shopping in. Soon, we’ll be taking the train north and will leave Orion here for the holidays.

Based on Yanmar’s service bulletin about hard-starting engines (such as ours), Dave ordered the fuel return line retrofit kit (which removes the check valve). He had it installed as well, but it’s too early to say whether it will work or not. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.

We’re still a little too far north apparently, because the shorts and T-shirts are mostly stacked in our lockers, where they’ll stay for a while now.

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Early November - Goin to Carolina

11/15/2008

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We left Coinjock on the first of November and then made 2 longer stops over the course of the past 2 weeks – one in New Bern, NC and one in Charleston, SC. New Bern was a new stop on our way south, while Charleston is like returning to see a good friend. The warmer weather we enjoyed in Charleston has since evaporated. We need to keep heading further south.

New Bern, NC

New Bern claims that NC begins here, since this was the colonial and state capital before Raleigh took over that role in the late 1700’s. Although our trip through NC didn’t begin here, it was a first for us to visit this historic city by water. It took us 3 days to get there from Coinjock, crossing the Albemarle to anchor in the Alligator River, followed by another amazingly calm run to another anchorage in Bear Creek at the north end of the Neuse River. The 3rd day’s run was windier, but it allowed us to motorsail down the Neuse past the ICW turnoff and into the upper Neuse to New Bern, docking on the Trent River at Bridge Pointe Marina.

You can’t tour New Bern and not start at Tryon Palace, the reconstruction of Colonial Governor William Tryon’s home and seat of government. Although the original was destroyed by fire in 1798, and US 70 had been built over its ruins, this was not going to deter the New Bern ladies who were determined that it be restored. Over the course of decades, they managed to overcome many obstacles, including re-routing US 70, and managed to reconstruct the palace and gardens to its former glory. The organization that maintains the palace has spent the ensuing years acquiring and restoring historic homes surrounding the palace, with the latest project being a restored waterfront – hopefully in time for the city’s 300th birthday celebration in a couple of years.

We spent 2 days touring New Bern. The first trip was on a colder, drizzly day where we took in the palace and some of the historic homes that are part of the tour. The 2nd trip to town was in much better weather, so we toured the gardens and more of the outbuildings, which included a working blacksmith, a cook in the kitchen and in-character guides in the historic homes. There was also a museum housed in the New Bern academy, the first public school in NC, which continued in active service through the 70’s. The whole tour was a Williamsburg in miniature for a bargain price of $15.

New Bern’s historical significance didn’t end with the departure of the state capital. Just 100 years later, Brad Caleb developed a popular health drink at the corner soda fountain. His health drink was later renamed Pepsi-Cola, and the rest is history. We had to conduct our own pilgrimage to the beginning of it all, where we enjoyed a tall glass of (diet) soda at the soda fountain for just a $1 and a video about the history of the Pepsi Cola Company. Our next stop was Mitchell’s hardware, which our guidebooks rightly said we shouldn’t miss. It was amazingly still a real hardware store, complete with hardware in bins and friendly clerks.

On a whim, we stopped in at the Centenary United Methodist Church, which had unusual Romanesque architecture. We asked someone we saw leaving the church if it was possible to see inside. He not only said yes, but unlocked the sanctuary and took us on a tour. The stained glass windows were beautiful in the late afternoon sun.

We can’t say enough about the friendliness of the New Bern residents whom we were lucky enough to meet. Even our cab driver ( 252-626-6161 252-626-6161 ) who took us downtown from the marina went out of his way to help us, including allowing us a stop at a grocery store on our way back, without charging enough (seemingly) to cover the gas back and forth. The same story was repeated throughout the town.

The timing of our arrival in New Bern turned out to be only a day ahead of Skip and Cherylle, who recently purchased a home here. On our 2nd day in town, we joined them at their lovely new home along with their friends Walter and Mary Jean, for dinner. For a home that they had just moved into, it looked amazingly settled and comfortable.

Cape Lookout

All good things must come to an end, so we eventually had to move on further south. We left New Bern on Saturday, November 8th, headed for Cape Lookout bight, where we would stage for a run south on the outside – destination uncertain and weather-dependent. The winds were up as we sailed down the Neuse toward the ICW. This was going to be a rough trip around Shackleford Banks to Cape Lookout bight. We had 5 foot beam seas, getting knocked about with each wave for the hour it took us to get into the protection of the bight. Unlike our last visit here, we were not alone in the bight. There were at least half a dozen cruising boats, along with dozens of little fishing boats who did not see any reason that an anchored boat would come between them and their catch.

The winds didn’t die down until late that night, which caused us to wait another day before heading out to allow the seas to calm down. Given the short window, we decided to head for Charleston. We left before dawn on Monday with north winds in the 20’s and higher seas than we would have liked. By mid-morning, the wind and waves had calmed down and we had a comfortable 39 hour run to Charleston. The winds and waves had built behind us again the next morning, but we only had to endure the worst of it for a few minutes as we turned into the inlet before we made the protection of the breakwater. By 1pm, we were tied up at the Charleston Maritime Center and could relax.

Charleston, SC

After making a longer outside run from Cape Lookout bight to Charleston, we took some time there to re-group and explore a little of the city. We took in the Citadel homecoming parade. The cadets assemble on the parade grounds at 5pm, marching in to the accompaniment of the Citadel marching band. Once assembled, the flag is lowered at sunset, with the standard cannon being fired, and then each corps passes before the reviewing stand as they leave the grounds. Very impressive.

Our stay at the Maritime Center overlapped with the schooner Roseway which was built in 1925 as a Grand Banks fishing schooner and then restored in the late 90’s to be used for the World Ocean School. We were invited to tour her while we were there. We took a day to do some errands via the easy to use CARTA bus system, using our one-day pass. We ended the day by using the pass to take a trolley ride around the city, taking in the nicer homes and views by the Battery. A very economical way to see the city.

Our last full day in Charleston was Sunday, which presented a dilemma in a city with so many churches. We ended up at the Circular Congregational Church, which was established almost 350 years ago, with a charter that it should be led by a “Protestant Dissenting Minister of the Congregational, Independent or Presbyterian Persuasion”. That focus on dissent has been their history ever since. They are currently affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church. It was quite a difference from the much more formal St. Phillips Episcopal just down the street.

Engine Woes

Dave took advantage of the time in New Bern and the recommendation of some local boaters to hire a mechanic, Chuck Courtney ( 252-670-3159 252-670-3159 ), to replace the injector line #2, which turned out to be the source of the small fuel leak that had plagued us since leaving Deltaville. The only hitch in the repair was discovering that the recently purchased injector lines were not the correct ones for our engine. There had been an engineering change on our model engine, so we had to order the ones for our serial number range.

Since we had to make a rush order of the injector lines, we included in that order a replacement fuel return check valve, which we hoped would solve the problem that requires us to bleed the engine routinely. Unfortunately, just after we placed the order, we received a bulletin from Yanmar informing us that they recommended the valve be removed from the system. Dave and Chuck replaced the valve anyway, since we now had the part. However, as we have travelled further since then, it is obvious that it hasn’t solved the problem. It appears we will need to follow the Yanmar bulletin and take the valve out.

Other Boat Stuff

Dave found time in Charleston to install 2 new outlets in the cabin. One is a new DC outlet and the other is an AC outlet wired to our little inverter, so we can run a regular blender using battery power through the inverter. To make the wiring easier and allow for more expansion later, Dave installed a new buss bar to feed the power to and from the outlets and the inverter.

Cathy used the time in New Bern to re-seal some of the windows that were continuing to leak despite her efforts back in Deltaville. This fix seems to be working.

Further South

We’re still working our way south and hope to be in Florida soon. Rather than jumping outside from Charleston, we’ll make our way to Beaufort, SC and then go outside from there to Fernandina Beach, FL. We need to get back into shorts and T-shirts!

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Late October - Heading South - Again

10/31/2008

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The temperatures are dropping, so we’re trying to make tracks south, dodging bad weather along the way. We managed to sneak through some better weather days to get from Annapolis to Solomons to Deltaville to Hampton to Great Bridge and end the month in Coinjock. But, in between, the winds howled and they could be very cold at times.

Frost forms on the bimini and the deck after the coldest night so far on our trip south at Great Bridge.

A line of boats headed south out of Great Bridge lock.

Is Everybody Heading South?

Our trip south from Annapolis to Solomons on Thursday Oct. 16th was to be the last calm day for quite a while. The cold front that arrived late that day brought rain and winds for the next few days, keeping us in Solomons longer than expected -- and we weren’t the only ones. We watched more and more boats stack up there waiting for the winds to calm down along with us. At its height on Sunday, the seas built to 5 feet off the Potomac. There were few souls who wanted to get into that.

Solomons opens its gates and the sailboats flood south.

When we finally decided to move on Monday, Oct. 20th, we were not alone. Solomons was ready to burst. As we left before dawn, we had to creep by a half dozen boats anchored in the Back Creek channel off Zahnisers, all of whom had just arrived late the day before. As we made our way out of the Patuxent, we could see a line of masts in front of us and another line behind us as far as the eye could see.

In Deltaville, the anchorage seemed full and the dock space was limited. There were even more headed further into the Piankatank River for Fishing Bay Harbor. So, it was no surprise when we joined another flood of boats leaving Deltaville for Hampton on Thursday (Oct. 23rd). When we arrived at the Hampton Public Piers, they were about to fill up – a first for this time of year, which they attributed to the marketing and discounts offered at the Annapolis Boat Show to cruisers headed south. The anchorage there was crowded as well.

Many boats line up to pass through the Gilmerton Bridge, south of Norfolk. Only 4 more opening bridges and a canal lock to go in the next 20 miles.

We knew that we wanted to get ahead of the pack, so we made sure we left before the first of November, which is the date many boaters’ insurance companies keep them north of Norfolk. We pulled out before dawn on Thursday, Oct. 30th to make the first opening bridge shortly after its rush hour restrictions were lifted. We weren’t so sure we had succeeded in avoiding all the boat traffic when we got caught by a long wait at the Gilmerton Bridge in the busy Elizabeth River leaving Norfolk. With 20 to 25 knot winds, there were 13 boats dancing around trying to stay out of each other’s way and out of shallow water. After 35 minutes waiting for the RR bridge repairs to be done, we were let through the bridge and made it onto the Great Bridge docks by 11:30am.

A more peaceful day dawns at Great Bridge as a smaller group heads south. Many of our companions at the Gilmerton took the Dismal Swamp route.

That seemed to do it.

On our trip to Coinjock, our first calm day in weeks, we were accompanied by our companions at Great Bridge, but few others. The docks at Coinjock were not even full. We were told by the dock attendant that that would change dramatically, starting tomorrow, November 1st.

But we would be gone further south by then. Ahead of the pack. For now.

Fuel shortage

In our last update, we mentioned the problems we started having bleeding the engine to get it to start. As these became more chronic, we decided to part company with Pat and Fred for a few days and head back to Deltaville to get them resolved. As long as we could demonstrate the problem for John, we were optimistic that he could find the source of the air getting into the fuel lines (which is why it needs to be bled to start). We thought we understood the pattern well enough to ensure we could demonstrate the problem with John on board. So, we made a long run to Deltaville on the engine Sunday, let it rest overnight and waited expectantly to start the engine with John Monday morning. So, what happened?

It started without a problem.

John reviewed all the fittings and installed some gauges to test the pressure at various points along the fuel lines. Dave was suspicious that our fuel vent line might have been a source of the problem, since it might have been moved when we installed the new shore power receptacle back in August. John and he shortened it by about a foot to ensure it was an uninterrupted line to the vent, although he was skeptical that this was the cause of the problem. We had also been advised by one of our readers that, since our engine is a European model, it has a fuel return non-return valve (say that 3 times fast) that routinely fails with the symptoms we are seeing. It is only about a $15 part, but not one that Deltaville stocked. So we proceeded with a test with the modifications made so far, running the engine under load at 2400 rpm for over 2 hours to simulate the shortest run we had made where the problem manifested itself. John came back and checked the gauges. All the pressure looked good. Not just good – excellent. So, we had to wait overnight and try to start again the next day.

When, of course, it started without a problem again. Did that mean the problem was fixed or was Orion just being temperamental? We decided we needed to move on. We would order the non-return valve and replace it if the problem persisted or just keep it on board in case.

We pulled out of Deltaville (where the engine again started without incident) on Thursday on a windy day with waves breaking on the bow. It was about 7 hours to an anchorage on the Severn River, where we would rendezvous with Marianna. (Pat and Fred had spent the prior few days visiting Crisfield, MD.) The next morning the engine started, but with the fluctuating idle speeds that told us the problem was not gone.

So, we decided to order the new valve. However, in Dave’s call to Bayshore, he spoke to a mechanic there who suggested another alternative. He said Yanmar sells a retrofit kit, which removes the valve from the line. However, rather than buying the kit, Dave might consider just sealing the line so the valve no longer is a factor.

We’ve had some more rough starts, but also several uneventful starts as well, so the pattern isn’t clear. Dave plans to make a change to the valve, but which change is not clear. Either way, we’re waiting to get to a place where we can have access to a mechanic if anything doesn’t go as planned before attempting any repair.

The problematic #2 injector.

Fuel surplus

Since working on the engine is what keeps Dave busy most days, he was thrilled to have yet another issue develop as we pounded our way south out of Deltaville. We had turned off the engine to sail, when we noted that the smell of diesel was overwhelming down below. With the rocking boat, Dave couldn’t find the source of the leak. He cleaned up the fuel and tightened all of the hose clamps that had been removed to add the gauges while in Deltaville. We started the engine again, but it was still not clear where the leak was coming from. By this time, the combination of the rocking boat and being immersed in diesel fumes was getting to Dave – and Cathy too – so he took a break and decided to look at it more once we were anchored.

The possibility existed that the source of the leak was one of the injectors. Dave was initially reluctant to adjust them, but after speaking to both John and Fred about the leak, he decided to try. The #2 injector line was able to be tightened a bit. This made a huge difference in the run to Hampton the next day, but there was still a small leak. After more attempts to tighten any possible source of the leak, it became clear that the #2 injector line was the source of the leak, but it couldn’t be tightened any more. John had suggested that it might first needed to be loosened and then retightened before the leak would have been resolved. Trying that solution would need to wait until we were tied to a dock and closer to a mechanic if anything went wrong. (Maybe when we replace that pesky valve.)

Can you hear me now? – Part 2

As we came into Solomons, we discovered that our remote VHF mike at the helm was once again not transmitting. This was incredibly frustrating, since we had just sent it in for repairs. We had used it only a few days before it failed again. We sent it into Standard Horizon for another fix, this time under the warranty. A few days later, we received a call that the cord had been replaced and the connection repaired. Would it last longer this time? Dave talked them into shipping it 2-day service to Coinjock at no charge after describing his dissatisfaction with the earlier repair. We’re hoping for at least another 2 years before another repair, instead of just 2 weeks.

Fanning the Flames

After receiving a recommendation regarding an automatic fire extinguisher for the engine, Dave located a Fireboy model that would meet the needs of our engine compartment and installed this just inside the aft engine access. This will activate automatically in the event of an engine fire, and contains fire suppression that will not damage the engine, like the contents of many other typical fire extinguishers.

Pat and Dave play cards with the kids in Solomons.

It's Not All About the Engine

Despite appearances to the contrary, we have managed to find time to enjoy traveling with Pat and Fred and to see family and other friends, in between engine problems. In Solomons, we toured the town, including the Chesapeake Marine Science Lab, associated with the University of Maryland. That night we enjoyed dinner with Don and Cindy’s family who live nearby. Dave and Pat managed to surprise Cathy with, not one, but two cakes to celebrate her birthday on Marianna later.

The black spiderman uses an unusual weapon to hold us hostage on Orion. The good news is that the tense situation ended well, with candy enjoyed by all.

When we made it to Hampton, we were joined for a night by our grandson, Droz, where we once again took in the Halloween festival in downtown Hampton, which started at the Virginia Air and Space Center and ended at the First United Methodist Church. We were joined by Steve and Krista from Bay Dreamer and Krista’s 2 boys. Pat and Fred joined us too for a fun evening with the kids.

The next day, we drove to Jarratt to take Droz home and see the rest of the family for an afternoon. Bonnie treated us to a meal and another birthday celebration before heading back to the boat that evening.

Dave and Fred enjoy a rare treat. Hot Krispy Kremes.

By Monday, Fred’s generator was fixed and needed to be picked up. The problem was that it was in Annapolis and we were in Hampton. With the generous help (once again) of George and Gail who picked up the generator in Annapolis, we met them part way in Waldorf, MD and had lunch together before making the trip back to Hampton in time to return the car. It was a busy day as we had to stop at the bank, the post office, a few hardware stores, get the guys hair cuts, and still make the 7-hour drive by 5pm. It was tight, but we made it. And even had time to enjoy a few hot Krispy Kreme donuts -- our guilty pleasure.

Further South

We are trying to make tracks south toward warmer weather. Our current goal is to be in Vero Beach by Thanksgiving. We'll see if the weather (and the engine) will let us make that schedule or not. Either way, we'll do our best to enjoy the trip.

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Early October - Back in the Water

10/15/2008

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Orion at anchor at St. Michaels

We’re back in the water and several miles up the Bay from Deltaville, as we’ve put Orion through her paces after her lengthy maintenance layover on the hard. We re-joined Pat and Fred and have traveled several places in the bay with them that we haven’t seen in a few years. It’s been a good 2 weeks.

Orion is launched at Deltaville

As September ended, we were still on the hard, anxiously awaiting the arrival of a Shaft Shark line cutter to install on Orion’s drive shaft – the final task before splashing her. This arrived late on Thursday the 2nd of October. We were told the cutter would be installed first thing Friday morning and then we would be launched early afternoon. On Friday morning, Cathy headed to Gloucester to pick up a rental car (so we could return our car over the weekend), while Dave stayed to wait for the line cutter to be installed. Cathy was about 8 miles out on the return trip with the rental car when she got a call from Dave: the boat is being put in the lift. Are you close? She hustled back and literally ran down the aisle only to see Orion heading toward her in the travel lift. That was a little close.

Apparently, the lift had arrived early (around 11am), long before the “early afternoon” scheduled launch, ready to haul Orion back to the water. It was also before the line cutter had been installed. When Mike, the lift operator, learned we were still waiting for the line cutter to be installed, he got the mechanics there within minutes to complete the simple installation. Then he loaded her in the bands and headed down the long fairway to the water. Once at the water’s edge, the final paint was applied under the keel. While they did this, Dave ran up to find out where we would be spending the weekend (since we had to have an engine mechanic look at the engine one last time on Monday). Cathy grabbed the camera and got a closer look at the line cutter, since it would be the last opportunity for a long time.

As Dave got back to the boat, they positioned Orion over the water and lowered her down. We didn’t have much time in the haul-out slip, because they had several more boats to haul/launch today, including one that was sinking at the dock. We scrambled aboard to get the engine ready to start.

But, when we pressed the button, it wouldn’t turn over. After trying a couple more times, Cathy suggested we bleed the engine. That did the trick, but we were puzzled why we needed to do it at all. We had no trouble moving out the slip, stopping first for a pump-out, where the engine started without incident, and then into our slip for the weekend. Maybe air had entered the line during some maintenance on the hard? Only time would tell.

The boatyard’s final in-water task on Orion was to align the engine. This had to wait until Monday morning, since the engine had to sit for 24 hours before-hand. On Monday, the mechanic was on board by 7:30 and done within a half-hour. By that time, Cathy was on her way back from dropping off the rental car and Dave was negotiating the final billing. By 9:30, we were on our way out of the harbor toward (eventually) Annapolis. It took longer than we expected when we arrived back to the boat a couple weeks earlier, but we were happy with the work we’d gotten done while in Deltaville.

To Annapolis for the Boat Show

In good conditions, you can make Annapolis in 2 long days travel from Deltaville. Unfortunately, our later start on Monday meant we could only make the Great Wicomico (south of Reedville VA) on the first day. Tuesday took us to Solomons against higher northwest winds and waves than we would normally have chosen to travel in. (During the early part of this drenching ride, Dave had to go forward to secure a loose anchor bag and got soaked in the process.) On Wednesday, we managed to get a little help from the sails on the final leg to Annapolis as the winds were now building from the southwest. We arrived about 1:30, but were just out of luck. The last mooring balls had been taken only hours earlier.

Now, what would we do.

The anchorage was very crowded and with the rising southwesterly winds was increasingly uncomfortable. We took a chance and gave a call to George and Gail, whose dock on the Magothy had been Marianna’s first stop on the Chesapeake. Would they mind another transient on their dock? They enthusiastically agreed to take us in. We pointed Orion north toward the Bay Bridge and took off toward Broad Creek on the Magothy. By 3:30, we were secured at the dock. We would rent a car for the weekend, which would get us to the boat show and to (finally) hook up with Pat and Fred. In the meantime, we enjoyed spending time with George and Gail.

Steve and Krista show off their Bay Dreamer attire

On Friday, we finally made the trip to Annapolis for the Boat Show, reuniting with Pat and Fred. We tried to cover as much territory as possible in the 8 hours we had there. We talked to Raymarine about their C80 chartplotter and radar; to Lewmar about our leaking portlights; to Garmin about the chartplotter/PC interface and their radar; and on and on. Our big purchase this year was a Soda Club soda machine that we hope will save the space occupied by all those 2 liter soda bottles. We stayed until closing and then, just this side of being exhausted, we managed to enjoy a burger and fries at Five Guys followed by ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery with Pat and Fred. Now, that’s the way to end a long day.

With access to a car for 2 more days, on Saturday we took advantage of the time to pick up more spare parts (injectors) at Bayshore, shop for new batteries and various other stops before meeting Steve and Krista from Bay Dreamer for dinner who were up from Hampton for the show.

Coming Full Circle

Back in 2004, as we were beginning to prepare for this adventure, we took a Cruising class with Annapolis Sailing School that took us to the Eastern shore and St. Michael’s, MD. For a variety of reasons, we hadn’t been back since. However, we were going to get a chance as we were making plans for travel after the boat show. George and Gail on their boat Quicksilver were going to join us, Marianna and Bev and Larry on Chantelle for a short trip across the bay.

On Sunday night, all four boats came together on Broad Creek. We enjoyed a dinner at George and Gail’s house and planned the itinerary. The forecasted light winds meant there would be little to no sailing. However, there were still beautiful areas to see. We decided to spend Monday night on the Wye River, Tuesday at St. Michael’s and then come back to the western shore for a night in the Rhode River. It had been years since we had visited these places, so we were looking forward to it.

The first night’s anchorage was a beautiful cove on the Wye East River. With our conservative approach to anchoring, we opted out of the raft and anchored across the river in Quarter Cover, joining the group by dinghy later. Chantelle had to head home the next day, so it was just 3 of us that headed to St. Michael’s. On our last trip to St. Michael’s, we had docked at a marina in the school’s boat. With the price of dock space, we were planning to anchor out and were pleasantly surprised by the space in the anchorage. We then dinghyed into shore to enjoy the Chesapeake Maritime Museum and the historic district on Talbot St.

After an impromptu dinner aboard Marianna that evening, we bid goodbye to George and Gail who would head home the next morning. It had been a picture perfect trip and we were sorry to see them go.

Fred’s outboard resulted in a few tows back to Marianna.

Dinghy Woes

While in Annapolis, Fred had been having recurring problems with his outboard engines, which had caused him to spend a lot of time working on them – to no avail. While in St. Michaels, the engine once again got him into shore, but wouldn’t start on the return. Our dinghy wasn’t problem-free either. When we launched it in the Wye River, we discovered it – once again – wouldn’t stay running once in gear. Although Dave had done some maintenance at Deltaville – fixing the broken cover latch, greasing the moving parts – we weren’t in a position to do anything about the aging gas in the engine. It became obvious that this was the problem. So, once again he had to run the gas out of the engine while in neutral, clean out the gas tank and re-fill it with fresh fuel. This did the trick and it seems to be reliable since. Having had this problem repeatedly with old fuel, it’s becoming more important to use it up rather than have it sit in the engine for any period of time.

Marianna's dinghy with Orion's outboard running on the South River.

Since Pat and Fred have a much bigger dinghy and our engine is currently more reliable, we offered to put the 2 together until more serious maintenance could be done on Fred’s outboard. We tried this for the first time at the South River, where we anchored after returning on Wednesday from St. Michaels. We needed to meet Bruce from Neil Pryde to pick up our new headsail. This was going to require more space than our dinghy could comfortably accommodate, but Marianna’s dinghy and Orion’s outboard proved a winning combination. We managed to get Bruce, the sail and another package on board without getting anyone or anything wet.

Now, if we could just get that outboard working reliably.

Boat Stuff

Dave had been monitoring the health of the batteries since we were back underway and was not happy with the 2 back-up batteries that we used to supplement our house bank when we were equalizing the main back. The voltage was dropping despite their having been fully charged and not being used. So, he took advantage of the access to the car and a nearby Sam’s Club to replace them with 2 6-volt golf cart batteries, which he installed while we were on the dock in Broad Creek.

The new engine temperature gauge is a big hit, since we can now monitor the engine more closely and have begun to establish a baseline for its normal running temperature at different rpm’s.

We’re finding that we have to bleed the engine with more regularity after a run on any length, so we’re concerned about the cause of this problem. Dave is working through a number of possible causes, but this will likely take us back to Deltaville for another look by John.

Since our travels this winter are likely to take us further into the Bahamas, we are working our way through a list of things we need to have to get ready. At the boat show, we purchased a new guide (Matthew Wilson’s Bahamas Cruising Guide), and shortly after, we bought the Explorer charts for the Far Bahamas and the Exumas, using coupons we acquired at the Boat Show.

But the biggest change of all is Orion’s new headsail, which Bruce delivered as we anchored off Quiet Waters park on the South River. It looks sharp, but we’ve had no winds to use it yet. Soon, though.

Family Time

Returning the car to Emporia gave us a chance to see our children and grandchildren one more time before heading out for a while. Although, keeping up with them is still a bit of challenge. If you’re in any doubt, just ask Dave.

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Late September - Crew anyone?

9/30/2008

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We can now attest to being fully-certified as able-bodied crew, having taken our first voyage in that capacity on the good ship Marianna, under the astute guidance of Captain Fred. We can report that we left both captain and vessel in basically the same state as we found them, despite our best efforts to do otherwise.

Moonrise over the Merrimac River in Newburyport

Newburyport to Onset

On Monday, Sept 15th, our plans to head out the Merrimac River on our first leg of the journey south to Annapolis, MD were scuttled, thanks to the leftovers from Gustav which was blowing itself out over the New England coast. Instead, we made a short hop from the docks at Merrimar Yacht Basin to the Newburyport town docks. Although he claimed that this was to position Marianna downriver of the opening bridge and to get fuel for the trip, we believe Fred was just using this as an excuse to assess the capabilities of his untested shipmates. After a stop for fuel, we were safely secured on the town docks without any mishaps and said goodbye to Pat over a farewell dinner in town. Then it was an early night, so we could leave the Merrimac River under favorable currents as the sun rose the next day.

Our first day’s goal was Onset, MA, 80 nautical miles south and just on the other side of the C&D canal -- our timing for the day’s run virtually identical to the same trip last year on Orion. If everything went as planned, we would clear the canal just as the current turned against us and we turned into Onset. The light air gave us some winds for motorsailing as we passed Cape Ann and pointed for the entrance to the canal, but even that evaporated over time. Fred started to question the sanity of his helmsman, when in the charted 300+ foot depths of the Boston shipping lanes, Dave claimed to be “losing water”. But sure enough, the depth sounder was reading 35 feet, not 300. The NOAA weather had made mention of right whale sightings in this area, so we assumed that was the reason for the funny depth readings. True to Cathy’s luck with whales however, we saw none. (It’s also a little more unnerving to think something that size is nearby when you’re in a sailboat.) With this anomaly behind us, the rest of the day found us watching the time and estimating our arrival at the Canal. It was tight, but we made it through on a fair current and were on a mooring at Onset before sunset.

A check of the weather and Reed’s caused us to settle on a little later starting time on Wednesday as we fought some current leaving the canal to gain it in Buzzard’s Bay. The winds were light, so there was little help from sails as we motored on to Block Island. Unlike our arrival there last summer, the anchorage was much roomier, so we got to try our hand at anchoring another boat. Cathy made sure Dave took the helm to get a taste of the other side of anchoring. With the headphones picking up a local radio station, Cathy relayed communication from the bow to the helm, sort of like Lt. Uhuru in Star Trek. With the anchor set early and a calm night expected, we grilled our dinner and enjoyed the Block Island sunset as we planned the rest of the trip.

Block Island to Port Jefferson

We were now at a decision point – go outside from Block Island to Cape May, similar to our trip last year or go inside through Long Island Sound, and New York to Sandy Hook. The weather forecast was making this an easy decision. High winds and waves offshore caused us to start planning an inside route, with our next port of call, Port Jefferson, NY on Long Island. This would be a long run, which we could only make if the currents and winds cooperated, so we left at sun-up to head out into Block Island Sound. If our timing was right, we would reach the Race (the narrow channel where the waters from Long Island Sound rush through to Block Island Sound and vice versa) about an hour after the current became favorable. This would give us the best chance of reaching Port Jeff. As the day wore on, the predicted winds and waves built, but they were behind us, so we decided to take a chance and just sail with headsail. With Mother Nature giving us a push of both current and wind, we continued to make good time and made Port Jefferson by sunset. After a quick dinner, the crew abandoned ship to take a shower ashore and get a quick look around, since we had never been here before.

Higher seas in Long Island Sound

Port Jefferson to Manhasset

The next day’s weather was going to be the roughest so far. Winds were supposed to gust above 25 knots from the east and waves were going to be as high as 5 feet in the sound. We decided to head out and see how bad it was. If we didn’t like it, we could turn around or duck into the next port down the sound. Although the morning was rough, the weather gradually calmed down as the day progressed. Once it did, we turned off the engine and sailed up the sound to Manhasset, arriving in early afternoon. We were early enough that after picking up one of the free town moorings, we rode the launch in to do laundry and pick up a few groceries. Of course, we had to pass by an ice cream store in the process, as well.

Manhasset to Sandy Hook

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day to transit the East River around Manhattan. The favorable currents caused us to wait for a noon departure, which felt odd, but made for a beautiful afternoon trip through NYC. Although we couldn’t quite see her, Pat was waving to us from shore south of the Brooklyn Bridge with her daughter Jen. They saw us and apparently have pictures to prove it.

Sandy Hook to Annapolis

After anchoring as the sun set in Sandy Hook, we listened once more to the weather. It seemed that a window still existed that would allow us to travel from Sandy Hook to Cape May and possibly up the Delaware Bay. Fred was more skeptical than his crew, based on our radically different experiences traversing the Delaware Bay. He had never had a good trip up the Bay on the way south. Only time would tell.

Just before departing at sunrise on Sunday, we checked the buoy reports and found reports of 6 ft swells off Long Island. Not great, but they were supposed to be behind us and diminishing over the course of the day. As we rounded Sandy Hook, we saw the first of the swells, but were pleasantly surprised at how gentle they were, the long period smoothing out the ride from crest to trough. The wind and wave direction were more southeast than the northwest being forecast, but light enough to be no factor at all. By midnight, we were passing Cape May and by 1am we had begun our run up the Delaware Bay. The flurry of inbound and outbound commercial traffic we encountered at the mouth of the Delaware Bay quickly calmed down as we began our run up to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.

It looked like we had it made as we flew up the bay in flat seas at 8 knots. But it seemed our good luck had come to an end with the 4am VHF call to say that the C&D Canal was closed until further notice. Closed? Apparently the still night which was giving us such flat seas had allowed fog to roll in further upriver. We were grateful not to be experiencing it out where we were, but at our speed we would arrive at the canal between 7 and 8am. Would it be open by then? We proceeded on, deciding not to slow down at all -- until we had to. Just as we were approaching the canal and about to call to get the current status, we heard the announcement that the canal was re-opened. Maybe luck was still with us.

Following the Bering Sea through the C&D canal. By following this tug very closely, we managed to squeak through before the railroad bridge closed just after we went through.

Now that we had the bulk of the risky miles behind us, we had one more decision to make. We could stop at the top of the Bay and get some rest, or we could keep going on to the Magothy River to George and Gail’s dock, where our car was parked. That would take until mid-afternoon. Were we rested enough? We decided we were. We forged ahead and tied up to the dock by 3pm, an amazing 33 hour run.

Marianna heads out from the Magothy River to Annapolis.

We were greeted there by George and Gail who were incredibly generous hosts, feeding us and making their home available to us. We felt like royalty. After a couple of nights enjoying their hospitality, Fred decided to move on to Annapolis, to hopefully get a mooring ball that he could keep for the boat show. With Cathy driving the “chase” vehicle, the 2 guys set off on the morning of the 24rd for a great sail down the bay, through the Bay bridge and into the Severn River. With the good luck continuing to follow him, Fred secured a mooring ball that would not be removed for the boat show, so he was set for the next few weeks.

Dave and Fred hover over the C80, where they spent many hours during our cruise

Lessons Learned

So, what’s the difference between crewing and being captain and owner of your own vessel? Here are some of the things we learned:

Hugging a buoy has a different meaning in our boat than in someone else’s.
Dave set a new record for the shortest distance between the boat and a buoy without getting some red paint on the hull. (Cathy tried to best him overnight on the Delaware Bay. Boy, those unlit buoys are hard to see!)

There’s no better way to sea trial a new set of electronics than by using them on another boat
Dave has been shopping for a Raymarine C80 for months now. He got to spend hours with Fred playing learning the C80’s capability to make routes, communicate with the autopilot, set off alarms. You name it. Pat will likely not recognize it when she re-joins Fred.

We also got to see radar in use for the first time, especially in the busy New York Harbor and the Delaware Bay entrance, which helped not only with the ships, but with the buoys (well most of them). Using this tool together with AIS to name the ships on the screen would be a powerful combination.

It’s best not to use waypoints in a route that you’re using to steer the boat (i.e the autopilot track function) unless you know they are not on top of the buoy. (See #1.)
With Dave’s help, Fred managed to use his C80 to control his autopilot, and set it up to steer the boat to a route entered in the C80. This process had a learning curve associated with it that included allowing Marianna to travel uncomfortably close to fixed objects and to make some dramatic (i.e. 180 degree) turns as we tried to learn which buttons to push to make the interface work as planned.

No matter what happens, it’s not really your fault.
After all, the captain is responsible for his vessel. Right?~

So, what about Orion?

Before leaving to go north, we had agreed to go in with a couple of other cruisers on the purchase of a special anti-fouling paint for the prop, called Prop Speed. After hearing the testimonial of another cruiser and seeing his prop after having cruised with it for a year, we decided it was worth a try. So Chris and Dallas applied the paint to our props as well as theirs while we were gone. The paint is not cheap, so its gold color was very appropriate.

So, once we returned, we only had to get the bottom painted and put Orion in the water and we would be on our way. Right? Well, not quite.

The morning after we returned, the boatyard began prepping the bottom for painting and discovered a crack in the bow. (Have you run into anything? Not that we remember. And we would remember that.) By the end of the next day, the area had been drilled out to confirm that it was only a crack in the gelcoat, not in the fiberglass underneath. With some epoxy to fill the now widened crack, the gelcoat was repaired and the bottom prep continued. The keel had some rust spots that were sanded and treated to make the rust inert. Then the 2 cans of paint were rolled on over the course of 2 days.

So, now we can go back in the water and leave. Right? Well, not quite.

We had ordered a line cutter that would not arrive for a couple more days. And we had to return our car to Emporia, so our earliest departure would have to be Monday, October 6th if all goes well. So, it will be a fast trip up the bay to Annapolis if the weather cooperates. Which it will. Right?

Maybe we used up all our good luck on Marianna. We’ll see.

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Early September - Off to New Hampshire

9/15/2008

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We’ve made it up to New Hampshire, as we prepare to set sail – but not on Orion this time. For the first time, we will both serve as crew, helping Fred sail Marianna south to the Chesapeake. It doesn’t mean we’ve turned our back on Orion, since we had to get herready to stay on her own without us. But it was a new adventure to turn our attention to Marianna as we helped prepare her for her winter journeys on southern waters.

Named Storms

Gustav, Hannah, Ike, Josephine. It was becoming an endless stream of names as the storms formed and moved across the Atlantic toward North America. As we prepared to leave Orion for an extended time, we were watching all this tropical activity with intense interest. Which of them would head toward the Chesapeake and become a threat we had to deal with? And what was lurking behind them (Kyle?) that would come after we were away? So, our plans to secure Orion for our extended time away was given a new sense of urgency as we began to look at a real name headed our way. In this case, it turned out to be Hannah.

We had already planned to remove the enclosure to reduce windage. Cathy took this opportunity to give all the panels a thorough cleaning and then store them below decks. With the glass safely out of the way, it was a good time to clean and waterproof the bimini. Although we had originally planned to leave this up while we were gone, we changed course and decided to take it down as well. Then we secured the bimini poles to keep them from being damaged by any wind.

To finish the above decks preparation, Dave lashed the small tail of the main more securely around the mast and put an extra wrap around the headsail. Then we began having discussions with other cruisers about their preparations. Most had removed their headsail before being hauled, since it might come unfurled in a strong wind and make the boat unstable. Removing it now was more problematic since we were already on the hard, and unfurling the sail to drop it could de-stabilize Orion in her jack stands. But early the next morning the air was still without a hint of a breeze. So we decided to take advantage of the calm air and remove the headsail. This, along with the removal of the enclosure ensured Orion had the least amount of windage during the coming storms.

To prepare for the rain that was sure to come with the storm, Cathy double-checked her recent re-sealing of the portlights by an intense soaking with a hose to simulate a persistent downpour. Only one showed any signs of water penetrating to the cabin, so she re-sealed the seam on this one to hopefully close the gap. To hedge our bets, we still put containers under all the portlights to catch any water that did make it through.

With Orion protected above and below decks, we then ensured there was no clutter below decks, removing the water hose, and disconnecting the shore power cords and securing them in the lazarettes where they are normally stored. Knowing that we planned to disconnect the shore power, Dave spent a day before we left equalizing the batteries, and Cathy cleaned out the fridge, since we planned to turn off all the breakers. This would ensure the batteries would be in the best shape possible when we returned. As we left the boat, after locking the hatch boards in place, we removed the extension ladder that had been our lifeline in and out of the boat and folded the swim ladder back up, securing it to the stanchion as we normally do.

With nothing more we could do, we drove away hoping we hadn’t missed anything important. Our friends in the yard assured us they would let us know how she fared as the storms passed through. The good news we learned a few days later was that Hannah had little impact with winds that peaked at 45 knots. Orion was fine and would likely continue to be until we saw her again.

Steps before refinishing

Shine On

While the exterior teak on Orion has gotten a facelift regularly since it was restored back in 2006, the interior woodwork has had one problem area crying out for attention – the companionway stairs. Unlike the rest of the wood below deck, these looked awful. The finish had been chipped away by years of traffic and the inevitable water and dirt that goes along with that. Something had to be done, but timing was everything. Taking the stairs out of commission greatly complicates any on-going projects, and it is certainly out of the question while traveling. We therefore had a narrow window of opportunity after the boatyard workers were done and before we left the boat to try to finally re-finish the stairs.

Cathy had done the research about how to refinish the stairs according to Beneteau’s instructions (found on their website) and gave up in frustration. The procedure was incredibly complex, involving many applications of sprayed on lacquer. It seemed the likelihood of doing this successfully was going to be small. After talking with other cruisers who had re-finished wood in the cabin, we decided to go for a simpler approach. We would strip the wood and apply either polyurethane or varnish. Even though this would not exactly match the interior finish on the other surfaces, it would be far better than the way they looked now.

Steps after stripping and sanding

So, Cathy first stripped the existing finish from all 3 stairs, being careful to keep the caustic chemicals off the fiberglass surfaces that surrounded and supported them. With the finish removed, the steps still looked pretty bad. The water had darkened the wood, where the finish had worn away, and the non-skid strips that we had added for safety had not come off cleanly. So, Cathy began carefully sanding the stairs to smooth out the finish, without wearing through the top layer of wood. (The steps are many layers of wood glued together to produce the curved shape.) Going from 60 to 100 to 150 to 220, she was finally ready with a smooth surface. We decided to use Captain’s Z-spar varnish for the finish, and because it would be a high-traffic area, Cathy applied 7 coats, leaving them to dry almost 24 hours between coats, sanding between each.

It was time-consuming, but the results were worth it. The steps look so much better now.

Marianna moves toward the water

Marianna, Here We Come

Over the summer, we had been talking to Pat and Fred and working out a plan to help them move Marianna south from New Hampshire early, so that they could enjoy the Chesapeake for a few weeks in October (including the Annapolis Boat Show) instead of spending that time rushing south after Pat’s business closed for the season. We made arrangements to fly to Boston on Sept 6th from Baltimore, with the expectation that we would start the return trip on the 15th, weather- and Marianna-permitting.

After leaving Deltaville, we made our way north to Annapolis, where we would run a few errands (which included dropping the old headsail off at our Neil Pryde dealer’s house for a little re-stitching to ensure it will last until our new one is ready) and then meet up with George and Gail Braun, a couple that we had met at last year’s boat show. They lived in Pasadena, MD and had cruised one winter with Pat and Fred, coming back from Georgetown and up the Florida coast together. They graciously agreed to not only let us leave our car at their house, but to put us up for the night and drive us to the airport. We had a delightful evening together, and the next morning parted with promises to see them again in maybe a couple of weeks, possibly sailing up the Magothy to their dock on Marianna.

Gail and George, our hosts in Pasadena, MD

As Hannah moved over the Baltimore area, we took off in the rain, but didn’t leave her behind. By the time we joined Pat and Fred Saturday evening, as planned, the rains had caught up with us again. (Boy, did she move fast.) We spent the next week in a flurry of activity. Generally, the daytime hours were divided between running errands, provisioning and stowing gear on Marianna and doing anything else that needed doing before Fred and the boat could leave. Many evenings were spent either enjoying the company of old friends, such as Dave and Donna on Merlin, enjoying a little time with Pat and Fred or meeting their friends as they came to say goodbye. .

With Pat’s intensive work schedule and the number of last-minute items that always have to be done to get a boat ready to go, we frequently were up early and getting home late, gradually reducing the list of things to be done, but keeping busy doing it. Despite the long days, we thoroughly enjoyed our time together and look forward to being reunited in early October when Pat joins Fred in Annapolis.

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Late August - Aground

8/31/2008

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No sailing stories. No tales of weathering terrific storms or making a great run from here to there. No exotic ports. There will be none of that in this update. For good or bad, we’ve settled into life on the hard, with all its plusses (such as getting access to parts of the boat that are normally inaccessible) and minuses (such as the quarter mile walk (run) to the restrooms and the lack of A/C). At least it’s keeping us in good shape.

Bright and shiny prop after cleaning

With Orion’s bottom now staring us in the face every day, we had time and access to prepare her for re-painting and re-entry to the water. Dave took a wire wheel to the prop to make it shine like new. He later learned that wrapping the prop and drive shaft in vinegar-soaked cloths can have a similar effect. So, he used this method to good effect to clean the remaining nooks and crannies.

Of course, the main reason we hauled the boat was to have the bottom painted, but there was only a limited amount of work on this that could be done now. Having already scraped the bottom to remove the barnacles and greased the thru-hulls, the one thing that we could do was to purchase the bottom paint. Dave used a price match at West Marine to save quite a bit on the 2 gallons that the boatyard will require. The remaining bottom prep and painting will be done by the boatyard. Since the hard paint we use requires a limited (< 30 days) exposure to the air to maintain its effectiveness as an anti-fouling barrier, we need to have the work done in late September, just before our return to the Chesapeake with Marianna. Having the boatyard do this while we are traveling will ensure she is ready to launch soon after we return.

Shine On

With the upper hull stripped clean of any stains and (therefore) wax, we proceeded to re-apply wax to her hull. First, we used a cleaning wax to remove any black marks that the hull cleaner didn’t take care of (from perhaps getting a little too close to some fixed objects). This was followed with a 2nd coat of a polishing wax to really make her shine – at least for a while.

Cathy also spent several days applying fresh coats of Cetol to the remaining teak that had not been done this year – the cockpit seats and handrails, the swim platform and the hatch boards. The more we stay on top of it, the less work it is and the better it looks.

Temperature’s Rising

When our raw water strainer was losing water with almost every run, Dave was concerned that this might cause the engine to overheat. However, with no gauge to tell him the engine temperature, it was difficult to know for sure how the engine was reacting. Although we believe the raw water strainer problem is fixed, it became the motivation for getting more on-going diagnostic information about the engine.

After discussions with John, the engine mechanic here at Deltaville, Dave decided to install a temperature gauge. To keep costs down, he ran the wiring from the engine room to the instrument panel. Then John returned with Nick to install the temperature gauge and sender. Taking care to keep air out of the line, Nick replaced the original sender (which triggered an alarm) with the new one, which will provide the data for the gauge as well as an alarm. This was wired into the newly-mounted gauge on the instrument panel. It was installed so that it will light up at night with our other fuel and rpm gauges, which should make it easily visible from the helm. The system will need to be bled once we are back in the water, when we can test it as well. Assuming it works as expected, it should make it easier to know if the engine is running fine or at risk of overheating. This way we can take some action to avoid damaging the engine before it gets too hot.

Cracking Up

We have been very pleased with the design and durability of our Beneteau 36cc. It takes our daily use well and still looks great – for the most part. One notable exception is the wood under the midship and bow cleats, which has been splitting a little more every year since we bought her. When we discussed this with Matt in Deltaville Boatyard office, he immediately described the problem and the reason for it. The stainless steel cleat was run through an aluminum sleeve within the teak toerail. The combination of dissimilar metals and a saltwater environment led to corrosion and expansion of the joint, thus splitting the teak around it. The boatyard had repaired several of these and knew exactly what would be required to fix our cleats. The aluminum sleeve would be replaced with a stainless steel insert and that would eliminate the corrosion. Then the teak around the cleat would be removed and replaced.

Since we had attempted to have this repaired once before, only to see it split again, we were reluctant to attack all of the problem cleats at once. Instead, we decided to address the worst one and see if the repair held. If so (and if we could afford it), we could have the others repaired or maybe do it ourselves.

To give access to the underside of the cleat so that it could be removed, we removed part of the port cabinet in the main saloon. Dallas, a boatyard worker and one of our neighbors here on the hard, removed the cleat, with quite a bit of effort. Once it was removed, he discovered that the aluminum sleeve was effectively welded onto the cleat and couldn’t be removed. Therefore, he had to fabricate a fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) bushing to surround the cleat as it passed through the teak. This would absorb any expansion and keep the wood intact.

Now the existing teak had to be removed and the fiberglass underneath cleaned to make a smooth bed to lay the new piece of teak. An existing seam in the wood only a few inches aft of the cleat would mark one end of the section to be removed, but the foreward end would require a new angled cut (to match the existing seams) about 2 feet foreward of the cleat. Dallas then chiseled the resulting section of toerail to remove it from the hull. The boatyard already had in its shop wood milled to match the 36cc toerail, so fitting the new piece was a matter of creating a template to match the angled cuts on either end and aligning the holes for the cleat placement.

Once the piece was cut to match the template, it was fitted into the opening, glued in place with a marine epoxy, the cleat re-installed with the FRP bushing and allowed to dry overnight. The next day, Dallas put teak plugs over the screws which attached the section to the deck. After sanding the new section flush with the existing wood, he left it for us to re-finish (another cost-saving effort). The results look pleasing. Hopefully, the repair will stand the test of time.

Survey

Upon finding ourselves on the hard for several weeks, we made a list of the things we should try to get done while we were out of the water. One of these things was to have a survey done, which for you landlubbers out there is like a home inspection for the boat. In the process of looking for insurance that will allow us to travel further into the Bahamas, some companies would require a survey before writing a policy. Since most surveys require a haul-out to be done, being on the hard already would significantly reduce this expense.

Talking to the Boatyard and the Annapolis Yacht Sales representative here in Deltaville, we quickly settled on Don McCann from Tranquil Waters Marine Survey. In preparation, we tidied up the boat, but generally did little other prep work. For almost 3 hours, he reviewed the inside and outside, top and bottom of Orion. When we received his report the next week, we were delighted to find no “recommendations” for fixes that would need to be done to ensure her safety. This should make it easier to get insurance based on the resulting survey.

He did identify some considerations for improving certain systems on Orion that we are looking into -- such as a higher capacity emergency bilge pump and a high water alarm.

A Visiting Crewmember

When we invited our grandson for a visit, we expected to be in the water in Hampton, where we could take some day sails and explore the Hampton Roads area from a 6 year-old’s perspective. When it became clear we were instead going to be on the hard 10 feet up in the air, we ran it by his dad to see if there were any concerns. No. He should love it.

We arrived back at the boat late on a Saturday, and Droz was up the ladder in no time. So much for any concerns about fear of heights. Within minutes we were off to the pool, which became the hit attraction for the week. Droz even claimed that when he woke up in the morning, he could swear we were on the water.

Maybe for a 6-year-old, imagination is everything.

Droz sets the table in the screened porch

Cruising Connections

Given what the Chesapeake usually dishes out in late summer, it’s been an amazingly cool August, with temperatures more in the 80’s than 90’s during the day and generally in the 60’s at night. We couldn’t ask for much better.

That being said, with the late August heat and humidity causing the cabin temperature to soar in the afternoons, fixing dinner on board was very unappealing. So, to avoid a mutiny, we moved our dining to the breezy screened porch at the end of the covered boat dock, complete with grill, tables, chairs and – most important -- company from other cruisers in the boatyard. This nightly ritual became the time to catch up on each other’s projects, solicit advice, learn each other’s stories and just laugh and relax as we caught a cool breeze from the water. By the time we returned to the boat, the evening air was usually cool and the boat quickly cooled to a fine sleeping temperature.

Much better than sweating it out back on Orion.

With our sudden departure from Joy’s Marina in Hampton, we missed saying goodbye to Steve and Christa on Bay Dreamer and we were days away from welcoming Tom and Cathie on Interlude, who took up residence just after we left. So, we made a day trip back to Hampton to pick up the car and, luckily, met up with Tom and Cathie and Steve on the dock. We said our goodbyes for now, with hopes to see them again this fall. (We thought we had one more opportunity to see Steve over Labor Day when his Fleet 30 group was planning a trip to Deltaville. Although Steve couldn’t make it, we did meet many of the group, who had several events, including guitar music by the pool and a big potluck on Sunday night that we were invited to share.)

Appeasing the God of the Sea

Historically, sailors could be a superstitious lot. With so much of their fortunes at the whim of Mother Nature and the sea god, Neptune, it’s not surprising that they were quick to latch onto anything that might rile them. One thing that was sure to have serious consequences in bad luck was trying to rename a vessel, which might bring the wrath of Neptune on them in a fury. To ward this off, it was necessary that a proper re-naming include a ceremony to appease the god of the sea, usually involving lots of “libations”.

We were honored to participate in such a ceremony for some neighbors of ours – Chris and Leigh. They wanted to replace the previous appellation, Gigolo, with the new one, Namiste (referring to a Yoga position of peace and tranquility, I think). After carefully removing any reference to the former name (per the proscribed ritual) and before loading any reference to the new name, the ceremony was held at sunset on the Friday of Labor Day weekend. Neptune was given his due with words and, of course, libations, and Gigolo was a thing of the past.

Surely good luck will now follow as newly re-named Namistad prepares for her splash down and journeys south.

Summer’s End

As Labor Day comes and goes, we prepare to leave Deltaville and head north to New Hampshire, where we’ll spend time visiting and then heading south as crew on Marianna. By the time we return, maybe the days will have cooled off some, and the boat projects will be largely behind us, ready for our return to the water – and some more of those sailing stories we’ve been so long in telling.

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Early August - A Hard Life

8/15/2008

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Orion on the hard in Deltaville

We never thought that we would be sending this update from 10 feet above ground, but that’s where Orion is now – on the hard at Deltaville Boatyard. But more about how that happened later. Our weeks of dockside life in Hampton ended abruptly 2 weeks ago, when we decided to set out for Solomons and Deltaville to have some work done on Orion.

Bonnie Lass anchored in the Severn River – the one off Mobjack Bay.

Bonnie Lass, Is That You?

As we rounded Old Point Comfort on our way out of Hampton (on Friday, August 1st), we decided to give a hail to Bonnie Lass on the VHF. They were supposed to be nearby, but we had not had luck reaching them on the cell phone. Sure enough, we got a response. They were less than an hour behind us, having successfully navigated the last of the ICW bridges only minutes before. We were headed in the same direction, so we agreed to rendezvous in Mobjack Bay on the Severn River.

Val and Graham joined us for dinner on Orion that night, while we caught up with their travels since we’d seen them last (at Riviera Beach). These included an extended time in the Exumas chain of the Bahamas. Since this is likely our destination this winter, we were eager to hear about their experiences.

We were headed generally in the same direction now (we to Solomons and Bonnie Lass to Olversons Marina on the Potomac). So we traveled together another day to Sandy Point on the Great Wicomico. Thunderstorms were threatening all day, but we luckily avoided them until after we had been anchored for several hours behind Sandy Point. Then they came rolling through one after another for the rest of the evening. Our planned dinner on Bonnie Lass was scuttled, so we did a “progressive dinner” of sorts, with Dave ferrying dishes back and forth between storms.

We parted company the next morning, since we needed to make Solomons by Sunday afternoon, if possible, and the travel weather was not the best for a northerly trip if you didn’t have to do it. We hope to see Val and Graham again this fall, once their month at Olverson’s is done and we are moving more as well.

Bruce Empey from Neil Pryde, noticed a loose screw when making his measurements, so he shimmied up the forestay to tighten it. How’s that for service?

What are those white things for anyway?

Although we do a lot of motoring on Orion, we do actually use our sails, both while motor sailing or pure sailing. Having replaced our main sail back in 2005, we knew that our headsail was due to be replaced. If we made it to the Bahamas as planned, we would have more opportunity to do some pure sailing, so we thought now was the time to bite the bullet and shop for a new headsail.

Our motivation for getting to Solomons Sunday evening was to meet with Bruce Empey, from Neil Pryde Sails in Annapolis about a replacement headsail. Bruce had been terrific in working with us to replace our main sail just after we purchased Orion back in 2005. He had also re-cut our headsail back then to raise the foot and give us more visibility when close-hauled. When we said we could get the boat to Solomons, he graciously agreed to drive down from Annapolis (on a Sunday evening, no less) to meet us and discuss the sail’s specifications.

Visibility continues to be the biggest issue with our headsail, when sailing Orion close-hauled. The center cockpit design puts us higher in the boat, unlike the more prevalent rear cockpit designs. This requires us to literally lie down to see under the sail. This is wearying when you’re traveling long distances, so the loss of performance that a shorter sail might deliver is a small price to pay for the increased visibility in a comfortable position. The other improvement we were looking for was to be able to point higher (i.e., sail closer to the wind) when the sail is furled.

Bruce took measurements of the existing sail and worked with us to confirm the height from the bow rail that would give the desired visibility. This would require the genoa car to sit back about a foot from the midpoint to produce the right curve in the sail when it is completely unfurled. He also answered our questions about luff pads, which several friends had mentioned. These are intended to make a furled sail less baggy, and therefore help it retain a more aero-dynamic shape than would otherwise be achievable. We decided to include this option on our sail. The luff pads would actually be installed as thin strips of foam along the middle of the sail.

With pencil and ruler in hand, Bruce sketched out a scale drawing of the new sail as we sat in the cockpit of the boat. It would be slightly bigger than our existing sail (by 12 square feet), and would incorporate the changes we requested. By ordering this early for a fall delivery, we were also able to take advantage of some reduced shipping costs, while still taking delivery by the time of the Annapolis Boat Show.

Engine Tuning

Dave had been communicating with Matt at Deltaville Boatyard for several months about coming in to have some engine work done on Orion. Although we had (we hope) taken care of the problems with the raw water strainer, Dave was interested in getting another mechanic to look at the engine oil leak that had been persisting for a couple of years. We had also lost a piece of the impeller that needed to be found and removed as well. This was most likely lodged in the heat exchanger. So, it made sense to remove and clean this at the same time. A more recent problem that we hoped could be found was the reason behind our need to bleed the fuel line every time the boat sat for a few days in the soaring Hampton temperatures. Finally, we wanted to install some engine gauges to give a better sense of what was happening with the engine before it turned into a crisis.

So, we headed from Solomons to Deltaville on Tuesday (August 5th) to meet with the boatyard and see about starting the work on the engine. In talking to Matt the next morning, he suggested that we would want to think about changing antifreeze at the same time we opened up the heat exchanger, since we would have to drain much of this in order to open it up. He also suggested we consider hauling the boat to check the bottom paint and thru-hulls.

By Thursday, the Yanmar mechanic, John, came onboard to review the work and the engine access (which was obviously a pleasant surprise) in order to give us an estimate. That review identified the fuel lift pump as needing replacing and as a potential source of both oil and fuel leaks. Work started in earnest on Monday, as John put a dye in the engine oil to help identify the source of the leaks. Running the engine with the dye pointed to a number of small sources of leaks in addition to the fuel pump. There were new washers required behind some bleed screws and the injectors. Once the pump and the new washers were in place, the leaks seemed to be gone. Although only time (about 100 engine hours) will tell for sure, we’re cautiously optimistic.

John then turned his attention to the heat exchanger, draining the current green antifreeze, which would be replaced by the extended life (pink) antifreeze. Since the 2 types of antifreeze are incompatible, the system needed to be flushed several times – with water, then a mild soap, then more water -- before adding the new antifreeze. Once completed, John disassembled the heat exchanger and removed the inner parts to be cleaned. The next day, he re-assembled the heat exchanger (replacing one of the hoses in the process) filled the system with extended life antifreeze and ran the engine to remove any air in the lines, continuing to look for leaks as the engine ran. After he left, we ran the engine for 90 minutes under load, which confirmed for John the next day that any air bubbles in the cooling system had been purged, and that no undetected leaks had appeared. So, he changed the oil to remove the dye and, at Dave’s request, drained the Racor fuel filter and cleaned the bowl, which had blackened over time.

Dave was pleased with the work John did – both with his expertise and his willingness to let Dave observe what he did. Deltaville Boatyard is also good at working with us to reduce costs, using our spare parts when possible and letting us know what work we can do to reduce the time their workers spend on the job.

So, why are we high and dry?

While John reviewed the engine, he confirmed that there was no leak at the rear seal between the transmission and the drive shaft, thus eliminating a possible need to haul the boat for that reason. However, Matt was pretty sure we had work to be done on the bottom, despite the reassurances to the contrary of several divers we have had clean the bottom over the past few months. Matt offered a complementary haul-out to prove his point, and sure enough, it was obvious that the bottom paint was gone in enough places that we should bite the bullet and paint it now.

This set in motion a number of changes in plans. Having the boat out of the water would mean we would have a safe (i.e., hurricane-protected) place to keep Orion while we traveled north to help Fred bring Marianna south. So, we decided to keep the boat out of the water for about a month until late September, when we returned with Marianna. This would save the slip fees and diver expenses of having the boat in the water, but not moving all that time.

Since we wouldn’t be leaving to go north for a few weeks, for the first time, we would be living on the boat 10 feet up in the air. Although we would have electric, there would be no A/C, so we had to hope for cooler temperatures as August wound down. Our grandson, Droz, was coming for a visit as well, so this might become an interesting adventure, living in the “treehouse” that was Orion on the hard. Hopefully, he will see it that way.

Being suddenly out of the water, we began re-thinking our boat projects to ensure we took advantage of the time out of the water. Within minutes of being hauled, Dave replaced the zinc on the end of the prop. Later, we scraped the barnacles off the hull and put grease in the head and galley thru-hulls. Next Dave used On and Off, a strong hull cleaner, to remove the notorious ICW “mustache” (the tea stain on the bow and the waterline) and recover the gleaming white gelcoat underneath. (Of course it removed all the wax as well, which will be another project.) There’s more to do, of course, but we’ve only had a couple of days so far.

We will need to continue to prepare the bottom for painting, wax the hull and finish the above deck projects that the intense summer heat have kept us from finishing.

Other Projects

Shortly before leaving Hampton, we discovered a problem with our shore power cord and receptacle. The hot wire on the plug and receptacle was blackened, obviously in need of repair. Before plugging in at Deltaville, we decided we had to replace the receptacle to ensure no further damage occurred. With a little more effort required than we had expected, we popped off the old housing, cut the wires and re-inserted them into the new outlet. Instead of the adhesive used in the original installation, we used the manufacturer-supplied gasket to ensure a watertight seal. Using a new power cord that we had on board, we now had a brand new connection that has so far stayed in good shape. We are speculating that the damage was probably caused by some saltwater getting into the outlet and reducing the conductivity of the cord. The A/C was putting a steady demand on the compromised circuit, likely causing it to overload.

With the cooler temperatures, Cathy finally took the time to re-silicone the portlights to seal the leaks that had developed over the last couple of years since we had last done this. She had instant feedback on the job, since we were visited by a violent thunderstorm and several hours of rain. Suffice it to say, there are a couple that will need a second treatment.

Deltaville - a community of cruisers

Deltaville Boatyard is on Jackson Creek, off the Piankatank River and is adjacent to Deltaville Marina. Jackson Creek is home to a half dozen anchored boats at any given time. Most are cruisers who are either taking advantage of the convenient services at Deltaville Marina (for a very reasonable fee) or are getting work done at the boatyard. The community is international, with the reputation of the boatyard drawing cruisers from Germany, Australia, the UK and of course many ports in the US. We joined this group many evenings in the screened porch to grill our dinner and socialize.

Family Time

We still had some time to do some babysitting for little Troy while mom and dad celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary. While nearby, we also visited with Adam and his family as well, including a cookout with everyone on Sunday before we headed back to Deltaville.

Our trip to Solomons gave us a chance to catch up with Don and Cindy and the kids. We first met for dinner and then took them out for a daysail in the Patuxent the next day before heading back south to Deltaville. Their offer of a night’s sleep in A/C and some laundry facilities were enthusiastically received as well.

Not going anywhere

We obviously are not going anywhere on Orion anytime soon, but we’ll be busy with projects, and, of course, entertaining our grandson in our “treehouse” over the next few weeks before heading north to New Hampshire. The Chesapeake has thankfully cooled off for the past week and maybe the trend will last long enough to make our stay on the hard tolerable. If not, look for us. We might be coming to visit . .

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