Fulfillment Day

Solomons MD, N 38 20.373 W 076 27.555

Today was fulfillment day for Jerry. Poor Jerry and Phyllis drove from Syracuse to Sacandaga Lake three times, to Plattsburg one time and to Maryland one time, all to go sailing with us. Jerry loves to sail, he loves to heel the boat over and to go fast. Well, on all those other trips, we were skunked for wind when Jerry and Phyllis were with us. That included yesterday. Well patience pays off and today the forecast for 5-10 knot light winds was wrong. We had 15 knots or better out on the bay. Tarwathie loved it and Jerry loved it even more.

We sailed from the Western Shore to the Eastern Shore, to the Western Shore, then to the Eastern Shore again, then back to Solomons. The Chesapeake bay is big so a shore-to-shore passage is a long way. It turned out to be a great day. Congratulations Jerry, you finally got what you wanted.

On the way out Jerry remarked on the bent and rusty pin I had anchoring the mainsheet to the traveller. He wondered how long it would last. I said, "Don't worry. It is a temporary clevis I bought in Home Depot. It is not meant for marine use, but it has been in there for a whole year and it hasn't broken yet. Besides I have spare clevis pins standing by to fix it when it breaks." Sure enough, you guessed it, about an hour later we jibed and the old pin broke. The loose boom went swinging out to its extreme carrying the mainsheet blocks with it. I was a model of cool headedness. "Turn into the wind," I said. We did, and I lowered the main sail. That got things under control. We resumed sailing back under foresail only. Then I went below and in only 10 seconds I located the spare clevis pins.

The only problem was that I couldn't get the old pin out. When I grabbed it with pliers it broke off. When I tried to drive it out with a hammer and a punch it was stuck. Never fear. I got out my electric drill and a bit, and plugged it in to the inverter. Bzzzz. In a minute I had drilled out the old pin and in another minute I had the replacement pin installed, secured with a split ring and wrapped in white vinyl tape. Wow. Even Click and Clack couldn't have accomplished an on-the-fly repair so slickly. Jerry and Phyllis would have been dazzled with my brilliance except that they know me and they read my blog about oil changes and other such things.

Tonight we went out to dinner with Jerry and Phyllis. We went to a BBQ place and ordered racks of ribs and BBQ chicken. Good thing we didn't have any vegetarians with us tonight. They would have been grossed out by our carnivore's feast.

Tomorrow, Jerry and Phyllis have to head north again to return to work drudgery again. I think they envy us. Libby and I make good salespeople for the retired life. So far it's been very good for us.

Next item on our agenda, sail north to find a suitable place to leave the boat and rent a car to drive up to Newark to pick up David and Bobby at the airport. We also need a day to drive to Washington DC to visit Shawky Hammam, my professor from Clarkson. He wants to see me to give me a lecture -- "You see. This life you have chosen to sail at sea is very dangerous. Don't you want to choose something safer?"

Wired Again!

Solomons MD, N38 20.338 W076 27.571

Today we met with our friends Jerry and Phyllis from Syracuse. They drove all the way down here to go sailing with us. We're honored. Unfortunately, there was almost no wind today. That seems to happen almost every time Jerry and Phyllis come.

Oh well, we had a great day anyhow. We sailed (motored actually) up the Patuxuent River to a place called Sotterly Plantation. That is a place settled in 1717. It has a lovely mansion, and beautiful gardens and grounds. It was bought by J.P. Morgan and his descendents so it had to be nice to attract such people. We toured the grounds and took a guided tour of the 300 year old mansion house.

Jerry did me a great favor. He's been reading on my blog about the woes about my computer. He said that they had laptops on sale for $500 at circuit City and he offered to buy one for me and to bring it down. The thing he didn't know is that my other computer was returned from Averatec Repair. This time however, Jenny tested it before shipping it to me. It failed again. That's the second time it was returned and it still didn't work. I shipped it back while I'm arguing with Averatec if they'll repair it or give me a new one.

Anyhow, Jerry's offer was so gracious and so timely I accepted. Jerry bought the computer and brought it down. I just turned it on for the first time and in less than 30 seconds I was connected to the Internet via WiFi. Ah, what a pleasure to be wired again. I've really missed writing my blog daily. There were many stories I would like to have told. Now I can start writing again. Thank you Jerry.


When my other computer gets back I'll have two. One for use and one for backup. This new one has an extended warranty from circuit City. It offers a one-time complete replacement no questions asked. Therefore, if I drop it in the water (or should I say when I drop it?), I'll have to make sure to dive down and retrieve it, so that I can exchange it for a new one no questions asked.

Annapolis

Cambridge Public Library

We sailed up to Annapolis on Friday and took a mooring buoy belonging to the City Marina. That put us right in the heart of Annapolis' downtown and tourist center. There were thousands of tourists everywhere.

Our first stop (after showers at the marina) was to the famous Fawcett store where they sell all things marine. It is famous among boaters and it is reputed to have more things in stock than even West Marine. We did pick up some hard to find items that we've been looking for for a while. We bought replacement 8w fluorescent bulbs and a replacement for a broken sail batten. Looking around though I noted several items I recognize that were priced 75% higher than West Marine. Since West Marine is already 30 to 50% higher in price than other suppliers, I decided to shop as little as possible at Fawcetts. I should have expected it because Fawcetts has valet parking.

Next we walked over to the US Naval Academy. We walked around the campus and visited the museum. It was very impressive. I was impressed by the artifacts of so many famous people, John Paul Jones, Halsey, Rickover, Nimitz and many more.

The next morning Libby and I walked all around the historic district. It is like Schenectady's Stockade on steroids. The houses were not only historic and not only had Washington slept there, but also Jefferson, Madison, Franklin and the others. They not only slept there but they agreed to form the constitutional convention. That's really historic.

Saturday afternoon we sailed south again heading to meet Gerry and Phyllis later in the week. It was a splendid day with 25 knot winds, warm and sunny. There were hundreds of sailboats coming out of Annapolis.

Libby and I decided that we're not much for cities. Even cities reputed to be the sailing capital. We are gunkholers (see below). However, we also agreed that we much admire the sailors in Annapolis. They really use their boats, and they are expert sailors.

Unfortunately, that same afternoon, one of the boats we admired lost its skipper. The 72 year old skipper, publisher of the Annapolis newspaper, was sailing alone. He disappeared and they still haven't found his body. What a shame.

Yesterday we worked on repainting the non-skid surfaces on deck. We can only do half at once, because we live aboard and we need some surface to walk on.

Today is the first really rainy day we've seen since leaving New York last October. Wow. I guess it really has been dry for the southwest US.

Gunkhole A shallow cove or channel nearly unnavigable because of mud, rocks, or vegetation.

Gunkholer A species of boater that is inexorable drawn to gunkholes in search of seclusion, adventure, wildlife - or just by an ungovernable urge to see what's around the next bend. Gunkholers are readily identified by their lack of concern at running aground.

Cambridge

Cambridge, MD Public Library

We sailed over to the eastern shore. We're enroute to Annapolis.

We stayed two nights in La Trappe Creek. According to the guide books, it is the best anchorage in the whole Chesapeake. That's saying a lot. Anyhow, I can't vouch for it being the absolute best, but is was wonderful and beautiful. Evening near dusk is especially pretty and peaceful in the Chesapeake. The scenery is nice, the temperature is nice, the wind is still, and the birds and the water life all come alive. I see how one could become addicted to this place.

Our alternator failed and I failed to notice it before the batteries went dead. I had to call on Sea Tow to come and give us a jump start. Since I'm a Sea Tow member, it didn't cost me anything. After getting started we motored over to Cambridge and put in at the municipal marina. They have shore power that I used to keep the batteries charged while running the freezer as I did my repairs.

My repair was successful, and I didn't buy a new alternator. It charges OK now. My confidence as a diesel mechanic is slowly building. The only problem is that I'm skeptical of the strength of my repair. I suspect that it will fail again someday.

Cambridge seems like a very pleasant city. One of hundreds of nice places to explore in the Chesapeake. We could spend years here exploring.

We'll soon have company. Our friends Gerry and Phyllis from Syracuse are coming down to meet us at Solomons MD and sail with us for a long weekend. After that, Dave and Bobby are coming down from Alaska. Dave couldn't get a connection to D.C. so he has a ticket to Newark (EWR) I'll rent a car and drive up to get him. We'll try to get Tarwathie up near Baltimore, or perhaps Cape May before they get here to make the trip easier.

Solomons

The Solomons, N38 20 W76 28

Here at the Solomons are a couple of creeks that provide excellent anchorages. Not only that, the shores are lined with numerous marinas and boatyards. Not only that, ashore there is a nearby grocery, a laundromat and a West Marine Store. What more could a person wish for?

Not only that, our friends Chris and June on Albion are staying here. We anchored near them and we had a couple of nice evenings swapping cruising stories. That was lots of fun. Right now, I'm using their computer to post this blog.

From here, we have to choose whether to go up the Potomac to Washington DC, or up to Annaoplis. We have nearly 3 weeks until David and Bobby fly down from Alaska, so maybe we could do both.

We found a place so picturesque that it bests anything else I've ever seen while cruising. It is Tangier Island. The island is populated by Crab Fishermen. The streets are wide enough for golf carts. The families bury their dead in the front yard. Most people on the island belong to the Parks family or the Crockett family or the Pruitt family. Most interesting, the locals speak a dialect of English so strong that it's hard to understand them. It is said to be Elizabethan in orgin. I have lots of pictures. I'll post them when I get my computer back.