The 2nd Day on the move…

 Dreary Day

Well….we spoke too soon regarding the hydronic heater unfortunately.  When we tried to fire it up last evening the blowers wouldn’t kick on and there were flames coming out the exhaust.  We don’t always agree on everything, but this time we both agreed this was not a good sign.

Undeterred, we rugged up in our winter woolies this morning and untied the dock lines before 0800 and headed south to Solomon’s Island.  It was a dreary overcast day of rain and wind on our nose again, but from within the confines of our full enclosure we had a lovely and comfortable day, motoring along the Bay.

Christina

For most of the day we didn’t see another boat, but this is a photo of a neighbor who we tracked on AIS as he followed us for a couple of hours and finally passed us.  That is a tugboat towing a large platform and what looked like another tug on a barge.

Tug w platform

Christina took the opportunity to practice and hone her chart reading skills and figuring out how far away land/water marks were.  She must have done a good job as we arrived at Solomons Island and docked at the marina with no incident.

Bob enjoyed just sitting back and letting the autopilot do most of the steering.

Bob at Helm

The marina and quaint village of Solomons Island  looks like a nice place to spend some time…. maybe we will plan to do that on the way back north in Spring.  But for now, depending on weather tomorrow and how long we want to motor, as wind is expected to still be from the south (on our nose), we will head to Point Lookout, MD or Reedville, VA. (a new state!!!!)

(A sidenote – as this is being written, Bob is looking at the weather forecast and our planned route for the next week and colorful language and expletives are being uttered…. oh boy.  Let’s hope somebody is wrong here.)

We Have Heat and We’re On The Move…

Leaving Back Creek in Annapolis
Leaving Back Creek in Annapolis

After enjoying 4 days in Eastport (Annapolis), waiting for parts for the hydronic heater, parts were received and the heater was re-installed and ultimately became operational at 1600 on Friday.  Woo hoo!!!

This morning (Saturday, 24 Oct 2015) at 0840, we released the dock lines and headed south for a few hours.  With the wind on our nose we had an uneventful, albeit chilly, motoring experience navigating around the multitudinous lines of crab pots.

Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse
Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse

We safely arrived and docked at Herrington Harbour South Marina to spend the rest of the day and night.  (http://www.herringtonharbour.com)

Tomorrow’s forecast is for more cold, mixed with rain and high wind.  As we are planning to take a leisurely pace down the Bay we’ll decide in the morning if we venture out and fire up the now working heater.  If so, we plan to get as far as Solomons Island.

The Next Adventure Begins….

Us at the stern

Pulling Away

On 19 October, a very brisk morning of 39 degrees Fahrenheit/3.9 degrees Celsius, at 0940 we untied the dock lines and left Rock Hall for the last time for at least the next 6 months.

From afarWe consider this the next big adventure as we begin our journey south to Florida.

 

First stop:  Annapolis – to try to get our hydronic heater repaired for the trip.  If successful we reckon we have ensured a warm trip, if not, the winter woolies will be close at hand.

The empty slip... we will be back!
The empty slip… we will be back!

 

Blue skies….

Just an update….blue skies and beautiful weather – this is what comes after the storm.

As you probably are aware after hitting the Bahamas harshly, Hurricane Joaquin veered East and headed into the Atlantic, posing no threat to the east coast of the United States.

We learned there are multiple models for hurricane tracking.  Most specifically, the US model and the European model.  The European model aways showed Hurricane Joaquin would track into the ocean while the US model showed it hitting the mid-Atlantic.  Over the days the US model shifted to eventually be more in alignment with the European model.

The European model has proved to be more accurate in predicting the movements of other hurricanes in the past as well, especially 3 years ago when it predicted Sandy would hit New England and the US model had predicted the storm to go out to sea.  From what I can tell, US weather forecasters report the US model predictions and I had to really search the internet to find the European model, once I learned about it.   You can be sure we will be tracking both models (if not more as we learn about them) in the future and prepare for the worst case scenario whichever model calls for it.

We have no regrets over preparing for the potential storm by removing the canvas and the two fore sails and doubling up our dock lines.  It was great practice and we got a better understanding of the boat and how certain things work.

The nor’easter did bring much rain and lots of wind over the next few days with the wind finally easing Sunday afternoon.  Even double tied in the most protected part of the marina, Dreamtime was rocking and rolling.  We were never worried during this, and I enjoyed the ride from the coziness of the cabin down below.

Thankfully the rains that have devastated South Carolina are not affecting us at all.

Yesterday we reinstalled the canvas which didn’t take long at all.  But we opted to wait until today with less wind in the forecast to re-rig the sails.  You don’t want to be handling unsecured big sails in the wind if you can avoid it.

Thank you for your concerns during the uncertainty.

All is well, and we are still planning to untie the dock lines in a couple of weeks and head south via the Intracoastal Waterway to Florida (if not beyond).

Hurricane Joaquin

Hurrican Joaquin

For the first time this summer there is a named storm headed this way and as of today where we have our boat docked is within the possible trajectory for a Monday morning encounter.  (See image above from U.S. National Hurricane Center.)

Please be assured the marina we are in is considered a safe hurricane hole in that it is protected on 3 sides by land.  Our slip is tucked in the back of the marina even more protected than most – although our dock itself is old and in my opinion questionable of surviving any storm without some damage to the dock with any significant surge or very high tides.
Storms like this often change course and intensity and are not truly predictable until closer to the encounter, but the next two days are scheduled to be 90 – 100% chance of rain (unrelated to the hurricane), so rather than wait and have to do it in the rain and wind, we opted to prepare the boat today.  This meant doubling up all 4 points of dock lines and adding 4 spring lines (2 from front pilings to mid boat and 2 from dock pilings to mid boat).  Yeap this meant yet another run to the local West Marine for more dock lines.
We have added fenders to both sides of the boat in case of rubbing against pilings and/or docks.  We have also removed all the canvas from the boat (the new dodger, windshield (windscreen) and cockpit cover) as well as seat cushions, etc.  We have secured everything/anything else from above deck that may blow.  If the storm worsens or tracks in such a way as to cause us more concern we will remove the sails as well, but at this point we are hoping not to have to do that.
We will keep you posted as/if the storm comes through.  We expect to spend the next few days snuggled down in the cabin below with our new air conditioning running (if necessary and for as long as it is safe to have the power plugged in) and enjoying some quality one on one time with each other.

Anchoring Out

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One of the joys of owning a sailboat is being able to go to quiet anchorages, drop the anchor and feel like you are alone in the world.

Just to ensure all systems for anchoring and a night at anchor were operating as expected and convince ourselves that we knew what we were doing, we decided our first anchoring experience would be relatively close to home.

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On a quiet day with no wind (…again!), we motored out of the harbor, into the bay, and “around the corner”.  We navigated through another channel (where we don’t mention we had grounded our charter boat 5.5 years ago – but learned that lesson well), and up Swan Creek to a small anchorage.

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Although if you looked in one direction you could see the marina from which we chartered in 2009, by turning our focus in the other direction we felt like we were miles away from civilization.

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The water was calm, with no current and no wind, and all systems worked perfectly, as we anchored and lived on the hook for the night as if we were pros and had been doing it for years.  Although no wind, it was a comfortable temperature and we had a lovely evening watching the sunset and enjoying the gentle swaying of the boat.

We considered staying out for another night, but hadn’t brought enough beer for Bob for two nights –  Another lesson learned.

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The next morning lifting the anchor was again done smoothly and we motored back to our marina counting the experience as a success on many levels.

We’re Sailing!!!!

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Approaching the Bay Bridge

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Leaving Annapolis on Wednesday, 5 August, with Christina at the helm, the sails were raised for the first time and we sailed!  

There wasn’t much wind that day, averaging 5 – 6 knots with an occasional gust, but it was great to be able to turn off the engine and let the wind take us – albeit slowly.

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Bob had fun continually  trimming the sails attempting to eek out just another fraction of a knot of speed.

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Annapolis bound….

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The past month has been full of taking care of things.  The boat needed to be hauled out of the water to get some work done, so we took the opportunity to drive down to Virginia Beach and visit with Bob’s brother and tend to some family business.  And thus no blog entries for a while – but all is good.

We are back on track this month, and last Sunday, 2 August, we headed over to Annapolis for a few nights.  We did end up motoring the entire way as there was absolutely no wind…again.  (The story of our lives sometimes — when we cycle there seems to always be wind – in our faces, when we sail there is usually no wind…oh well.)

But after 3 hours of pleasant motoring across the bay we arrived in Annapolis harbor and successfully picked up a mooring ball to spend the next 3 nights.

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We enjoyed a relaxing time exploring Annapolis, eating good food at different restaurants, and enjoying feeling the boat move under our feet as we bobbed around on the ball.  (Yeap those sea legs definitely need to be developed still.)

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Meeting New Friends…

A few evenings ago we met another couple who have been cruising for 10 years between the Chesapeake and the Caribbean.  They have made the difficult decision to put their boat (40′ Island Packet) up for sale and are moving back to land with mixed emotions.  Better to make that decision on their own terms rather than the sea or life in general making the decision for you they thought.

In the past 10 years they have done a few home visits, and in the past year have only spent 3 nights in a marina.  So they really have been living on the hook.  They are finishing their rendition of the life we are just embarking on and it was great to just sit and chat with them over a wine and beer.

What struck me when talking with them was the contentment they had regarding the decisions they made and the life they chose to live for the past 10 years.  They talked about how their relationship grew stronger because of it, and because of all the time they spent with just each other.  It was really quite lovely. I could see them remembering the excitement and newness we are currently experiencing with a twinkle in their eyes.

It really is good to connect with people who have been living the dream.

Dreamtime has left the harbor

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What’s that behind Bob?  Could it be land?

And what’s between Bob and the land?  Could that be water?

Yesterday we ventured out of the slip, past the breakwater and into the Bay by ourselves – woo hoo!!!!

There was absolutely no wind and the Bay was like a lake of still water, so the sails did not go up, but we did go out.

I must report that I LOVE the new headsets we bought.  They are bluetooth connected and allow Bob and me to talk to each other as if we were right next to each other even when we are on opposite ends of the boat.  It was great to have him right in my ear.  I was able to tell him when the dock lines were free, when I saw crab pots to avoid, and he was able to tell me what he needed me to do.  Bob reported loving them too – that is until I sneezed and nearly blew out his eardrum, oops.  And again as we passed by some new friends (more on them in the next post) and I called over to them while still wearing the microphone.  Lessons learned – cover the mouthpiece when I am not talking directly to Bob and when sneezing.

We left the slip, motored out into the Bay for about an hour or so getting more familiar with the navigational aids and markers,  and re-entered the slip without incident.

I enjoyed being at the bow and seeing the sights.  Osprey nest atop the channel markers but don’t like boats getting to close to their young.  This mother let us know she was not pleased.

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When we returned to the dock we tested the genoa (front sail) and staysail (middle sail) to be sure they would run smoothly and we would have no major surprises when we actually get to use them.

We are definitely getting better with prep work before departure and set-up work after arrival.  The air conditioning was re-installed easily, the sail cover was reattached relatively easily (it probably helped that the sail hadn’t been used), the windshield/windscreen cover was replaced easily and even the middle piece of canvas between the bimini and dodger was reattached without drama (or cussing).  We didn’t time the process, but it didn’t seem to take nearly as long as the first two times.  But yes, we were both still covered in sweat by the time the processes were over.

The weather forecast for the next few days is rain and thunderstorms, so we probably won’t go out again for a few days.

Our next planned adventure may be our first overnight excursion to Annapolis.  Will keep you posted.