“Oh What a Night” July 14, 2011

If you recall, the evening last night was one of those perfect movie settings where we are sitting enjoying wine in a secluded cove on mirror like calm waters.  To bed early with the peace of mind knowing that the anchor won’t drag because the boat is on the bottom in a well protected cove.

Well, I awoke at about 11:00 with the wind howling in the rigging, the waves slapping the bottom of the boat, and the boat healing to port.  I looked out the window and realized that the boat, though not moving, was turned crosswise to the wind (a very unnatural position for the boat.  I got up and checked my wind app on my iphone and was reassured that this wind had not been predicted and was not happening!  But it was! 

Thinking about why the boat was sideways I remembered that for our meal on the deck, I had lowered the centerboard to accommodate the table and had not pulled it back up.  It had buried   itself in the mud and holding us in this position.  I checked the tide tables and realized that the next high tide on which we could float free would be at about 7:00 AM so there was nothing to do but crawl back to bed.  Of course sleep was not to come easily.

 At about 2:00, I again awoke and was convinced that the wind had increased and now the dinghy had wrapped itself around the boat and was banging into the lower side.  I again got up and checked the weather forecast and current conditions and was reassured that this was not happening.  So, again back to bed eagerly awaiting dawn and planning my escape from this situation.

At about 5:00, I got up, dressed and went outside to assess the situation.  The boat was by now floating but the rudder was still stuck in the mud.  I reasoned that if I could pull the rudder up out of the mud, the boat would swing around and hang bow to the wind (the normal position) and we could start the motor and pull out for deeper waters.  By this time, Janine had joined me in the cockpit and we discussed our strategies.  They seemed quite straight forward.  I began to pull the rudder up and found it to be really hard to pull up.  I assumed that the pressure of the wind, the sideways force, was making it hard to get up.  I finally got it up and in its resting place when I realized that the boat was slowly drifting down wind into shallower water and toward the shore which was about 50 feet behind us.  The anchor was dragging!  A dragging anchor is absolutely the greatest fear of an anchored sailor.  I immediately grabbed our second anchor which was neatly and tightly secured for travel and ran to the bow of the boat and threw it out as far as I could.  I pulled it in to get it to hold and it came back to me.  I threw it in probably 6 or 7 times until it finally seemed to be holding and the effect of that along with the minimal holding of the main anchor stopped the downwind progress of the boat. 

I then went back and started the motor.  This would be tricky because the rudder in its up and locked position was stationary and unusable and the motor on the boat is usually locked in the strait ahead position.  With the motor unlocked, you have a very little steering movement and I assumed that if I could get the boat moving forward into the wind, the direction I wanted to go anyway, I could get out of there.  I still had to deal with the two anchors before I could go very far.   My plan was to get the boat moving forward slowly, run forward and pull the anchors and then motor out.  I put the motor in gear and it ran for less than 2 seconds when it died violently.  The propeller had wrapped around the rope of the dinghy and was locked up tightly.    I jumped into the water planning to unfoul the prop.  We were of course in shallow water but I didn’t expect to land in mud that came up to my knees.  I trudged my way to the back of the boat and realized that the rope to the dinghy was not only in the prop but was wrapped around the rudder and jammed into the slot where the rudder rests.  That would not allow me to raise the motor to work on the prop so I began untangling the mess.  It took me about 5 minutes to get the line untangled.  I then had Janine force the rudder back down into the running position so that I could untangle the line from the rudder post.  That done, I we would be able to use the rudder in our exit even though it would be in the mud, I was convinced the motor would push it through the soft ooze. 

Back in the boat, I explained my plan to Janine.  She would have to steer the boat with both the rudder and the unlocked motor – no easy task – as I pulled in the anchors.  So motors running, boat begins to ease forward and I frantically pulled in anchors.  The backup anchor came in easily, but the main anchor, having dragged maybe 20 yards, was buried deeply in the mud.  I was able, when the boat got over the top of it, to pull the anchor up.  The boat began to move forward more easily.  The anchor was a ball of mud so I left it dragging just under the surface of the water while Janine motored to deeper waters.

The feeling of elation is hard to describe in this writing, but believe me, I was feeling weak with elation.  I was soaking wet in a cold wind, the boat was an absolute mess with a carbon black sticky mud all over both the bow, from the anchors, and the cockpit from my carbon black muddy legs .  The time was about 6:15.

As we got out into more open waters, I locked the motor into the straight forward position and the boat began behaving as though nothing had happened.  We motored about a mile downstream to near the mouth of the creek where we encountered probably 7 or 8 boats who had come into the cove for shelter.  We moved into the back of the pack and dropped our anchor.  I let out 60 feet of anchor rode (line).  The more rode that you have set, the safer and less potential drag exists.  One usually figures 5 feet of anchor rode for each foot of water depth.  Let’s see, we were in 5 feet of water so that’s 5X5 = 60.  Yeah that will work!  Let’s get dry and demudded!

As I reflect back on the incident, it is a fact that there was not time in which we were in personal danger and being in a fairly well protected cove, the boat may not have been damaged had she driven onto the shore; however, getting her off of very shallow water way back into upper reaches of this creek would be difficult and expensive.  There are boat rescue services available but rumors have it that a visit costs a minimum of $600.00 to arrive on the scene plus an hourly charge.  So we came out okay, albeit a bit frazzled!

We rewarded ourselves with a great breakfast of Sausage Gravy and Biscuits and V-8 followed by a long nap in an attempt to catch up on some the sleep that escaped us during the night.  Once aroused, we began the arduous chore of cleaning the mud from the boat.  Janine began going over the affected areas with a scrub brush and was frustrated by the limited success for her efforts.  She remembered that she had bought a bottle of Oxyclean and so she concocted a strong solution that did a really great job.  I also had built a portable electric pump with a long handle that we could use to pump bay water up onto the deck for rinsing. After about an hour of hard scrubbing and rinsing, the ole girl looked fairly good again.  (You know I mean the boat!  Janine always looks good!) 

We had decided that this day would be one in which we would stay in the harbor.  It appeared that high winds and large seas would make for an unpleasant ride.  However, as the morning progressed, we realized that all of the other boats had left or were leaving and the wind seemed to be dropping off so we readied the boat and headed out.  We found the wind to be a nice following wind and few waves so for the next 3 or 4 hours we had a pleasant sail with the sails “wung out.”  Our destination is the village of Rock Hall.  There seems to be a lot to see there and a marina with unlimited services. 

The entrance into the area of Rock Hall is quite shallow and somewhat of a navigation nightmare, however, we made it without a problem.  At one point we were passed by a tug pulling a huge barge.  Our AIS system alerted us that he was coming up behind and provided course and potential collision locations if that is a possibility.  If a collision is eminent, it gets really loud and demanding.

Once in Rock Hall, we tied up at the Rock Hall Landing Marina and decided that we would spend the night there.  We rested a bit and then headed out to the Watertown Crab House for a sea food dinner.  The young waitress suggested that they had a special going on where you could get all of the crabs you could eat for $20.00.   I had never had crabs in the whole so I decided to try it.  She offered to teach me how to pick the meat from the crab.  She arrived with a large sheet of brown paper, a wooden mallet, and a 5 gallon bucket.   She next arrived with a serving tray piled absolutely high with, we now estimate, 25 seasoned crabs.  She then sat down and taught me how to dissect the critters.  I dug in and began the long process of devouring the meat of all of those crabs.  We figured that there was probably not much more than an ounce to an ounce and a half of meat per crab, however, it was still a bunch.  And Messy! Wow, About ½ way through the pile, I called for a bib because I was getting really messed up.  But they were good and I had a good time.  Janine ordered fried oysters and reports that they too were really good.  Both meals came with fresh sweet corn and mine with coleslaw and Janine’s with sweet potatoes.

After dinner, we headed into town looking for some ice cream but the little town was truly dead on a Thursday night so none was to be found.  We did find a grocery store and bought vegetable oil, and a couple other items.  

We walked back to the boat, read for a bit and then crawled into bed at about 9:15.

Heading South to Fairlee Creek July 13, 2011

We arose at about 5:45.  It was a really hot night and I found myself awake and really perspiring for some extended time during the middle of the night.  But I also awoke rested and ready for another great day on the Chesapeake.  There is absolutely no wind in our cove this morning; the water is like glass. 

I fixed a gourmet breakfast of blob Biscuit and Sausage Gravy topped off with a can of V-8 juice.  Ain’t it great!  Tis true livin!  We brew at least one pot of coffee every day keeping the bulk in a Thermos.  That usually keeps our caffeine level at the appropriate level through the day.

Today promises to be another hot one however, the weather radio offers that it will cool down tomorrow.  There is a slight chance of thunder storms in the late afternoon so we will be monitoring that as the day progresses.  It is my understanding that this is a relatively shallow area and the waves come up fast and in ugly form so we hope to duck into a cove somewhere before we get smacked.  We have been in storms before and the boat and we can handle most of what comes however, it is sometimes a bit uncomfortable.

We got underway at around 9:00 and motored to the mouth of the Sassafras River.  As we approached the main bay, there came up a light breeze so we raised the sails and had a truly gentle little sail for about 2 hours.  And then it all died.  There were no waves and no wind-- scorching hot.  It brings to mind “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” but unlike that poor soul, we were able to start our motor and move on.  Probably 30 minutes later, the breeze returned, however, it was from the direction we were traveling and we decided to continue the motoring.  While I piloted our craft, Janine began a continuing education course required for her nursing license.  This is a great place to study.  There are few interruptions except when the wind is strong.  We have an autopilot that we can use to set a course and it will keep the boat moving in that direction.  Once the autopilot is programmed and the sails are set, there is little to do other than stay on watch for other boats and lobster buoys.

We are heading for some marina that can provide some ice, cooking oil, internet service, and water to top up our potable water tank.  We pass an area named Still Pond.  It is evidently a super place to moor for the night however there are no facilities so it doesn’t fit us today.  The next place we passed was Worton Creek.  It had a marina but it appeared to be limited in offerings so we pressed on to Fairlee Creek.  The Mears Great Oak Landing appeared to be quite large and provide all services. 

As we travel, we use a Cruisers Guide that is an encyclopedia of information about all things in say the Chesapeake Bay area.  When we decide upon a place we are headed, Janine reviews and reads pertinent information about such things as approaches, moorings, services provided etc.  The entrance into Fairlee Creek appeared to be tricky so we reviewed it several times.  There seemed to be significant shoaling and some tricky buoy arrangements into a very narrow entrance channel.  What she didn’t read was that just as you make a 90 degree turn into the cove, the narrow channel can have very swift current if the tide is falling.  And today, the tide was falling.  We came upon this right angle turn and I could see the current flow and commented on it as we approached it and as soon as the nose of the boat hit the current it turned us sideways to the direction we wanted to go.  I throttled up the engine and swung the rudder to the starboard side, brought the boat back onto course and we moved into the cove without further incident.

The Great Oak Marina left a bit to be desired.  They did have ice and water; however, their store had few supplies, none of which met our needs.  We bought our ice and refilled our non-leaking water tank and headed back into the upper reaches of the Fairlee Creek cove.  The time was about 2:30 or so but we had just received a weather alert that a storm was moving into the area and we figured it would be prudent to find a well protected spot that would allow us to ride out anything coming.

The cove/creek are shallow and we proceeded slowly about a mile inland looking for a nook into which we could duck and drop anchor.  Our depth gauges, both of them indicated that it was too shallow to record so with our centerboard raised all of the way up and drawing about 3 feet of water, we kept moving.  Toward the upper end of the cove, I realized that the rudder was dragging in the mud so I forced it to starboard, kept the motor revved up a bit and we moved into deeper water.  We found a little inlet that looked good and headed for it.  We again drug the rudder, but figured that we were at low tide and since the mud was soft and no damage would be done to the boat as it sat there, this would be a good spot.

We set an anchor and awaited the storm.  The weather radio began continuous warnings regarding a bad storm that was coming through the area.  I have a radar app on my iphone and watched as this massive storm passed over Baltimore, Washington DC, Annapolis and headed south across the Bay.  We were sitting in the very tip of the activity and actually got very little wind and rain.

Rain and wind gone, the sun came out, the wind went away and the cove became a glassy mirror.  I took Damn Dink for a cruise with my fishing pole and after donating a new lure to the Fairlee Creek I rejoined Janine for dinner preparation.  We began our dining on the deck with appetizers of sardines on wheat crackers.  I opened a wonderful bottle of Columbia Valley Riesling into which I dove a bit too deeply.  I built a fire in our charcoal grill and we grilled a couple of burgers which were accompanied with macaroni and cheese.  Dessert this evening was an apple sauce cup.  We lit the oil lamp and enjoyed the full moon and the quiet environmental sounds of the eastern shore of the Chesapeake.  We went to bed at about 9:45.

A Day in Georgetown/Fredericksburg July 12, 2011

The day began as a lazy lay around time to clean and arrange the boat.  When we dropped the boat into the water, we threw a lot of stuff into the boat just to get going so we needed time to arrange it all to make it more comfortable.  We finally got underway sometime around 10:30, something that we had never done before.  This trip seems to be more relaxed than any that we have taken in the past.  In fact, just after breakfast, we both lay down and took about a 30 minute nap.  We had no plan as to where we were headed even this day.  We dug out some cruising books and decided to head up the Sassafras River to Georgetown where it was reported to have an ice cream stand that served outstanding treats.  There was also to be a restored Granary that provided an outstanding lunch. 

We motored out of our little cove into the main channel of the Sassafras River.  The wind was blowing from the west so it was a perfect setup for a running sail up the river to Georgetown.  The trip was about 5 miles long and we sailed a good portion “wung out” or “wing and wing” i.e. with the wind directly behind and the main sail out to port (left) and the huge Genoa jib to starboard (right).  This is not the fastest point of sail, believe it or not, but it is one of the easiest.  It was a pleasant ride through some pristine country.  Now and then, we would see a huge mansion recently built with fancy docks and too big power yachts or sailing yachts parked outside.  As we approached the marinas in Georgetown, we called the Granary for permission to dock for lunch.  She informed us that the Granary opened for evening meals during the week, however, we were welcome to dock and have lunch at the Kitty Knight House.  We accepted the invitation and received instructions on where to dock. 

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by an attractive young dockhand who was most helpful and friendly.  She offered that we could stay docked as long as we needed and offered that we could use their showers and pool after dining at the Kitty Knight House. She also offered that they had free wireless internet service that was strong enough to be used on our boat from where we were tied. 

A bit of history about the Kitty Wright House.  It seems that the town of Georgetown was used to supply rebel troops during the war of 1812 so a British Admiral named George Cockburn proceeded to burn all of the buildings in the town.  The red headed Kitty Wright who was married to a Maryland Assembly member was “renowned for both her beauty and determination.”  When Admiral Cockburn came to burn her house and the one next door, which housed a bedridden neighbor, Kitty confronted him.  He warned her to leave.  She refused saying “if you burn this house, you burn me with it.”  Struck by her bravery and beauty, he spared both houses. 

The two homes have been joined and are the foundation for a really neat restaurant.  We enjoyed an oyster “po boy” sandwich and spicy fries.   It was fine eating!

After lunch we went to the pool and enjoyed a wonderfully refreshing swim in their pool.  While there we met several members of a family who were originally from Cincinnati, one daughter of which still resides there.  They were interesting folks and we enjoyed the visit. 

After the swim, we returned to the boat and I set up my blog posting and by now you know that it didn’t go through.  It was really hot, temperature in the high 90’s, but there was still a fine westerly breeze blowing.  We headed back down the Sassafras towards the main bay.  Our plan was to travel south to an area known as still pond.  The time was already 4:30 and we figured that by the time we got there it would be late so we decided to return to Back Creek for one more night.  Since the wind was moving directly down the river, we opted to motor back to our evening mooring. 

Once back in Back Creek, we heated up some barbeque ribs that we had frozen and brought along.  We made up some blob garlic mashed potatoes to round out our meal.  I had a Killians.  After dinner, we drug the cushions onto the for deck, leaned back against the front of the cabin and watched the daylight fade and the pleasant night come on with its full moon as we listened to a book on CD.  A wonderful way to end a really great day.  To bed at 9:45 (in a really hot cave in a hot boat)!

etermination.”  When Admiral Cockburn came to burn her ho

Day 2 Back Creek July 12 2011

We awake this morning in a large cove on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay named Back Creek.  We can see one dock and a few boats permanently moored there and vaguely see a beautiful home in the trees 200 yards from where we are anchored.  We both slept well.  We were really tired.  Neither of us slept well the first night so we were ready for a good one last night. 

Yesterday, we picked up Janine’s brother, Bob, in Lancaster PA and made the trip to the Maryland village of North East near which is Elk Neck State Park where we planned to launch the boat.  It is located on the canal that runs between the north end of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay.  We arrived at Elk Neck at around 11:30 and began the arduous task of stepping the mast and rigging the boat.  The mast raising went well with the help of Bob and the new electric winch setup that we are now using.  All went without incident.  It was really hot and by the time we were done, we were all doused in sweat.  I rewarded Bob for his help with a lunch of Spam sandwich prepared on diet bread with Horsey Sauce from Arbys.  He was provided a side of baked chips and dessert of a butterscotch pudding cup.  I could tell that he truly appreciated it all.

We dropped the boat in the water at about 2:00, tied the ”Damn Dink” on behind and headed out into the canal with no clear destination in mind.  The wind was blowing out of the Southwest and we were heading in that direction so we had 1 – 2 foot waves on the nose.  It was a bit bumpy but no challenge for the boat.  We were both really tired so there was no suggestion from either of us to raise the sails.  We just let the “iron genny” push us along as we sat in a near catatonic state in the sweltering heat.  We did have our Bimini up and that kept some of the sun off of us.  The “Damn Dink” followed along behind and behaved very nicely.  During the winter, I built a wooden plug that I placed in the centerboard trunk that keeps the water from pumping in and sinking her.  That was a MAJOR problem last year. 

We traveled down the east side of the bay and entered into the Sassafras River where we had marked a potential mooring site for the night.  As we moved into the river, we began to travel east and so we were traveling in following waves and the ride smoothed out and became quite comfortable.  The further back in the bay we moved, the smoother it got since the waves did not have time to build as they had in the open waters of the main bay.  The wind continued to build as we approached our overnight spot and by the time we dropped anchor, it was blowing probably 20 knots.  Back Creek, however, is protected from all four sides so we had no wave to contend with, just the wind.

We dropped anchor at around 6:00 after traveling about 13 miles from Elk Neck.  We sat and sat.  I had a beer and finally decided we had best get something to eat.  We warmed the leftover shrimp/scallops Alfredo pasta and made some instant macaroni and cheese.  We capped our meal with pudding cups.  The meal was refreshing and rejuvenating so we began doing the many chores that we had left undone as we launched.  I pulled the Damn Dink up along-side of the Balboa, tied her firmly so that she wouldn’t tip and proceeded to load the battery for the trolling motor into her.  The loading process went without incident unlike the tragic mess that occurred last year when I attempted it and both the battery and I ended up in the water.  I took the dink for a spin and threw a few casts with my fishing rod to no avail.  

As I was putsing around in the dinghy, I began to hear thunder off to the west and noticed some huge thunder heads moving into the area.  It appeared that they were staying on the west side of the bay.  It was getting dark and we both felt we needed to cleanse our bodies so I filled our portable shower (a two gallon plastic bag with a hose and nozzle at the bottom) with bay water and hung it from the mast.  We climbed on the roof of the boat and there in front of God and world we to a cool refreshing shower in the middle of our private cove.  It felt so good.  Showers complete, bodies clean, I turned on the marine weather channel and found that there was weather advisory and small craft warnings for the entire area.  So, we began to button up the boat.  We first moved forward the boat forward and dropped a second anchor; we then added extra bungee cords to the sails to keep them from unfurling in the wind.  As I was putting a cover on the mainsail with my arms wrapped around the mast I was acutely aware that the lightning was moving closer and the wind was beginning to pick up.  I assumed the prudent thing to do was to get away from the aluminum lightning rod that was sticking about 35 feet into the air.  

The final thing to do before retiring for the night was to light the anchor light.  We use a small brass   and glass lantern with a Furnell (sp?) lens that hangs from the mast.  We have a light for that purpose mounted on the top of the mast, however, it used electricity which is a precious commodity on a sailboat.  As I was finishing up hanging the light, the wind was really blowing and I heard a crash and found that the burner assembly in the light had come undone and crashed to the deck on its way to the bottom of the cove.  So much for conserving electricity for this trip!  Masthead anchor light on!

It rained quite hard and the wind blew fairly hard but the anchors held and we had no more problems.  A comforting function of the GPS on the boat is an alarm that you can set to warn you if your boat, while at anchor, moves more than a predetermined distance.  We set that and were not alarmed .  Bed at 9:45.

We arose this morning at about 5:45, made coffee and prepared a luscious breakfast of Sausage Gravy and biscuits with V-8.  It can’t get better than that.  The weather today promises to be another scorcher

On The Road Again

We got on the road yesterday at about 9:00 and had a leisurely trip across Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and back into PA where we finally stopped for the night in Lancaster.  We avoided the Pennsylvania Turnpike because of heavy Sunday afternoon traffic and opted instead to take I-68 which runs somewhat parallel to the Turnpike but about 45 miles south of it.  It was/is a nice drive but in the end it took us probably 3 additional hours to make the 7 hour trip. 

We stopped just east of Wheeling WV for lunch at a Quaker Steak and Lube and had a great lunch.  Their burgers are huge so Janine and I split a combo burger platter and it worked out to be a perfect combination for both of us.  We typically don’t like to stop at chains when we are traveling, however, in the interest of time and not knowing the territory, we picked this one. 

Our truck for this trip is averaging between 9 and 10 miles per gallon so we had to fill up twice as we traveled.  Once in Lancaster, we found a Wal-Mart where we planned to park the boat and spend the night.  Not far from there we noticed a Red Lobster so we decided to treat ourselves to a commercial fish dinner.  Our goal is to eat a lot of fresh seafood as we travel on the Bay.  It was a great choice.  Janine had flounder and I had a combo meal that included New England clam chowder, salad, a shrimp/scallop pasta dish with Alfredo sauce and a finale of brownie alamode.  It was so big that I will get to have it again for dinner this evening.

After dinner we moved back to the Wal-Mart and found a nice secluded spot around the back away from the bustle of traffic in the main lot.  As the truck rolled to a stop, a security guard drove up and informed us that Wal-Mart had changed their policy of encouraging folks with traveling camping rigs to spend the night in their lot.  OOOOKKKK.   He told us of a place just down the road where they had a lot of parking for trailers and the allowed folks to stay.  We followed his directions and it took us to a commercial camp ground.  I didn’t want to pay to spend the night in a camp ground so we traveled on a bit and found a huge shopping center with a mega parking lot.  We pulled in as any well meaning customer would do, parked the truck and boat off to the side and hunkered down for the night.

We carry a step ladder so that we can get into the boat the side of which when it is on the trailer is about 5 ½ feet high.  We climbed in the boat, drug the ladder into the cockpit, climbed into the boat and prepared for the night.  We were both quite tired so we were in bed by about 9:30.  The temperature outside at our retiring hour was still around 80 degrees and the boat was quite warm.  I found sleep to be quite allusive.  For those who are not aware of our setup, our bed is in the bow of the boat.  The deck is about 3 feet above the bed so the bed is sort of in a cave.  Also, being in the bow, the bed is triangular in shape.  The head of the bed is about 5 to 6 feet wide and the foot is about 5 to 6 inches wide.  Length wise, the bed is about 6 feet long.  So when sleeping, one of us needs to be in a modified fetal position.  So, as we have found in the past the first night is usually not all that restful.  We do, however, adapt fairly quickly when exhaustion takes over on about the second or third day. 

I finally crawled out of bed about 4:45 and was amazed that we were the only vehicle in the huge parking lot.  It turned out to be a great place to spend the night. We plan to eat our breakfast in a restaurant in the interest of saving time.  We will try to be at Janine’s brother’s place by about 9:00 or so.

I checked the water tank and the patch is holding.  There are no detectable leaks.  A good omen!

We stopped in at a Bob Evans for my Sausage Biscuits and Gravy and Janine's 2 eggs and hashbrowns and found that they have wifi so we got an early post.

Tomorrow is Departure Day!

We have all but finished the packing process and the boat is ready for the road.  We have food stowed for the three weeks and as you would guess, I have my three week supply of spam ready for my luncheon delight. 

Last evening, as we were filling the water tank with potable water, we began to hear water running in a location different from the inlet pipe sound.  Janine, who was inside watching that we didn't overflow the tank into our bunk, turned around and was surprised to find water flowing out onto the salon floor.  I shut the hose off and ran into the boat, threw off the bedding, opened the hatch into the storage area under the bed where the water tank is located and found that a crack had developed from the inspection port in center of the top to the forward side of the tank and then down about 3 inches along the front.  Water was freely flowing out of the gaping crack.  So what to do.  We need water so I ran to the computer and googled water tanks and began calling to get someone to overnight me a tank.  I was aware that it was Friday, 4:45 PM, and as you can imagine, no one, not even someone in the Pacific time zone, would send me one before Monday. 

  It appeared that even if I ordered on Monday, it would be late in the week before I could get it installed and we could get under way.  In desperation, I removed the damaged tank and attempted to patch it.  The tank, that was probably made over 40 years ago of some sort of soft plastic and I could find no solvent that would soften it so that I could apply a welded patch.  I tried using resin and fiberglass and it just pealed off.  The crack started at one of the holes on the inspection port so I made a ring (basically a 10 inch flat washer) out of stainless steel.  That supported the back of the port and prevented the mounting bolts from applying high pressure on the small area of plastic.  I then liberally applied a silicone sealer which seemed to stick somewhat.  I let that dry over night, added about 3/4 of a tank of water and we are back on the original plan. 

Our plan is to leave fairly early tomorrow morning and head for the Lancaster, PA area.  We will spend the night in the boat and then pick up my brother-in-law, Bob, on Monday morning.  We will travel to Elk Neck State Park in the very northern end of the Chesapeake and drop the boat in the water.  Bob will then take our truck and trailer back to his house for the duration of our adventure.  He has willingly agreed to pick us up when we end our voyage. 

More to come!

The Departure Date is Coming Up

It's with eager anticipation that we are beginning the boat packing process for this year's adventure.  But I get ahead of myself!  We finally got the boat in the water in Buckeye Lake for our shake-down period.  We have done this a number of times so it was fairly uneventful.  We are fortunate in have some friends who have a private dock at which we can moor the boat while we check out all of the systems and correct any problems that may come up.  We have learned from past experience that setting the boat up for the first time at the beginning of an extended voyage is a setup for disaster.  We probably took the boat out sailing 4 or 5 times and were happy with the way things went.  The boat is back out of the water now and awaiting the final cleaning and packing before we leave.   

Last year, as we were motor sailing in Georgian Bay, we discovered that the motor would begin to miss whenever we pushed it hard for a long period of time.  That caused us some true white knuckle moments while traveling through a narrow rocky channel in a storm.  Upon our return to Ohio, we consulted our local mechanic and he told us of a fuel pump modification that allowed cold water to pass through the pump to cool it.  It seems that the pump, which is mounted on top of the engine, overheats when the engine is running hard.  The overheated pump caused the fuel to vaporize before it reaches the carburetor and hence the miss-firing engine.  I replaced the original pump with a modified water cooled one and the problem seems to have cleared up.  Another thing we did was come up with an electric winch that we can use to raise and lower the mast.  One of the potential limiting factors in our sailing future was the effort required to raise the heavy mast.  The winch is driven by the truck battery and the effort required to raise the mast now is limited to the pressing of a button.  Now I need to come up with a way to lift the heavy engine onto the rear of the boat when we are setting it up or taking it down.  We don't transport the boat with the motor hanging on the back and hugging and lifting of that heavy beast is becoming more difficult each year.  Am I getting older?

The chore scheduled for today is one that I look forward to each year.  We are heading on a shopping trip to gather the various supplies on our extensive list that we have developed after 6 years of doing this.  This is the signal  that the departure date is near.  Over the next couple of days, I will be dividing the various food stuffs into smaller portions and vacuum packing them for convenience and protection from the wet environments that we frequently encounter.  As you can imagine, storage is quite limited on the boat so we have to do away with bulky boxes that packaging that wastes space.