Housekeeping Day in Deltaville; Met New Friends Here

I was up at 4:30 a.m. and checked to make sure we weren’t dragging. Then back to bed and the alarm went off at 6:15 a.m., only to find out the skipper decided to stay another day in the anchorage. He needed to change the oil, change the zinc and the fuel filters and scrub the speed-over-water wheel.

Changing the oil and filters.

Chuck ran the motor to heat up the oil, while I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast. After breakfast, the work began. I looked at the charts and cruising guides to figure out our plan for the coming week. Chuck changed the oil, oil filter, fuel filter and water separator filter and checked all the hoses.

Changing the zinc.

Then he put on his wet suit, ran the generator, hooked up the breather and hopped in the water. He changed the zinc, and scraped the barnacles off the prop and back of the boat from our summer season. After he took a hot shower, we loaded up the trash and took the dinghy to Deltaville Marina and walked around the yard, looking at the boats. The marina is a popular place for cruisers. They have boat lifts and you can work on your boat in their yard.

Rowing around Jackson Creek.

We climbed back in the dinghy and Chuck rowed around the harbor. It’s beautiful back here. We passed Sheet Music and across from the marina, waved to a couple in their yard. The gentleman waved us over to his dinghy dock. His name is Bill Crump and he’s a captain and sailing instructor. He invited us into his entertainment room, an awesome dock room that used to be a marina store. He promptly poured us a glass of wine, told us to make ourselves at home and went inside to get his beautiful wife, Mary, and some cheese and crackers. What a wonderful couple!

Bill and Mary Crump

They have been married for just four years. They met five years ago while donating blood. He had neck surgery six weeks ago and is doing well (same as me!). We had a wonderful visit and great conversation (over a few glasses of wine with cheese and crackers) with them.

Mary told a story that blew us away. In 1981, she and her husband, James, (now deceased), had just purchased the home she and Bill are in now. A cigarette boat pulled in to Deltaville Marina, which was closed and saw her gas pumps. She told them they didn’t sell gas. That it had been laying there for years and the pumps were unused.

She saw guns lying on the seat and knew they meant business. There was a lot of drug running going on then. They demanded fuel. She ran in and got her husband. They explained it was old, but knew they were in trouble. So they gave them 100 gallons of fuel. The drug runners then threw charts on the dock and asked where they were. Then they told them not to call the coast guard or anyone or they would come back to kill their family. She wanted to move after that, but her neighbors assured nothing like that had every happened there. And she’s been happy here every since!

As a parting gift, they gave us a bottle of rum. They were awesome people and we will definitely have to make it a point to stop and visit on our way home! Thanks for your hospitality, Bill and Mary!

Tomorrow: Norfolk

Anchored in Deltaville, Va.

The sun peeking through the clouds this morning.
The first we've seen sun in at least four days!

The coffee starting brewing at 6:01 a.m. and the alarm went off at 6:15 in case the aroma didn’t wake us up. Jazzy and I took up the trash and she got in a little walk. I made egg and Canadian bacon sandwiches on toast and by 7:15 a.m., we were on our way to Deltaville, Va. We expected it to be a long day on the water, about 10 hours.

The winds and waves were variable, sometimes pleasant, other times not so much. Waves went from 4-6 ft. to 2-3 ft. off and on all day. Jazzy stayed on my lap under blankets all day. We averaged 8.8 knots all day. Lunch was a chicken sandwich.

We arrived at Deltaville Marina for fuel at 3:45 p.m. (we made great time!) They have free pumpout here, but it was out of order.They are planning major renovations here. Good thing we’re okay for now. We anchored outside the marina.

We saw a couple we met in Warderick Wells, Exumas, on a Taswell 43 called Anania. They remembered us from our last trip. They have a cat onboard and are also anchored here. They head south every year.

I made a Caesar salad, fried potatoes, scallops and we split a NY Strip (intended for Ron Pence, but we never got a chance to cook for him, sorry Ron!). Delicious!

Tomorrow: Norfolk

Jazzy helping me look for crab traps.

Deltaville Marina fuel dock

We met Anania in Warderick Wells, Bahamas, on the last trip south.

At Solomons Island, Md.

I had planned for a leisurely morning, a big breakfast (after no dinner last night), a hot shower and maybe some laundry this morning. Chuck checked the weather and had a different idea. I woke up to noise in the cockpit. We were going to Solomons Island, Md.

I threw on some clothes, helped him get ready and we pulled away from the Severn House dock a few minutes of 8.

The Chesapeake was a little rough today. I didn't really capture the wave action.

The Chesapeake Bay was not friendly today. It was overcast and winds were a steady 17 knots, but the waves were pushing us, so we made good time, sometimes reaching 9 knots. But I was green after the first hour or so and laid down with Jazzy. As long as I was flat, I was fine. Around 12:30, we got a little break in the wave action, so I got up and made Chuck a sandwich. He only had a granola bar for breakfast. I had peanut butter and cheese crackers. No lunch for me. I was too nauseous.

I don' t know how well you can see it here, but the stove is
gimbeled 6+ inches because we're heeling over so much.

Oops. Left the switch on shower instead of bilge. Here's what we got!

As we were approaching the inlet for Solomons Island, I saw water sloshing around from under the floor boards. Oh no, not again! I checked the bilge petcock under the sink and it was still set to shower, a no no when you’re traveling. I threw it over to bilge and took over the helm, while the skipper drained the water out.

Mommy, I found land. Yay!!

We pulled into Calvert Marina around 3 p.m. Boy, was I happy to be off the water today. And Jazzy was thrilled to see land, after a week of being on the boat!

Gigi, Calvert Marina's labradoodle. What a sweetie.

Jazzy and I went to check in (did I say she was happy to be on land?!) LOL. It’s only $1 per foot for Boat U.S. members, plus $5 for electric, so worth the stop. In the office, we met their labradoodle, Gigi. She and Jazzy were happy girls!

View of Calvert Marina

After my stomach settled down, I made an early dinner: NY Strip Steaks, baked potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Afterwards, I made decaf coffee and we split a chocolate biscotti. I forgot to put the decanter under the coffee pot, so grounds and coffee went everywhere! What a mess. Good thing we were at a dock and had lots of water!

After I cleaned up that mess, I cleaned off the aft cabin bed platform so Chuck could check the hoses and make sure we had no water problems there. Everything checked out.

The bathrooms here are old, but clean, and it felt good to take a long, hot shower! 

Tomorrow we're heading to Deltaville, Va.

Starting to see the traveling "moustache" on the bow.

Happy Birthday, Dylan! Boat Show Today; Anchoring Tomorrow

Happy 21^st Birthday to our grandson, Dylan!

We went to the boat show today. We renewed our Boat U.S. insurance and picked up a spare thermostat. Chuck got a new hat and I bought a fleece with the boat show logo. I love the one I bought a few years ago. We toured a few boats. We ran into Pete Lunde, the guy who fixed our fridge, so I got to meet him. Every time he was here, I was hiding out with Jazzy. LOL. Then we had our annual roast beef sandwiches (they are huge and support a local charity). It rained off and on, but we had a good time.

We took the water taxi back to Severn House. We took the motor off the dinghy (it never left the back of the boat because of all the rain) and retrieved our food from the fridge on Ron's boat (thanks, Ron!). Our fridge appears to be working now.

Tomorrow is another rainy day, so we'll go to an anchorage for the day and head out early Monday morning. Next destination: Solomon's Island.

No dinner tonight. We were still full from those roast beef sandwiches (and, of course, we had ice cream cones from Storm's), so I made popcorn.

Refrigerator Fixed; Still Raining in Annapolis; Boat Show Tomorrow!

Friday, Oct. 11:

Well, our refrigerator went on the bum again. Chuck took the electrical panel apart because we were getting a low voltage signal from the diagnostic light that Coastal Climate Control sent us a few weeks ago. He hooked the unit directly to the boat battery. No low voltage. After spending Wednesday morning troubleshooting at the Navy mooring, we chose to move the boat to Severn House before the bad weather hit.

Chuck working on the electrical panel.

Jazzy and I hiding in the aft cabin while the repairman worked on the refrigeration.

We called Coastal Climate on Thursday morning, and they thought it might be a faulty controller. They gave us names of four marinas to call. We called Lundar Marine here in Annapolis and shortly after got a return phone call from Pete Lunde, the owner. He was here in two hours and put his testers on the unit. There was a moisture lock that was freezing the line where it reduces to a thin tube. So he put a compressor on it to draw out all the 134A gas and said he’d be back at 5 p.m. to put gas back in.

Meanwhile, Jazzy and I were hiding in the back bedroom, because no pets are allowed on this property. She is being such a good girl and hasn’t left the boat since Cape May on Sunday. Thank God for puppy pads!

Chuck waited for his return and I went to Giant food store with our friend, Jim Mosher, and picked up a few things.

After Pete came and left again, we went to the Beneteau Owners party at the Eastport Yacht Club. It’s always a fun time, with lots of butlered hors d’oeuvres and wine flowing. They had a great band and we had a good time. We met Christopher and Karen who live locally and have a 321. Nice couple. They have two teen daughters and hope to cruise someday.

The refrigerator seemed to be working when we went to bed, but this morning, I noticed that every third time or so that the compressor kicked on, the diagnostic light was giving us a non-start voltage problem. So we opted to have the controller unit replaced. Although it was a couple hundred dollars, I don’t want to be hundreds of miles away with no fridge. The total repair was $401, but what are you going to do? Can’t do without a refrigerator!

We were fortunate that it died just a few hours before we were coming to our friend’s dock, because his 323 is docked next to us and we’re using his fridge. So, we didn’t lose any food, thank God.

This is the third day of rain and Chuck went to drain the dinghy with his little battery-powered pump and slipped on the back deck and ended up with the top of the pump in his hand and the rest went overboard. The water is only about 5 ft deep at low tide, but, of course, it was high tide, so he couldn’t drag for it. It just isn’t his day! Of course, he has another one sitting on the shelf in our basement!

He and Ron just went out this afternoon and he bought a backup line for the main sail inhaul. After the experience he had with the head sail line breaking earlier this year, we don’t want to be without an extra line. While they were out, he picked up another pump for the dinghy.

I just finished my second book in three days. The first was First Things First, by Kurt Warner (the QB) and his wife, Brenda. What a great book! The second was Marie Osmond’s second book, Might As Well Laugh About it Now. It was enjoyable too. I didn’t know she had such a wonderful sense of humor. Thanks to my sister, Patti, for sending me both (and many other) books for this trip!

While Chuck was gone, I made Chicken Waldorf Salad to take to the Club Beneteau Chesapeake Bay (CB2) covered dish party tonight. This is the fifth year going with our host, Ron Pence, and we always have a good time. Some of their members are also heading south, so we spoke with them and exchanged cards.

Tomorrow…the boat show! Looks like we'll be wearing our foul-weather gear. Yep, rain is still in the forecast. Of course, Annapolis hasn't seen this much rain in a long time. It figures. LOL. Oh, well, we won't melt.

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013:

We stayed in Turner Creek off the Sassafras River for a second night, waiting out the storm. We saw gusts in the high 30s at times, but we’ve seen worse, so it wasn’t bad. The phone signal there was terrible, but it was a nice little anchorage.

Chuck hauled the anchors and kellet around 7:45 or so and we left the anchorage around 8 a.m. with cloudy skies and cool temps, low 60s, I believe. Winds were NE at 12-14 knots with gusts to 23 in the Chesapeake. We motor sailed all day with a following sea. Seas started out at 2-3 feet, but increased to 3-5 ft. Not very pleasant, but tolerable.

We saw lots of powerboats leaving the powerboat show. They are setting up for the sailboat show now, which starts on Thursday.

Our SOG was 6.8 knots for a good part of the day. I made hot chocolate to take off the chill. We went under the Bay Bridge around 2 p.m.  Then seas were calm, so I went downstairs to make lunch, turkey, cheddar, LT and mayo. We looked for a mooring in Weems Creek, but they were all full. The tide was too low to get into Luce Creek, where the second set of navy mooring balls are. 

Hooking the Navy mooring ball in Clements Creek.

Adding diesel fuel to the tank on Sunday night in the anchorage.

We hooked on U.S. Navy mooring #6 in Clements Creek around 4 p.m., and took hot showers while the motor was still running. Boy, did they feel good! 

Tomorrow, we have a dock waiting for us with friends in Eastport, where we expect to be for 4 nights. We’ll go to the boat show from there.

Tonight’s dinner is Caesar salad, ravioli and sweet Italian sausage. Last night, we had petite filet mignon, Caesar salad and home-fried potatoes. I need to get to land to get some exercise!

Sheet Music is heading South!

Sheet Music is heading south for the winter! We had planned to leave home today, but when Chuck checked the weather on Thursday afternoon, the Delaware Bay was not looking good for Tuesday, which is when we would have crossed it. So we went to our marina, put the new dinghy in the water and moved Sheet Music on Thursday night to Atlantic City. Friday morning we left for Cape May.

We left the boat at Utsch's Marina for Friday and Saturday nights and our son, Ryan, picked us up to go home to finish getting our stuff together. Saturday afternoon we said goodbye to Mom Mc,  then went to a lobsterfest on Saturday at our marina with Ryan and Catherine and our marina friends. Afterward, Ryan and Catherine took us back to Cape May.

So, today, we crossed the Delaware and it was a beautiful day on the water. We are now anchored in Turner Creek off the Sassafras River. Tomorrow, we're expecting thunderstorms, some severe, so we'll hang out in this anchorage, get some housekeeping done, look at some charts and head to Annapolis on Wednesday in time for the sailboat show.

We plan to travel down the ICW, spend some time in Stuart, FL, with some friends and may cross to the Bahamas, depending on Mom Mc's health.

We hope you enjoy our travels!

Chuck and Kathy
S/V Sheet Music