Memorial Day

Memorial Day

Monday May 31, 2021

I can’t say exactly when we left San Domingo Creek.  I’m fairly sure it wasn’t as early as it seemed.  We had a lot of ground to cover to get out of San Domingo and Broad Creeks and into the Choptank River.  From the Choptank it was back to the Chesapeake Bay itself. I think we had been underway for more than three hours when Mike announced that we were almost level with our starting point this morning.  That was a long way around Robin Hood’s barn.

At first this morning the wind was fairly strong from the northwest—we saw 16 knots of true wind.  Thankfully, at that point we were headed southwest so it wasn’t too bad.  The prospect of heading north toward Annapolis was somewhat daunting.  But as we started to make our way north the wind gradually eased down.  The trip did remain fairly choppy, largely due to boat wake.  As we got near to Annapolis, I counted 25 sailboats in about one quarter of the sea around us.  Then there were the powerboats.  Things were somewhat hair-raising just outside the harbor!

Much to our astonishment, there were numerous moorings available. We picked up one quite near to the dinghy dock.  Even before we were finished tying on, the harbormaster’s boat zoomed over.  To be fair, he did tell us to finish up and he came back later to get his fee. It’s quite bouncy on the mooring here, due to boat wake.  We hope that will die down as the evening progresses.  With the holiday weekend coming to a close, tomorrow might see less boat traffic. 

I want to announce: “Mission Accomplished”!  We felt we had to come to Annapolis to do laundry before we ran out of clean clothes.  That’s one job well done.  I should be good for another little while.   

Gloria

38 58.564 N, 76 28.966 W  

no photos today

Weather wonders

Weather wonders

Sunday 30th May 2021

Two days ago we were so hot we were swimming off the boat in San Domingo Creek just to cool down and now today we are running our heating to keep warm. Well it wasn’t raining when we woke up this morning so that’s a blessing. We think we got in excess of two inches of rain in the previous 36 hours. Yesterday we never left the boat. When I came to pump out the dinghy this morning I stepped into the cockpit and then quickly retreated to get an extra layer. It turned out that I didn’t it because whilst it was cold outside I was working so hard pumping the rainwater out of the dinghy that I was plenty warm enough. I think it took me the best part of 15 minutes to empty all the water.

We then took the Dumb Dog into town and walked around to stretch our legs and had lunch in Limoncello, a nice Italian bistro. I ate the linguine with clams (yummy) and Gloria had a panini (less inspiring). This afternoon we are back on Cotinga and hanging out. Gloria has her sewing machine out and is assembling strips of fabric for her latest quilt project and I have been working up photos of flowers that I took this morning (see below). The people who own the house next to the dinghy dock have an amazing garden, with a sign saying please come in and look around – so this morning we did. I met the owners of the house and their dog whilst taking close up photos of their flowers. They were quite charming.

The big question this evening is how to approach the shower. The garden sprayer isn’t too appealing on cold days. We do have a full shower, which would undoubtedly be warmer, but we don’t want to use all the water that would entail. I think we’ll crank up our forced hot air heating system (it’s a very effective German Espar system that runs on diesel) and hope we can find the courage!

Mike

38 46.244 N, 76 13.754 W

Pink Calla lily  - (105 mm micro lens, tripod, focused stacked images)

Peach Calla lily - (105 mm micro lens, tripod, focused stacked images)

Peach Calla lily from above - (105 mm micro lens, tripod, focused stacked images)

We don't know what this plant is called! - (105 mm micro lens, tripod, focused stacked images)

Slow News Day

Slow News Day

Saturday May 29, 2021

It started raining yesterday evening.  It seemed to me that it rained most of the night.  Today it’s been raining most of the day with a few gaps here and there.  The wind is from the north so it’s cold and damp.  We have really spent the day hanging around the boat, reading books, napping (that would be me) and trying to stay warm.  On days like this it’s hard to compose an interesting post for the blog.

Yesterday as we walked along a street in St. Michael’s, I saw a pay phone box.  It wasn’t one of those full length ones of the dim and distant past— just a head enclosure type of pay phone.  I scurried over to take a look.  Sure enough there was no phone left, just the box attached to the pole.  Also present was the plastic phone book holders, if you remember what those looked like back in the day.  Do you remember the rotary dial telephones –all black-- that were so common across the US?  They were super heavy which might have come in handy it an intruder entered your home.  It’s almost hard to connect that thing we now carry in our pocket with that old black rotary dial. 

Some of us are old enough to remember other things that have passed out of existence.  Remember when your television had an antenna on the top—we used to call them rabbit ears.  If the reception was bad, you’d be forced to get up and twizzle the ears around. Sometimes in very dire circumstances you might add aluminum foil (most commonly called tin foil) flags to the “ears”.  For the “normal” stations there were the rabbit ears, for the UHF stations (years later, I think) there was a circular antenna, which never seemed to do much.  In those days, you had to get up and change the channel by hand.  After some amount of time, the tuner knob didn’t work so well.  As I recall, when I was a teen, we had a pack of matches crammed behind the knob on our TV to keep it working.  Then there was the horizontal hold (or was that vertical)?  Whichever it was, if improperly adjusted, Walter Cronkite’s mustache would slowly progress down the screen and then re-appear at the top.  I always thought that some programs were improved by a slow rolling of the image down the screen.  When the TV was turned off the screen went dark except for a small spot at the center that slowly faded out. 

Maybe tomorrow will be drier...

Gloria

38 46.244 N, 76 13.754 W

Looking back towards the entrance of San Domingo Creek with the powerboat anchored off our stern. 

Two other sailboats anchored to the south of us. It stayed crappy like this all day

Staying Put in San Domingo Creek

Staying Put in San Domingo Creek

Friday 28th May 2021

We decided last night that we would stay here in St Michaels, anchored in San Domingo Creek and wait out the nasty weather that is forecast for the next couple of days. We don’t expect to be able to move on until Monday but it’s a beautiful area, well protected from all directions and a short dinghy ride to the town dock. Whilst we were the only boat anchored here on Wednesday night there are now three other sailboats and six additional powerboats, one of which is uncomfortably close to us (but we figure that’s their problem). We spent the morning hanging out on the boat, mostly because we could see the crab boat “Family Traditions” moving up and down the creek working the “trot lines” that Gloria mentioned yesterday. Overnight the wind went round to the east and we are pretty sure that we swung over one of these lines, so we expected to have to move over to allow the crabber access. But in the end that didn’t happen and he never seemed to work the line that had us concerned. 

We took the dinghy into town after lunch and spent another couple of hours back at the Maritime Museum looking at sections we had not seen yesterday. Our timing was perfect because they were in the middle of melting bronze and casting “gudgeon” (rudder fittings) for The Dove. It was quite a spectacle. We also talked to one of the riggers who works on The Dove. They have finished the mast (Douglas Fir) and all the main spars and are now moving on to make the standing rigging (forestay, shrouds etc). They will use polyester lines rather than natural materials such as hemp or sisal because you just can’t get adequate quality natural fibers these days. But they have built equipment to dip the polyester lines in an asphalt material to mirror how the natural lines would have been treated in the past.

The other highlight for me was an exhibit called “Between Land and Water” which turned out to be an amazing collection of photographs by David Harp. These covered a 50 year timespan from the 1970’s to now with a range of black and white and color photos depicting life in the bay. As a photographer I found it both inspiring and humbling. Our Internet connection isn’t great here so I haven’t had a chance to check what might be available on the web but his photographs are well worth searching out. The Maritime Museum also has the Mitchell house where Frederick Douglass spent at least two years of his childhood. We think the house was moved from elsewhere in St Michaels to this location as a way of preserving it and providing access to the public.

Tonight we had Thai crunchy chili peanut chicken and broccoli with rice for dinner and we were able to buy a Babka in town so may tuck into that later for dessert! 

Mike

38 46.244 N, 76 13.754 W

The first house you see in St Michaels when you get off the dinghy at the dock on San Domingo Creek

Melting Bronze ingots in the furnace

Lifting the crucible out of the furnace

Pouring molten bronze into the gudgeon mold

Three geranium flowers

The Trot Line

The Trot Line

Thursday, May 27, 2021

When we were studying “Active Captain” to learn about the holding at our current anchorage, we read all these comments about the local crab fishermen and their “trot lines.”  This really meant nothing to me until this morning when we saw a few of these boats make their way up and down San Domingo Creek.  The lines are extensive, maybe a quarter mile long) and seem to lie along the bottom of the creek.  At intervals, bait bags are tied to the line. Presumably there is a float attached at one end (or possibly both ends).  The vessel comes alongside the float and picks up the line with a boat hook.  The line is laid over some kind of pulley attached to the boat.  The boat then drives along the length of the line. As the bait bags are pulled up, one after another, the crabs are lifted near to the surface.  The smart crabs let go as they get close to the top but the crabber holds hit net in the water under the bait bag and catches the crabs before they drop back to the bottom. It seems a pretty ingenious system, which reminds me of watching children trying to catch crabs in the UK using beef hearts in net bags attached to a string.  Of course there is the whole question of where is this line relative to our anchor and chain.  We will have to face that another day.

After watching the crabbing operation, we took the dinghy to the public dock on the south side of St. Michaels.  We walked into the town and found the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.  Will Gates, the boat captain at St. Mary’s, recommended the museum to us.  He told us that a new version of the “Dove” was under construction at the Maritime Museum.  In fact we were able to get a good look at the partially planked hull.  It’s quite an amazing undertaking.  The cross-members of hull are stout, even the planks look substantial (at least 2 inches thick).  A young worker named Matt gave us a little tour showing us the various different woods that are used for different parts of the ship, the steaming operation that allows the plank to be bent to the shape of the hull, the way the lead is pieced into the keel.  We even got to go topsides and look at the work going on above.  Standing on the deck, I thought that those who crossed the Atlantic on the “Dove” were some brave souls.  Admittedly it’s bigger than our boat but still....

Other highlights of the museum were a corkscrew lighthouse that had formerly been positioned out in the bay but was now on land.  You could get a sense of what life as a lighthouse keeper might have been like from the displays and signage.  One building was devoted to small working boats that had plied the waters of the bay either fishing, crabbing or oyster fishing.  Another building was devoted to pleasure craft on the bay—different styles of sailboats and powerboats.  At that point there was more to be seen but we were tired.  If we hang around tomorrow we can get back into the museum using the pass we bought today.

Gloria

38 46.244 N, 76 13.754 W

The Dove - under construction at St Michaels Maritime Museum

Matt - who kindly showed us around. Seen here up on deck

The stern of the Dove - the plastic sleeve contains a piece of plank that is heated with steam for 2 hours before clamping into place

One of the craftsmen working on the bow section of the deck

Looking towards the stern from up on deck

This craftsman was working on renovating a traditional double masted canoe style boat with solid log base that was typical in the Chesapeake region in the 1800s

The Fresnel lens on display in the lighthouse

The Specifics of Language

The Specifics of Language

Wednesday 26 May 2021

We are anchored in San Domingo Creek on the south side of St Michaels, MD. This is what Skipper Bob describes as the “back door” to St Michaels. Although only half a mile away as the crow flies, it’s a 20 mile journey by boat to get round to the waterfront on the north side. It’s hot and muggy and we are under a severe thunderstorm watch until 10 pm and in fact it’s starting to look pretty threatening. The land and marine forecast both specify “scattered” thunderstorms and we asked ourselves how is this different from “isolated” thunderstorms. Obviously we understand the words in general but they have very specific meaning in a meteorological context. “Scattered” means you have a 30-50% chance of being impacted, whereas “isolated” means there is less than 30% chance you will be affected. The British Shipping Forecast similarly uses some general terms with very specific meaning – “imminent” means within the next 6 hours, “soon” means in 6-9 hours and “later” means in 12 hours or more. So you might hear “westerly gale force 8 winds expected German Bight soon”, so expect it in 6-9 hours. 

It’s funny how other language terms like “sun glasses” can sound very specific but aren’t really accurate, for example if they break within the first 6 hours of use! As you may have gathered this is exactly what happened to my “sunglasses” this afternoon. My original Native sunglasses lasted 9 months of daily use before the lens started popping out and then I lost one. The $20 dollar replacements lasted one week before the frame snapped and the $12 pair I bought yesterday evening lasted from 9am until about 2.30pm when they decided to fall apart of their own accord. There was a famous legal challenge in the UK aimed at tightening up trade description laws. The opening statement went something like this … “when does a sausage cease to be a sausage and become a cream puff?” The case argued that when there is so much bread and so little meat in a sausage it becomes disingenuous to call it a sausage and it would be more accurately termed a pastry. I think my “sunglasses” would more accurately have been described as “Trash imminent becoming landfill later”. I feel so much better for that rant! 

I’d be feeling more confident in facing a potential thunderstorm if I thought we were more securely anchored. The first time we dropped hook we went through our regular, time-tested process, letting out 60 feet of chain in 9 feet depth, but when I backed up there was absolutely no sense of being hooked we just continued to move steadily backwards, plowing the bottom with our Rocna, which came up plenty muddy. The second attempt, in a slightly different location, we did get hooked properly, but we suspect that the bottom is very soft mud. We do have almost 90 feet of chain out, which seems a little ridiculous ... we’ll let you know how things work out …

Postscript: Shortly after I finished writing the draft above (~ 6.30 pm) a storm did come through. It was fierce enough to be exciting but not too terrifying. The winds were not too strong and it was short lived. I’m happy to say we did not drag. As I write this (10.30 pm), another storm is passing through. Hopefully this will be the last tonight.

Mike

38 46.244 N, 76 13.754 W

Here are a couple of photos - I have videos as well but don't have adequate cell coverage to upload them so I'll try and add them later

 

Storm approaches in San Domingo Creek, MD

Storm arrives San Domingo Creek, MD

Sailing (yes actually sailing) Solomons to Choptank River

T-storm approaches, San Domingo Creek

T-storm arrives, San Domingo Creek

Late Lunch, Early Dinner

Late Lunch, Early Dinner

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Doesn’t that sound like a formula for a good day?  What do you mean there are rules?  No one told me. 

At 8 am, we were pulling up the anchor.  The trip down the St. Mary’s River went well.  When we go to the Potomac, the chop started to build up.  The waves may have been caused by wind over tide or just the long fetch up the river.  It wasn’t horrible but it did make trips below decks somewhat less than delightful. Over the course of the morning, we pulled on one layer of clothing after another.  Eventually we rounded the point at the mouth of the Potomac and we were able to begin our northward progress. The day remained overcast and cool. Although, having the wind behind the boat made it seem a bit warmer.

By early afternoon we were entering the harbor at Solomon’s Island.  Mike managed to find the name of the marina where we had bought gas previously.  We were able to arrange to come into the fuel dock for diesel and a pump out.  As our holding tank gauge had been reading quite full, it was a big relief to be able to get the tank pumped out.  Sadly, that didn’t change the reading on the gauge.  We departed the fuel dock and went to Mill Creek to anchor.  A quick lunch of left-overs has us feeling better.  Poor Mike then tackled the holding tank gauge … a question of cleaning out the “focus tube” for the ultrasonic detector.  Happily it’s now reading empty.

After looking at the weather forecast and making some plans for tomorrow, we got the dinghy ready to head to town.  Since we stopped here in 2012, Mike has wanted to revisit the Tiki Bar with the Mai Ti cocktails.  In the autumn, it all seemed at bit too risky.  Now with our fully vaccinated status, the Tiki Bar seemed a possibility.  We tied up at their dock and crossed the street.  The whole place was like a ghost town.  No Mai Ti for Mike.  We wandered along to the Lighthouse Restaurant and had an early dinner on the deck outside.  (Now that I look at the time, maybe it just felt like an early dinner.)

All being well, tomorrow we will make our way northward and to the eastern side of the Chesapeake to anchor near St. Michael’s.  Because another cold front is forecast (with north winds) we will probably anchor to the south of the town for better wind protection.

Gloria

38 19.730 N, 76 27.062 W

The inner harbor at Solomon's Island as seen from the deck of the restaurant where we ate dinner. We are anchored off a small creek a few hundred yards away

Activities for a Quiet Day

Activities for a Quiet Day

Monday 24th May 2021

During the night the wind swung round to the north and strengthened and our anchor alarm went off. It didn’t cause us too much concern because we were confident we weren’t dragging but had merely set an inadequate radius to take into account 80 feet of chain on the bottom and swing through 180 degrees. With the passing of the cold front the temperatures dropped a lot and we were able to sleep more comfortably and didn’t get up until 8 am. We awoke to a grey, cool and windy day and spent the morning hanging out on the boat. What do we do to amuse ourselves under these circumstances? Gloria spent some time on a cross-stitch project that she has been working on and I made a start on generating a boat-jobs list for the 2021-2 off season. We also ate a large breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and coffee and read our books.

I have been reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography “Long Road to Freedom”.  It is really well written and fascinating to read, but at the same time hard to accept the injustices that he endured. I have for a long time been fascinated by the history of South Africa and comparisons between the emergence from the Apartheid era and the end of slavery in the USA. We visited South Africa in 2013 when Tasha was studying in Cape Town on a semester abroad and it was an outstanding experience in so many ways. We were struck by the energy of the country but also the challenges facing a nation that was only 20 years on from setting aside its abhorrent past. Apartheid set the nation back many decades in terms of economic development. In contrast, the USA was about 150 years past the end of slavery and has been through peaks and troughs over that time, but still struggles with consequences. In South Africa there was a determined effort through “Truth and Reconciliation” to acknowledge the past for what it was and to move on. My sense is that the USA missed this step and that makes it harder to move forward. I wonder if you still see pro-Apartheid / National Party flags being flown in South Africa the way you still see Confederate flags being flown in parts of the USA. 

In any event I would like to say that I believe Nelson Mandela, because of his commitment, personal sacrifice and ability to lead South Africa out of apartheid without a full-blown civil war, is the greatest and most inspiring leader the world has seen since the industrial revolution. Who else do you think should be considered in that context?

We did get ashore this afternoon and wandered around the old St Mary's City, which is an archaeological exploration in progress. It was interesting but a little damp as it started to rain almost the moment we got to shore!

Mike

38 11.595 N, 76 26.002 W

The cockpit of Cotinga with our additional sunshades deployed. The white sections zip onto the dodger and bimini filling up the gap. (Photographed yesterday evening)

Sunset off St Mary's City (last night)

An 18th century barn built on the site of the old city which was abandoned shortly after the Capital was relocated to Annapolis in 1695

Inside the local Trinity Episcopal church

A rare (priceless) shot of the old geezer himself. See I really was here on this trip!  (photo: Gloria on her iPhone)

The lovely rowing dock at the college water-sports center. We happily used this as our dinghy dock these past two days. See Cotinga in the background, right of the pillar.

Close encounter

Close encounter 

Sunday, May 23, 2021

After the usual morning rituals, we went to shore and tied up to the outside of the dinghy dock at the sailing center for St. Mary’s College.  Just after we reached the street, we stopped to identify some birds on the wire.  Then suddenly a bird flew toward us and landed on Mike’s backpack.  It was a Chickadee.  It sat on top of his bag while I fished my phone out of my backpack and started taking photos.  Mike was even able to shrug off his bag, set it on the ground and take a couple of shots with my phone.  Finally, it did fly off.  We reckon it must be a young bird on one of its first flights.  We’ve never seen anything like it.  

We walked around the very quiet campus of St. Mary’s College, clearly the semester finished some time ago.  The college is now a public liberal arts college that was founded in 1840 as St Mary’s Female Seminary.  I’m not quite sure what that would have meant about the programs of study at the time.  Too bad there is no one around to ask.

The campus is adjacent to “historic St. Mary’s City”, the site of the first colony in Maryland and it’s original capital.  There is an archeological field school here.  In fact we walked by an area that appeared to be a dig—tarp covered trenches with heaps of soil nearby. There are several reproduction buildings that we hoped to look at later today when it cooled down a bit, but it stayed hot so we’ll save it for tomorrow. While we were ashore we visited the Maryland Dove a pseudo-reproduction of one of the first ships to land in Maryland.  The vessel wasn’t actually open today but a very charming guy was willing to allow us onto the dock.  His name was Will Gates, he is involved with preservation of and education about historical vessels.

He told us that he was originally from Massachusetts and had previously worked on the Mayflower.  He spoke to us about his many experiences captaining various schooners, working on tall ships, doing day-sailing charters out of Rockland, Maine as a young man.  Clearly, this is a man with a lot of sailing experience on a wide range of vessels.  He advised us to go to the maritime museum in St. Michaels, MD, where a more accurate (hopefully) reproduction of the Dove is currently under construction.  It’s at a stage where part of the planking is on so the final shape is becoming obvious.  The sections that are not yet planked allow you to view the structure beneath. As St. Michaels is on our list to visit, hopefully we will be able to take advantage of the display.  

This afternoon we lazed in the cockpit with all our sunshades up. One of us (not me) had the courage to take a dip off the boat before showering, but he wasn’t in the water for more than a minute. I just settled for the shower.

Gloria

38 11.595 N, 76 26.002 W

The young chickadee on Mike's backpack (photo: Gloria using her iPhone)

Close-up of the Chickadee (photo: Mike using Gloria's iPhone)

The Maryland Dove at StMary's City. This vessel is actually a recreation of a typical coastal trader of that era rather than a copy of the which sailed from England. An attempt to replicate the original is underway.

The Maryland Dove

Will Gates on the dock where the Maryland Dove is located

The Shoe Tree on the campus of the college

A Snapping Turtle on the college grounds

Snapping turtle in profile

Hot and Hazy

Hot and Hazy

Saturday 22nd May 2021

We left Yankee Point Marina this morning under dead calm conditions. That made backing out of our slip super easy. Our intention was to head back east to the Bay proper and then north to anchor near the mouth of the Wicomico River. This would allow us to break the 60-mile journey to Saint Mary City, MD into two shorter days. As things transpired we made the decision just to keep going and do the whole journey in one day. We started out just motoring and then deployed our genoa when it seemed there was a little wind, but as we turned east the wind was from behind us and the genoa just flopped. In anticipation of turning north and a more favorable wind direction we took off our main sail cover and did something we have never done before – we raised our mainsail whilst heading downwind. Our forward progress was canceling out the true wind and the apparent wind was steady at zero point zero knots. It was like being becalmed and the sail went up really easily! As we turned north we were able to use both sails, but with winds of 6-8 knots on the beam and a long way to travel we decided to continue gently motor sailing.

The water was pretty much flat, the temperature today was supposed to hit 92oF (33oC) and the views were decidedly hazy. We passed the time trying to do a crossword, which was fun, but I think we were only able to complete about half of it. Shortly after lunch we turned north-west up the Potomac river and the wind completely died before filling in to a respectable 10-12 knots. We would have been delighted except it was right on the nose and we were also fighting an ebbing tide! Finally, when we turned north up the Saint Mary’s River we were able to turn off the engine and head an excellent sail for the last hour and a half. We dropped anchor just before 6pm after almost 10 hours on passage. The area looks beautiful and we plan to spend three nights here before moving on. We’ll let you know how that works out. It’s predicted to be really hot again tomorrow and then cool off a little on Monday with the passing of a cold front.

Mike

38 11.595 N, 76 26.002 W

Hot and Hazy - Looking back across Chesapeake Bay from the mouth of the Potomac River (B&W)

Gloria getting to grips with the crossword puzzle

Belle Isle State Park

Belle Isle State Park

Friday May 21, 2021

We went with our friends Lynn and Lee on an outing to Belle Isle State Park.  I’m embarrassed to admit that I have no idea in what direction we drove to get to the park.  The geography around here seems pretty confusing.  The park itself lies along the Rappahannock River.  It’s an interesting place in that there are many open fields that seem to be under cultivation with corn.  Somehow that’s not what I would have expected to find in a state park.  There are some wooded areas and plenty of trails.  We went for a nice walk along a pretty level path (not too challenging).  Upon our return to the starting point we took advantage of the picnic table in the shade to have a spot of lunch.

Our next objective was to go into town for some grocery shopping.  The nearest town to the marina (Kilmarnock) is not that “near”.  We were told that the short cut is to take the ferry.  This option would reduce the overall time by twenty minutes.  So off to the ferry we went. We haven’t spent much time in a car recently but spending time in a car that was floating (even if it was on a ferry) seemed totally bizarre.  It’s a pretty small ferry probably able to transport 2 cars at a time.  One guy runs the whole operation.  The ferry arrives, he un-chocks the cars opens the chain at the front, open the gate to the road and the cars drive off.  He signaled us to drive on then closed the gate and chain behind the car, put a chock behind our wheel and we were off.  There was a definite sense of floating and motion that we know well from the boat.  Yet there we were inside the car.  It was so odd.  

We found our way into town and bought so many groceries that we had to place some of the bags around our feet in the back.  On the way back we discovered that the ferry was no longer running!  The only option was the “long way”.  I don’t know if we were just busy chatting or what but it didn’t really seem much longer to me.

We had a lovely picnic dinner with our friends back in the grounds of the marina.  Then it was time to say goodbye.  We will set off in the morning, resuming our northward travels in the Chesapeake.   

Gloria

 37 41.581 N, 76 29.393 W

Osprey surveying his domain from a perch above the Yankee Point Marina (It wasn't great light so I chose to display this in B&W because there is more latitude to adjust shadows and highlights than you have with color)

Barn swallow perched on the standing rigging

"Orca" a lovely 11 month old German Shepherd that just moved aboard our neighbors boat "Moonbeam". I love dogs but tend to be a little wary of German Shepherds, but Orca has the most delightful disposition - I was sorely tempted to kidnap him and take him with us!

Belle Isle State Park

A delicious picnic dinner with Lynn and Lee at the picnic tables in Yankee Point Marina

Cotinga at the dock in Yankee Point Marina. Our neighbors Michael and Sue on "Moonbeam" took off earlier in the day for a test-sail and overnight anchorage with Orca.

Yankee Point Marina at dusk

Serendipity

Serendipity

Thursday 20th May 2021

This morning Lynn and Lee’s boat “Serendipity” arrived on a trailer from Florida. It seems amazing that you can transport a 38-foot sailboat, that probably weighs close to 20,000 pounds, 750 miles by road. The trailer actually looked like it could handle a much bigger boat. I chatted to the driver and he said the trip went fine and the only difficulty was turning on to the Rappahannock Bridge because the angle was quite acute. It was impressive to see the boatyard staff here at Yankee Point Marina work to get “Serendipity” off the trailer, onto the boat-lift and then securely set down onto stands on the ground. When we mentioned how impressed we were the staff simply responded that they had done this process a few times before!

Lynn and Lee have a few more nights staying at their AirBnB and will then move aboard the boat whilst she is still on the hard. They will continue to work on the remaining boat jobs and once a marine survey has been completed, which might be the rate-limiting step, “Serendipity” will be re-launched and put on a dock. Lynn and Lee plan to stay here throughout the summer until October and then potentially sell the boat. It’s been seven years since “Serendipity” was last in the water and she suffered some water damage due to a combination of vandalism (theft of winches from the deck) and storms whilst she was at Green Cove Springs in Florida. However, Lynn and Lee have done a fantastic job restoring the boat and she now looks terrific. One of their final jobs is drive back to New York City and pick up all the cabinet doors for inside the boat that they previously took back to their apartment in Manhattan to be stripped re-varnished. If they do end up selling “Serendipity” someone is going to get a really beautiful boat. 

Yankee Point Marina itself seems very pleasant. It’s a beautiful setting and everyone that we have met has been super friendly. Whilst somewhat remote Lynn and Lee have their own car so they will be able to get around quite easily. Tomorrow we plan to have a day out in the aforementioned car!

Mike

37 41.581 N, 76 29.393 W

Serendipity on the trailer - using a backhoe to lift the mast. At some later date a crane will be needed to raise and fit the mast.

Serendipity in slings on the travel-lift and carried backwards off the trailer

Serendipity moving through the boatyard on the travel lift

Serendipity supported by stands and the slings being removed

Barn swallow - Yankee Point Marina

House Finch - Yankee Point Marina

Our neighbors on "Moonbeam" have blue lights up their mast which they put on briefly so they can se their way back on to the boat (Cotinga is on the left)