Onancock dockage is $1.25/ft with $5 for 30 amp electric. Their
bathrooms are reasonably nice.
Sunday, September 2
No matter what I have done to the computer that got wet, it will not
boot and hangs. Before I left, I put the navigation software on this
computer, and last night I did a route to Reedville on it. It is a
very simple route.
I had tried and tried to call the Reedville Marina at the Crazy Crab
restaurant without any success. So I made a reservation at the
Fairport marina where they had a restaurant (but it wouldn't be open
when we were there), fuel and a pumpout. Since Point Lookout (our
home marina) had the fire at their fuel dock, we can't get fuel there,
and Bob isn't sure how well their pumpout works. I don't think there
is much in there, because I have consistently used the marina
bathrooms but he is worried about it.
When the tide is low, I can get off the boat with no problem - BUT
when it is high, even with a step stool, it is too far for me to be
comfortable. Because it hurts to step down, and I am always a little
dizzy from vertigo, I hold on like death to the large pilings to the
extent that I have scraped a bit of the skin off my left forearm.
I put this computer down on the nav table hooked to the GPS. Bob as
usual was chomping at the bit to be gone, so after I used the
bathroom, we pushed off a little before 8. We had the previous track
on the GPS, so we followed that out the river.
I had wanted to go close enough to the Tangier Light to get a picture,
but Bob didn't go close enough - I made the mistake of telling him not
to head directly for the light. We were closer coming down from
Crisfield.
I was also having a LOT of trouble with THIS computer. The cursor
just would not be controlled - it would get just to where I wanted to
click and before I could do it, the cursor would skate off somewhere
else so I would click somewhere I didn't want. I tried using the
touchpad and it was just as bad, and I turned everything on and off.
Also the charting program said that another program was using the GPS
port.
Finally I disconnected the GPS, and THAT was it - the computer behaved
perfectly after that - except that we didn't have the little moving
ship on the chart. By 11:50, we were over to the other side of the
Bay, and before 12:45 we were passing the Great Wicomico spider.
I had called Fairport and they said their pumpout wasn't working,
which ****ed Bob off because he said they made their profit on the
fuel and didn't want to do the pumpout. I tried Reedville all morning
(as soon as I had a signal) but their phone was busy. We came up
Cockrell Creek, and went to where I thought the marina was - they told
us just to go to the fuel dock, but there appeared to be someone else
there.
So we went around the corner to Reedville - and I saw someone leaving
the pier in front of the restaurant, so I called again and this time
they answered and said that the two boats we saw were just there for
lunch, and if we were ready to slide into their place when they left,
we could get fuel and a pumpout right there. We tied up to the dock
in front of the restaurant to wait. We had gone 29.9 nm from Onancock
in 5.4 hours
I called Fairport and told them we weren't coming, and after a certain
amount of back and forth, we DID get tied up and DID get fuel and DID
get a successful pumpout. (And there wasn't much there, just as I
thought). We ate the leftovers from our Shuckers dinner for a VERY
late lunch after we did all that - it was about 4 pm by that time. The
sign on the dock said that it was $1.00/ft, but Charlesy (the owner)
said dockage had gone up. He charged us $5 for electric, and fuel was
$2.80/gal which Bob said was high for home heating oil (that's all it
was) We got 25 gallons of fuel which is what we used in 6 days of
motoring or motor sailing. (That includes 2 days with our grandson in
July). The total bill was $126.70 of which some $70 was fuel.
This time we were tied starboard side to, so Bob could access the
vents. He said he got a lot of black stuff out of one of them, but he
thinks that was the vent for the propane locker.
I was talking to a lady who was sitting on the porch and she told me
that the Great Wicomico spider used to be a screwpile lighthouse which
was dismantled about 1963, and the little house at the end of a pier
down at the end of the creek was a replica of it.
The trawler in front of us (which didn't leave) has two couples on it
and one of them came to talk to us - as a parting shot, he said that
our boat was memorable or recognizable or something like that. Not
sure if he meant that it was gaudy, or if he meant it nicely to be a
compliment.
Bob was again very antsy - he said people were lining up for dinner,
not realizing that people were just sitting out on the porch waiting
for outside seating which we don't want. We have enough time outside
in the cockpit of the boat, and Bob generally doesn't like to eat
outside except for that. I wanted to wait until later since we had
such a late lunch. But it is easier to just go ahead and eat when he
wants to.
I had half of a cup of cream of lobster soup, which was pretty good,
although there were some lumps in it that weren't lobster and to a lot
of lobster. For dinner I had a crab melt ($19.95) which was lump crab
on an English muffin with cheese on top. It came with a salad and a
side. It was good. Bob had the single crab cake with two sides (the
side of the day was butterbeans which is one of his favorites) for
$14.95. This time he asked for it to be broiled. These were all from
the regular menu. We had dessert - I had a berry-apple cobbler, with
ice cream which tasted a little burnt I'm sorry to say, and I didn't
finish all of it. Bob had a fancy chocolate cake. Total with tip was
$52.99.
Monday September 3 -
Bob is concerned because he only has enough of his pills for one week,
and so we HAVE to get home today. So we push off about 7:45, and
motor slowly out. Bob says the sailboat ahead of us is one from our
marina. At first it looks as if they are going to shortcut the red 6
in the river, but they get back on course.
After we got to the mouth of the river, it again looks as if they are
going for the pound nets, but then they get back on course. Bob has
put the main up and then the jib. We see the ELVA C coming back up
the creek toward the Reedville Fisherman's Museum with a lot of people
on it. It's only about 8:15 am.
I hear a motor and look up and see a small plane. Maybe it is a
menhaden spotter? There are at least three menhaden ships out in the
bay (an later I see there are actually two planes). I watch a smaller
boat circle around the large boat, and then I see a froth on the
surface (from the school of menhaden) with the gulls diving on it.
I go down and pack things up preparing to get off the boat. We pass
Smith Point about 9:40. I hear the following on the radio
"About the incident at the red 8 on the Potomac - the DNR fireboat is
there, so your services won't be needed" Oh exciting! Where is the
red 8. I can't find one on the lower Potomac. They appear to start
renumbering at the Nice bridge (301). I guess that's where the red 8
is.
We see a lot of PWCs buzzing around in Smith Creek. We wonder where
they get their fuel with Pt. Lookout out of commission. We got into
the slip without incident - the guy from HAND MAIDEN (on the other
side of the dock) helps a little bit (He takes direction well and
doesn't try to take charge or lean on the stanchions or anything). Bob
gets all his 14 dock lines adjusted to his satisfaction, and gets two
carts. We get a late lunch at the A&W place - Bob is upset because a
hamburger is $2.29 when he can get the same thing for $1 at Mickey
D's. I think A&Ws is a bigger burger.
grandma Rosalie
S/V RosalieAnn, Leonardtown, MD
CSY 44 WO #156
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasley/id1.html