September 23 - Pretty Sassy, and Well Grounded...

We pulled into the Sassafras River a couple of days ago, to do some
fall cleaning, as it were. Fresh water there allowed us to clean all
the salt off our boat, and do some minor maintenance.

As we were leaving you the last time we were contemplating running
south from Barnegat Light, having lost our GPS which gave us a
graphical review of where we were on our chart (akin to the GPS which
are becoming popular in cars these days, allowing you to get turn-by-
turn directions to where you're going, as well as snide comments from
the system when it has to recalculate after you've missed a turn :{))
- but no such luck aboard).

We did, in fact, go out, but not for another day as we sat out a
strong system which our friends took advantage of to blast south with
a poled-out genoa (keeping the foresail from flopping as they wallowed
in the following seas) and preventer'd main (keeping the boom from
crashing back to the other side). In the end, it would have been a
great ride; the next day was nearly dead calm, and we had to motor our
way south with the sails up. On the other hand, they averaged close to
10 knots, a good half again the "hull speed" of the boat, and enjoyed
surfing the waves as they overcame them, sometimes...

Anyway, we left at 5 or so, having fueled and watered. However, as I
took the dawn patrol at 2AM following my nap while Lydia was at the
helm, I set the speed such that we'd arrive at Cape May just before
dawn, and avoiding the shoals in that area, go north to reach the
Delaware and the canal to the Chesapeake. I held Cape May in reserve
in the event we needed to dive in for some reason, but the weather was
clement and I kept on going, passing the entrance just as the sun
rose.

Along the way, I got a chance to chat up a few boats which were going
to the show as well, including some which were Seven Seas Cruising
Association members who'd be at the meeting at the end of the show.
Nice diversions for the middle of the night!

After we turned the corner, it was still a motorsail, but we'd timed
the tide perfectly, hitting it at slack water before the ebb, and as
we went up the Delaware Bay, our speed continued to rise as the tide
pushed us along. As we were going in the same direction as the tide,
we stayed in the "hump" all the way to the canal, and, in fact,
because of the narrow size, still got the lift all the way to
Chesapeake City.

Chesapeake City, as those of you who are on Lydia's log list know, is
a great little town. It's the transfer point for pilots for the
commercial traffic which goes between the Chesapeake and Delaware
Bays, and has many marinas and an anchoring basin. Our cruising guide
indicates that there is some challenge about depths there, so we
called several of the marinas, inquiring about access depths. No
problem, they said, including in the town's free anchorage, having
been recently dredged, again, to 9 feet. We also called the town
number, as they have (limited) free dockage for a night. They agreed
there was no problem, and that we'd like it best on the angled front
tie-up.

As we approached, the tide was still running, so I turned into the way
we'd come, approaching the pilings at the pier. I'd expected the tidal
current to push us into the pilings, but found it didn't, at all.
Presuming that to be an eddy current situation, I drove it in,
instead. And people say I'm not very well grounded in reality!

However, as we attempted, after initial tie-up, to move the boat,
which was still a good couple of feet away from the pier, it wouldn't
move. Great... I'd driven it firmly aground! Ah, well, no big deal; the
tide was slightly falling, and we'd come loose in the morning, or we'd
hook a few lines to the top of the mast, use the dinghy to tilt, and
off we'd go.

A nice local cautioned us very strongly about all the fenders we could
muster being necessary to avoid damage from not only the commercial
traffic (usually very considerate, but also very large) but in
particular the large sportfishermen who'd just continue to blast on
through the no-wake zone, waking us thoroughly, despite much signage
cautioning that they were responsible for their wake. However, I noted
that we were well aground, and the tide was going out, so it was
unlikely we'd move much, if at all, let alone bang the piers. That
proved to be true, and at 5:30 the next morning, we were floating and
set off on the falling tide, letting it suck us into the Chesapeake.

Once out of the canal, we set our course for the Sassafras River and
its lovely Georgetown, site of many marinas and bucolic countryside in
between. The main reason for going there was to catch up with our
friends from New Zealand, but also to do some cleaning and minor
chores.

I sent off the inoperative GPS for evaluation, with several options
being open in the event it wasn't worth saving - we should know
sometime next week. I also took the opportunity to reverse our depth
finders' leads, thinking that we'd only have a single one which
worked, but at least that would be the one in the cockpit. Sure
enough, when I swapped over the end before taking it out and rerunning
it in the confined spaces needed to get it to the display without
wires hanging out everywhere, it worked properly.

The big deal, though, is that, just for kicks, once I'd un-fed the old
lead enough to make it reach, I connected it to the other display. Hm.
It works! Hallelujah! Murphy must be trying to make amends.

No such luck. Less than 24 hours later, the one at the nav station is
not reading, just as it was in the cockpit. Murphy couldn't just leave
well enough alone... That it worked once but not again suggests it can
be made to work - however that might be - so I'll try a few tricks to
see what I can do, later.

I also took out all the speed impellers, causing a bit of a gusher in
each case, to clean them so we'd know how fast we were going through
the water. Two of the three worked - or we have another problem with
one of the other instruments, as its speed shows as zero.

Other minor maintenance remains, but we'll have ample opportunity to
address those in our times on the hook (we hope - we're on the way
there as I type) in the couple of weeks before the show. New
instruments await installation, including an upgrade to the wifi unit
which is sending this out, and various other either replacement or
upgrade items. However, the most annoying factor of new gear has been
the sails.

I'd initially thought we'd have them ordered and ready for
installation by the time of the show. Unfortunately, from a time
perspective, but very fortunately from a monetary perspective, my
recommended source in Hong Kong, Lee Sails, when I queried them yet
again, sent back a copy of a mail which had gone originally 10 days
earlier, but somehow had gone missing. That reopened our
conversations, and the pricing is fully half of the others, so we're
headed that way.

However, for whatever reason, their mails go astray as often as not,
though they always seem to get mine. Assuming we find a sufficiently
strong wifi point, I'll call them tonight to see where we are in the
process. At this point, we'll have to take delivery someplace other
than Annapolis, though that's not entirely impossible, as our friend
Captain Joe, in Bath, has kindly offered to accept them there if
needed. As we'll be going back that way in any event, albeit much
later, that can work. And, of course, I've developed a huge group of
folks who'd like to meet us, or see the boat, or both, who perhaps
also could take delivery, along the way, as we inch our way south.

And, finally, we still have some alternator issues to work out, but
have worked around the current challenge by, if we have to run the
engine for long periods, turning on every incandescent light aboard,
as well as our computers and any other high-draw items we can find.
That keeps our voltage in the range where the battery will remain
healthy.

So, all is well aboard. We're anchored in Spa Creek, not too far from
the Naval Academy, in Annapolis, with a great connection which not
only allows sending this but a good Vonage connection - which will
allow me to call Hong Kong. We'll be here through the show, where I
hope to get better educated by attending many seminars, and perhaps
save some money on some of the new gear we need to buy. However,
absent any big excitements, this will be the last posting for a while...

Stay tuned :{))

L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
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