One definition of a sailboat is a hole in water, surrounded by fiberglass, in which you throw money. Well, this is true; we still have two to prove it.
Our hiatus time of one year in Ottawa is over (June 2011 to Oct. 2012) & we will be venturing south once again on 'Sweet Chariot Too' in early October 2012. That is not to say that we have not been using her & not having our adventures. She still resides in Deltaville, Virginia, just off Chesapeake Bay, which is a great body of water for cruising & exploring innumerable rivers, creeks, anchorages & towns & meeting wonderful people. We adjusted our usual Fall sailing routine since I was scheduled for a knee replacement on Sept. 13th, 2011 & sailed the North Neck & Middle Peninsula of the Chesapeake from Aug. 15th to Sept. 8th, 2011. When in the Solomons we experienced a 5.9 earthquake on Aug.23rd., 2011, quite unusual for this area, followed by Hurricane Irene on Aug. 24th. While the boat was well secured with numerous lines in a slip at Spring Cove Marina & rocking from side to side during the height of the hurricane (0200-0400 hrs.) we were told & being pelted with rain from the north, we chickened out & were hunkered down at a friend's house. It wasn't till a few days later we discovered that water had entered our dinghy engine fuel tank through a small crack in the cap. An almost new Yamaha engine we had just purchased for $700.00 was soon non functional, good for parts only & thus a new engine had to be purchased. But we did have some good sailing days, visited our good friends the Buckleys, the Frosts & the Hacketts & met up with Cherry & Doug as they were making their way south. April 9th to 16th, 2012 after rehabing from surgery & skiing almost everyday during the winter including a week in Aspen, we returned to Deltaville only to do some spring cleaning on the boat & preliminary inquiries re adding two solar panels, which would mean the rearranging of location of the BBQ & wind generator supporting structure on the pushpit. We were unable to return to the Chesapeake till June 17th. & experienced a very typical Chesapeake summer, extremely hot, humid & near windless with occasional late afternoon storms. The sea nettles had moved into the waters, so no swimming. Very little wind, so next to nil sailing & we experienced an unpredicted derecho. A derecho is a widespread, long-lived, straight windstorm generally exceeding hurricane force & associated with a fast moving band of severe thunderstorms. It was 2300 hrs. & we were at anchor when the derecho hit. Our 40 lbs. CQR held but our wind generator supports did not & the unit was submersed in brackish water all night; we did grab & save our bimini & connector to the dodger just before it disappeared. Friends, Don & Sue Goodwin visited early July & were subjected to this same hot, humid weather. We returned to home port July 8th as hot, humid & unstable weather was predicted for several days, took a couple of days to clean up & pack up before driving back to Ottawa. Sunny, hot, no precipitation weather & extremely low water levels in Ottawa that continued well into August prevented us from sailing the Viking. And now she is demasted, hauled, tarped, winterized & set for the winter. Mid August with no one yet to look after the house I turned to the internet to advertise for a house sitter. I had an outstanding response & outstanding candidates. Then there was a mad rush in the final week to finish packing clothes, supplies, sewing winch covers & BBQ cover, cleaning up the garden & most of the flower beds, re-seeding the lawn where grubs had attacked & watering, paying any bills, cleaning the house so presentable for our new house sitters, Mike & Mizuho & their orientation. The day before our departure Graeme's vehicle was packed up. Ready or not it was time to leave!
I must admit that I have mixed emotions about this trip; anxious & excited to see friends, yet reluctant, tense & irritable. Too much of my dark & negative side seems to have surfaced. It seems during my working years I was too busy working fulltime, playing sports & keeping house. Now in my five years of retired life I have had time to reflect about myself & my life. I realize how different Graeme & I are, how independent & separate lives we live & how great a desire I have to travel to new & other places & experience new & other adventures. They say opposites attract... I am committed to do this trip, will see it through & make the best of it.
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