We have had a busy month in the Chesapeake. After leaving Hampton, VA we took several day sails heading north. It was wonderful to be able to drop the hook and sleep every night without keeping watch! We stopped in Deltaville, VA, Solomons, MD and Whitehall Bay, MD before arriving in the Middle River at Essex. The scenery was beautiful but not a lot of wind to sail on our way up…disappointing after hearing how great the Chesapeake was for sailing.
Since arriving, we have been working through our boat work list. Our friend and mentor has been coaching us through many of our challenges. It is so great to have someone with a lot of experience to help you figure out all the intricacies of fixing a boat! Our repair list included:
• Fixed the starter on the generator. A faulty relay switch was the culprit that kept the motor from starting. We now have two starter motors and spare relay switches to ward off the evil spirits in the future.
• Changed the oil sensor on the Yanmar engine. Our readings were schizophrenic and all over the place. Since changing the sensor, no more issues.
• Reconnected the tachometer to the motor. It apparently fell apart while we were travelling. We now know the engine’s RPM’s.
• Changed the impellors on both the engine and generator.
• Cleaned and waterproofed the canvas
• Fixed our back gate. It flew open while we were sailing up the Chesapeake…scared the daylights out of us! Small welding job to put the latch back on. Lucky for us, all the pieces actually landed on the swim platform where we could retrieve them!
• Changed deck light and ordered spares for deck and anchor light.
• Replaced boom topping lift. It is the only line we can use to get Nick all the way to the top of the mast and it was getting pretty worn. Not at all reassuring for pulling him 64 feet in the air!
• Dove the boat to clean the hull and check out our repair job to the bow from hitting the obstacle in the water in St. Augustine. The patch is holding well so we are going to wait until our next haul out to address.
I’ve kept busy teaching classes online as well. Zoom is an interesting platform to teach with. It’s really convenient for the students to find classes that fit their schedule and they love being able to take classes from home instead of traveling several hours to find a class. I hate that every time someone turns their camera off, they move around my screen…it’s like teaching a live class where all the students play musical chairs at every break! But it keeps me busy and keeps us afloat and it keeps me doing what I love and am very passionate about.
One more week of classes and boat work before we can start to head south again. The weather has turned chilly here so I’m looking forward to getting back south. We are also watching the hurricane reports and being cautious about staying far enough north until the weather settles down. Hopefully we can avoid running from anymore storms!
