Fun Finds and Flexibility

We've been a little busy the past month... went on an adventure, learned a few things, spent some money, found some land jellies, and came up with a new Bahama plan...

We were going to circumnavigate the Delmarva Peninsula: up the Chesapeake, across the C&D Canal, down the Delaware Bay, a little ocean sailing and then back up the Chesapeake to Deltaville. Along the way we were going to have our battery installation inspected, hit the Annapolis Boat Show to meet up with other Outbound owners, check out Baltimore Harbor, and anchor in many of the little places we heard were worth checking out. But, you know, life doesn't always line up and boat plans are flexible. There was the weather and then there were doctor appointments and then the battery folks needed to reschedule and then there was the weather again. We did venture, but not nearly as far as we wanted.

The plan was to leave our slip late in the afternoon and do our first night sail all the way up to Annapolis. But, you know, the weather. So, we ended up leaving a little later the next morning and anchoring at Solomons. The dog wasn't a big fan of the cold wind. She required a blanket.

We left Solomons before the sun was up so we could experience a little bit of night sailing. Miraculously, we successfully dodged crab pots and were not arrested when accidentally venturing through the restricted area surrounding the Cove Point LNG facility. We got to Annapolis by late morning and, also miraculously, found a place to anchor. Wow, there are a lot of boats in Annapolis during the sailboat show.

We enjoyed a sunny afternoon, a nice walk with the dog, and meeting other Outbound folks. The next day brought wind and rain. Other than dinghy dashes for the benefit of the Brown Boating Dog, we stayed on the boat. In the evening the wind really picked up, swinging Aevitas in every direction and back again. When we returned from our morning dog relief dinghy trip, it was very evident that our anchor had become unstuck and our boat was moving. EEEK! First, we thought we would just reset the anchor. Once we had the anchor up, we decided, "what the heck. Let's leave." We had an appointment for the battery inspection just a little south of Annapolis in two days time, giving us a window to check out Saint Michaels on the eastern shore before making our way to Herrington Harbor back on the western shore. The sail to Saint Michaels was fantastic with the wind blowing the right way and the waves heading with us. We put out the big genoa sail to take advantage of the wind coming from behind. It was fantastic!

Saint Michaels is a charming little town that was famous in the 18th and 19th centuries for building fast schooners prized for their ability to evade pirates and the British Navy. Because of it's shipbuilding industry, the British targeted the town during the War of 1812. To thwart a predawn attack, the clever townsfolk doused the lights and hung lanterns in the trees outside of the town. The British cannonballs missed the town and the shipyards were saved. Saint Michaels is also where Frederick Douglas was sold and later confined to jail after an attempt to escape to freedom. Talbot Street (the main street of the town) is home to lots of restaurants and stores, including The Village Shoppe, a super cool little grocery store, butcher shop and garden center. And Limoncello, where we had an amazing Italian dinner. We had perfect fall weather, brisk mornings, warm afternoons, light wind. Sofie and I checked out Halloween decorations and cool old houses while Dave finished the last of his battery install chores.

While we were at Saint Michaels, the battery place called to let us know they would not be able to inspect our boat until the following week. We had to be back in Deltaville the following week, so that wasn't going to work. Now what to do? We could head north and then south... so we checked the weather to see where the wind would take us. And that is when plans changed again...

According to the various weather predicting apps we consult, it appeared that a nor'easter was on the horizon in a few days time, presenting a small window with a favorable wind to sail north, but then it was predicted to get quite gusty and shift and we'd be heading into it all the way back down the Chesapeake. Oh yeah, also add in rain with a chance of thunderstorms. Since Saint Mary's, on the western shore, was on the way back to Deltaville and on the list of places to see, we decided to head there. The highllghts of the day were the beautiful blue crab hanging off the anchor as we pulled it up and a yummy dinner at Charles Street Brasserie with live music.

By the time we arrived at Dennis Point on the Saint Mary's river, the wind was kicking up so much we couldn't get into a slip and had to tie-up on the T-head. Dennis Point is a marina and a campground with a restaurant. showers, laundry facilites and a dog park. Sounds ideal -right? The restaurant was great. I was so looking forward to a nice long hot shower after the short showers we have while at anchor. There was no hot water. I was also looking forward to doing laundry. The dryer was not working and it was raining. The inside of the boat became our clothesline.

Our thought was to wait out the worst of the wind for a few days and then just head back to Deltaville. We reconsidered the plan when faced with cold showers. A day later, at sunrise, we made a break for it. And what a beautiful, red hued, sunrise it was. We weren't too concerned about the saying, "Red sky at night sailors delight; red sky in morning, sailors take warning," How bad could it be, really? We navigated through the crab pots, put up the sails and headed south with the wind behind us and the waves with us. It was a brisk morning and great sailing. The wind steadily picked up as the day progressed. By the time we turned up the Rappahannock, we were looking at heading into steady 20+ knot winds, with higher gusts. We had some excitement, not the good kind, getting the sails down. Then came the challenge of docking in our slip against a strong, gusty, wind. After a couple of tries, we gave up and were able to get into a different slip on the other side of the fairway for the night.

Since being back in Deltaville, we found a cool mushroom, saw an amazing sunset, spent a few days in Richmond and got the bottom of the boat cleaned.

Winter is approaching and we are anxious to sail south to the Bahamas. We are in prep mode and it is kind of overwhelming. Today we took down our mainsail so we can have it inspected. It sometimes hangs up on a batten when we raise it. We are hoping that we don't need a new sail. Some of the things we decided we needed, but hadn't been in the original budget include: a sail we put up when anchored to reduce the amount of dancing around the boat does; a satellite communication thingy that will allow us to get weather and navigation data when we are offshore; a watermaker; and a supped up first aid kit. One of the most overwhelming parts is figuring out how to provision the boat for several months away from stores with peanut butter. I don't usually think about food so far in advance!

We have a new plan for the journey to the Bahamas. The dog is not a fan of wind, big waves and doing her business on the boat. All this means the dog is not a good crew mate for a long sail. One of the dog's owners is a less effective first mate because she worries about the dog and the other dog owner, who is the captain, worries about the first mate and the dog. Therefore, the captain is going to sail to the Bahamas with an experienced captain and crew. The dog and first mate are going to fly down and meet up with Aevitas in Nassau. Captain Dave will get lots of training/guidance from the hired captain and he will be able to focus on learning, sailing and experiencing the adventure without being distracted by his less seaworthy shipmates.

Tarot reading is progressing. I've only read for myself because Dave doesn't want to play and Sofie isn't interested. It is really complicated with lots of nuances about how to read a spread. The cards mean a variety of things and the meaning is influenced by the cards around it. The Lesser Arcana cards (those that are part of a suit) can reflect the time when something will happen, a season, the specific meaning of the particular card, or some combination. And then there is this line in the interpretation guide, "... and all that the design signifies naturally." There are also layers of interpretation depending on whether the card is upside down and how many of the same number you have; for example, 4 sevens = intrigue, 3 sevens = infirmity and 2 sevens=news.

While considering our upcoming month or two - with all the unknowns of the big venture to the Bahamas and the added complication of travel by boat (Dave) and air (me and Sofie) - I decided a Tarot reading was in order. My thoughts while shuffling the card were a bit scattered, but all towards the same end - will this all work out ok? Here is what my interpretation of the reading revealed:

The challenges we face will be separation for a time and the expenses - both of these factors are cause for some anxiety.

In our favor, we have a strong relationship and share a sense of adventure.

The Signifier, which I determined as the journey itself, is indicative of action, initiative and the unknown. The King of Cups (reversed) came up in the position indicating our current environment and influences - this signifies loss. Not sure what to do with that - although loss is a component of any change. We know we will be losing the comfort of familiarity. Finally, the tenth card, "What will come," was the 5 of wands. This is supposed to be a card signifying financial gain.

I'm thinking, in a nutshell, that after a period of separation and some challenges involving loss of some kind, we will be successfully reunited in the Bahamas where we will find buried treasure.