Reality Sets In...

Gosh, it has been a long time since I posted an update about Free Radical Hippie life...

We sailed away from Rock Hall on April 26. It was sad to leave beautiful Haven Harbour Marina. Rock Hall is a lovely little town filled with friendly, helpful people, funky coffee shop, delightful bakery and fantastic grocery stores.

It was a nice place to start our living-on-a-boat life. We tried to pick a weather window that would be okay for a few days. Going straight through, we could get to Deltaville in 2 days, but thought it better to shoot for three. Although a storm was on its way, we figured we could just take our time and stay put somewhere if need be. We planned on making the journey in three legs: first to Annapolis for the spring boat show, then to Solomons Island and finally our "home port" for the year: Deltaville.

After reading lots of articles and watching oodles of videos on docking, we had a decent plan for leaving our slip. However, the actual process was way more nerve wracking than the videos suggested! We had undocked our boat twice before (once with instructors onboard); both times we had been stern in and just pulled forward to leave. We were now docked bow in and would be backing out. With 46 feet of boat, six lines keeping the boat in the slip, and two extreme newbies in control... well... we learned we were not as in control as we thought we would be. The bow has a mind of its own and the ideal order of line release is not as straight forward as we thought. Dave did a good job on the helm and I did an almost adequate job on the lines. We managed to leave the slip and the marina with the boat and our relationship intact.

On our way to Annapolis, we raised the mainsail and unfurled the jib. Once again, our mainsail still did not go all the way up. The second new furling line was still to thick for the drum. Still, we sailed! And, we went under our first bridge. Sofie, the brown sailing dog rocked her life jacket and kept a good lookout for powerboats and barges.

We picked up a mooring ball in Annapolis with no trouble and took the dinghy ashore so the dog could do her business and we could find beer. It was a bit windy and a little chilly. The next day proved to be much nicer, for awhile. We spent most of the day exploring Annapolis with the dog. We took the dinghy under the drawbridge and up Spa Creek. Annapolis is a great place for boat folks, every street that ends at the water has a dinghy dock. The weather deteriorated with winds picking up significantly and rain eventually coming down in sheets. Waves breaking over the bow of the dinghy completely soaked us on our return trip to the boat. The storm arrived with force and the weather was too rough to take the dinghy to shore the next day. We never made it to the boat show. We were stuck on the boat, attached to a mooring ball, and getting pummeled by wind, rain and waves for two days. The poor dog could not get to shore to do her business. It took her more than a 24 hours to decide that she could pee on the boat in the rain. I worried about the strength of lines keeping us attached to the mooring ball. It was a stressful few days.

On the third day, the wind and rain was a little lighter and we were able to get the dog to shore. We took advantage of the improved weather and headed for Solomons Island and to stay at a marina. The convenience of hooking up to shore power and water and to be able to walk the dog was too appealing. It was a great day sailing and we docked without any mishaps! Solomons Island was beautiful. The marina was in a fun neighborhood to explore, with several restaurants near by.

Then, as anticipated, the wind, rain and thunderstorms were back. We stayed two extra days in Solomons waiting for a break in the weather. We left on the one day with slightly less wind and smaller waves predicted than the remainder of the week. We let the marina in Deltaville know we were coming and got a response back that suggested we may hit some bad weather. But hey, ya gotta learn to sail in all kinds of weather and how bad could it be...really? Initially, it was decent. We had enough wind to sail, the water wasn't too rough and the rain was light. Ominous black clouds were ahead of us as we sailed down the Chesapeake but with the wind direction and speed, we figured they'd pass through before we got there. Then the whitecaps appeared, the wind became stronger and more erratic. We brought the sails down and motored. Then came the lightening. The chatter on the radio was as ominous as the black clouds with mentions of water spouts and checks to see if folks were safe. I was freaked out and thinking that maybe living on a sailboat was not such a good idea. The dog was nervous. Dave thought it was awesome.

The Regatta Point Yachting Center was a welcome sight with folks ready to help us dock. Maneuvering into our slip was impossible with the winds and waves pushing the boat this way and that. Dave made a couple of tries. We ended up tying up along the dock for the night and moved the boat to the slip the next day. Finally, on May 3, we were safely in our "home" slip.

For the first week, the weather wasn't super cooperative and we were a little anxious about going out of and coming back into the slip. Plus, we had things to do: Dave fixed the furling line for the main, we needed to watch more videos on docking, and we had life things like getting a post office box and health insurance. Eventually, the weather improved and I recovered from our transit trauma enough to try a practice sail. We got out of the slip and the marina fine. We were able to raise our big Genoa and sailed for a day. We had a great view for some excellent lightning, saw a cute little boat, and met a local jellyfish.

After being in D.C. for a couple of weeks, we are back on our boat. We really missed boat life while we were D.C. We've had a few challenges since our return. First off, I dropped my laptop into the marina as I was shifting stuff back to the boat. Ugh! We returned to more rain and wind and we discovered that our mast sealing job was insufficient. I'm glad we were onboard when the water seeped through the seam on the mast cover and soaked a corner of our bed so we could fix it before it was really bad. We also had an unpleasant outhouse-esque aroma due to permeation of the head hoses. And, the tachometer stopped working. We think we have fixed the mast - it didn't leak in the last rain storm. We emptied the heads and dumped tons of enzymes to make the situation better while we wait for the new hoses to arrive. Dave fixed the tach. Good thing Dave likes to fix things!

We took a little trip to Urbanna where we anchored overnight. We went under our second bridge! The winds were super light on our way up the Rappahannock making progress quite slow, but hey, that is part of sailing. The dog decided she liked to be on the swim platform. Since we were going very slow and the water was calm we could easily retrieve her if she fell off. However, I'm thinking we need to rig a safety net for future trips. We ended up motor sailing a bit so we could anchor before it got too late. We did okay for our first solo anchoring and only had to reset the anchor once to get a good hold. Although we had an anchor alarm, we both got up several times in the night to be sure we were still in place. I'm really glad we had a very calm night and minimal current for our first time at anchor. The next morning was absolutely beautiful with glass smooth water.

Then, it got more interesting. Since we were anchored in mud, I sprayed the chain as it came out of the water so we weren't dragging all that mud on to our boat. Unfortunately, I am not a good multitasker and did not keep track of the remote cord for the windless (the mechanism that pulls up the anchor). The cord got pulled into the windless. I noticed because it stopped pulling up the anchor. The anchor was nearly up and I was able to pull it the rest of the way and secure it. Another unfortunate consequence of my inattention was that I could not completely close the anchor locker lid as the cord was now attached both inside and outside the locker. I closed it as much as I could and stuffed a towel in the crack.

When we were back on the Rappahannock, the wind and waves started to pick up. We raised the sails, tweaked the trim, and got the boat heeling. We were flying (for us) with speeds up to 7 kts! What a rush! We took turns at the helm and worked out a good routine for tacking (which is hard work!). After I had a bit of a meltdown crisis in my helmsmanship confidence, I did get much better at steering the boat. I am finally understanding how to integrate in my mind all the different factors affecting the helm and how to react to changes in the wind. As the day progressed, the winds picked up and the waves became much bigger. The poor dog! We attached her to the cockpit with a line so she could not go to the swim platform. We were tacking, heeling, crashing through the waves - it was exhilarating! And then came the sound of breaking glass...

When you have that inkling you should go check to be sure everything is good and then you get distracted and don't act on the inkling... you should heed the inkling!

My glass jar of sourdough starter flew off the counter and crashed against the pantry. Several drawers in the garage area were not secured and were now opening and closing with each tack. The coffee pot was perched precariously on the edge of the sink. Everything that could move had moved and was now on the floor. Then I looked at the forward head and there was a stream of reddish brown water running down the wall. Remember the anchor locker that could not be completely closed? Guess where the water goes when the bow crashes through the waves... yup, in the locker. And, water has a really good way of finding paths that you did not know existed. Apparently there is a secret passageway between the locker and the head that is big enough for rusty, muddy water to travel when conditions are just right.

Dave did an excellent job of keeping the boat fairly flat while I tackled the mess below deck. He even reefed the main single-handed. I am super impressed with his seafaring skills. All the while, the water was getting choppier and the wind gusts stronger. We arrived at the narrow channel into the marina at the worst possible time: low tide. We got grounded. Dave got us unstuck (thank goodness) while I put out the dock lines and fenders in preparation of docking. As per our normal, docking was not graceful. But, hey, it was windy and we are still getting the hang of this.

The reality of boat life... you are at the mercy of the weather all the time. You need to be aware of yourself, your stuff, the boat, and anticipate what could go wrong all the time. Something always needs to be fixed. Sailing can be hard work mentally and physically. Everything takes longer than you think it will and usually costs more than you think it should. Experience is the best teacher.

Also the reality of boat life... it is awesome! I have zero regrets about being on this adventure.