by Jen
07/30/2009

What a weekend! The lead shot is the 6am sunrise Saturday morning as we made our exit from Jackson Creek. We motored just far enough to be clear of the channel and the sails were up. Our destination for the day was Chisman Creek in Yorktown, to the home of our friends Dan & Kelly. It took us about 8 hours from the marina to their pier. Those were EIGHT, GREAT hours! We coasted across the Bay toward the Eastern Shore, then tacked back toward the West. It was a great day.

Sunday was spent at Dan & Kelly's hanging out with friends and celebrating Teresa's birthday. On Monday morning we untied our docklines and we were off again. Luckily, we managed to secure a pot of fresh blue crabs prior to leaving. Our great hosts have two crab pots on their pier that never cease to please with their bounty. Thanks Guys!!



Our planned destination for Monday was the East River in Mobjack Bay. Light winds most of the day found us wishing for the spinnaker that is still waiting to be loaded on the boat. It would have been the perfect time to fly the kite. The good thing however is that, from our experience, the Chesapeake provides many days like this over the summer. I am sure we will have more opportunities for light wind sailing.

These hot and humid days that we have been having are also bringing about late afternoon and evening thunderstorms. We endured heavy rain and wind while at Dan & Kelly's on Sunday night and the trend continued on Monday in the East River. Here is a shot of the threatening clouds following us to our anchorage.



Even with the nasty storm passing through we rested assured with the Rocna anchor set. Maxwell said that we were safely nestled for the night and if he can sleep, I can sleep!

The next morning we had a surprise escort leaving the river. Check out the shot below of our early morning friends.



Tuesday was much like Monday in the wind report. One thing to be sure of is that the next time we go sailing, the spinnaker is onboard. After a long day, and a long weekend, we finally made it back into the slip at Deltaville Marina. It was nice to be home.

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Jen
07/23/2009, Deltaville, VA

This week so far has been really busy. Let me give you a run down of what we have been up to:

Leaks. We have a few leaks. What boat doesn't? One was in the forward hatch, right above our heads when we sleep. This one was high on the priority list! Another was in the hanging locker. This one was traced to a stanchion in need of re-bedding.

I started sanding and disassembling the forward hatch on Sunday. Once it was in pieces we were able to see where the leak started. Armed with some gooey, gluey, caulk we put it back together this afternoon. This hatch will not leak any time soon. Now it is time for the rest of the varnish...the never ending task. Here are a few progress shots. I will post a final photo once we have gotten all of the varnish finished.



This is what we started with.









This caulk takes 7-10 days to harden before we can start sanding. So next week I will clean up all of the edges.

The hanging locker had been leaking for a long time now. Much longer than we have owned Anastasia. The good thing was that it had not done much residual damage. Just some water stains and mildew. Still, it was a yucky cleanup. Once clean and dry we hit it with some fresh paint and I have just finished hanging up our foul weather gear inside.

The lead photo is me perched just outside of the hanging locker. Here is another shot showing the inside.



Yesterday we went to Costco and purchased our new house bank batteries. We started in Newport News which is about a good 1 1/2 hour drive from Deltaville. It just so happens that we were there last Friday night too with Maxwell's parents. On Friday, Maxwell scoped out the ones he wanted but said, "lets wait until next week and we will come back for them." Famous last words... Needless to say, they were not there yesterday when we went to get them. And, this is not an item Costco is going to restock. But the nice lady did tell us that the Norfolk location (that is 2 hours from Deltaville) has 15 in stock. So we decided to head to Norfolk. Once we got there we made our purchase and began to head home. This is where the fun started. It was around 4pm on westbound I-64 when we found ourselves in the company of many, many other vehicles. So many that no one was moving. It is hot on the interstate, really hot. Especially when surrounded by so much pavement and exhaust pipes. We found ourselves with short tempers and longing for our bay-side breeze across the foredeck. After 2 hours of sweltering traffic we were moving again through a stretch that should take 20 minutes. Once back to Anastasia we were exhausted and relieved to be "home."

Tomorrow we plan to head out for the weekend. Our friends Dan & Kelly are having a get-together on Sunday and we are going to take our time sailing to Yorktown.

As I am writing this entry, there is a gentle rain pouring down and beautiful lightning illuminating the night sky.

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by Jen
07/17/2009, Deltaville, VA

My excitement is "overflowing" with the installment of this glorious, clean, well-flushing toilet! The previous head had a few minor leaks and was in need of a full rebuild. Maxwell and I put our "heads" together and came to the conclusion a brand new toilet was only $100 more than the price of the rebuild kit. Also with this type of equipment it's nice to be the original owner. Some minor refitting was need to get the new unit to fit, and we also installed a new "Y" valve. It took two days but now we are up-and-running.







Complete flushing bliss!

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by Jen
07/15/2009, Deltaville, VA

We had a wonderful weekend! On Friday, Ben & Emily came out for a day of sailing on the bay. Neither of them have ever sailed before, so we got a chance to show them all the "ropes." We couldn't have asked for better weather...sunny skies, decent wind and somewhat calm water.

We always have safety on our minds, so why not try a "man overboard" drill? Without a blink Ben volunteered to be "The Man." We thought it would be a great idea because both Maxwell and I could remain on the boat to coach each other through the maneuvers. Here is Ben prepped and ready to go.



And overboard he goes! MAN OVERBOARD!! SIX O'CLOCK!!



We threw him a ring, and got the lifesling out right away!



Once back on the boat, which took a little work, the crew posed for a picture!



This is something we plan to practice each time we go out this summer. So beware if you get an invitation to go sailing...there is some work involved!

On Saturday & Sunday the Leukemia Cup Regatta was held here in Deltaville. The next photo is from Sunday while the participants head out to the bay. We had a great view from a sandbar near the marina. My sister, Melanie and her dog Toby joined us.



Here are some photos of our visit to the sandbar.







Toby turned out to be a great boat dog! He loved laying in the sun and hanging out.





Well, back to "work."

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by Jen
07/08/2009, Deltaville, VA

We are back from our short vacation in Georgia for the 4th. We had a great time with some of the nicest people you will ever meet! It was a complete getaway with perfect timing!

But now we are home and the clock has begun it's countdown. We have approximately 3 1/2 months until we head down south to the Bahamas for the winter season. Yesterday morning Maxwell and I sat down with our coffee in the cockpit and compiled a list of all the things we need to accomplish before November. It is long, real long. But, just like everything we have done so far, I have no doubt that we can get it ALL done!

Today we focused on the V-berth. We cleaned it out and began packing it full. Yesterday, I cleaned the head. It was a yucky job but someone had to do it! Now it smells like roses...and bleach. Tomorrow will surely be full of some more tasks that get us that much closer to the prize.

The lead photo is a cockpit shot of another sunset that continues to amaze us each night!

We plan to get out on the water this weekend with Ben & Emily. Hopefully we will have some great stories and photos to post of our outing!

Until then!

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by Jen
07/01/2009, Gloucester, VA ---> Deltaville, VA

What a BUSY week!!! Monday was our last day in the house. Finally!!! It seems that we have been working toward this for so LONG! However, it was strangely anti-climatic. I guess because we have been working so hard to get the place clean and ready for the renters we didn't take the time to get emotional about this big step. Anyway...we did it! The house is rented, they moved in today!

Our first few nights on the boat have been great! Daytime is toasty in the sun with highs around 88, but Anastasia stays cool inside. The lows have been around 70 for the past few nights so sleeping has been very pleasant. Here is a look at our setup.



This is a view of the Chesapeake Bay from our bow.



Each day so far has found us running errands, and trying to stow/organize our belongings into Anastasia's lockers. Surprisingly, she has much more space than I anticipated! Evenings, we seem to find ourselves in the marina pool cooling off from the day. Last night I made our first meal!! We had steak, potatoes & fresh green beans. The beans were courtesy of Mary, our former neighbor at the house. Great parting gift! The marina has a great screened-in area stocked with a grill & picnic tables. I prepared everything, packed it into a basket, and we headed off to this little space. After a toast we inhaled the meal. It was the first "home cooking" in a while.



Slowly we meet a few more people each night. Fellow liveaboards, people anchored in creek that are using the facilities and other marina members. One precious little guy, Freddie, all of about 6 years old was telling us how he and his family crossed the Atlantic heading here from their home in England. There is something so enchanting about a little sailor from across the sea relating his ocean crossing experience in a small but confident voice. Maybe we can hire him as crew!!

This morning I made banana pancakes with fresh blackberries! I have found a blackberry bush on the grounds that I am now visiting everyday.

The activity at this marina does not cease to amaze us. There is always a flurry of people and boats moving about all the time. There are children playing, adults enjoying cocktails and plenty of transients in the creek.

This weekend we are planning a vacation from our vacation! For the 4th we are heading to Georgia to visit friends.

I will leave you with my view as I write this blog.



Life is good!

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