10/13/2010, Deltaville, VA

September 5-October 12, 2010 Deltaville Boat Yard
We have done almost nothing but boat work since we returned to Deltaville. I'll attempt to give you the short version.
We knew there was some corrosion at the base of our mast, so job 1 was to have the mast pulled and see what was going on. Well, we found a pile of rubble and a mast step in 3 corroded pieces-definitely not good. We did not know what to do-have a new one made? Could we order one from somewhere? Days were spent researching and cleaning up the mess from the corrosion. We were in West Marine one day and ran into our friends Mike and Tammy, the watermen we met last year. Luck would have it that they had purchased an aluminum boat, and had lots of scrap aluminum and the tools to work with it. Mike spent several days driving to Kilmarnock to fabricate a new mast step and then hired a welder to put it all together. It was amazing!
There are many boats in the Boatyard here, including our friends Carl and Marilyn on "Discovery" and Crain and Kris on "Tilt". We have also made new friends, and we often eat together in the "shed" (screened-in porch) here. If boat work all day is not enough, there is also laundry to be done and meals to cook.
While the mast was down, I waxed it and polished the rigging as best I could. We put in new wiring for our anemometer, which wasn't working, and put on a new steaming/deck light-which was also not working. We also installed a new VHF antenna. We should be in pretty good shape now, if it all works! However, having the mast taken out and put back in has cost us a few too many boat dollars!
Mike has mentioned that we had some bubbles in our gel coat just above the water line. We think it is due to shrink-wrapping our boat for winters in Michigan. Well, it bothered him so he started sanding before we went back to Michigan this summer and finished it when we returned to Deltaville. Then it was carefully taped and we painted it. It looks pretty good!
When we looked at the weather one day and saw that it was going to rain for 3 days, we pack up and drove to Oriental, NC to visit with Kim and Steve (Fine Lion) who have a condo there. We had a great time - played Mexican Train dominoes and just had fun. It was a nice break from boat work. It was quite the storm - we had planned to return on Thursday, but we all went for a ride to the next town and it rained so hard at times that we couldn't see and we had to drive through water over the road, so we decided to stay for one more day. Even then, we had to turn around 4 times the next day due to road closures. We saw houses under water and cars in ditches up to their hoods. We made it back just fine and it only took an extra hour.
Back at the boat we waxed the hull and top sides and the bottom. Whew, time for another short vacation. We packed up again and headed to Annapolis for the Boat Show. We met up with many boat friends - from Michigan, Nova Scotia, and boating friends who have been staying in Annapolis. We got to watch an excellent MSU/ UM football game with fellow Spartan fans in Marv and Roni's rented condo. The outcome was excellent for the green and white! We were fortunate to be able to stay with Steve's son, Scott, and his fiancé, Amy. That was a bonus! Much fun was had, once again.
Back to the boat to wash, clean, clean, clean, prepare for launching. We also went to visit our friends, Mike and Tammy, and arranged to leave our car there while we journey on. Mike also wrangled a trip with them for oyster dredging, which is where he is today. We are back in the water and it feels great to be floating! Our friends from Michigan on "Mutual Fun" are anchored right near us - life is good! Hopefully we can start heading south tomorrow, we shall see what the weather has in store.

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09/09/2010, Deltaville, VA

September 5, 2010

Well, we had a great time in Michigan seeing family and friends. We did not see some people as much as we would have liked, as usual, but we had some great times. Generally we were overfed (with GREAT food)-lots of fresh stuff from gardens. We saw all nieces and nephews, great-nephews and niece, Lakes Michigan and Huron, old boating friends, had lunch with current boating friends, had lots of time at the cottage with family, spent too much money, and never did make it to Detroit.
We had a beautiful drive down here through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia. We passed 37 historical markers in Virginia and did not stop to read one. We are happy to have a car, except now we are looking for winter storage. We will be working on the boat for the next 2-3 weeks, so Mike will be writing about that. Can't wait to be back in the water!

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08/10/2010, Mihigan

August 10, 2010 Northern Michigan

We found our way from Minneapolis through northern Wisconsin to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where we visited our friends Don & Pat in Grand Marais. We then drove south over the Mackinac Bridge to the Steere cottage on Douglas Lake, near Pellston. Seems we have left the sea of blue for the sea of green. There are so many trees here!
Our daughter Ellie and her husband Matt came up to spend a few days with us. We also had a chance to visit with friends, Luke and Mandy and their boys. We had a good time visiting the area, got the old fishing boat running and took a tour of the lake, and just had a good time.
Next we headed on a drive around Grand Traverse Bay to go to Northport to meet up with some of our boating friends. We had a great time with Larry and Carol from "Third Bird" and Craig and Pat from "Island Time". We also had a short visit with Russ and Robin from "Robin's Nest". We had a lovely evening and spent the night on "Island Time". On Sunday we went with Larry & Carol to the Laundromat, as we had laundry to do and understand how difficult it can be to get places when you're living on your boat.
We then struck out for White Lake, following the coast along Lake Michigan. There are some beautiful views and fun places to stop along the way. We went to our old marinas (all three of them) and visited with friends. It was a bit difficult, as it was a beautiful day and most people were out sailing. We finally hooked up with Dan & Colleen on "Outrageous" and had a great visit. We ended up spending the night there-just can't get out of the habit of sleeping on a boat.
Next stop was Holland, where we visited with Kathy's family for the day-then on to Crystal to visit with Mike's family. Whew! We moved into Dave & Kristie's fifth wheel, which is our little "home-away-from-home" for much of our time here. Kathy had a haircut and a doctor appointment and we helped prepare some appetizers for the wedding on Saturday.
We headed up to Mt. Pleasant on Friday for the pre-wedding golf outing and pizza dinner and had a blast. The hotel was full of wedding guests and much fun was had by all. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding at a golf course and went off without a hitch. We headed back to the trailer after a Sunday brunch with the wedding party.
On Monday we went to Lansing to stay with Ellie and Matt, as Mike had a doctor appointment there on Tuesday. We had a nice, short stay and headed back to the cottage after the doctor appointment.
We met Sam at the cottage and spent two nice days up there with her, then she headed back to work. We stayed, as Debbie, Davey, Lisa, and Carrie were arriving on Friday. (That is Mike's sister and family, minus one daughter.) We had a cool day and a rainy day, but we enjoyed each other's company.
We came back to the trailer yesterday, as we have dental appointments today and a picnic with past and present staff of Sheridan Elementary School, Kathy's old workplace.

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