Charm is back in the water, buffed and polished, fresh bottom paint and a brand new refrigeration system.
Tonight we are anchored outside of Baby Owl Cove on the Choptank. We last were here in May of 2010 on a yacht club cruise up the bay with David and Kate Raffetto on their beloved Success. This year's sailing season will be a little bittersweet. Over the winter we lost our dear friend and sailing buddy David to cancer. Over the short 7 years that we knew Dave, we sailed all over the Chesapeake Bay with him and his wife Kate. We won't visit too many anchorages that won't harbor memories of fun times with them both. Tomorrow we plan to visit St Michaels, and like so many other harbor towns, Jim will remember walking the streets with Dave and Murphy, aka "Chick Magnet", while Kate and I frequented the little shops. Kate would always buy something and Dave would roll his eyes in mock horror at the latest purchase. Dave always had a big smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He fought cancer with bravery and quiet dignity. I will treasure each and every memory of him. We will miss him terribly and a part of sailing just won't be the same.
This cruise finds us traveling up the bay with Karl and Nancy on Karibee Kat and Ed and Lynn on Skydusky. We had an exciting couple of days up the bay with a good shakedown of all systems. So far, so good. Today we even got to fly the spinnaker. The picture shows Skydusky with her spinnaker up, before she disappeared out in front of us. Those little lightweight cats do fly.
So here's to sailing and especially here's to Dave. Let the 2012 sailing season begin.
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Comments [1]
Cool picture with both spinnakers in view!
We launched Charm this morning without a hitch. It's always a little disconcerting to watch 22000 lbs of boat rolling down a hill to water's edge held only by a couple of slings. However, the techs at Yankee Point did a great job and set Charm in the water with nary a splash. The new engine started with the turn of a key and we were off. Today was a little "warmer" and the sun was shining, so we decided to take a little cruise out to the Rappahannock and put the new engine through its paces. What a difference. We now throw a stern wake with the best of them, motor at about 7.5 knots and Charm even tries to climb her own bow wake. Although we won't cruise at those speeds, it's nice to know the power is there when you need it.
We had the river to ourselves and should have put up a sail in the light breeze but the engine has 50 hours of break-in required so we figured it would be a good day to get a start on that. Besides, it was a tad chilly to be dancing around on deck with the sails, so we huddled in the cockpit and watched the knot meter :-)
After two hours of burning fuel, we headed for home and Charm is now tied up awaiting the next round of boat chores. There is still teak to be finished and a water system to complete, but we are home and happy to cut out the daily drive to the marina.
The picture shows the view of the water pipes under the galley sink. They are now color-coded and squeaky clean. The insides of the 25 year old piping was a little scary!! We needed one of those "go-devil" pipeline scrapers they use in the petroleum and mining industry to clean the inside of pipes. Unfortunately I don't believe they make them for such tiny piping. I've waited for years to get the chance to use "go-devil" in a sentence. Always thought it was a cool term!
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Spring is starting to arrive in the Northern Neck. Where did the winter go? We have daffodils and crocus in bloom in the yard and the temperatures swing wildly from the 30s at night to the upper 60s in the day. Murphy is getting spring fever and has taken to sunning himself on the deck and rolling in the greening grass, at least that's what we hope he's rolling in. This evening he decided to go wading, so I guess he's decided that swimming weather is almost here. A bath on his return from the muddy bank spoiled his fun, but Mom is not that understanding about muddy footprints across the carpet.
We have been busy and enjoying life. With warmer weather the boat yard is starting to hum and we're getting anxious to get back in the water. Charm has been treated to a shiny new engine with an increase in HP from 32 to 54. We're ready for waterskiing. Perhaps that's an exaggeration, but hopefully we won't go backwards when we are faced with adverse wind and current. We still have the usual spring recommissioning chores to do, but launching is in sight.
See you on the water soon!
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