In 37 years on the Great Lakes, I didn't have any rust to speak of on my boat. It didn't take long for rust and the color green to show up once I got in salt water. Even the brand new solar arch has some spots on it. Time to get out the polish.

Pulling up anchor went very well this morning, except for the mud. I should have the deck wash and water bucket ready in the future (I think I said that once before). Now I winch up the last 10-15 feet of chain at the mast while the boat is idling in gear with the autopilot on. If the anchor is stuck fast, the boat going forward will also break it out. The autopilot remote is also at the mast so I can steer from there. So the boat is never totally adrift. And now I don't stress about pulling up the anchor and the boat drifting ashore while I struggle to get the anchor up on the roller and properly secured. Which made for a relaxing and enjoyable day. I even got out one of the folding blue cushion chairs and sat up front, enjoying the ride. Much better!

The crab pots continue to have their way with us. Where we wanted to anchor and where the crab pots would allow us to anchor were two different places. I think if we had more experience, we would do better in this regard, but for now, they confound us with where they are or aren’t.

Tomorrow we wind our way up the river to Washington, DC. Hopefully the Nationals baseball season will be over by then.