Friday 11 October 2019

This morning dawned differently than what I expected. At midnight everything had died down enough that I thought the storm had passed us by but by the morning it was back again. Enough wind to make whitecaps in the harbour. Interesting how even the small tidal surge creates the swell and then the wind knocks the top off them to make the white caps. I am very much looking forward to the nor’easter blowing out.

(Sigh!)

I guess we are still looking at a weekend departure. I was hoping that everything would have settled enough for the launch service to be back in operation today, but as I have already mentioned that won’t be happening. The long range forecast shows Saturday as a possibility and Sunday would be better. So, we’ll see when the day comes. If we stay Saturday we could have another day ashore. We might even be able to get our propane tanks filled since this morning the first of our two propane tanks ran out of gas and now we are looking for some place to get them filled. We are hoping the launch service or the fellow that owns the moorings will be able to give us some advice.

I have been watching the other boats at anchor or at mooring and although there are dingies attached to a number of them we seem to be the only living folk out on a boat. I am wondering if they had secured their boat and then took the launch ashore to stay in a hotel until this blows over. In that case I wish I was well heeled enough to have done the same. As it is $45/night equals $55Cdn is about my limit. We could spend $3+/ft to stay alongside but it would be the same price to leave the boat on a mooring and get a room. The Seaman’s Institute has rooms for $310/dbl for two nights. Maybe next time if we should get stuck here again. It’s unlikely as we are seriously considering leaving the boat someplace south for the summer and come back in the fall to start our trip south from there. On our first visit to Deltaville we met a couple from Quebec who regularly did exactly that. Each spring they would lay up their boat including cleaning and repainting the bottom ready for launch. Then in the fall all they had to do was come back, launch, provision and set off. For them it eliminates the trip down the Richelieu, through Lake Champlain, and finally down the Hudson to NYC. Also they wouldn’t have to go from NY to Virginia. If we were to do the same we would eliminate everything we have done so far on this trip.

Still, it’s an indication of the state of our cabin fever that I am looking at boats anchored or moored next to us and seeing what I imagine are their crew sitting in the cockpit having a yarn only to realize that the dark forms I thought were people were actually only their binnacle or winches covered in weatherproofing. Or that we see a boat moving and we rush to the porthole to track their course. Pretty pathetic, eh?

Our problem is that we have done all this before. On our first trip everyplace was new and interesting and worth hanging around for. This time we have been there already and it’s not quite so exciting. Add to that the fact that we can’t even really go explore since we are stuck aboard.

Oh well. Much more to follow in the future.

As it is we are trying to find some sort of path through our planning. First we were hoping to get to Annapolis for the Sail portion of their boat show; then we were hoping to meet up with some good friends around Norfolk who are heading back to the Abaco’s to find out what they have left of their cottage in Hope Town. They are way ahead of us so all we can do at this point is mentally transfer good wishes and hope for the best for them. Perhaps we will see them later after their visit. Then, and this still remains a possibility, we are hoping to link up with our French friend aboard Courlevent who is in Port Washington waiting for friends of hers to fly in. She may be keeping a weather eye open and take the same window to head south that we will use to get to Port Washington. If so, again, perhaps downstream. We have to take what the fates give us.

Barb and share the culinary duties aboard plus the KP. Tonight I did the main meal consisting of a spice mix that we bought during our trip to Fort Myers this spring. At the end we had Chicken Ginger which was tasty if I say so myself.