25 May 2023

Here we are at our last day at the Deltaville Yachting Centre and our first day visiting our friends Chris and Bill in Mathews. After the time from Sunday noon, until now, if you take away the time that we spent on the hard getting stuff done prior to launch (we started out the painting with only one gallon of antifouling and I was really worried that we wouldn’t have enough), and climbing a ladder to the deck which was 10’ above the ground and having to use a leaky porta-potty for the necessaries at night, these last two nights after launch have been an absolute island of calm.

Upon awakening we still had a short list of small jobs to do before setting off but we also had eight hours before hgh tide. Not that we would need a high tide but it is always nice to depart Broad Creek at least on a rising tide. As it was we had to wait for the wind to die down a bit and for a while after we borrowed the loaner car from the marina to check the conditions in the bay as we were worried that we would be here for the rest of the week. Chesapeake is a shallow body of water and any wind to speak of quickly builds up a chop. We only have a short distance to go but we would rather do so in comfort. We took the opportunity to get a few more chores done: strapped the jerry cans to their spot on the rails; same for the fenders; ran the lifelines along the deck; bent on the storm jib; and fixed the leak in the hot water line in the aft head. A few less things to do while we are in Mathews.

We cast off from the DYC dock at around ten-thirty when it appeared that there would be an easing of the wind that we could take advantage of. We motor sailed around because the initial part of the trip was into the wind and I wanted to give Yoki a workout and to check out the transmission linkage, but I needn’t have worried. The mechanic at DYC had done a great job and she slipped into and out of gear with ease making our coming alongside at Chris abd Bill’s dock easy peasy (which is easy for me to say as it wasn’t me hauling us in on our docklines). By one o’clock they were below with us having tea (I offered stronger) and cheese and crackers. Besides the use of their dock they were kind enough to offer us the use of a portable wifi hotspot that they can check out of their library which is how I have been able to paste today’s and the last four days of posts. I wonder if they are available in Canada and if you can get them as a private person.

The weather over the weekend has soured enough that the Mathews Yacht Club Shakedown Cruise has been called off. Instead, the planned gathering on Friday night will still go ahead but participants will drive there. We have been invited as well.

Chris and Bill have also invited us up to their house for dinner tonight, Ahh. Southern boater hospitality!

Yum!