We are dry again (sort of)

Good news! The resealing of the hatch was successful. It rained on and off for two days with several downpours and the hatch didn't leak! That's good cause I didn't like sharing the v-berth with a dish pan. We also received word that the 4 larger portlights have arrived and should be installed in the next several days (depending on southern time, that is). We also have a steaming light that's out, the flag halyard needs to be repaired(lost it during a storm. Seems it was taped to the spreader.) and the masthead anchor light is being replaced with an LED. It's always something! When repairs occur, I remember the quote from The Wind in the Willows:"There is nothing-absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats".
Seems Ratty has the right attitude!

We've mostly been re-evaluating all the stuff on board and have eliminated a bunch of stuff. Books, utensils, cups, and some sailing stuff that is duplicated have all made their way to storage or sold to other sailors. It's amazing that all the things you thought were necessary are not.

The classes we are taking in September will help us get used to advance cruising skills and give us a chance to get out on the big water. The instructor wants to take a trip to Oriental. I am looking forward to that as it includes traveling on the ICW and open water. We sail down one day and back the next. We wanted to sail more this week, but the weather has not been cooperating. But the weekend looks great and we should have some photos. The winds should be NE at 9 mph and temps in the mid 80's. Good weather for a change.

Speaking of weather, we have been keeping an eye on the storms coming over from Africa. Danielle is heading north, east of Bermuda and should not be a problem. Earl is still too far out to predict were it will go, so we'll keep an "eye" (hee, hee) on it. There are still 2 months left to the season but we are trusting God for His protection. We've done all we can due to prepare so far, and have a plan if a storm comes close; the rest is up to Him.

That's all for now. More after the weekend.

Ever have a dish pan morning?

Early Friday morning we awoke to the gentle plopping of water on on our heads. Seems the hatch we so tediously resealed was leaking! So with nothing we could do till dawn and the rain stopping, we put dishpans under the two areas that were dripping. One on the ledge beside Elden and one between us on the v-berth. Some picture, huh? So after the storms rolled thru, we took the hatch off and found out why. Seems the hatch is flat and the deck is slightly curved and we didn't have enough caulk to seal the gaps. So 1 1/4 tubes of caulk and 1/2 hour of scraping, sanding and cleaning, we resealed he hatch and put it back on. We are praying that is is sealed this time. We will need to reseal the aft hatch as well as it leaked a little, too. Not as big a job, thank heaven.

So, it's off to the farmers market and then to do something other than cleaning and fixing. Time for a fun day. Not sure where, but will have an update when we get back.


Have a safe weekend.

We are sailing!

      Finally, we made it out yesterday on the river and sailed! Ok, the first 30 minutes were a "Comedy of Errors" as we had to "relearn" a lot. It has been a year since we sailed last and that was on the Mississippi River in a 26 ft. boat. Needless to say, it wasn't a lot of fun at first. After we settled down and got the feel for the water, it was great to be sailing again. Elden took the first stretch upriver and up wind at the helm and I on the sheets. The hardest part was avoiding the crab pots. They are supposed to be out of the channel and closer to shore. Yeah, right. They were everywhere, by the channel. in the channel and of course, outside the channel.
      But, I digress. On the way back , I was on the sheets for a while til the winds kicked up and it became a challenge manning the sheets, so Elden took over and I was at the helm. It was into the wind so we were tacking back home. Elden thought we would only have to tack 4-6 times, but the winds had other plans. 10 tacks to get back to Broad creek. It was a wahoo moment the whole way. Soteria took the waves solidly and we had no problems sailing her. The winds were SE at 10-12 with gusts to 15, wave height was 1-2 ft. swells with an occasional 2 1/2-3 ft. white cap. The steering still has a glitch to sort out and I think once we tighten the cables, it will be fine.

Sorry no video or photos as we were a little busy relearning the ropes.
More later and should have a few photos next time.
Fair winds to all.

Finally on the water!

We finally were able to take out "Soteria" on Monday for a shake down cruise, albeit under power. We wanted to get used to handling her  and to become familiar with the Pamilco River. we went 3/4 of the way to the Washington waterfront and came back to the marina. Winds were 5-8 knots SSE and building as we came back in. It was a great feeling to finally be underway.

Next step is to check the engine oil and fuel overflow vent. Tried to put diesel in the tank and it only took 8/10 of a gallon! Either we had more fuel than we realized, there is a kink in the intake hose or the loaves and fishes have turned into diesel fuel! Will update when we find out.In the meantime, we get what ever "work" done by noon as the temps are in the high 90's and heat index is 105. Thank God for air conditioning!
Will post photos of the redone forward hatch later this week.


Til then fair winds and stay cool.

Almost there!

It's Saturday and the work has been completed. We still have one minor glitch to fix: the steering chain pins were put in backwards and need to be reversed. The boat guy was in such a hurry to get us ready to sail, he didn't check the pins. Normally that isn't a problem, but they are rubbing against the throttle cable. I don't want to risk wearing a thin spot on that one.

I apologize again for my spouting off, but it gets discouraging at times with all the unexpected repairs. I need to just take a deep breath and relax. It's not like we are on a schedule or anything. God is still in control here and I have to remember that.  There is a reason for everything that has happened and I need to accept that. Elden has been more relaxed and calm. I don't know what frustrates me more, the repairs or his calmness! :-)
That's what happens when a type AA personality marries a type B.  Life Interesting and never boring!

So it's off to town for supplies and a relaxing weekend.
Later!

Are we done yet??? NOT!

Oh boy, what a way to wake up this morning. Elden informed me that he was getting wet, so a quick check found the forward hatch leaking during the rain storms over night. This is the one that was supposed to be resealed last year. So, as the boat guy worked on the bow sprit, Elden & I took off the hatch and found one ugly mess. So bad I didn't take a photo. So we spent the better part of the day scraping and cleaning the deck and  hatch. It looked like they just squirted new sealant around the edges and let it go at that. Makes me glad we a re here to watch the boat guys work. At least we see what they are doing and can comment(nicely) about the procedures. Tomorrow, we will finish sanding and sealing the wood, and then reseal the hatch to the deck. Then later we'll resealed the aft hatch as they were supposed to do that one, too. I don't mind paying the bills, but I WANT THE WORK DONE RIGHT! Ok, enough venting. Sorry about that, but it had to come out. The old saying that if you want anything done right, do it yourself seems to be true.
At least we are closer to getting the steering and bow finished. As soon as the sealant on the pedestal sets, they will tighten down the bolts and reattach the engine controls. So no sailing this week. My cousin Brenda and her family are planning on coming over this Saturday, and hopefully bring their pontoon. At least we will get out of the harbor for a while.

Hope to have good news next time.

The results of 2 days soaking...

Ok, tried again and caught 2 more, but one of the crabs got out. It was too small and got thru the fish escape, so we soaked it for another 24 hrs and came up with a bigger crab. Not wanting to risk losing either of them, we boiled them tonight for an appetizer. Here are the photos. They were yummy! Can't wait to catch some more. Notice the heavy gloves on Elden's hands.( What, you thought I was going to grab them?? NOT!)

Big Crab

Smaller crab

AFTER!