SAILING ISLAND ZEPHYR

As I mentioned in the last post, we had one more major project to tackle on our refit: replacing the chainplates. The chainplates are where the standing rigging (cables that hold up the mast) attach to the boat. On any boat, there is a lifespan for chainplates. We would probably be OK keeping the existing plates for awhile, but the sign of a failure is a cracked chainplate which could result in the mast coming down, so we just wanted to get this project over with while we’re in project mode and then not have to worry about it again. We’re also having the boatyard do a few other things including replacing the motor mounts and servicing the injectors. We had planned to take our time going up the bay and stopping along the way, but we had to take advantage of a brief window of good weather before it started raining heavily mid week.

In the week before we left, our contractors finished adding the last items to our arch: a new stern light and light over the dinghy boarding area, a wind generator, a radar on a pole that also has a cell booster, GPS antenna and spare VHF antenna, as well as a PA hailer that can be used as a speaker or to run automated fog signals. There wasn’t enough wind to test the wind generator, but it was helpful to have the radar especially at night. The new stern light is mounted in a much better position for visibility and is a sealed LED that is quite a bit brighter than the old light.

We got the boat ready to go on Sunday and left on Monday at 6am. We had some rain off and on and good wind to start. We sailed for awhile and then switched to motoring as the wind died. We passed by Tangier and Smith islands in the distance on our way up and might stop by those on the way back. As we motored by the mouth of the Potomac at sunset the water was calm and glassy and there were multiple pods of dolphins out playing. The overnight run was uneventful with just us and the freighters on the water. We took turns being on watch so the other could rest.

We had to slow down as we approached the Choptank river since we wanted to arrive at dawn when it was light out. We took our time on the way in and watched the sunrise. We have spotlights that we can use to look out for crab pots, and to shine on the buoys that are not lighted (they have reflective material on them).

We pulled into Campbells Boatyard in Oxford on the eastern shore of Maryland at 6AM, 24 hours after we left Norfolk. We ended up docking in one spot temporarily, then moving to a pump out, then moving to a slip which required a bunch of maneuvering. I try not to rely on the bow thruster too much, but it sure makes docking in confined areas a lot easier! From there it was a busy day packing up stuff off the boat and putting things in storage at Campbells so they have room to work on the boat.

After a whirlwind couple of days, we went to sleep at 6pm on Tuesday and caught a ride to the airport on Wednesday morning. We had gotten everything packed up just in time since it started raining Tuesday evening and all through Wednesday.

We plan to pickup the boat in July to start cruising around the bay back to Norfolk, but experience has taught me to be skeptical of any marine project timeline. We have a busy June and July anyway. We are looking forward to spending more time cruising on the way back.