June brought July/August temperatures to us, the only problem being, we don't like July/August temperatures in the Chesapeake. We had hoped to be north a lot sooner, but that was not to be.
The train ride home to the marina. These are very young kids in their Optimists, being towed back after their time on the water.
A big project we have planned for this summer is to haul the boat out and to compound and wax the topsides (the area between the deck and the water), and to paint the bottom (boaters call this a bottom job. Also, if we refer to a dirty bottom, we are talking about a section on our boat that has marine growth on it). Our current plan is to do this at Chesapeake Boat Works in Deltaville since they have reasonable rates and allow you to do your own work. I would really like to get that done now, but we will probably wait until late summer/early fall when the temps are more agreeable.
The pumpout boats here normally make you give them your boat's documentation number, port of call, size of holding tank, length of boat, cell phone number etc. During one of our pumpouts while anchored in Weems Creek, the harbormaster's assistant (who drives the pumpout boat) asked for all that info, then handed us a sheet of paper from the harbor master on which he had written down our latitude and longitude. We were to fill out the remainder of the sheet of paper and take it to the harbormasters office at the city marina. They want to know our address, phone number, length of boat, last port, how long we plan to stay in our present spot, our next port, our next of kin, if we have any physical ailments, boat registration/documentation number, dinghy registration number, a photo ID (passport or drivers license). All of the above is NONE of their business. Somebody has to stop these people. OK, so they are trying to encourage people to pump out?
Reminds me of gun laws--only made for the honest people. Criminals don't care about laws and disregard them. When they get caught, the same people who want more gun laws fight to set the criminal free--making the gun laws an obstacle only for the law abiders. 1 + 1 = 2. 2 + 2 = 4. It's not rocket science.
We threw the sheet of paper away.
We almost made it 3 years before having a "security" issue on the boat. On July 5th at 4:15 am, Lisa, who had been reading in bed, opened the companionway in a not so quiet manner. Then I hear her talking to someone. It took me a moment to realize she was using her "I'm in charge, don't mess with me, you're in BIG trouble" teacher voice. As I made my way onto the deck, Lisa is demanding answers from 2 teenage boys (16-19 year olds) who are in the water next to an overturned kayak. They had been trying to board our boat from the kayak which had flipped over in the process. They shattered one of our cockpit anchor lights which was mounted on the rail near the cockpit. They either broke it so it wouldn't shine on them, or they accidentally hit it with the paddle when the kayak flipped over. Either way, we are minus one light.
Here's an example of the conversation.
LISA What are you doing on my boat?!!!! (said with emphasis and deep feeling)
Boy # 1 "I need a cell phone to call my mom" (said with a smooth, slick, and innocent tone). Then after an extended pause "Where's the closest shore?"
They had no chance of emptying the kayak, righting it, and getting in so they used it as a life jacket (one boy said he couldn't swim) as they made their way to the north shore (not very far at all--we were in a creek not an ocean),
I kept our million candle power spot light trained on them and Lisa kept her glare trained on them until we were sure they made it safely onto a pier and scrambled up the hill. Is it wrong to wish that they ran through poison ivy on their way up the brush to the road? OK, we didn't wish that, we only thought it might happen.
We think they stole the kayak from one of the waterfront houses and planned to rob our boat. They left one of those flashlights with the big honkin rectangle batteries on our deck.
For their benefit, Lisa yelled for me to call the police. We knew not to do that (once again--we're the ones that would be put through the wringer not the kids--been there done that). We decided that next time, I will yell for Lisa to get my shotgun.
The Skin Nazi is done, we have one more package to pickup tomorrow, 2 faxes to send, then we hope to be outta here. The plan is the Sassafras River, then the C and D Canal, down the Delaware perhaps to Henlopen Harbor then on north.
We almost made it 3 years before having a "security" issue on the boat. On July 5th at 4:15 am, Lisa, who had been reading in bed, opened the companionway in a not so quiet manner. Then I hear her talking to someone. It took me a moment to realize she was using her "I'm in charge, don't mess with me, you're in BIG trouble" teacher voice. As I made my way onto the deck, Lisa is demanding answers from 2 teenage boys (16-19 year olds) who are in the water next to an overturned kayak. They had been trying to board our boat from the kayak which had flipped over in the process. They shattered one of our cockpit anchor lights which was mounted on the rail near the cockpit. They either broke it so it wouldn't shine on them, or they accidentally hit it with the paddle when the kayak flipped over. Either way, we are minus one light.
Here's an example of the conversation.
LISA What are you doing on my boat?!!!! (said with emphasis and deep feeling)
Boy # 1 "I need a cell phone to call my mom" (said with a smooth, slick, and innocent tone). Then after an extended pause "Where's the closest shore?"
They had no chance of emptying the kayak, righting it, and getting in so they used it as a life jacket (one boy said he couldn't swim) as they made their way to the north shore (not very far at all--we were in a creek not an ocean),
I kept our million candle power spot light trained on them and Lisa kept her glare trained on them until we were sure they made it safely onto a pier and scrambled up the hill. Is it wrong to wish that they ran through poison ivy on their way up the brush to the road? OK, we didn't wish that, we only thought it might happen.
We think they stole the kayak from one of the waterfront houses and planned to rob our boat. They left one of those flashlights with the big honkin rectangle batteries on our deck.
For their benefit, Lisa yelled for me to call the police. We knew not to do that (once again--we're the ones that would be put through the wringer not the kids--been there done that). We decided that next time, I will yell for Lisa to get my shotgun.
The Skin Nazi is done, we have one more package to pickup tomorrow, 2 faxes to send, then we hope to be outta here. The plan is the Sassafras River, then the C and D Canal, down the Delaware perhaps to Henlopen Harbor then on north.
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