Two Steps Forward...

We always arrive at the boat with a long to-do list. There are lots of nasty jobs we do once a year or so when we are preparing for your winter travels. This year we took out the anchor chain, cleaned it, treated any rust, repainted the marks, untwisted the chain, cleaned out the chain locker, and put it all back. All in terrible heat. We think of it as the penance we have to do for the privilege of living on her the rest of the year.

Of course, Dylan thought it was great fun to watch until the heat really kicked in and then he retreated back to the A/C. I'm still trying to figure out what Dyna and Dylan's penance is...

This year has been particularly frustrating as it seems every time we get a job or two done an unexpected job pops up. We cleaned out the water tanks and refilled them only to discover a leaking valve on the sight-glass. Out went the water while that was repaired. While putting the engine oil in the lazarette we found water that had leaked in from one of the fills for the fuels tanks we removed last winter. So that had to be cleaned, resealed, and tested. While testing the heads, well, you don't need to hear about that one.

Some how we've managed to more or less keep up and our planned Sunday departure is still on the schedule. There's a final provisioning trip tomorrow, a few more tasks, and then the weekend to complete the final preparations. The whole crew is ready to go.

We're still hoping to anchor out a few days. We had worried the heat would be too much for Dyna.

Then last Saturday a fierce storm came through the Chesapeake. We listened to Coast Guard warnings on the radio, watched the sky darken and the wind pick up. There were even whitecaps in our well protected spot. The rain poured. But when it was over the temps had cooled and the air turned dry. It's been perfect weather since.

We've shutoff the A/C and thrown open all the doors and windows. Dyna has found her favorite spots outside in the breeze. If this holds we'll have perfect anchoring weather. Life is good.