Ol' Baldy

     This photo was taken at our last anchorage.  The American Bald Eagle is a very common sight on the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay.  In this photo the wind has ruffled the feathers of ol' baldy.

Roughing It

     When we left Solomons, MD on Tuesday we made a run for the Potomac River and a small creek called Smith Creek.  We decided on this location because of the weather reports we had been receiving - Small Craft Advisory with 3-4 foot waves on the bay for the next 4 days.  4 foot waves, depending on the direction they hit the boat, leave a lot to be desired.   So being the prudent sailors we are, we stayed in our gunkhole.  The above photo was taken after a strong low passed through on Thursday.  Although we love to spend our time in gunkholes, this one came with a price - bad TV reception, no 3G phone coverage and no WiFi. That's roughing it! 

Scratch That Idea

       The above photo was taken at Mill Creek the night before we departed Solomons, MD.  Although it was a beatirful sunset we still wanted to get out of there.  Oh yea, the watermaker, scratch that idea. 

 

GET-ME-OUT-OF-HERE

     We are still working on the watermaker issue.  Before we left our marina, Long Cove Marina, we had been informed by our service tech that he was not able to develop a solution for our watermaker.   Yes, he was well in over his head.  However, he did locate a boat yard in Solomons, MD that would look at our system and possibly help us.  We arrived in Solomons, MD on Saturday.  This is a very busy place.  As we were approaching the entrance to Back Creek a sailboat under power cut across our bow from port to starboard.  When I say cut across our bow, we had less than 30 feet when his cockpit cleared our bow.  When I informed (without a radio) the elderly gentleman that he should learn the "rules of the road" his wife smiled and waved to me!  After making that "almost deadly entrance" we headed up Mill Creek to an anchorage at the mouth of Old House Creek.  If you have been following our blog you will know by now that we do not favor marina life.  And although we are not in a marina, this anchorage is just as bad as a marina.  Too much boat traffic, too much water skiing, too much tubing - GET ME OUT OF HERE.

M/V Epilogue

     This is M/V Epilogue of Choptank River, MD. A 1992 Kadey Krogen 42, hull #173. Shown here anchored at Leason Cove on Mill Creek in Solomons, MD.  Good luck to the new owners, Philip and Connie.

Day One

     You would think we would have been up at the crack of dawn today all fired up about leaving the marina for our adventure.  We managed to crawl out of bed and have breakfast before 0900.  We closed our tab at the marina office and shoved off at 0940 hours and by 1410 this afternoon we were in our first anchorage.  We did this so we could spend the afternoon to rig the boat for cruising.  There were dock lines and fenders to stow.  The electrical shoreline cords and water hoses also had to be stowed, something that had never been done before except for winter storage.  Other than that it was an uneventful day on the boat, but that is a good thing even if it is day one. 

T-Minus 1 and Counting

     This post was generated some time ago with an automatic posting for October 1st.  Due to our busy schedule and not having a "home" and a internet provider to cruise the net we wrote this entry as time progressed starting back in August.
      It is our intention in our travels to post as frequently as possible.  I know it may seem confusing to some, but I will from time to time make entries to the blog that have been back dated to the date of the actual occurrence.   This will help family and friends follow our journey. I have employed this practice in the past of backdating entries, however it was done without giving notice.  So, as time permits and the internet is available, you may see multiple entries appear one day for the last month or whatever time frame may apply.  I know it sounds confusing, so just seat back and enjoy the journey.
      Looking back over the past 12 months, I'm glad we didn't wait until the spring of this year to start working on what had to be done.  Our yard sale work started in January for sale dates in May and June.  Our Christmas in April allowed for the items to be on hand for when the timing was right for installation on the boat this spring and summer.  Putting the house up for sale in April and locating a buyer willing to wait until September was golden.  And, Sharon retiring in November of 2009 was the key to everything.  I would not have been able to accomplish all of this on my own.
       It would be logical to think that based on the countdown we would be departing in November.  But that is not the case,  the new departure date is October 6th - let the adventure begin.

In It For The Long Haul

     Today was our last chance to provision the boat while we still had a vehicle.  In the photo above, we have taken what is commonly used by Krogenites (owners of Kadey-Krogens) as book shelves and bric-a-brac shelving.  We found it better suited as a pantry for bulk food storage.  The lower units behind the cabinet doors are also used for storing food.

     We also used the shelving unit in the guest stateroom to store more food (see above photo), but we didn't stop there.  We also used the other unit shelving in the guest stateroom to store even more food (see photo below)   Yes, we are in it for the long haul.

In Over His Head

     Yesterday was to have been the day to have the existing watermaker on board Big Run up and running.  We had made arrangements with a local marine service to finalize the installation.  The watermaker on board Big Run was installed by a previous owner.  80% of the components are there - the seacock, raw water strainer, pre-filters, electric motor, pump, and filters.  However, the business end, where the salt water converted to fresh water is discharged, has not been finalized.  So our service tech looked at the unit for about 1/2 hour studying the system.  This was not the first time the tech had seen the system.  The tech then informed us that he has installed many watermakers - all were kits with all the components.  We were then advised by the tech that he believes the system was designed to be a manual type watermaker!  Not a good thing when you are looking for "set it and forget it" technology.  So to make a long story short, the tech leaves the boat promising to do research on how to upgrade our system to a automatic system.   We do have faith in him, but for a few moments we didn't when he told us he was in over his head!

Full Time Cruisers

     Today was house settlement day.  In layman's terms - we signed over the home to the new owners and they, of course, handed over a check.  No, we are not homeless.  Our boat is our new home.  No, we are not liveaboards.  We prefer not to be called liveaboards.  Most liveaboards rarely leave the marina, or they jump from marina to marina.  We, on the other hand, will be avoiding marinas, preferring to be on the hook in some far away gunkhole.  Just call us full time cruisers.

 

Warm Days & Cool Nights

We have been on the boat since last Saturday and on the hook since Tuesday.  As you can see in the above photo we have this anchorage to ourselves.  Thank you very much.  It has been a perfect week with warm days and cool nights.

Home Theatre

     When we purchased the boat the only entertainment system was the small LCD flat screen  with a combination VCR/DVD unit below as pictured in the above photo.  The small flat screen never lasted long as we upgraded to a 32 inch LCD.  The new TV was placed under the dining table.  However the "hole" from the smaller TV was still there.  Actually, we think the cabinet was designed for an older tube-style TV. 

     In the next photo (above) the wrecking crew has already started with the dismantling of the cabinetry.  The old design wasted a lot of space including shelving accessed from the galley side.  In the photo above, the inverter can be seen in the lower cabinet and with the door removed from the galley side, you can see straight through.

      Now we have an updated entertainment system.  Unfortunately when we had our yard sales in the spring, I sold our Devon A/V unit. We didn't think we needed an 5.1 surround sound system. - that was a fatal error on my part.   We did keep the mega DVD changer.  Since Grant didn't have a need for his 5.1 system at college we sort of took it off his hands.  With the new shelving unit we have now gained  a new entertainment center and more storage on the backside in the galley.  We will have to wait until we get back to town to locate some trim to complete the job, but for now we have a home theatre system again.

My Last "Big Run"

     Wednesday was Grant's day.  He headed to college with Mom & Dad in tow.  We left our home in Pennsylvania at 10 AM for a 2:30 check-in at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.  After a 4 hour 20 minute drive, we arrived at our destination.  By 4:15 PM we had Grant settled in, and he was anxious for Mom & Dad to depart.  On the drive up to Rochester I kept thinking about Hurricane Earl.  Although Earl was projected to graze North Carolina and continue to sweep on a Northeasterly course, a deviation of  50 or 100 miles to the west would have brought high winds, heavy seas and storm surge to the Chesapeake Bay.   After we left Grant, we drove for about 2 hours until we found a restaurant where we could relax and browse the internet with our air card.  As we waited for dinner, I surfed the National Hurricane Center's website for updates.  It probably only took me 5 minutes to decide that we would continue onto the boat to secure everything just in case.  It was 12:30 AM Thursday morning when we arrived at the boat.  We stayed the night and the next morning made our preparations for Earl.  It was a "damn if you do and damned if you don't" situation.  We drove back to Pennsylvania on Thursday which was another 3 1/2 hour drive.  Earl never made his presence on the bay.  I love to drive and will soon be selling our last vehicle, we drove in excess of 12 hours on Wednesday and I estimated it was about 500 miles.  I guess you could say it was my last "big run" behind the wheel of a vehicle.

T-Minus 2 and Counting

     The excitement builds as we finalize a few things in September/October.  As we look forward, settlement on the house is slated for September 17th.  Then on October 2nd we have one final family obligation at which time we will sell our truck to my niece.  Then, after hitching a ride from my sister back to Maryland and the boat, we have no reason not to start our adventure before November 1st, the day our slip contract expires.

     August was a very busy month on the boat and back in Pennsylvania.   As we packed our last possessions that we are keeping we also packed and moved Grant to college.  Our last big project on the boat was to fabricate and install an antenna rack, I hope we are not confused with some Big Brother Agency with all of our antennas.
     We also made a trip to the travel clinic to receive our second of three Hepatitis B shots.  The bill was by far more painful than the shot itself.  So in six months we need to remember to get our second Hepatitis A shot and third Hepatitis B shot.  Boy, will that put a pinch on the pocket book!