August 20-23
Marina & Potomac
Crew: solo

I knew heading into this 3-4 day trip that I'd be spending a lot of time in port. My steering had been acting up, I hadn't even gotten my dinghy in the water, the davits needed new line, the running and anchor lights had been off last time I checked, and there was tons of organizational things that always need doing.

The steering was the first job we tackled. Ron who's boat sitting two slips down was my expert on this job that I had no intention of tackling alone. The first thing we had to do was get access to the guts of the system which required that I haul out all the junk I'd stored in the aft berth, shown here neatly organized in the main cabin! (There's just not a whole lot of storage space on a 30-foot boat!)

We messed around with it for the better part of the afternoon with no success until Ron said it just looked as if there was no way around pulling her out of the water, which I needed to request of the marina for the next morning.

After making my request, we had some time to kill as another boat was on the lift waiting to be put in the boat yard. That gave me some time to work on other jobs, including the dinghy.

After opening a few more steering access points for Ron to use after we pulled her, I took some time to putter around the marina in the dinghy. She's not exactly a speedboat, but I was amazed at how much pickup that little 4hp motor has. I also immediately saw the benefits of having the dinghy when it comes to anchoring out, which was another item on my list of things to do this trip.

Ron found me when it was time to pull the boat and we got her over to the boat yard with the help of Steven, a new guy at the marina from Belgium who's restoring a boat in the slip next to mine.

Once hauled, we worked more on the steering. Unfortunately, the cap that holds the rudder in place would not budge, leaving us unable to pull the rudder & look at the innards.

Fortunately, the steering seemed to have loosened a good bit from all the lubricating we'd been doing up to that point, so we decided to put her back in the water and let me take her out Friday for a shakedown cruise. While on the hard, Ron hooked up my knot log which had mysteriously never worked.

I left the marina about 1:00 Friday afternoon after rigging the dinghy and found the steering to be vastly improved. Unfortunately, the dinghy was just not riding right on the davits, so I had to get it down in the water to be towed. The easterly wind allowed me to head up the Potomac which I'd not done to any extent in the past, and I decided to head for Breton Bay and possibly all the way to Leonardtown, Maryland.

I was amazed at how perfect the wind was as I sailed almost all the way up into the Bay. Unfortunately, Leonardtown's harbor, although recently renovated, is not yet able to handle the deep draft of saiboats, but it was just as well because it was time for me to make for home where I got this picture of the sunset.

The steering had passed with flying colors, and I had only one more item on my agenda: anchoring. In discussing anchoring with Ron while I was checking all my ground tackle, I had hit upon the idea of anchoring in the new open part of my own marina. If I had any problems or needed help all I'd have to do is dinghy ashore and get it!

So, instead of mororing into my slip, I just motored into the open space, next to another sailboat and dropped anchor - after a few rookie, first-timer mistakes! I cooked my first real dinner while on the hook and headed to bed after relaxing on deck for awhile. The combination of worrying about my anchor drifting and all the new noises that come with sleeping at anchor had me tossing and turning for a good bit, but eventually I dozed off.

The next morning with tons to do before I made it out of there in time for a social event in Waynesboro, the engine wouldn't start!! I theorized that it was because I'd left the water heater on all night with no water in the fresh water system. However, my handy little portable battery, which I always charge every trip, came though and I was soon back in my slip packing up for home.

Despite only one day of actual sailing, this was a very satisfying trip. Thanks to Ron, I learned so much more about my boat than I'd known before, I got the boat a whole lot more well organized, and I checked several things off my 2008 to-do list.

Next time, a multi overnighter in a new marina and at anchor!

July 30-31
Potomac River
Crew: Patsy

Well, I'm way behind in my posting! This entry involves a quick trip to the boat with Patsy before another trip to the Outer Banks.

As a gas saving move, Patsy and I fit in a quick one day trip to the boat on our way to Duck on July 31. After arriving and unloading, we had enough time for a brief afternoon sail. We made our way over to Tall Timbers, just across the Potomac and motored our way around that scenic area. There's a marina there, but I've never taken the time to go there.

The next day, we decided to just get a few things done in the marina and head on out for the OBX. We began our beach trip with scorching heat, but after the first few days, the weather moderated and the rest of the stay seemed more like June than August.

The sea oats on the dune outside our place seemed particularly prolific this year which is encouraging, considering that after a bunch of nor'easters a few years ago, we barely had any!