Life on Lailia

Piney Narrows Yacht Harbor, Chester, MD (docked)

October 1-7, 2022

The remnants of Hurricane Ian got stalled off the coast of Maryland for (too many) days which led to seemingly endless nasty weather for us. We have been wearing shorts and flipflops since February, so having to wear pants, shoes, and jackets feels like the start of something negative…We also both seem to be primarily solar-powered, so we lose a lot of energy when it’s rainy.

Our friends Casey and Andy took pity on us and picked us up on Saturday night so we could spend a night in their apartment where we didn’t have to listen to the wind howl continuously.

The wind just never let up – it was blowing steadily in the mid-20 mph range with gusts up to 40 mph. The marina is pretty protected from waves so we only rocked a little but the sound of the wind was just a terrible background howl. It’s always worse at night when I am trying to sleep.

Finally, the sun just started breaking through the yuck near sunset on the 5th, even though it was still windy.

By the evening of the 5th, we were back to pleasant weather (it still feels like it took FOREVER to get to sunshine).

Sunshine and warmth means that we can get some boat stuff done, so we put a foil (whale tail) on the dinghy outboard. This will help stablize the dinghy and get it on a plane faster (it reduces drag). To install it, John hoisted the motor to the stern transom to secure it. Then I climbed into the dinghy to hold the foil in place while John leaned over the stern rail to drill the holes.

Nicer weather also means that we can leave Lailia and get gas station tacos with our boat neighbors. We stopped along the trail to watch night fall and soak up some calm.

We’re taking Laila out for the weekend so we can join our friends Kim and Rick in Rock Hall. Between weather, work, and wellness, we haven’t been away from the dock much, so the adventure is calling.

St. Pete Beach, FL and Jacksonville, FL (Hoteled)

September 25-28, 2022

Something that I really miss is the independence of having a car so we don’t have to depend on someone to transport us. Kent Island does not have a lot (if any) Ubers on Sunday morning. We learned this the hard way when we tried to get to the airport. I thought I had a ride set up but apparently he overslept. I can’t even express how frustrated and dismayed I was: there were no Uber drivers available through the app. Luckily, we have an Uber driver in the marina and were able to get him to take us to the airport at the last minute.

This should have been a clue about the next few days, by the way…

The workshop provider let us know that the three-day workshop would be a two-day workshop due to the possibility of bad weather. I was able to change our flight home to Wednesday, early afternoon, rather than Wednesday night.

Sunday in St. Pete was pretty lovely, although there were some patchy clouds. We were able to have dinner in one of our favorite places and walk back to the hotel at sunset.

On Monday at our morning break, we learned that the workshop would be shortened even more – we would end at 2:00PM on Tuesday. I managed to change our flight home to Tuesday night so we could get out early.

By lunch on Monday, we learned that the governor was going to order an evacuation the next morning and that we would be shortening the workshop so that it ended that day. We would work with our participants to come up with some blended learning activities to meet their hours. There were no earlier flights available, but the weather didn’t look that bad.

By 5:00 PM on Monday afternoon, we learned the governor was going to declare evacuations at 6:00 PM. This is when the emergency alerts began on all of our phones. We knew that we would still have time to get home, since we had a flight at about 7:00PM on Tuesday.

Afternoon clouds rolled in as we walked to dinner – but this happens A LOT in Florida!

We had a short torrential downpour and then it cleared up.

As we were waiting for the rain to stop, I got a text from the airline letting me know that our flight on Tuesday evening had been cancelled. A second text alerted me that we were rescheduled for Thursday (another change!). We learned that the Tampa airport was closing at 6PM on Tuesday.

John is a true logistics guy – he realized our best bet to get home was to rent a car and drive to Jacksonville where we could grab a flight home. I made a car reservation for a rental place that’s really close to our hotel. The airline was great and changed our flights yet again – this time we would fly on Wednesday late afternoon from Jacksonville (right – another change!). My friend, Eve, was also able to arrange to fly home to Michigan from Jacksonville on Wednesday.

Something must have told John that we needed to check our car rental reservation so we headed out a few hours early on Tuesday. We learned that the rental location in St. Pete Beach had closed without letting any of its customers know. Back to that sense of frustration and dismay that started this trip.

Eve had the good idea to Uber to Tampa airport to get a rental car, especially after we learned that the only car rental place on St. Pete Beach had a pretty high upcharge for one-way rentals.

We were lucky that the St. Pete Beach Uber driver lived on the island since only residents were able to get on the island. We could see the clouds moving in, but there wasn’t much rain or even high winds. It’s odd to see how deserted the roads at the beach can get.

Although we hit some traffic pockets, our ride across central Florida was pretty uneventful. There are some rolling hills there with cows and horses. There are also multiple prisons, too.

On Wednesday, Jacksonville was starting to get some rain and wind. John heard a rumor at the hotel registration desk that the airport was going to close at noon but this was unfounded, thank goodness.

After returning the car, we spent a lot of time in the Jacksonville airport – long enough to do some sightseeing.

We had to travel through some pretty bumpy bands to get from Jacksonville to the Atlanta airport. Seeing the sun shining in Atlanta was such a relief!

We arrived back on Lailia around midnight on Wednesday. The ratio of travel to workshop was way off this time but we’ll try it again in November (out of the hurricane danger time). We’re hoping our Florida and South Carolina friends are able to get through Hurricane Ian with minimal damage. We do know a few folks who have boats and houses on the gulf side of Florida.

Piney Narrows Yacht Haven, MD

September 15-24, 2022

After John’s diagnosis of gout, he was on an anti-inflammation diet of with food like chicken and cherry juice while he was avoiding red meat and alcohol. He was on some pretty heavy-duty anti-inflammatories for his wrist. He also was having a lot of gut pain which, naturally, we attributed to the meds. The only problem: when he discontinued the prescription stuff, the pain didn’t go away – in fact, over time, it got worse.

By the night of Friday, September 16, John knew he had to get medical treatment for what he knew was diverticulitis. We took an Uber to a local urgent care who, after a few tests, referred John to the emergency room to get a CAT scan. DIverticulitis can cause absesses which can quickly become septic.

We caught a cab to the ER where after several hours we learned that John did have diverticulitis but it did not require admission to the hospital. He did require an intravenous dose of antibiotics as well as a ten-day regimen of oral antibiotics. And a bland, liquid diet.

It took a while for the antibiotics to kick in fully. John also had to suffer through eating jello and drinking protein water, soda, and broth. I tried to eat when he wasn’t around!

Slowly he has been able to add food back. We’ve learned a lesson, too, that as soon as he feels a bout of diverticulitis coming on, he should get medical attention.

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We’ve only been taking short walks because of John’s discomfort but we realize haven’t been this far north for a really long time. The signs of autumn as well are starting to creep in. I am not a fan.

We seem to have been caught in a really windy weather pattern that’s pulled in some cooler air. We’ve been wearing shorts since the middle of February; I’d like to stay in warmer temps (but it’s probably not going to happen).

There have been some pretty sunrises, though, and we’ve enjoyed sleeping with the portlights open.

We’ll be heading to St. Pete Beach soon so I can lead a workshop for a few days – it will be good to go to the warm weather and see some IB friends. John’s feeling much better and only has a few days left on his antibiotics. There’s the potential for a hurricane, but it’s far enough out that we should be fine.

Galesville Harbor Yacht Yard (on the hard)

September 4-7, 2022

The weather for us has been pretty amazing – we haven’t had very many rainy or drizzly days for most of our adventure. Of course, when we need it to be dry, it rains…

Lailia was hauled out on Friday (when it was sunny and warm). While she was in the straps, she was power washed. Since she was out of the water and this boat yard allows for DIY work, we decided to paint her hull.

She clearly needed the wash. She also needs another coat of bottom paint. John painted her in 2019.

Prior to painting, Lailia need a light sanding. Since the bottom paint has a very high concentration of copper, a dustless sander needs to be used. We don’t have this technology so we needed to have boatyard folks do this for us.

There was a three-day weekend between when we hauled Lailia and when she could be sanded. The weekend was beautiful, by the way – sunny and warm.

Tuesday started badly. John’s wrist swelled up, got hot, and was very painful. The urgent care doctor diagnosed him with gout, which is pretty uncommon in wrists (it’s usually in toes). John has to take some prescription anti-inflammatories and wear a brace.

The weather was also difficult, although not as bad as forecasted. Instead of flash flooding, we had lots of clouds and drizzle.

Not much happened with Lailia on Tuesday. John was dealing with his wrist and I did some homework for some professional learning sessions.

John was able to get enough pain relief to allow him to sleep last night – an improvement over the previous night.

Lailia was sanded this morning. Muriatic acid was used to clean stains from the boat hull. The when hosed off the acid interacted with the copper in the oid boottom paint and turns it a funky yellow-green color.

To remove the muriatic acid residue, John and I used Dawn dish detergent, lots of water and scrub brushes. This should provide a clean base for the bottom paint.

We’re hoping for a few things: that John’s wrist continues to heal and that we have some dry weather so we can get the bottom painted. The forecast for tomorrow is much dryer plus pretty comfortable temps. That will make it easier for us to wear the protective gear, although we’ll still be pretty sweaty.

Galesville Harbor Yacht Yard (on blocks)

September 2 & 3, 2022

It was a very quick trip from the anchorage to the yacht yard where we met our surveyor, Curt. Curt spent a few hours checking Lailia’s systems while she was still in the water.

When he was finished with that part, it was time for Lailia to be hauled from the water.

Once we had her out of the water, she was power washed which took off a layer of “stuff” including some barnacles and algae.

Curt inspected Lailia’s hull. We have a through-hull that has to be replaced but everything else looks good. Since we had Lailia out of the water, John decided that we would get her sanded and then we would paint her hull – it’s been about three years since her last painting, so it’s time.

Curt’s a good guy and said that he would loan us a car while we were here; we are also able to stay on Lailia while she is up on blocks. These two things have really been a gift – we don’t have to find a place to stay and pay for Ubers. Curt also took us to a marine supply store and used his professional discount on the hull paint (it’s not cheap).

Staying in Lailia in the yard while she is up on blocks is…an adventure. Each time I climb up or down the ladder, I pretend that I am staying in a treehouse (for some reason). We do have power, so once I am inside our boat, I can forget how high we are.

We were able to go to the grocery store today. This part of Maryland is really, really pretty.

Galesville is a small, quiet town with some nice sidewalks, so John and I took an afternoon walk. There’s so many pretty flowers right now.

We have to wait until Tuesday morning to have Lailia sanded so we’ll enjoy our treehouse time for a few more days.

Piney Narrows Yacht Haven to Galesville, MD (anchored)

September 1, 2022

How wonderful it was to get back out on the water! Because the haul out and inspection are tomorrow, there’s no hurry to get to the anchorage and we can sail.

Low humidity and bright sunshine made this trip even better.

We had the mainsail and headsail up pretty quickly. Once the engine was off, we were able to just enjoy the quiet. Not much wind but we had plenty of time to enjoy the ride.

Winds were pretty variable – sometimes we hardly had any and then we would get to a better spot. We never exceeded 6 knots but it was a nice day out on the water.

This anchorage is very peaceful although there are several marinas nearby. John took the dinghy over to see where we will be hauled out tomorrow – it’s only a few minutes away. The light pollution here is much less than at the marina, so we’ve spent a few minute looking up at the stars.

Piney Narrows Yacht Club, Kent Island, MD

August 3 -31, 2022

We have spent the month of August in a marina. John has done a lot of boat maintenance (including making new deck hatch covers, washing and sealing the teak as well as changing the oil and filters and repainting the chain markers) and I have done some IB work, both virtually and in-person. The marina has been a great homebase that allows us to focus on tasks rather than travel.

Early August was marked with regular afternoon storms. John and I like watching the clouds come in. The winds pick up and Lailia moves just a tiny bit in this very protected marina.

We’ve explored a lot around the marina – the Cross-Island Trail goes right by us. We’ve walked the Ferry Point Trail a few times, but it gets really buggy. The bugs were almost worth it the evening I saw a fox there.

The view of sunrise is blocked by the covered docks near us but we do get some nice sunsets.

A short walk across the Kent Island Bridge takes us to a bunch of restaurants, including a really nice coffee shop, Dessert First, that serves breakfast as well as baked things.

Our friends Casey and Andy, as well as their dog Frank, have also shared meals with us. There’s even a pretty great taco counter in a gas station that’s about a mile away (right off the Cross Island Trail).

We have decided to stay in this marina for another month. As the weather cools down a little, we’ll take some day trips out in the bay. It’s also nice to have an address where we can receive Amazon packages.

Lailia will need to have an insurance inspection which includes being hauled out of the water so her hull can be viewed so we’ll be heading across the bay to get that done soon.

John: Piney Narrows Yacht Haven, Kent Island, MD (docked)

Chris: Springfield, VA (hoteled)

August 1 & 2, 2022

The workshop I am leading this week is in a school about 60 miles from the marina, so the organizers have rented a car for me to use. John and I stopped at a grocery store on our way back to the marina and also had lunch.

There’s a lot of traffic in this area. I knew there was but I think I had blocked it.

This workshop had the potential to be really messy – our hotel rooms and workshop rooms were not set up when we arrived (never a good sign) and most participants had not logged in to the learning management system prior to the workshop.

Fortunately, everything came together when participants arrived. They were really engaged in the work. I appreciate these teachers who drove through lots of traffic over the summer to collaborate with their peers from the surrounding districts. Their students are really lucky to have them.

The workshop leaders for this event were definitely international. My dinner companions included folks from Canada, Argentina, and Jordan.

Tomorrow’s drive will be through lots of rush hour traffic, but I know I will enjoy the time. Instead of sitting in an airport I will get an opportunity to unwind and relax (in traffic, of course, but there’s no hurry).