Tag: chesapeake

Days 264 & 265: Rock Hall Adventure

Rock Hall Public Dock, Rock Hall, MD (docked)

October 8 and 9, 2022

The wind started kicking up on Friday night and on Saturday morning there was a small craft warning for the Chesapeake Bay, but we were pretty determined to get to Rock Hall. Luckily, this was a short trip of about 11 miles total.

A sporty ride

Our friend Kim met us at the dock and took us to a great party. The food was amazing and the entertainment – live music and oyster shuckiing relays – made the bouncy trip worth it tenfold.

Shucking relay (language warning!)
Evening at Rock Hall

After a night at the dock, we walked to a coffee shop for breakfast before we left for Kent Island. Rock Hall has a large population of people who make a living fishing, oystering, and crabbing.

Trap stacks on the docks
Comorants hanging in the harbor

Sunday’s weather was far more lovely and we were able to get the sails up and turn the motor off for a while. The wind was perfect so we were speeding at 6+ knots/hour.

Such a great day on the water

We are starting to plan our route south. I have some upcoming work that requires us to have reliable internet and a few trips when I will need access to airports, but in between those days we’ll start heading towards warmer weather.

Buoy near the marina entrance

Days 236 & 237: Painting and Leaving

Galesville Harbor Yacht Yard (blocked) to Piney Narrows Yacht Haven (docked)

September 8 and 9, 2022

Yay! The sun is breaking through

John’s wrist felt okay enough for us to paint Lailia’s hull (and the sun came out, too).

Since the paint is high in volatile organic compounds, we made sure to wear protective gear like respirator masks, eye protection and painters’ suits. (The curve of the hull meant that we had to assume some odd positions, too, so we were also protected from getting paint on our clothes and in our hair.)

Everything except what’s under the wood is painted!

We managed to get the hull done, except for the eight places where the wood from the stands was touching the hull. Tomorrow we’ll have those pieces moved so we can touch them up. Once those pieces dry (about 4 hours), Lailia will be able to get back in the water.

The last little bit

The boatyard folks moved the stands first thing this morning so John got out and covered the spots before breakfast.

All done

Four hours later, we were ready splash (although there was no splashing involved). The process is very quick and easy, which seems amazing to me.

Getting back on the water is great – we will not miss using a tall ladder to get on and off Lailia, although we are really proud of our system for hoisting groceries onto the boat with a hook attached to a spring line.

The “grocery hook”
Ready to go

We had following tides as we left Galesville which helped move us right along.

Heading out of Galesville

A beautiful, breezy Friday afternoon is prime time for recreational boats on the Chesapeake, along with the cargo ships that stage here as they wait to go into Baltimore.

It was really busy out on the water today

As always, ospreys are hanging out all over the place.

Maybe letting the wind blow through her feathers?
This one has some dinner

We made it back to our slip long before nightfall and with enough time to Zoom with our younger son who has to work on his birthday tomorrow.

There are still some boat tasks to complete but in the last week we have complete the two largest ones – the survey and the bottom paint.

Moon at the marina