Celebrate!

Got the news that Katreina will get to start school tomorrow and she couldn't be more thrilled.  How to celebrate?  By finally checking out Calypso's, the restaurant up at Herrington Harbour North.  Good choice--it was $1.50 crab and $2 draft night!  Captain's happy! 



He's got crabs!



Slow start to the week

We got power back sometime in the wee hours of the morning, but it's still a slow start to the week. Katreina's first day of school was called off today so she headed into the city with Frank, and tonight we learned that school is still closed tomorrow. Poor girl is desperate to start kindergarten! But I guess the county still has folks without power so we'll be patient. The marina is already pretty much cleaned up, and the weather tonight is perfect. It's good to be home!

Post-Irene

I talked to Frank this morning right before he went to bed (0745!) and he said that while it was loud and very windy through the night, all was well.  The surge was a non-event.  I stayed in Gaithersburg until after lunch to give him a chance to rest, but was anxious to return.  We don't have power or cable, but for the most part the marina faired well.  One tree partially fell on a boat and a few folks have head sails that are torn to shreds, but that's about it.  I'm a little surprised at how humid it still is, but we're working through it.  Frank has been a machine, getting all the canvas back up by himself, and I pitched in to take some of the spare lines off.  With that, we're off to take a walk and chat with our friends!

Plan B

This morning we added a few more lines (for a total of 13!) and got all the fenders in place. The wind had picked up a little, but it was still pretty calm. Nonetheless, the Captain ordered the women and children inland! Ok, of course I care about the safety of my children, but I had really started to get excited about experiencing this ordeal, good or bad, as a family. But the kids and I packed up and headed inland to stay with family in Gaithersburg while Frank stayed behind. It's a good thing he did as the fenders required repositioning. He's been hanging with 30+ knot winds since noon, and now it's up to 40. Just talked to him and he's doing well, as is the boat. The worst is yet to come, but I'm confident Frank and the boat will be fine.


All tied up and ready to go!

Preps continue...

Today Frank got all the canvas down, including the genoa, and lashed the dinghy to the deck. It was hot and humid (duh!!!) so we went to the pool, dined out, and had ice cream. Is there a better way to prepare? As the sun set we got to work adding lines and working the boat into her storm berth. We still have some back-up lines and 3 fenders to hang in the morning, but we have time. It will definitely be raining in the morning, but we are confident we can get adjusted in time. I've got my rain boots ready to go...good night!

Special forecast for Rose Haven created by the Aerographer's Mates I work with.  Awesome!

Irene

After keeping an eye on the models for the past few days, it's looking like hurricane Irene will definitely be impacting us here. It's a little too early to guess at the surge we will see, but at this point it's pretty certain that we will see 50 knots sustained for a good stretch of time. The plan for now? Fill the water tanks, take down the bimini and dodger, clear the deck, move the boat forward, add some more spring lines and all the fenders, and hang on! Oh, and of course, get rum! If you think about it, we are sort of lucky here in that we have our own water and we are sitting on a floating generator--it's just that whole being on the coast during a hurricane thing that sucks. Most of our fellow U-dockers are planning to stay put, too. If it's getting too rough and we aren't close to the worst of it, we will move. It's not worth risking the kids getting hurt. Very interested to see what the weekend will bring...

In lighter news, Frank replaced the thermostat on the water heater today--we have hot water!

Don't rock the boat, baby!

Today's big event was to be kindergarten orientation, and while that was exciting another event stole the show--an earthquake! It was the event that almost wasn't for us...we were in cars and didn't have a clue it happened until I showed up at the little boy's daycare to pick him up (though in hindsight that wasn't a pothole that caused my car rock in a funny way). While the whole DC area got shook up pretty good, I took it as an opportunity to remember what's important and to live every day to the fullest. In that vein, Trent and I stopped off for an ice cream cone, then the whole family hit the pool and enjoyed dinner at Mango's. The weather was perfect and as we sat in the cockpit enjoying the evening we had some great chats with our neighbors. Word is the pilings swayed like crazy, but no boats were damaged. The only casualty was a potted tomato plant off of a neighbor's piling. All in all, not bad, but looks like a hurricane is thinking about heading this way soon...

Heating and Air Conditioning

As the daughter of a career HAVC-er, this post could be about the gas vs. electric, central air vs window units...but it is actually about the boat!  After seeing the water heater breaker unexpectedly trip a few times and not being able to rouse up any hot water Sunday, we've officially rendered the hot water heater broken.  Looks like the wire to the thermostat corroded and burned up, so the Captain/Chief Engineer is on the hunt for a suitable replacement.  In happier news, it was LOVELY out tonight!  It's amazing what 10-degree cooler temps and lower humidity will do for a gal.  We shut off the a/c and opened up the windows...it was so peaceful.

Tonight we also had an extremely low tide, so much so that I half joked about us being on the bottom at the pier.  Rest assured, we had a good 5 inches below the keel!  Geez....  It did make for a fun trip to explore the beach!

The boys exploring the shore at low, low tide.

Life in port

It's been a gorgeous day here, but sadly the Captain is out of town so we stayed tied to the pier. No biggy--we walked, swam, waxed the boat, played shuffleboard, horseshoes, and frisbie, and went to a south-of-the-border themed party here at the marina, complete with awesome food, good music, and margaritas. Not bad for a "quiet" day!

Kids enjoying the spread at the Herrington Harbour South Slipholder Party.

St. Michaels

We headed to St. Michaels this weekend since Frank's sister and her husband were heading there and we've been wanting to check it out.  The weather made for some sporty sailing, with 15-20kt winds the whole way across the Chesapeake (I drove!) and some gusts once we made it into the eastern bay, but we made it and secured a nice little anchorage just outside the harbor.  We put out all 100' of chain as there was a possibility of thunderstorms in the forecast and the area was reported to have poor holding.  Just as we dropped the hook, we caught sight of the tour boat that our family members were on and made preps to meet them in town.



The kids enjoy a little "rail time" during some calmer winds.

While not grossly hot, it was wicked humid!  As soon as we pulled up to the dinghy dock I was impressed with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.  I can't wait to go back and give that place the time and attention it deserves.  The kids immediately found a playground and got to working up a sweat.  While we played Frank took his sister and her hubby, who had never seen our boat, out to the anchorage to check it out.  Of course the kids and I had to scope out the town's ice cream and toy offerings, and it didn't disappoint!

Frank, Fawn, and Darrell cruise past The Crab Claw on their way out to the boat.

It seems that we haven't completely scared off our brother-in-law as he did return to town and talk to us.  After a little more socializing and playground time we headed back to the boat--it was time to go swimming!  The water was cool...just perfect really.  The wind was creating a little surface current that challenged the kids, but we all had a blast and wrapped up with showers on the transom.  Then it was grilled steaks, cocktails, and bed!

The trip home was pretty uneventful.  We had a nice sail for a bit, but motored to avoid beating into the wind.  It was too hot to delay getting to the pool!  Wrapped up the weekend with some grapefruit crushes and an amazing belly flop display by the kids.  Once again a great weekend.  It's going to be tough to go back to work!

The Captain and 1st Mate enjoying the pool.

Special forecast

My AGs (that's Aerographer's Mates for you non-Navy types) ROCK! Today they added a forecast and tide data to the weather brief for St. Michael's, MD, which is where we are headed this weekend. Looks like the winds will be a little brisk and there is a chance of showers, but I think it will work!

Wax on, wax off...

I can not compare to a cleaning crew. For the past two nights I've danced with the weather in an attempt to scrub and wax the deck, even going so far as to chamois dry after a rain shower! The orbital buffer has helped, but between work, the weather, and the darkness, I've not made the progress I had hoped to. Still I managed to get most of the topside surfaces done, I just know that with a day or two off work (and maybe two more people on my crew!) I could really make some headway. Still I can't deny that it's nice to see that gleam and know that my work put it there. :)