The outboard--GRRRRRR!!!!!!!

I'll say it for Frank--that damn outboard is a pain in the @$$!!!  After paying a bunch to have it serviced, it crapped out while we were on the water in Annapolis.  And after 2 more carb cleanings by Frank, along with fresh gas, it still won't start.  I've watched Frank spend hours on this thing and I'm honestly about to spend the $1000+ on a new one and pop a bow on it for him just to be able to move on and enjoy fall sailing!  He's taking it back in to the shop again tomorrow, and I can only hope it goes well. 

Annapolis, Take 2!

This past weekend we decided to hit Annapolis, this time hoping to avoid the mega crowds.  It worked!  I will say the sail up reminded us a lot of sailing in PACNORWEST waters as we were dodging tons of logs and debris in addition to the normal slew of crab pots.  But we made it!  We had no problem catching a mooring ball Saturday afternoon and even managed to get the dinghy motor working for a trip to town.  We did a little shopping (new shades!), sampled some ice cream, and even ran into Katreina's kindergarten teacher while walking around.  Dinner back at the boat, followed by cigarillos and cocktails on the back deck for the adults, made for a nice, relaxing evening.

1st Mate at the helm.

Today we decided to dinghy into town for breakfast at an Annapolis icon--Chick & Ruth's Delly.  The atmosphere was fun, classic diner and the food was good, too!  I had a crab omelet that I swear had a good 1/2 pound of meat in it, and the kids' OJ tasted perfectly fresh-squeezed.  Mmmm...  Katreina had a little drama with her loose tooth before we ate, but some ice made it feel better and in the end she was leading our trek through the alleys of Annapolis.  It was a great way to spend the morning!  We decided to tour the harbor in our dinghy before returning to the boat, but alas it wasn't meant to be.  The engine started sputtering out and we barely made it back before it died for good.  Frank is not happy!

Ready to get our eat on at Chick & Ruth's

We got underway for some great downwind sailing and had our biggest event of the weekend--Katreina lost her first tooth!  She was dangling her feet over the port rail and suddenly jumped up into the cockpit calling, "My tooth!  Mom, look!  My tooth!"  And there it was, tiny and frail, in her little hand.  I'm so proud of her for hanging on to it, and for being brave when it bled a little.  My little girl is getting so big!  [sigh]  Back at home, we had to celebrate with some ice cream.  Good times!

U-dock fun

Tonight we made our first visit to our neighbor Tim's boat, "Kelly B."  Compared to our home, it is HUGE!  Had a great time visiting with neighbors Tim, Dave, and Carol, and met new friends Ed and Jan.  Such a great crew here at HHS!

Skylight work (a.k.a. The boat project from hell)

After a seriously long week at work we decided to stay put and get a few boat projects done. As we'd noticed some of the caulk coming out and had some leakage during the hurricane, we figured it was time to strip and replace the caulk on our cabin skylight. We removed the caulk easily enough then had to scrub the biology project that had been growing in the seam. After a meticulous tape job, I was ready to go. We decided to use some marine adhesive/sealant that said it was for port lights. I was a little leery as my comfort is with 100% silicone, but dove right in. Immediately I decided I hate this sticky, goopy, marine crap. I couldn't smooth it to save my life and it didn't seem to bond even to itself. To make matters worse, when we went to pull up the tape (nice 3M blue tape!) the paint on the actual window lifted with it, as did some of the lovely sealant. I was crushed. All that work and we had a botched job and had created another with the window paint. Despondent, I turned to the pool/bar for a pick-me-up.

This morning we got back to working on the window, cleaning out the adhesive and prepping it for an application of 100% silicone. Frank also started project #2--fixing the engine shutoff button at the helm. THAT was an AWESOME boat project! Seems the wire connection had jiggled loose right behind the panel. Easy fix! We cleaned it up, recaulked the cover, and voila! Done!

After lunch I applied the caulk to the window without any real issue. We did have a few showers move through so we had a tarp up to protect our work. So far so good, but I'm anxious to see how it holds up.

So how did we celebrate? With a trip to East of Maui in Annapolis where I got a longboard! The guy working there didn't even make me feel like an old hag! I got a nice little Sector 9 board, checked out their selection of SUPs, then came home to skateboard. I love my board! I took one good digger in the tennis court, but otherwise did okay. It was a great release after this past week and weekend. And now...FOOTBALL!!!!! :D

Rain, rain, go away

We have been dealing with some lows, including the remnants of tropical storm Lee, for the past few days. It has made for some very loud nights on the boats. In fact, I just about peed myself with that last bit of lightning and thunder! At least the house floats!

Labor Day Weekend, 2011

We kicked off our weekend with a birthday celebration on Friday night for the 1st Mate (me!).  After a nice dinner at Mango's we all enjoyed cupcakes from Curbside Cupcakes (the cupcake truck in downtown DC).  YUM!


Happy Birthday to me!



 
Saturday morning we got underway with our sights set on Annapolis.  We had some great downwind sailing and passed at least 3 regattas on the way.  We weren't terribly surprised that there weren't any mooring balls available in the harbor, but there was plenty of room off the USNA quay wall so we dropped the hook and all 100' of chain in anticipation of higher winds in the afternoon.  We were planning to meet some friends in town so we dropped the dinghy (exciting in a stiff breeze and chop!) only to discover that the engine wouldn't work.  After some troubleshooting Frank though it was the fuel line from the gas can to the engine.  We caught a water taxi (thank goodness for that service!) into town so we could meet up with our friends, try to get the part for the dinghy, and of course get ice cream!  The whole gang caught the taxi back to the boat for a simple dinner of burgers.

Sunday morning Frank tried for a few hours to get the dinghy going, but it just wasn't meant to be.  Even after painstakingly cleaning the carburater it wouldn't run.  Seeing a few mooring balls had freed up, we decided to shift to a spot a little closer to town.  The moorings in Annapolis are great!  After the bit of relaxing we headed into town via the taxi again and walked amongst the crowds.  It was a little much!  After some treats and a nice walk we decided to head back to the boat.  We just aren't into crowds like that.  Frank put up the hammock, the kids got out their fishing rods, and we relaxed!


Captain relaxing in the hammock while the 1st Mate supervises the swabbies.



Kiddos hanging in there during some choppy conditions.



 Our trip back home today was a little rough!  There wasn't a ton of wind, 13-15kts on the nose, but the seas were square, ~3' and 3 sec period, and it was rough down below!  Poor kiddos didn't even feel that great up in the cockpit.  We made it home just fine though and after giving the boat a good scrub we hit the pool for about an hour before the rain started.  All in all, a decent weekend, though I could have done without the troubles with the dinghy and would really like to go back to Annapolis when the streets aren't so packed.