"The Realities of Cruising"

Thursday Afternoon October 2 After reading Update 6, if you started thinking of overused clichés like “If life hands you lemons, make lemonade” or “Every cloud has a silver lining”, there actually are a few downsides to cruising. Here is a cruising reality check: 1. Trying to stop leaks is a losing battle. No matter what you do, WATER WINS! 2. SALTWATER SUCKS! Just swirl the rim of a glass around any surface top-side, add tequila and you got yourself a margarita with salt. It coats everything and ,oh by the way, it totally destroyed my Watco Teak Finish on the teak decks. So much for that $100 investment and four days worth of work. 3. If you leave anything open or out of place, you will most definitely step in it or trip over it. Which leads to the discovery that band aids don’t last on a boat. The paper package sticks to the band-aid, which doesn’t stick to anything after you finally get it open. 4. If you stay down below while underway long enough, you will eventually get that “OH DEAR GOD PLEASE DON’T LET ME GET SEASICK” feeling. Time for a gingersnap break. (Thanks Phil!) 5. If it rains, everything feels damp, even pages in books. Never knew towels could smell THAT bad. 6. Ice will drain the cruising kitty in a hurry. We should have listened to Walt and Vicky and bought the d#*! icemaker. I thought it would take up too much room. In hindsight, I will gladly sleep with it in our bunk if we can find one. Will Gary think he’s getting the cold shoulder?? 7. Going from 4000 Verizon minutes to 900 is a difficult adjustment. How could I burn through 900 minutes in the first two weeks of the month?? If you are talking to Gary, this is why you will hear me screaming in the background “TELL THEM TO READ THE BLOG AND HANG UP!” 8. Things frequently break or are in need of repair. Then comes the thrashing around in tool boxes and slamming of drawers and closets and the anticipated question “Darling did you see that little thingamajig that was sitting right here?” To which I reply “Sitting where since when?” To which he replies “Right here, since right before we left Port Clinton.” To which I reply “I threw that away yesterday.” And so it continues. 9. Pump Outs Rule. Everyone knows that feeling of impending urgency when you have to go to the bathroom? I kid you not, that’s how you subconsciously start to feel when the holding tank is nearing full. And there is no better feeling of relief than after a good pump out. Tessa feels lighter and relaxed. So do we. 10. So far, 50 feet of boat is still big enough for two. Or is Tessa a GulfStar 40? I’m not sure now. Pretty sure she’s 50.. but maybe not……… Back to being positive and upbeat! We entered the C&D Canal (short for Chesapeake and Delaware) Tuesday morning and I began an internet search for affordable dockage. We knew the anchor windlass motor would arrive somewhere at best on Thursday and were cringing at spending three more days at a dock. Called Mike and Debby for advice since Mike’s house is in Wilmington Delaware. He suggested Chesapeake City. The dock master at Chesapeake Inn & Marina said they didn’t have enough water for Tessa but suggested tying up to the free City Municipal Dock if there was room. Gary was sure I made a mistake hearing him. A free dock? Can’t be right. But just in case, Captain decided to blow the doors off the other boats we were cruising behind and kicked it up a couple of knots. Good call Captain Gary!! We glided up to the city cock and gleefully read the sign. DOCKAGE $0. 24 HOUR MAXIMUM. Gary went up to City Hall to check in and pay the $10.00 for electricity. He charmed Doris like he does all the girls, and came back reporting that Doris said of course we could stay longer if we were having a “boat emergency.” Life is good. We now have dockage money burning a hole in our pocket, so off we go the The Tap Room, which was highly recommended by Mike & Debby for crabs n beer. We tried the old bay shrimp and it was great. Saving crabs for Wednesday night. We took a walk around Chesapeake City and found it to be a very charming little town. Back to Tessa for boat chores, then to the Chesapeake Inn for the best spicy mussel appetizer we’ve ever had. That was good enough for dinner along with a few beers. Wednesday morning was bright and sunny and we felt like we were on vacation. No high seas looming ahead, just minimal boat chores, so let’s relax a bit. The Bohemia Café was a great spot for coffee, tea, and restrooms, not in that order. We split the Belgian Waffle and both agreed it did not stand a chance against Ken Turvey’s waffles. No comparison! At the café, we chatted briefly with our French Canadian dock mates from “Raksha“, home port Lake Champlain.. They introduced themselves as Pierre and Francoise. I suspected they may have just been humoring us Americans with common French names we could grasp. (We emailed today and those really ARE their names. ) And what a wonderful couple they are. Since it was warm and calm, Gary suggested I jump in the dinghy and scrub the grungy stained water line. So much for minimal boat chores. But it so needed to be done, and I was very successful with this new magic potion we bought at LBI. Tessa is sparkly again. Wednesday night, we invited Pierre and Francoise to join us to crack crabs at The Tap Room. It was their first experience, but they turned out to be pros at it. We had a great time together. Too bad they didn’t have any left-overs for a crab salad lunch today. This morning we received some good news. Our cruising friends D & Don Wogaman had put in a good word for us at the Annapolis Boat Show. They worked it quite a few times to pad their cruising kitty. When we first spoke, Marci said she had a full staff with a waiting list of helpers. Today she had some cancellations and asked how soon we could be there, so tomorrow we high-tail it to Annapolis. But tonight, we share those wonderful mussels again, this time with Pierre and Francoise. We will celebrate the arrival and successful installation of the new windlass motor, and the fact that Gary only bled from his head once for a short period of time. Hi-Ho Hi-Ho it’s off to work we go…….