Happy Easter

Got up to a cold and rainy Easter in Urbanna. We chose to finish up a couple boat projects and motor back to Stingray Point.

We have been fighting clogged drains and I have been putting off taking them apart. I took apart the kitchen sink and found the sink and hose clogged with goo. I suspect that when Zoe was prepped for sale the varnish brushes were cleaned in the sinks. Unfortunately, the bathroom sink is not draining either and I suspect I know what the problem is. Oh well, a project for another day. We, also, got the trim back on the rub rail and figured out the propane system for the stove and heater. We are headed back to Ohio tomorrow. I sure wish we could stay here.

Capt. Mike

Headed for Urbanna with new friends

Got up this morning setting in the mud at our dock so we went to town for breakfast. After noon we headed out for Urbanna with new friends Jim and Jody on Tarantella and Tom and Bianca on Die Valkrye. We had a very nice downwind run up the river. Justin and Sean handled the sailing and ,although they were outrun by two larger boats, put on a respectable showing. Actually I think, if we had a proper hadicap, they might have been very close. Definately two sailors in the making.

We were invited over to Tarantella for dinner and good conversation. Jody made a very nice dinner with contributions from Bianca and Kat. Overall, with the exception of finding mud at the beginning of the channel into Urbana, it was a pretty perfect day.

Zoe flying up the river at 4 kts

Capt. Mike

Friday at Stingray Point

What a good day. We slept until we wanted to get up. We took Zoe for a daysail.

Unfortunately, we ran out of wind so we headed back in and worked on a couple projects

Seems like there is always something to keep you busy on a sailboat.

Capt. Mike

Easter Weekend

We headed down to Stingray Point Marina today. It is pretty chilly outside but we are buttoned up with the furnace running and watching Captain Ron with our guests Justin and Sean.

We will get the weather in the morning and decide our course of action.

Capt Mike

Stingray Point

We lost a half day so we had to rise early again and head out in the rain. Man do we like our cockpit enclosure.

Visibility was poor but the water was calm and we made good time to our destination. Unfortunately we were not home yet. We pulled into the channel leading into the marina and, again, we ran aground. As we were discussing with the marina the fact that the channel has to be cheated to port in order to avoid the finger that sticks out into the channel on the starboard side, a large fishing boat blew by us and the wake gave us enough lift to get free. We made our way to Zoe's new home and put her to bed. Next up, keel inspection and damage repair.

Capt. Mike

Reedsville Virginia

Trying to do things on the water on a schedule is a very bad idea. We, again, had to make the call after a difficult night to continue on. Nothing good happens when you are exhausted. We headed out in the channel and even though I have a chart plotter in front of me and Kat was pointing at the green marker, it simply didn't register that we were out of the channel. we ran aground again. Thank heaven I was able to simply back up and go around. I wound not have been able to face the tow boat captain two days in a row.

We rolled down the Patomac on glass calm water. We thought we had the day made until we turned southeast directly into the wind. We spent the next three hours fighting our way around Smith Point. By then it was 3:30 in the afternoon and we were still 4 hours away from our planned destination at Stingray Point. We were able to make contact through Stingray Point to Reedsville Marina that was closed but had power. We decided to duck in for the night.

The approach to Reedsville was narrow but well marked. The town is home to a large fishing boat fleet. Avoiding the fish traps was the most difficult part.

They are nothing more than fields of sticks in the water and pop up randomly.

The entrance to the river was marked with a spider light mounted on an old lighthouse base.

After two days of 20 plus winds and 10 ft seas we were ready for a quiet evening.

Capt. Mike

Stupid is as Stupid does

I laugh at other people's folly. Actually I do it a lot. Today is my turn. It started innocently enough. Kat and I want to be at Stingray point in Virginia on Friday so even though the wind was in the 25-30 range and the temp at freezing, we decided we had to go.

That was mistake #1.

We were in a nice marina but had little room to spare for our 6 ft draft. As I spun around to head for the channel out, we ran aground. Fortunately, we were able to back off and be on our way.
The wind was at our backs so we went with a main and no head sail. We made good time and assumed that later in the day we would simply see where we were and find a place in the area to stay.

That was mistake #2.

We found a place on the Patomac that sounded alright and made a reservation. Unfortunately, there were two marinas of the same name about 7 miles apart. We, of course, went to the wrong one and found it empty with no power. We tied off at the main dock and considered staying. In retrospect, that would have been the correct move. We decided to move on to another marina as we need power to run the furnace and someone hadn't bothered to check the propane tanks for the stove and heater.

That was mistake #3.

We called another marina on the St Mary's river about 5 miles away and took directions on how to approach. Well, as it turned out, the directions were not correct. We checked the charts and the gps and thought the channel described looked narrow with shallows on both sides. We rounded into the river and found ourselves fighting 25 mph winds on the nose and took the rest of the day getting to our destination. When we turned into the channel, we found ourselves aground dead center in the channel. We took someone else's direction over what we saw on the chart and didn't get actual coordinates to verify.

That was mistake #4

This time we weren't as lucky and had to call for a tow. The tow boat arrived about a hour and a half later well past dark and with a foot less water under us. With a lot of effort and minor damage to our pulpit we were again afloat and received an escort to the marina. We will have the boat pulled and the keel inspected soon. The marina ended up being a mile farther up the channel.


What we have taken from today is, even for a simple move down the coast, planning is everything and don't assume anything. We were simply moving our boat and found ourselves stuck out without a heat source because we didn't prepare properly. Simply checking the propane would have allowed us to either stay in the first vacant marina or wait for high tide to float back out. Double check everything. We assumed that the directions to the marina were correct and ended up stuck in the mud in the wrong channel.

Capt. Mike

Herrington Harbor North

I finished Zoe's bottom on Monday and she splashed on Tuesday. Definately a couple long days.

We took off this morning for Zoe's summer home at Stingray Point in Virginia. It was 40 degrees. Fortunately we discovered that Zoe has all the pieces for a fully enclosed cockpit. Life is good!

We landed here at Herrington Harbor North for the night and plugged in so we can run our furnace. Its supposed to be a brisk 34 in the morning. We did pass what I would consider an ideal home site on the way.

I wonder what the property taxes are like?

On a down note our 1982 fridge seems to have developed issues. Maybe it just needs a charge.

Capt. Mike

First coat

Well, the first of two coats of bottom paint is on. We had to wait until 2 o'clock to get above 50 degrees so didn't have enough time for two and drying. Kat has a seminar for work so we are being put up at the Inner Harbor Marriott for a few nights. The Valet guy was quite impressed when I showed up in my orange pickup covered in red bottom paint.

I let him off the hook and parked it myself. Plan is coat two tomorrow and am also working on the teak rub rails. Kat is furiously scrubbing the paint off her hands and face so they don't ask her to leave her infection control conference.

I know it's under water but I think the red bottom coordinates much better with our red white and blue color schemes.

Capt. Mike

Bottom prep

We are in Annapolis today rubbing Zoe's bottom down in preparation for a couple coats of bottom paint.

We are using Interlux micron csc. I have no experience with it but it is what was already on the boat and I don't want to completely strip the hull so we will give it a try. The reviews run very positive and we had virtually no growth on the boat at haul out. We are, however, only talking about a three month period. We are taking the suggestions of many and using a different color to give us an indicator of when we need to recoat. This an ablative coating.
Capt. Mike

Chapter IX...Enter Zoe

Upgrading to the C30 took a full season of repair so we kept Some Beach until we could float Whatta-Deal. We were able to move Some Beach to a young couple on Atwood Lake and it's good to see someone else starting their journey in this solid boat.

Our long term plan is to keep Whatta-Deal at Atwood Yacht Club for a summer hurricane season home. With this in mind, we continued our search for a true blue water boat. As has been our practice when we travel, we always try to find a couple different boats to check out. I had come across a sailing blog with a Baba built by Ta Shing. We were headed through Annapolis and up to New York to visit friends on our Ultra so we contacted Rich Kahn in Annapolis and were able to view 5 different versions.

This is Rich's boat. This is a Baba 35.

We, also, viewed a 38 along with three 40's. Even though we didn't go with the intention of purchasing, when Kat saw Zoe the decision was made. After 9 years of looking, our search ended. Rich was extremely helpful with the purchase and with information about the boat.

Our Zoe is a Baba Panda 40. She has the strength of build we were looking for in a boat that wouldn't break our bank and the traditional look that we prefer. The Ta Shing craftsmanship is evident throughout.

Our good fortune continued throughout the survey and the sea trials. We found very little in need of repair or upgrade. It is unusual to be able to look back at a purchase, when dealing with unfamiliar people, and say everything is as advertised and these are all good honest people.

Of course, after finding the boat of our dreams, we had to celebrate with friends.

Getting Zoe Ready To Go

Well, weather permitting, Zoe is scheduled to hit the water on March 11. I had the stuffing box repacked and the cutlass replaced by our friends at Diversified Marine Service.

These are both jobs I could have handled if I were where the boat is. Trying to accomplish boat tasks from 6 hours away is difficult at best. I am planning on doing the bottom paint but even that has become a challenge. The paint requires 50 degrees to apply and at least 50 degrees during drying time. In order to accomplish this before the 11th, I am going to have to devise a tenting system with heat. I'll let you know how that works out.