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Published: October 30th 2008
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Summer on the Chesapeake Bay
Nancy and I docked in Dark Head Creek at the home of friends Curtis & Chris Wroten in early June after completing our 1180 mile journey up the East Coast from Fort Pierce, Florida. We enjoyed the six week trip but were glad to finally be tied to a secure dock for a change. It seemed as soon as we arrived, the weather turned extremely hot and humid. Chris insisted that we move into their guest bedroom and enjoy the air conditioned comfort of their home.
After a couple of days Chris and Curtis told us they were ready to leave for an extended trip to Florida where they have a 2nd home. They asked Nancy and I if we would please stay in their house in Maryland and take care of things while they were gone. We were tasked with watering the plants, driving the car they left behind and making sure the cable TV worked as expected. A tough job but we felt up to the challenge. We did agree to help with the upkeep like painting the railings and staining the fence and power-washing the pier.
This opportunity to keep Double-Wide in one place gave us the chance to catch up on some deferred maintenance and to do some the projects that could not be done before we left Texas. We had to fix the anchor windlass, fix some broken fittings and change the oil and filters on the engine and to rebuild all of the winches with new grease and springs. I also had to replace the water pump on the Fischer/Panda generator (for the 3rd time).
Also, we were able to install some new equipment, such as a wind generator to boost our battery charging capabilities and to convert most of the light fixtures from halogen bulbs to low amp LED bulbs. I also installed Sirius Satellite Radio so we can have more music and sports when we are in the Bahamas. Finally, we needed to replace the stack-pack sail cover on the mainsail. This project had a surprise twist at the end. We contracted Quantum sails in Annapolis to supply the sailcover since they offered the best product at the most competitive price. It took 6 weeks for the cover to be built in South Africa and shipped to Annapolis. Finally
the day to install it arrived and when the sailmaker arrived in his van he brought a brand new “Dark Red” sail cover with him. Oops, somebody screwed up when ordering the color since we intended to keep the same dark orange color that matched the other covers on the boat. After much haggling, Quantum agreed to replace the other covers for free if we agreed to keep the new red mainsail cover. So if you notice a new look on the recent pictures, this is why.
Summer gave us a chance to see our families that we have not been able to spend much time with since we moved from Maryland back in 1984. Nancy’s Mom is now 84 and was glad we were able to visit regularly. Nancy's cousin Naomiand her new husband Gregg drove over from DC and spend a quiet evening on Middle River with us. I was able to see a couple of Raven’s football games with my brother Richard as well as attend a couple practice sessions at the training camp in Western Maryland. We were able to invite our families down to eat steamed crabs at Chris’ house on the river.
We also enjoyed following the Baltimore Orioles on TV and going to a game one evening.
A highlight of the summer was Scott and Pam’s wedding on Federal Hill in Baltimore City. It was a beautiful ceremony with the Baltimore harbor and skyline as the backdrop. The wedding was followed by a spectacular reception just down the hill at the Rusty Scupper restaurant.
One of the real benefits of the house sitting opportunity was meeting the neighbors, especially Bob & Joyce and Opie & JT. They have a routine of gathering on Friday nights on someone’s deck overlooking the river and enjoying some beverages while the sunsets. This is a great way to end the week. Opie and JT work as commercial crabbers as a retirement job, so they were able to supply us with great blue crabs whenever we asked.
We did manage to do some sailing from the dock on Dark Head Creek, mostly with Nancy's sister Gayle & brotheri-in-law John and their kids. Tony And Karen flew up from Texas for a long weekend and we took them sailing to Annapolis and then over to the Eastern Shore for a quiet
night on Swan Creek before sailing back to Middle River. We also were able to do a few day sails and overnights with friends and family.
We are now on our way south and should have a blog of the trip so far out shortly.
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