On Our Way
Our trip to the Caribbean has officially begun. We left Deale, MD, on Monday, October 18–only two and a half weeks after our target date. Although we had been preparing for this trip for about a year, the month of September was especially frantic.
We had the boat hauled out and did all the bottom cleaning, painting, waxing, some minor hull repairs, along with the installation of our new solar panels. We stayed with our dear friends, Tim, Viki, and Annie while Mary T was out of the water. As usual, they treated us like family and never put any pressure on us to get a move on.
We didn’t want to live aboard Mary T on the hard. For one thing, the boat sits at a steep angle with the bow higher than the stern so the rain won’t collect on deck. Secondly, it’s not very romantic.
At the time we were getting hauled out, Hurricane Earl was a potential threat to the Chesapeake region, so, Robert, the yard manager at Shipwright Harbor Marina, placed Mary T in a safe place amongst some larger vessels and also put additional jack stands under her as a precaution. Robert was also very helpful with advise on some of our repairs.
The major event of our September occurred on the 19th, when we went to Gloucester, MA to get married aboard the sailing vessel, Windfall, a Hinckley 49. Windfall is owned by our friends Raffi and Lisa who charter her out of Gloucester in the summer, and then, out of the Abacos in the Bahamas for the winter. Massachusetts is one of the few states that allows ship captains to perform weddings. So, when Amy and I got engaged, it was a no-brainer to ask Raffi to officiate ours. My brothers Jack, and Bob, along with all of Amy’s family came aboard for the ceremony. We left the dock, circled around Gloucester harbor, and then head to Misery Island near Salem and Marblehead. What better place to start a marriage, eh? It was a splendid day aboard Windfall, followed by an exquisite meal at Duckworth’s Bistrot back in Gloucester. (yes, that is the way they spell “bistro.”) We highly recommend Windfall to all who may be looking to charter a crewed sailboat. (www.defiancesailcharters.com) (Go to: Wedding Photos)
Our trip to Massachusetts, by car, was a great opportunity to visit crusing friends Lou and Jane in Nyack, NY, as well as Corning and Tita in Edgecomb, ME. It was a very special ten days. Kind of like a “pre-honeymoon.” In between, we stayed at Amy’s sister, Molly’s, place in Littleton, MA. Molly, husband Tim, and son Woody, hosted with the mosted, making us, along with the rest of Amy’s family, feel like royalty.
We had to complete all our boat work after the wedding when we returned to Maryland. Weather played a small part in our delayed departure but most of our tim
e was spent re-organizing our lives. With daughter Kai-lee’ and family headed to Finland in May, 2011, we realized that we had better get all our stuff out of their garage and attic. Then there was the unexpected passing of Peter, the Berke family dog. Kai-lee’ and Rory had raised Peter since his puppy-hood in Hawaii and his passing was very painful. He was special and will be sorely missed. Here is a short film Amy did when we were pet-sitting Peter a few years back.
So, after several farewell dinners with friends and family in October, we thought we were ready to set sail on the 14th. But then, during a routine trial of the motor, we found that our motor gauges were going crazy. Needles were flying all over the place while others were normal. We looked everywhere for some clue as to why, but found none until Sunday. That day, we found a wire with a broken ring connection to the alternator. Once that was repaired, we were golden. Or, so we thought.
We left Deale Monday despite the fact that the tachometer was not working. We did not understand that that meant the alternator was not putting juice into the batteries. Fortunately, Monday was sunny so our solar panels were charging the batteries. We made it to Solomons where we had a rendezvous with sailor friends David and Peggy for one last farewell dinner. Tuesday, we saw by way of our boat’s regulator, that the alternator was functioning but failing to charge the batteries.Tuesday we arrived in Deltaville, VA, and were very fortunate to find a highly recommended mechanic, 
Henry Lackey. Dripping with southern hospitality and charm and an accent to match it, he came out immediately to Mary T to help us. He found yet another broken wire that was a completely different issue from the one I had found a couple of days earlier. All is well now: alternator, regulator and tachometer all working like a charm. Henry showed up later in the evening with a promised gift of two bottles of his home-made wine — one tomato and the other crab apple. We sampled the tomato, which was white and tasted nothing like tomatoes. Hard to say what it tasted like…but we were touched by the gesture.
In Norfolk, we anchored in Willoughby Bay surrounded by Naval ships. Rebel Marina owner, David Briggs, was very kind to us and let us tie up our dinghy at one of his docks and borrow the courtesy car. We needed to drive our portable Honda generator to a Honda dealer for repair. David also offered us the use of his marina’s showers, morning coffee… and he always had plenty of time to chat no matter if he was in the middle of a million tasks. Now that’s southern hospitality.
Cruising married is much different than it was when we were lovers. Amy won’t stop telling me what to do and I scowl and mope.
Today (Sunday, Oct. 24) we continued on to Great Bridge, VA where we sit presently, tied to the side of a canal with other cruisers watching the Canadian geese swim back and forth. The tachometer has stopped working again. Henry!!