Finally!

One last hurrah for the list, otherwise complete with the mounting of the video display on the flybridge console; our Tundra marine refrigerator has taken progressively longer to recover from defrosts, and the defrost in preparation for departure demonstrated that the ‘fridge was ill. Some checking and an attempt to recharge didn’t yield results to the extent we want to bank on its surviving through the summer months, so the decision was made to replace. A shame since it was new when we bought Maerin, so a 5 yr. old fridge onto the scrap bin and a $1500 re-investment. Ouch. But better to replace it when we have access to a known source, a means to transport it, and most importantly, help to muscle the thing into place. It’s not terribly heavy at 135 lbs, but must be lifted sideways up and over the bar counter and then out the door.  Thanks to Jim, Brian and Chris in addition to your humble author, the swap-out went without a hitch. The new Vitrifrigo is an identical match, so no modifications were required. The only thing remaining on the list is a nagging problem with the engine instrument panels, but that is an older problem that doesn’t have a significant impact on seaworthiness, so it will continue on the “when time allows” nag list.

We slipped the lines Friday morning, and after saying our goodbyes to our Stansbury family, we headed north. Our typical trip to Cape May for many years has included an overnight stopover at Chesapeake City, and we’ve normally had good luck getting space on the free bulkhead docks in the past, but this year, our approach happened at low tide, and the shoaling has become so bad that we were unable to get inside the basin. We pushed mud the entire breadth of the opening, so the overnight at Chesapeake City was nixed. Disappointing, since it’s one of our favorite spots to visit. Our alternate was a marina stay at Summit North. We were pleased to have a visit from Bill & Suzanne of Tequila who stopped in on their way to their boat down at Rock Hall. Summit North is an OK stopover, but we prefer Chesapeake City. We’ll time our next visit with a high tide; there are rumors of re-dredging the entrance, last done in 2005.

Ah, the list is self-generating! The autopilot wired remote control failed during the run from Stansbury to the C&D, so that will ship back to Raymarine for evaluation. This remote is no longer in production, so we’re hoping for a discounted replacement that they frequently offer as an alternative to repair of obsoleted gear. The replacement will be a wireless remote, but either way, it’s probably the most heavily-used piece of nav gear on board, so we’ll look forward to getting it or a replacement back into service. We have a backup simple remote steering control, so we can still steer from the helm seat without getting off our butts. Thank heavens for redundancy! 🙄

We left Summit North on Saturday morning for the run down the Delaware. Predictions were for winds 10-15 out of the South, not ideal, but do-able. As we progressed, the winds violated the prediction, kicked up to 20-25, along with the slop in the Bay. An ugly trip, probably our sloppiest trip down the Delaware, and a long one since the winds and currents conspired to keep our speed down below 6 kts most of the way. We did enjoy some 8 kt speed, but it was eaten up by the winds! 1 ft predictions soon became 3-4 ft reality so we slogged along in head seas for most of the trip. Just uncomfortable. The rough ride did provide an opportunity for real-time testing of the closure of the cockpit scuppers, and that proved to be a worthwhile effort; the cockpit was bone-dry, and no more slopping down into the lazarette!! Success!

We arrived at Sunset Lake just before dark, set the hook and dropped the dinghy over in 20 kt winds. Sunday  morning dawned sunny and calm, a welcome relief from the previous day’s blow! We spent 4 days here in 2008, it’s a great spot, as long as we time our entrance and exit of the lake not to be at low tide! We’ll spend at least Sunday here, perhaps another day. We’ll probably duplicate our 2008 trip as we head north. We plan to be in New York City before or by the weekend to meet up with nephew Nelson and his fiancee Katie, who we’re hoping can spend a day or two aboard with us!