Heading south...again

[stxray]

Some of you may recall that two years ago I attempted to do the ICW with my destination being Key West. Unfortunately, I only made it as far as Deltaville Va., when I developed engine trouble. The Admiral borrowed a friend’s truck and met me with the trailer for the sad ride home.

Well, I never thought it would take me this long but if nothing else I’m determined and trying it again.

This time I launched from Charlestown, Md rather doing the Delaware bay. Fist stop Sassafras River where I spent an “exciting” night.

The next morning with NE winds, I headed to Rock Hall. The winds were out of the SE so I had them on my beam as I headed for the bay. Once I turned to the SW, it was a far more comfortable ride.

Small Craft Warnings have been posted for the last few days, so I’ve been hanging out in Swan Creek

Next Stop: Annapolis.

Since my family isn’t part of the AOG community, I’ll be posting comments and answering questions at my blog: http://www.doingtheditch.xyz/. Check it out and let me know what you want to hear about.

[stxray]

Small Craft Warnings have had me just hanging out in Swan Creek. That’s given me time to get better organized as I try to stow all my gear and provisions. As I observe one incredible sunset after another, my thoughts go to all the people who have been instrumental in making this a reality. So, this is my “Thank You” post.

First is the Admiral (better known as my long-suffering wife). Boating is not her thing. According to her it, “Snobby camping”. Even so, she has been incredibly tolerant and supportive. Sweetheart, I know it’s not your thing but, thank you. I could not be doing this without you.

Next is my good friend John T who’s always encouraging and always helpful. He’s always eager to hear of my progress. Also Charlie J. A friend I made in grammar school, lost touch with, and reunited at our 50th class reunion. What a miracle. What a guy.

Then the John I, Jeremy, Steve & the crew from Point Tire & Service. John generously allowed me to borrow his truck before I got my own, which he reluctantly sold me. Having my own truck just gives me so much more flexibility. John & the crew worked over the trailer making it roadworthy. Finally, it was John & crew that helped me drop the engine back into the boat once I retrieved it from the rebuilders.

Last but certainly not least is the AOG community. Whenever I was stuck, confused, or ignorant, I was able to get support, knowledge and direction from fellow Albin owners. What’s amazing is how I’ve developed friendships with people I’ve never met who live in places I’ll probably never get to. One member in particular is WillieC . His help, support, encouragement and availability have been invaluable.
Thank you one & All!

[Sprig1]

Sounds like a good start Stxray. You went right by me I'm in Worton Creek. I was down in Annapolis Tuesday on a boat not mine. You should be able to find an anchorage further up the creek. Have fun. It's the sailboat show it's crowded. I guess if you are reading this your in Annapolis. Good luck

[DesertAlbin736]

Awesome!

Questions:
1) How far south are you planning to go and for how long?
2) Any idea of planned stops as you head south?
3)Are you going to stay on the Western Shore or cross over to the Eastern Shore as you get past Tilghman Island?
3) How far are you willing to trailer?

St. Michaels & Cambridge are nice stops. There are fuel docks in Oxford. There's some nice gunkholing spots in Little Choptank RIver. Solomons on the Patuxent is nice too.
Here was a little raft up of Montgomery sailboats on the Little Choptank that I was with in 2002, my first cross country trailering road trip when my late parents still lived in Delaware. My boat wasn't in the photo because I was taking it from my boat, a Montgomery 15. But there definitely were pretty sunsets.

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That time I crossed the Bay from Fishing Creek on Hoopers Island to Solomons in this 15 foot Montgomery "Scamp" the morning after a thunderstorm that left behind 2 foot waves & 15+ knot NE winds running. At the time it looked calm in the sheltered cove that I'd launched from & didn't know there were small craft advisories in place. Always interesting to be in a boat this size and see waves higher than your transom. This was a 4.5 knot hull speed boat & was making 5 knots under reefed storm jib.

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Anyway, ever give any thought to doing the so-called "Triangle Loop" sometime?

This is what we're thinking of doing next summer/early fall:

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In our case we'd trailer out to western NY & put in either at the west end of Oneida Lake or perhaps Seneca Lake, take the Erie Canal to the junction with the Oswego, then go clockwise as shown on the map above, including the St. Lawrence, the Rideau Canal to Ottowa, down the Ottawa River & to Montreal, on to Sorel, QC and the Richelieu to Lake Champlain, down to Waterford & back west on the Erie. You could go up the Hudson from NYC (which is tidal most of the way) to Albany, west to the Oswego, etc so you'd be going downstream on the St. Lawrence.

If I had it to do a Chesapeake cruise over again, unlike our 2015 Chesapeake cruise that July I'd rather be doing it this time of year. July was so hot & muggy with wicked T-storms. But in that case there were time constraints that involved other people since we'd been invited to stay with sailing friends at a beach house in Rhode Island the second week of June. Since I am originally from South Jersey & still have relatives there, we took our boat down to Cape May & put it on the ferry to Lewes, DE.

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The weather looks pretty nice on the Bay, at least for Annapolis, highs in the upper 60s to mid 70s for the next couple days, but watch out for this coming Wednesday, rain forecast with 6/10ths inch accumulation.

Rick Armstrong, aka WillieC, is a really great guy. We cruised with him and his wife Heidi last year from Blaine, WA, up through the Gulf Islands & east side of Vancouver Island to as far north as Comox & across Georgia Strait to spend two weeks in Desolation Sound. Rick is so dedicated to the Albin "cause" that in July of this year he drove up from Seattle, took the ferry over to Vancouver Island, drove up to Ladysmith (look that up on Google Maps & see where that is), booked a hotel room just so he could attend the Canadian Albineers of BC club rendezous, where counting our boat (we were there too by boat) there were eight A25's attending in total including Dave Kirsop (aka dkirsop) with his A25 "Sea Quill" and Ives, aka ssrig, with his boat "Slo Mocean".

[Endurance2018]

Both sound like a great plan. Being out there is what it’s about.

Have either of you done the Trent Severn water way?

[stxray]

Sounds like a good start Stxray. You went right by me I'm in Worton Creek. I was down in Annapolis Tuesday on a boat not mine. You should be able to find an anchorage further up the creek. Have fun. It's the sailboat show it's crowded. I guess if you are reading this your in Annapolis. Good luck

Thanks for the well wishes.
Not to Annapolis yet. It's a long story... I'll try to post.
Getting some marina time here in Haven Harbor in Rock Hall.

[stxray]

Both sound like a great plan. Being out there is what it’s about.

Have either of you done the Trent Severn water way?

Not me. This is my Maiden Voyage.

[stxray]

Awesome!

Questions:
1) How far south are you planning to go and for how long?
2) Any idea of planned stops as you head south?
3)Are you going to stay on the Western Shore or cross over to the Eastern Shore as you get past Tilghman Island?
3) How far are you willing to trailer?

1) MY target is Key West or, as far south as I can get (and back again). I'm in no hurry. Just trying to escape winter. Not looking to return until Spring.
2) I'm taking it day-by-day choosing destinations based on weather, events &/or attractions. I do want to do Annapolis, Hampton, The Dismal Swamp Canal (which will be my first locking experience), Elizabeth City, Maybe do the Albemarle Loop, Beaufort, SC, Charleston, Savanna, and St. Augustine ( the Admiral would like to meet me there). I'm open to suggestions. If anyone has any "you don't want to miss" recommendations, they would sure be appreciated.
3) Haven't decided yet. Depends mainly on the weather. This time of year much of the wind on the bay comes from the North; NE to NW. I'll be looking for destinations that keep the wind off my beam as that's not a fun ride.
4) Now that I have my own truck capable of towing Al Dente, my towing limit could be considered limitless restricted only by time and mileage since I only get 9 mpg when towing. I'd love to someday meet up with you and WillieC but that's more wishful thinking than practicable. A rough calculation for aa 3,000 mile trip @ 9 mpg would be 333 gal. At $4/gal that'3 $1333 in fuel costs alone. In the end, a lot depends on how this trip goes. As I said to the Admiral, when I return I might say one of the following, 1) "F*&k, I ain't ever doing that again. I'm selling her.", or "That was a blast, where to next", or "That was nice but we need a bigger boat"

[stxray]

Here's the long story of why I'm hanging at Rock Hall for so long.
Before departing, I had an issue with my tachometer. Most times, it didn't work at all. On occasion, it would come alive and give me a reading. Sometimes steady, sometimes jumping around. I checked the wiring and the connections and all checked out good. What to do, what to do...

I could replace the meter. I search and search and couldn't find a definitive way to determine if it was the meter or the sensor. Replacing the meter would cost me around $100 but if that didn't fix it, the sensor would be another $350. Not liking that solution I opted for a TinyTach for $100.

The TinyTach is a small meter that uses a transducer that clamps onto one of the injector feed lines. Installation was easy and it worked like a charm on day one. On day two, it too cramped out. I spoke to the company and they agreed to ship me a replacement transducer. But, where to ship it? Hold that thought.

At the same time, I noticed I had fuel leaking coming from where the injector pump mates with the engine block. I tried tightening the four bolts but no help. Thinking it was beyond my skill set and tools, it wasn't something I wanted to attempt while at anchor. I check around to find a dealer/service technician but no one could look at it for at least a week. If parts were needed add another week. So thinking I was stuck in Rock Hall waiting for a tech, I told the TinyTach people to ship the replacement transducer here to Haven Harbor.

Then I reached out to WillieC. It was Rich who explained how a fuel leak from that point didn't make sense. Oil, yes but not fuel. The injector pump is a sealed unit. Fuel comes in from the lift pump and goes out the injector feed lines. His advice, check the lines in and out of the pump. So following his advice, I cleaned the area thoroughly. I then wrapped small strips of paper towel around each connection and ran the engine. Sure enough, it was the incoming fuel line that was leaking. Tightening it hard, it stopped the leak.

Awesome! I was free to go. Oh wait. Remember the TinyTach, I told them to ship it here. Arrival won't be until Tuesday at the earliest or Friday at the latest. Do I wait for it to arrive? I think not. I've asked if Haven Harbor would forward it for me and they have agreed. I'll have them forward it to my home ( where I should have directed it in the first place). Then when I have my next 2-3 day layover, I can have the Admiral overnight it to me.

Oh well, things could be a lot worst. What's so bad about working on a boat, watch incredible sunsets and sunrises.

[DesertAlbin736]

Now that I have my own truck capable of towing Al Dente, my towing limit could be considered limitless restricted only by time and mileage since I only get 9 mpg when towing. I'd love to someday meet up with you and WillieC but that's more wishful thinking than practicable. A rough calculation for aa 3,000 mile trip @ 9 mpg would be 333 gal.

Time is always the biggest issue, as are truck fuel costs. The time issue is solved by being retired and financially secure, as it appears you are too. Everyone has budget limitations of some kind. My philosophy is comparing those costs to those of bareboat charters. For example, our first cruise to the San Juans was in 2011 when we shared this chartered Jeanneau 40 sailboat out of Bellingham, WA for 7 days (which is really 5 days because the first day is spent provisioning & checking out and the last day you have to have the boat fueled and back to the charter base by noon) with two other couples. We fell in love with that cruising ground, but that was three years before we became Albin owners, and so now we've been back four more times with our own boat, extending our range all the way up to Desolation Sound. I keep track of all my expenses going back 20 years, and our cost (not counting some things the Admiral paid for), including air fare, one third of the cost of the boat, provisions, fuel, etc, was around $2,800. For one week! Three years later in 2014 we took our Albin 25 back up there. Total cost for that time (not counting what the Admiral spent) was $2,450. FOR SIX WEEKS ON THE WATER! And that included all road trip costs and the very expensive $540 replacement of a failed raw water pump. Compare that also to the cost of any cruise ship cruise.

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My truck gets between 10 to 12 MPG towing the boat, averaging closer to 11 MPG. For that 2014 cruise and again in 2016 we launched out of Bellingham, WA, 1,557 miles each way from our house. My total fuel cost for the truck was $664. My truck being diesel does get slightly better mpg, but diesel fuel usually costs more per gallon than gasoline. Plus when I go to change the oil it's 12 quarts, not 5, and I run Amsoil synthetic that costs $10 per quart. We usually try to boat camp, sometimes "boondocking" in Walmart parking lots, other times in RV campgrounds. But that first time we did spend $185 for two nights in hotels. If in fact we do the Triangle Loop next year & launch from the west end of Oneida Lake near Brewerton, NY, that's 2,383 miles from our house by the shortest route. Mileage wise our boat actually gets better MPG than the truck, so we could shave 138 miles off the road trip if we launched from Tonawanda at the west end of the Erie Canal.

Endurance 2018 asks about the Trent-Severn. No we haven't done that & not likely we will, at least not next year. Seems like a bridge too far, but who knows? But we like all things Canadian, especially the people. Funny, we do these trips to escape Arizona summer heat, while you're trying to escape northeastern winter cold. We can go out on our local lake here throughout most of the fall/winter/spring months from November to April, but we've become spoiled & the lake, even though it's surrounded by scenic desert hills with Saguaro cacti, is frankly boring after having cruised the Pacific NW. The only thing going for it is it's 15 minutes from the house.

First is the Admiral (better known as my long-suffering wife). Boating is not her thing. According to her it, “Snobby camping”. Even so, she has been incredibly tolerant and supportive. Sweetheart, I know it’s not your thing but, thank you. I could not be doing this without you.

I am doubly blessed having an Admiral, er wife, who's as enthusiastic about our boating life as I am, and she absolutely loves our boat. When I suggested the idea of the Triangle Loop, which in turn came from an article in BoatUS magazine, without hesitation she was all like, "Yeah! Let's do it!" Even with the road trips she's a "super trouper'. Our entire social life revolves around boating and fellow sailboaters we've known from the days when we had a sailboat. And I too as well could not do any of this without her. I can't imagine negotiating locks single handedly, and so far have transited Erie Canal locks 22 times & have our routine down. In fact the way we met was through the sailing club after she had been widowed in 2005.

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I think your wife would be wowed if she woke up in the morning, looked out the wheelhouse window & saw scenes like these:

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[DesertAlbin736]

Sure enough, it was the incoming fuel line that was leaking. Tightening it hard, it stopped the leak.

We had been fighting similar issues with our Yanmar over several years. The braided fuel lines between the lift pump, filter, and injection pump have these stupid "banjo bolt" connections, that is special bolts that are hollow & the fuel flows through them & are sealed with copper washers. One has to be careful not to over tighten them or the threads strip out, but if they work loose or the washers are squashed too much they leak. Thank goodness the engine bed is separate from the bilge.

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[Sprig1]

If you need anything I'm just few miles up the road. It sounds like it was a zoo in Annapolis this weekend with the high tides. We just got back from Port Deposit and Charlestown for the weekend. Good luck!

[stxray]

Now that I have my own truck capable of towing Al Dente, my towing limit could be considered limitless restricted only by time and mileage since I only get 9 mpg when towing. I'd love to someday meet up with you and WillieC but that's more wishful thinking than practicable. A rough calculation for aa 3,000 mile trip @ 9 mpg would be 333 gal.

Time is always the biggest issue, as are truck fuel costs. The time issue is solved by being retired and financially secure, as it appears you are too. Everyone has budget limitations of some kind.

It's not so much "budgetary limitations" as it is priorities. I'm sure as I get more cruising and towing miles behind me I'll be looking for more distant adventures. As for now, however, Key West is significantly outside my comfort zone. I'm a long way from bored.

I think your wife would be wowed if she woke up in the morning, looked out the wheelhouse window & saw scenes like these:...

Yea, you would think. It's just not her thing. Prior to Al Dente, we owned a 34' Tartan sailboat. We cruised the Chesapeake Bay and saw the most awesome sunsets and sunrises. Did she enjoy them? Yes. Was she wowed? Not enough to get into it.

When it comes to spousal support, it seems to fall into one of three categories: 1) In Sync & Supportive - This seems to be what you have. A shared enthusiasm for the activity and/or the adventure. or, 2) Out of Sync & Supportive - This is what I have. Although its not her thing, she's supportive and has no problem with me pursuing my interests participating occasion. Then there's the Out of Sync & Unsupportive - This is where the spouse isn't into the other's activity and doesn't want them to pursue it either; sometimes downright restricting his/her participation. I saw this often when I was riding my motorcycle. I often got comments, usually from wives, "...that's so dangerous. Absolutely not! I won't ride and neither can he!"

After 35 years of marriage, I've come to realize life and relationships aren't storybook perfect. I've found a good woman, who loves and tolerates me while allowing me to do my own thing. That works for me

[DesertAlbin736]

Yea, you would think. It's just not her thing. Prior to Al Dente, we owned a 34' Tartan sailboat. We cruised the Chesapeake Bay and saw the most awesome sunsets and sunrises.

Tartans are good boats. A little anecdote here: Back in March of 2008 when we still had our Catalina 25 sailboat we drove over to San Diego in our car to scout marinas and pick where to park our boat for the summer. We stayed for a couple nights in a hotel but also brought along our tandem Advanced Elements inflatable kayak. We took it over to Glorietta Bay on Coronado Island (not actually a real island but connected to the mainland by a low strand). There's a little beach in the cove just below the Coronado Bridge to launch from & an anchorage across from the Navy SEAL training base. So we paddled around the anchorage and noticed a couple sitting out in the cockpit of a Tartan 37 sailboat lying at anchor. I am familiar with what the Tartan logo looks like, so as we paddled by I said to them, "Hi, nice Tartan!". Apparently they were impressed that a couple kayakers knew what a Tartan was, so they invited us to tie up and come aboard. We had a great time chatting with the owners, total strangers to us, drinking Corona beers & eating crackers and Brie cheese. That's why we love the boating world so much.

A few months later that June we trailered our boat out from Phoenix and & put it in a slip in Chula Vista at the south end of San Diego Bay for the rest of the summer. That same year there was a tall ships festival, and among the square riggers coming in was the HMS Bounty replica from the 1962 Marlon Brando version of Mutiny On The Bounty film. The same one that later sank in a storm off the East Coast. As it turned out some friends from our sailing club happened to be there on land along the shore of Shelter Island and snapped this photo of us watching the Bounty go by as we stood off to the side in our Catalina 25 "Orinoco Flow". The 2D perspective makes it look like we're about to be run over by the big powerboat, but actually we were well out of the way.

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As for wives who don't much care for boating or sailing but whose husbands do, we have a few of those in our club. Some go along to get along, including one who is prone to seasickness, and others who stay home and let hubby go do his thing without them.

[stxray]

Did my first lock . at Deep Creek. Lock master, Robert was helpful & patient. Dock at Elizabeth's pier for the night and enjoyed Robert's hospitality in the morning.

Left with two other boats down to dismal canal. Stopped for the night at the welcome center

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