Deltaville, Commissioning Notes. 37.33.45N 76.18.94W

Alcedo
David Batten
Mon 2 Nov 2015 21:44
Saturday, 31 October 2015

This is the second time of writing this blog as the first one disappeared into the internet ether between writing and sending. A mystery with no solution.

We have been in the USA for 12 days now and have achieved patching the copper anti foul on the hull, cleaning off the rust spots on the keel and preparing it for anti foul. We have re-sculpted the front of the lead keel bulb which suffered some anatomical damage when we had a close encounter with a rock off Fisher Island when anchoring and the keel and bulb are now covered in a very attractive deep emerald green courtesy of a half used pot from the yard at Zimmermans.

The yard have finished the winter jobs on the steering, the engine, the deck organiser, the leaking window, the water filler inlet valves, etc, etc and Caleb, bless him, has worked today when the yard is usually closed to finish installing the solar panel which arrived from California yesterday afternoon.

The boat has been launched and we had a test drive in the Rappahannock River with Michael, on loan from the yard, to help us put up the sails delivered yesterday from their service at Ullman's. Thank heavens for Michael, who definitely saved the Skipper's wife from a major stress attack when every piece of rope either attached to the mainsail, the mast or the boom, including the burgee halyard, managed to get itself the wrong side of main halyard, reefing lines and stack pack ropes. Meanwhile, we were zigzagging up the river trying to keep the 15 to 18 knot wind from blowing the sail overboard, flogging itself to pieces, or filling enough to prevent it going up, while avoiding other vessels and the shallows on either side of the river.

The skipper has paid the yard bill, or will have done when the money transfers is completed. We have done quite a lot of shopping for boat bits and food and have started re-stowing for not just the 1500, but the Pacific trip next year. We are now very much the poorer but ready for the 55 mile trip down the Chesapeake Bay to Portsmouth to join the ARC 1500 Rally boats already gathering for safety checks, weather advice and lots of other useful lectures and, of course, the social gatherings.

Report from Portsmouth to follow.

Alcedo

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