Saxon Blue sails again

Saxon Blue's Blog
Harvey Jones and Andrea Stokes
Sun 14 Nov 2010 00:28
Saturday night

We may not have gone far but we actually went out sailing today and it felt great. We were up late last night after moving onboard again. It was sad to leave our lovely house in downtown Annapolis but it was exciting to be back on Saxon Blue. We all worked hard to get everything stowed away and ready for leaving the dock and we were exhausted by the evening. We went to Eastport for dinner during which they asked Kali for ID to prove how old she is. Andrea was offended that they didn't ask her as well. We dinghied back to Saxon Blue but couldn't go to bed yet as we were expecting a visit from Bill.

Bill is a young man from Charleston, South Carolina who replied to Kali's advert for crew to accompany us to the Caribbean. He came all the way up north to meet us and arrived at about 11:30 last night after a long train journey. We arranged to spend some time with him so we could make sure he's right for the trip although, in the event, it only took about five minutes to decide that he's perfect. He's done deliveries from the US East coast to the Caribbean before and seems to really know his stuff. He's also fun and interesting, especially as he's from the Deep South so has a different perspective on America.

It was really cold in our cabin this morning which made it hard to get up but we made it eventually. It's funny how quickly it gets colder here and the locals have warned us that it could be snowing by the time we leave in early December. Anyway, it was lovely and sunny outside so we filled up the water tanks and I took the opportunity to wash a month's worth of dust and grime off the decks. That was satisfying although, as soon as I'd finished, I spotted yet more bits of Starling poo. It's amazing how filthy the boat gets when it's on the hard. The deck could do with some salt water on it to kill the lichen and I'm sure it will get plenty of that when we get out into the Atlantic again.

After lunch, we dropped the lines and headed slowly out into the Chesapeake. The wind was light and the sun was warm so not exciting but very relaxed. There were loads of other boats out and it looked like the solent on a busy weekend. Our throttle control was very stiff so I went to check that out as soon as we had enough sea room to get the sails up. I think it had just got stiff with the boat stationary for so long and it soon freed up with a bit of lubricant but I want to check it out in more detail later. We also had a bent batten in the mainsail which seems to have happened as one of the joints came loose so I've repaired that as well. Everything else worked properly and we pottered about with Andrea trolling for fish with no success.

After a couple of hours of intense chatting and comparing how words mean different things in English/American/New Zealandish, it was time to get back alongside before dark. That all went well and then it was time for our regular dinghy commute over to Eastport for tea. Excellent Crab Cakes, a local speciality and we're now back on the boat and I'm trying not to go to bed as it's only 8:20. Kali has gone up to the toilet block, so she really knows how to have a good time.

Harvey

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