Day 18 - Cape May NJ - Beverly MA
Magic Friday
Phil, Di and Annelise
Sun 17 Jun 2018 17:47
No wind, flat calm and a clear blue sky sunny day - temperatures to reach 78F - at last. Why motor up to Salem when we have a chance to enjoy yet more of "P-Town" . and do some boat jobs whilst swinging gently on the mooring..decision to stay an extra day made, and ready to do those jobs!
First - a dive under the boat to see why the ships speed and distance log (a small paddle wheel) was not turning / or reading low throughout the journey so far - despite having removed it twice, thoroughly cleaned it and reinserted - there had to be something clinging to the hull. Sure enough, after getting used to the cold water and trip underneath revealed a ring of cockles stuck to the collar of the through-hull fitting - evidently that part had not been anti-fouled! Scrape, scrape, scrape, they were gone and the log should work again! More scraping on the prop blades (also not anti-fouled), checked the sacrificial anodes, brushed off some of the other weeds and sea-life clinging to the hull (getting a free ride!) and job done.just before the air ran out in the aqua lung tank!
Next the genoa had to come down, fold and make ready to hand over to North Sails for repairs tomorrow. Even in "no-wind" it is a big, heavy sail to handle on the foredeck. The first attempt to flake (fold) was no good - it would never go into the sail bags. Try over the boom - too heavy to re-arrange. On the third attempt we managed some resemblance of order and it was finally stowed in (two) sail bags.phew, it weighed a ton!
Just time for some "R&R", dinghy over to the beach for a game or two of beach boules, a walk to the causeway (wrecked trawler) and the marshland inside the cape, followed by an ice cream on the main street.
Back again in the evening for the much promised lobster meal out - a perfect setting on the "Crown and Anchor's" patio amidst the braziers and able to people watch as we dined on lobster tails and Cape cod fish! A stop in "Joons" bar for a night cap turned into several nightcaps as we chatted to a really friendly male couple.! Leaving a dark (no torch) dinghy back through the mooring field and out to Magic Friday.
Phil and Di
