Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in Deltaville, VA. –not what we planned, but in addition to being thankful for our friends and family, we’re thankful for our home on the water and the many great people in this small community that make their living from boaters. These past few weeks have been full of projects, mostly completed, but not quite yet. I’ve been thinking of a quote by Hillary Clinton while she was still First Lady. “It takes a village” is a reminder that educating our children involves all of us. As a former educator, I know how important these words are, but right now, this quote reflects what has been going on on our boat.

Crews who have been working on our boat include canvass, sail makers, air/refrigeration, rod rigging, line rigging, electronics, and plumbing. Having professionals available has enabled us to check all equipment, making repairs and replacements as necessary. We’ve replaced the Hot Water heater and replaced our new inverter for a larger one. We’ve added lighting, stereo and speakers, and CruiseNet (a wifi extender). Our new chart plotter was installed while the boat was on the hard, and we later decided to upgrade to the newest radar as well. Our electronics guru is having a heck of a time getting the Furono NavNet 3D chart plotter to work correctly and to synchronize with the other equipment on the boat. One nice feature of the chart plotter is we can view and make points/routes on our flat screen TV in the cabin. We’ve also used this time to get to know our boat. She’s quite a change from a 30’ Catalina and this area is quite a change from Lake Texoma.

Deltaville is located at the end of Route 33 on the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay. Over thirty marinas and boat yards surround the narrow finger. At the end of the finger is historical Stingray Point. On July 17, 1608 John Smith and his crew were fishing in the shallows of the Chesapeake Bay, spearing fish with their swords. Smith unknowingly speared a cow-nose ray; as he attempted to pull it off of his sword, its barbed tail sank into his wrist, causing immediate pain and considerable swelling of his torso and arms. Smith, fearing death, instructed his crewmembers to dig him a grave. But in a few hours he recovered enough to eat the stingray for dinner! Smith named the location "Stingray Point" after his painful experience.

In addition to the marine experts in Deltaville, many fishing boats go out daily. A local fish shop does lots of business plus the local restaurants offer fresh catch everyday including grouper, rockfish, oysters, scallops, crab. In fact, today at the Galley Restaurant, we enjoyed fried oysters along with Virginia ham and turkey. But the fish variety and numbers are far less than when John Smith was exploring and charting these waters. Efforts are being made to sustain the fish, mainly by taking better care of the Bay.

I missed posting for a great but different holiday. This marina takes Halloween seriously. The slice of pizza and the Miller beer are Jack and Craig, the owners of Regatta Point Marina.




Happy Thanksgiving and keep your fingers crossed for our heading south next week.

Quick Update

Moving out or moving in - just exhausting. But after two months of living in a hotel room, our bodies needed some conditioning. Our moving aboard is not completed, but we've made great progress. The boat already has a large inventory of items, so going through everything and deciding what stays and what goes takes a while.

We kept our plans to attend the Annapolis Boat Show since our boat needed fluids and everything checked before it could be moved to our new slip at Dozier's Regatta Point. We have been to the Boat Show four of the five years we've been sailing. Usually, we look, dream, buy a few items, and just enjoy the outing. This year, of course, we made purchases of specific items and equipment we wanted plus we wanted to talk to the reps about some of the equipment already installed. Wednesday night before the show, we met up with a great group for dinner, including former and present Cedar Mills Marina folks.
Left to right, Kate (who hosted a lovely happy hour in her Annapolis home), Steven, Larry, Paula, Di, Jay, Bob, Bev, Kathy, Mike, Nancy, Jim, and Steve.The food was excellent, but the artwork stole the show. Check out the swan carved from a turnip.

Annapolis is such a beautiful city. And the views of the boat show are impressive, especially from Pusser's patio.

Virginia and Maryland have many rivers, but the Potomoc River that separates the two states is certainly one of the most famous.


We are really pleased with our new marina -nice facilities and a great staff. The best feature is viewing all the boats that stop by for the night, or maybe several days, depending on the weather.


We'll have more pictures of Lapidus soon, but these two show our current favorite additions. The custom-made seven inch thick latex mattress is the most comfortable mattress ever!
This week, our balmy weather ended abruptly with a cold snap. The enclosure offered needed protection from the rain and wind.

We'll be traveling until October 28. We'll be attending our son Trent's wedding. He and lovely Cristen live in Austin, but the wedding will be in Boerne, Texas, an historic resort town in the Hill country. We will also be leaving our pickup in OKC and flying back. Yes, the pickup is currently loaded with items that didn't make the cut. We have great storage, but ........

This schooner is in Yorktown, one of our favorite places. It takes paying passengers on a short excursion of the river. Mainly, it just adds another beautiful dimension to a lovely area.

SPLISH SPLASH

Nice to not see a ladder leaning up against Lapidus. Of course, you might also notice there are no sails on the boat. The sails were removed for UV treatment and will be put on while the boat is in the water. The attractive white hull and the royal blue boot stripes make a nice background for the name and hailing port. Plus the blue goes great with the new toast canvas. New thru-hulls. Check out the trip to the water below.




















And that's how it's accomplished. More to be done
now that she's in the water, but what great sight!

Boat yard Time

Lapidus is still on the hard, BUT (drum roll) the long awaited air handler is to be delivered today. So, we're planning on getting wet by the end of the week.

Parts not being shipped as scheduled as well as projects not being completed as scheduled by the boatyard have become the standard. Plus, sometimes, projects just don't go as smoothly as planned. Whatayougonnado? Deltaville is home to several boat yards, and Schroeder Yacht Systems was recommended' to us as one of the best and most efficient yards. Hmmm!

Reverse Cycle Heat and Air, Generator, AIS, Furuno NavNet 3D Chartplotter ---lots of new items to add to our enjoyment and safety and to become familiar with. The EPIRB and Winslow Liferaft are back on board after being updated. And much more has been done. I'll be posting pictures soon.

We've also experienced our first hurricane (rain and wind for this area) and our first Nor'easter (more rain and much more wind plus really high tides and rough seas). Mostly, though, the weather has been about as gorgeous as Virginia. We spent a beautiful day at the In-the-Water Virginia Boat Show, on the Norfolk waterfront on the Elizabeth River. In fact, we took the ferry from Portsmouth to Norfolk, crossing the river where we will be sailing as we head south. Pretty cool!

We took a little side trip to Hertford, NC for our first taste of North Carolina Bar-B-Que. The food was delicious and we thank Ginny, one of our good friends from Cedar Mills Marina (Shawn and Ginny on S/V Ta-Keel-AH) for the tip.

Last weekend we attended the SSCA GAM in Annapolis. We met up with Jim and Nancy Aadland, S/V Solitaire. They kept their boat at Cedar Mills Marina when we first bought our Catalina 30; now they cruise full time. They introduced us to other cruisers at the GAM and we met many others as well. We look forward to seeing these friends as we head south and while we're in the Bahamas.

Right now, we're just excited that we really are going to have our boat soon.

Beaverdam State Park

Today, along with everyone else, we're awaiting the arrival of Hanna. The locals say we need rain, but are wishing for moderate amounts plus less wind than predicted. They still remember the damage Isabelle caused several years ago. Lapidus is still on the hard, and hopefully, safe from the coming tropical storm. Progress continues to be slow; that's about all I can offer without whining.

Every day before we (or sometimes just Larry) go to the boatyard to work on Lapidus and/or oversee current projects, we like to get a little exercise. Recently, we discovered Beaverdam State Park, a beautiful lake and recreational area. The 635 acre lake and surrounding nature and hiking trails present a spectacular way to begin the day. Usually we walk the trails, but a canoe trip was perfect for capturing a few pics of another lovely piece of Virgina.a.

The Colonial Triangle

While we await the launching of Lapidus (no set date yet), the Comfort Inn in Gloucester (pronounced Glaw' ster) has offered us great conveniences: close to Deltaville, wireless, pool, breakfast, a laundry room. We're fifteen minutes from a beach plus close to lots of Virginia history.

Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Jamestown offer a big day (could easily be days) of the history of colonial times and the beginning of America. Once designated as the capital of the Colony, Williamsburg is easily reached off I64, but the three areas are connected by the scenic Colonial Parkway. We've discovered 'Parkway' in Virginia means scenic and slow, but mainly scenic with no views of commercial properties and very little traffic. -a good choice when it's offered

In 2007, Jamestown celebrated 400 years as being the first permanent English settlement. Wow! To put that in perspective, in 2007, Oklahoma celebrated its 100th year of statehood.
Archeologists are currently unearthing the remains of the first fort built in Jamestown.

Just twelve miles away lies Williamsburg, well-known for Colonial Williamsburg, the restored Historic Area of the city, and for the adjacent College of William and Mary, established in 1693, the second-oldest university in the United States.

Yorktown is most famous as the site of the surrender of General Cornwallis to General George Washington in 1781. The impressive Victory Monument commemorates the battle, which ensured freedom for the citizens of America. Today Yorktown is a beautiful little town with historic homes. The town is built up the hill from the banks of the Yorktown River, which has a great beach.

History is fun!

Virginia Beach

With 35 miles of beach, Virginia Beach is an American destination for a classic beach vacation. Lots of activities are available in this large beach area that is roughly divided into the Chesapeake area, Resort area, and Sandbridge area. We enjoyed one of our favorite activities at this bar and grill in the Resort area: drinking coldies and listening to good Music.
The views from the top floor were gorgeous. A great place to watch other activities including surfers, sand castle engineers, and bikers on two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and even four-wheelers pedaling on the boardwalk.

We then walked along the edge of the water, feeling the soft sand, the waves, and the warm rays. Virginia Beach's motto, "Live the Beach Live," would be pretty easy to get used to.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, both a tourist attraction and travel convenience, is an engineering wonder that spans 17.6 miles, connecting Virginia Beach's mainland to Virginia's Eastern Shore.

Larry is in front of one of the four Yankee Stadium sized islands, all made of riprap (car-sized boulders) and then filled with tons of sand and rock.


Piers and restuarants on the islands create
destinations for tourists and anglers.
The feisty wait staff at the Sea Gull Pier Restaurant ensures a fun atmosphere.


Two underwater tunnels, each about a mile long, protect
two important shipping channels, the Thimble Shoal
Channel from the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Channel.

This huge tanker is crossing over the Thimble Shoal Channel.

Following its opening in 1964, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was selected as one of the "Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World."