Revelations

Thus far:

1) Everything takes longer and costs more. 

Covered extensively in prior posts, and reproved almost daily. (heavy sigh)

2) Marine air conditioning is NOT a foolish, slothful, fancy-schmancy option. 

I admit it.  In the past, I scoffed at boats with A/C.  Marina queens! Wimps! Miami Vice wannabes!
Now, after a month on the Chesapeake, I have come to believe that it is as critical as diesel fuel or a compass.  You simply cannot function in this part of the country without it.  I can only imagine how people exited here before A/C was prevalent. 

3) Jellyfish are an ABOMINATION!!!

Jellyfish are a miracle of nature.  They swim around, eating, pooping, and procreating without the benefit of a mouth, a brain, or even a well-defined shape.  They just billow along in grace and beauty, seeming to have no purpose or destination.  Right up until THEY GET SUCKED INTO THE SEA WATER INTAKES FOR YOUR AIR CONDITIONING!  They shoot up from the thru-hull and hit the stainer like jello in a colander.   The water pressure ensures little bits of the little lovelies get squeezed thru the screen and wash into the AC pump and water circuit, plugging up the works and shutting down the system.  Generally at the most inopportune time.  Grrrrrrrr........

It seems that the jellies "bloom" in these waters this time of year and we have been forced to clean their remains out of the AC strainers 3 times in the past 36 hours.  I fail to see any redeeming value in these creatures.   Like rattlesnakes, killing them only slightly reduces the threat they pose.  And because their venom is still active after death-by-puree, you better be wearing gloves when you clean up their mess.  Get behind me, Satan! 

4) Dish TV is a double-barrelled, revolving pain in the patoot!

By my count, we have accumulated more than 10 hours on the phone with multiple DISH technical support reps, trying to get the secondary TV (Master Stateroom) to function the same as the primary TV (Main Cabin).  To no avail.  Using our KVH satellite dish, the primary TV offers a wide array of channels across three satellites.  The secondary TV stubbornly refuses to see more than one satellite on the same antenna.   Oh, well.  there is always rabbit ears........  

In other news.....

We have made two outings.  In the first, we cruised 22 miles up the York River to see the sights and

practice boat skills,   uneventful, except for the threatening thunderhead that cut a bit short. Managed to back into the slip without incident next to a very expensive 49' Grans Banks Eastbay.  (Whew!) 

Our second outing was a bit more adventurous.   We planned to cruise north the Mobjack Bay in the hopes of seeing some antebellum plantation houses and other sights.   The forecast was for ESE wind of 10-13 knots and waves of 1-2 feet.   Seemed doable, but we failed to anticipate that the first 25% of the voyage would be directly into the wind and the seas.  Two lessons were immediately apparent.   First, our windshield wipers do work and, second, we should not travel into a head sea with the upper sections of the windshield open.   Towels were deployed for all hands.

As we turned north, these same seas were on our starboard beam, making for a rolly ride.  So we bailed a headed back into the York River.   On a whim, we decided to check out the free dockage at the Yorktown Riverwalk Landing and perhaps have lunch.  While docking in the same stiff (and now cross-) wind, Wade managed to deeply gouge his right calf on a metal rod under the helm seat as the scrambled back to the helm to reverse engines to assist  Kathleen and the (wonderful) dock attendants in affixing mooring lines.

After securing the lines and watching it bleed for a bit, we broke out the first aid kit and wrapped it in a pressure bandage.   The dock attendants offered to call the local EMTs, who in turn suggested a trip to the ER was in order.  So while Commadore Kathleen and Admiral Maggie hung out on the Yorktown waterfront, Wade rode to the ER with the EMTs and came back three hours later with a tetanus booster and a much cleaner wound closed with 5 big stitches. Ouch.  (We won't trouble you with pictures of the injury,  Suffice to say, it weren't pretty.) 

A short bumpy run across the river in beam seas put us back in the slip, with another uneventful landing.  Enough for one day.  Sheesh.

Thanks for following.