Last Week in Baltimore, Really!

October 19 thru Oct 24

—Blogpost written by Bob

Friday, October 19

It was a very cool morning--in the 40's!  This morning after our boat neighbors left the marina for the season we put up our full cockpit enclosure which makes our boat's cockpit into a sun room.

Our cockpit enclosure covers the entire
cockpit using 5 zip-together panels

Once the entire enclosure is in place it
makes our cockpit like a sun room.

On warm days, we can open the side windows.  However, since we are leaving a little late in the season, we may need our enclosure all the way to Charleston!


I helped move a neighbor's boat over to C Dock this morning--he had problems with his engine running rough.  D Dock is really clearing out here at the marina!  We will be getting out the marina the day before they turn off the power and water and start demolition--that's cutting it close!

We went out for lunch at Mama’s On The Half Shell in Canton—it is the best seafood restaurant in Canton and is located about 5 blocks away from our marina. When returned to the boat, Maggie cleaned the windows of the cockpit enclosure while I touched up the teak toe rail in the bow (using Cetol). (Touching up the toe rail completed my 101st summer boat project!)

The afternoon was sunny and warm—the outside temperature reached 67 degrees but the light breeze was still cool. 

In the late afternoon, we covered the dinghy bottom (it was still upside down on the dock) with the fore peak tent so that the expected rain this evening would not ruin the (water-based) bottom paint that is still curing. (When I painted the dinghy bottom in the Spring I didn’t pay sufficient attention to the curing times and as a result the paint did not adhere well.)

Our cats were outside in the enclosed cockpit all afternoon—they loved it! I ran the boat’s engine this afternoon for about 30 minutes as a pre-warm-up for our leaving next week—it was nice to hear its comforting purr and the rhythmic heavy spurting of sea water from the exhaust. (When we cruised the ICW in previous seasons I always ran the engine for between 15 and 30 minutes early in the morning before starting our day. I’m looking forward to a much more leisurely trip down the ICW this season!)

Saturday, October 20

It rained very early in the morning before daybreak but it had quit by the time we were out of bed. The sky was still overcast when I drank my coffee in the (enclosed) cockpit with the cats about 8 AM. We only have 5 days to go!

We covered our newly painted dinghy bottom using
our forepeak tent so that  last night's rain did not
ruin the bottom paint.  In this photo, one can
see the poor condition of our dock--it will
be replaced over the winter.

Lola lounges on the cockpit seat in the
morning.  She is already a BIG cat!

I fell a lot of pressure has been taken off of me now that our accident settlement is being completely handled by our attorney.  (Daily dealings with Allstate's claims people were depressing, to say the least.  Of course, their goal was to wear you down to the point where you would accept their "low ball" settlement offer.)

I watched college football most of the afternoon—Penn State beat Indiana, though it was close (and Purdue thoroughly beat Ohio State in the late game).

During a break in the games in the afternoon I started to refinish the teak trim around the companionway—I don’t think this trim was ever touched in the boat’s 35-year life and the yellow spots from the sun’s rays were a sign that it was overdue. I started by sanding the teak trim smooth, taping it off all around, and then applying the matching stain that I keep onboard. After about 30 minutes I rubbed off the excess stain and directed a small 12-volt fan to blow over the companionway to promote drying.

Sunday, October 21

It was really windy during last night, the 30+ knot gusts disturbing by sleep. By daybreak it got colder too—in the 40’s and with a wind chill that made it feel much colder. (I’m glad we are still in our slip with shore power and our reverse-cycle air conditioner for heat!)

I applied the first coat of varnish to the teak trim around the companionway first thing in the morning. The first coat over the stained surface usually takes longer to dry than subsequent coats.

The interior teak trim is varnished while the
exterior teak trim is coated with Cetol--
this is the only area where the two
different finishes interface.

Monday, October 22

It was another cool morning (low to mid 30’s) as we got up to drive to Annapolis to do some last minute chores (including topping off one of our propane tanks), have lunch, and to get fresh groceries on our return trip. By the time we got back to the boat with our groceries at about 2 PM the outside temperature had warmed up into the high 50’s. More boats had been moved from our pier (D Dock) while we were away this morning.

Most of the boats are cleared from D Dock for
the upcoming dock rebuild.  We will be
one of the last boats here!

While we were in Annapolis we stopped by the harbor master’s office to check on slip availability for this weekend during the Mid-Atlantic C&C Rendezvous—getting a slip shouldn’t be a problem and this means that we’ll have heat this weekend! (Rain is forecast tor late Friday and into Saturday, as we experience the remnants of Hurricane Wilma but Monday’s weather looks good for our departure.  Hurricane Willa began in the Pacific Ocean and is raging across Mexico now.)

Tuesday, October 23

We woke to a beautiful fall morning—it was cool and sunny. Sunrise was at 6:57 AM but we missed it by about half an hour. It was warmer last night than it had been lately and we slept very well. (When it’s cold and windy at night we tend not to sleep very well, mostly because of the noise and boat’s motion.)

Lola waits with me
in the cockpit.

The diver who is cleaning our boat’s bottom is coming today, a day earlier than originally planned.  He arrived at 2 PM, fitting us into the six boats in his plan for today.

The boat's hull was covered in slime but
no serious barnacle accumulation
on our propeller as the diver
cleans our boat's bottom.

The outside temperature reached 72 degrees F this afternoon!  The wind was blowing at 15 knots and gusting to over 20-25 knots.  It was probably pretty rough out on the bay.

Wednesday, October 24

This morning was clear (there wasn’t a cloud in the sky) and cool (low to mid 40’s). This is our last full day in Baltimore until sometime in May of next year.

A pile of old rusty dock cleats in the morning sun.
These were salvaged from the old dock
before it was demolished.

The only major things that absolutely must be done today are (1) to drop off our car at BWI Indoor Storage (where it will stay for six months) and (2) to do a couple loads of laundry. At the last minute I decided that I needed a new, firmer, bed pillow (the one I now have is limp and flat) so, we made a quick trip to Annapolis by car in the morning. 

There was a myriad of little things we did today. We called EZPass and changed from our commuter rates to standard rates (since we won’t be using EZPass for 6 months) and reduced our car insurance coverage due to the 6-month storage of our vehicle. I also cleaned the boat’s raw water strainers. All this was accomplished before lunch!

We are nearly the last boat off D Dock as
the dock demolition is scheduled
 to start on Monday.

Our trip south actually starts tomorrow morning as we travel from Baltimore to Annapolis—a 28 nautical mile (~5 hour) trip. Our next blogpost will be published late Sunday evening after the first Mid-Atlantic C&C Rendezvous in Annapolis. 

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