We arrived in Washington DC after a long and tiring 16 hour flight. It just seemed to be very busy with people walking up and down the aisles all the time. Last time we flew back home we were in the very last row at the back of the plane which was so much better. People didn't walk that far back!
We caught another flight to Richmond which was so short we were hardly at cruising altitude before we had to descend again.
Andrew ordered an Uber once we were there. Going through Border and Customs was fine. There was a bit of a wait because they only had one counter open for non US citizens but they soon opened more. The customs official was very nice even after hearing we live on a boat. All we had to do was give our boat name and she let us through after stamping our passports.
The Uber arrived and Elvis drove us all the way to our boat in Deltaville. We boarded the boat in trepidation, worried about what me might find. I must say, it wasn’t as bad as we expected. There was a bit of damp from leaks through some portholes and the companionway garage. There was a fine layer of mould and our cockpit seats were very mouldy.
Although we were exhausted, we got to work cleaning and tidying up. Laura’s mattress was damp so we put that out to dry and we sorted her quarter berth so she could sleep there on the first night. Andrew was worried about pipes freezing as we had heard that they had had the coldest winter in years! But the pipes seemed to be fine.
We payed $150 at Jackson Creek Marina to have use of their showers, washing facilities and the courtesy car for a month, which is a huge bonus.
They have new, bigger washing machines which are brilliant. I can put all our clothes in and there is still space. The new dryers work exceptionally well too.
We had to get the boat shipshape quite quickly as we were sleeping on the boat. By the end of the day we had it more or less sorted.
We had run out of gas to cook with and Andrew had asked Heidi at the yard who said she would get it filled, but a cruiser who has a car took Andrew to Tractor Supply to get them filled. This place is about 20km away, so was a huge bonus. The tank for the braai leaks so we couldn’t get that filled. We need to replace that one. $$$$
We took the courtesy car to the supermarket and bought a few things for supper. For some reason Andrew’s apple pay wouldn’t work so we were back and forth fetching wallets and then my wallet. We finally got my card to work. Turns out Andrew had got a new credit card before we left and had changed his pin on the app. You have to put your pin in 4 times before it will work even though it says the card has been blocked. Very odd.
We worked hard on the boat, getting the bottom painted, top sides polished, varnished the cockpit table and washboards. We fell into bed every night absolutely exhausted.
Just 2 weeks after we got back we were ready to splash!
While cleaning the anchor locker Andrew noticed the anchor chain was looking very rusty. We had to clean it before we went in the water. We dropped about 40 m and found only about 30m looking dodgy. We had cut off 20 meters previously, and after pressure washing it, Andrew cut off another 10 meters. We are down to about 70 meters which should be okay. Hopefully our issue with it twisting and jumping off the gypsy will also be resolved.
We hauled the dinghy and the sails up onto the deck. The cover for the dinghy had been on the foredeck. The other day when it rained we heard a really strange noise on the deck and a few days later Laura said she was hearing a strange barking noise. I brought the cover into the cockpit and out hopped a tree frog. Mystery noise sorted. We popped him back into the trees.
At 1pm sharp the guys arrived with the lift and started the process of getting the boat into the water.
Once we had splashed Andrew went on board to check all the through hulls, making sure they weren’t leaking. After opening the seacocks, he tried to start the engine. Nothing! It made a noise and the batteries were full but it would not start. Andrew knew what the problem was as we have had starting issues before, but with both yard guys and Dave on board, they ended up checking other things as well. Cooper, one of the yard guys, tried jump starting the motor but that didn't work. Andrew went back to the starter wires and, while checking each one, pulled the loose one out. Once that was back in place, the engine started and we were able to get off the dock.
We anchored in the bay and started the process of making the boat shipshape. Dave popped over to help bend the sails. The wind was threatening to pick up so I was very grateful for his help.
Main sail, Bimini and dodger were all put on before the rain came.
The next day, Andrew and I put on the Genoa, which was fairly easy and straightforward.
The next job was the dinghy motor. We got it down onto the dinghy but it would not start. Andrew tried everything. He changed spark plugs, cleaned the carburetor, got new fuel but nothing would work. When we went to buy spark plugs the guy behind the counter said he fixes motors. So we called him up and he came to fetch it.
Dave and Andrew trying to fix the motorDave and Sandy had the use of a car from their friends Anne and Jon who sell boats in Deltaville. Sandy asked if we would like to go to Costco with them.
We were delighted to join in the shopping trip. Costco is a bit like Macro, you need a card to get in. And it is huge and has everything in bulk. We went large and bought a lot of dry goods and toiletries that will last for the next six months.
We also bought a mattress for Laura's bed in the forepeak. The mattress is vacuum packed so we put it on the roof and tied it down as the car was packed to the brim.
After filling our gas tanks at the Tractor Supply, we found a brewery for refreshments and a bit of lunch. The food from the food cart was not cheap but Laura's tummy monsters needed feeding.
While we were out shopping, Seth phoned Andrew with bad news. He could not fix the dinghy motor and said that the only thing that he could think was the problem was the reed valves. But he was not happy to try and fix it himself.
Andrew ordered some reed valves from Amazon. They arrived on Tuesday and after getting the motor back from Seth he set about fixing it. Google was his friend and he watched a ton of videos before starting the fix.
Talking about Amazon, we ordered a whole lot of things, including a new kettle.
Deltaville part 2 coming next. Will Andrew be able to fix the dinghy motor himself?
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