We are working our way through projects and maintenance to make Tilia truly ours. We’ve taken advantage of low wind, quiet anchorages and a couple of marina nights to knock down some tasks. In addition to smaller maintenance tasks, we’ve been accomplishing some bigger ones on our to do list:
- Jim’s been working to calibrate the sensors on our water and holding tanks so we have an accurate measure of how much water and how much holding capacity we have. This helps us know how long we can go between marina stays to get water and empty our holding tanks.
- We managed to get the genoa working again. We took down the sail, greased the furling mechanism at the top of the mast, and then raised the sail back up. It works well now! This will give us more sailing options because the genoa is truly one of our main workhorse sails.
- We are working on getting the watermaker fired up. We may not be successful, since it sat unused for some time. If we can’t get it working, we will need to buy a new one. That won’t be the end of the world, for a new one is a relatively small investment for all the range and flexibility it will provide. Also, like many things, the newer ones are much more efficient.
It has been far from all work and no play, though. While we were tied up in a marina on Solomons Island, Anne’s fellow Georgetown student and friend visited us. We had fun relaxing together, and we took our dinghy to dinner at a nearby restaurant, which is a hoot when the conditions are right. We also got to meet some other sailors in the marina. It’s great to chat with fellow sailors and get advice on the local area as well as learn about others’ treks to more far-flung places.
One of the local tips led us to a few days at anchor in a lovely, peaceful spot right off Myrtle Point Park, a local county park. We explored the park with a hike and swam off the boat quite a bit. While in the anchorage, we inflated our paddle board for the first time and enjoyed playing with it in the comfortable water. Anne even paddled to shore for a trail run in the park a couple mornings in a row.
The Chesapeake has been everything we hoped for and more. Great anchorages, pleasant sailing, comfortable water for playing, and sailing resources all around us.
