Travel 2016-2017
Cleaning, Cleaning, and more Cleaning
When we lived aboard, we kept Red Ranger clean. It was easy. We were there. And we were otherwise unemployed. Except for sight-seeing. And writing.
The amount of small mildewy areas is legion. It’s actually kind of insane.
We’re starting from this ☞
The part is a vent fitting. It’s on the cabin “ceiling” (the headliner.) It’s the interior portion of a Dorade vent.
It’s got this kind of haze of mildew.
That requires a toothbrush to get into all the little cracks and crevices.
☜ After.
This picture looks like it’s just a slight change in lighting. No. There’s some minor discoloration of the white fitting (expected after 35 years). But the mildew is now gone.
CA’s doing each cabin. Carefully and thoroughly.
Which leads to this ☞
There’s only so much vinegar water you can splash about before you just can’t splash any more.
It’s an important job, and there’s a lot to do.
When not cleaning, CA’s been rearranging the V-berth to optimize the space. When we lived aboard before, we jammed a lot of stuff in there that we “might” need. After two years, there are things in there that we never touched. They can go, now.
We also carried too many clothes. That’s something we won’t repeat. There’s a right-sized wardrobe for a (nearly) perpetually casual life. And it seems to be pretty small. When we went back to work, we bought a few things that we’ll drop off at a charity.
This is a view of two fenders and our rebuilt fender board. It’s a 2×4 jammed inside a rubbery cover. It’s pinned between boat and dock, and a little hard to make out in the picture. The previous 2×4 had rotted inside the rubber cover. Not useful for fending off a dock.
Now the board is hanging properly and we have fenders to properly keep us off the piling. And a pressure-treated 2×4 should last a few years.
CA spent two days cleaning. I spent two hours rebuilding this.
Taking Philip to Oxford
How do you introduce someone to the sea?
CA’s Venerable Great Aunt Diane (vGAD) came to visit for a long weekend. She’s been on Red Ranger many times. She brought more of CA’s family: Maddy and Philip. Maddy has been to Red Ranger before, but Philip’s never been here before. Philip has never seen the ocean.
Red Ranger’s water tanks are still a little stinky. They need a thorough cleaning. But so does everything else. Where to focus? Clearly, the V-berth and galley.
We’ll get to the tanks later.
Until then. This ☞ ☞ ☞
Three gallons. Sturdy latches. Comfy handle.
We can bring along jugs of clean dock water for drinking.
We can run the tank water for washing and showering. And since we’re not living aboard, we can use LOTS of tank water. Wash everything. Connect the deck shower fitting. Use as much tank water as possible.
In the Northern Bay, we’re several days from the ocean. We could continue north, shoot through the C&D canal and then run down Delaware Bay. Two days. We could go back down the Bay. Day 1 would be Reedville. Day 2 would be Cape Charles.
The ocean is right out. We’re not talking Philip that far.
It’s only the Bay, but it’s big and salty and has plenty wildlife, so it’s like the ocean. Right?
The breeze is from the ENE, so let’s head SE and see what we can see. From here, that’s Tilghman Island and the Choptank River. The wind eventually died, so we motor-sailed up the Choptank, up the Tred Avon, and into a randomly-selected creek.
It was sunny.
It was warm.
It was flat. Uncharacteristically flat. So it was misleading to smoothly power across the Bay and up the Choptank.
The Bay was not like the Ocean. Indeed, the Bay was not even like itself. The Bay was like a lake. This isn’t a very good introduction to the ocean.
CA was very excited about cooking for guests. She wanted to make pancakes. The whole “wake up in a creek with hot coffee and pancakes” is a delightful thing. We love this about cruising around the Bay. A new creek. New sights. Yummy breakfast.
But.
The pans didn’t make it from the apartment to the boat.
This lead to pressure-cooker cakes instead of pan cakes.
They’re awkward to flip. But otherwise, it works out pretty well. We had hot coffee and pancakes in a random creek up the Tred Avon, up the Choptank.
vGAD loves the ocean. She doesn’t mind a little jellyfish action. Or, perhaps more accurately, she’s inured to jellyfish and can put up with them for short periods of time. Maddy and Philip gave the bay a quick splash.
Maddy didn’t like jellyfish at all.
Philip said that it tasted like sweat.
Okay then. Mission accomplished. It appears that Philip may understand the sea pretty well.
Log
2016-06-25T11:04, 38°46′16.6″N, 76°33′50.6″W, Herrington Harbor North. Engine on. Wind ENE 2g4.
Sails up near R “2” at the end of Long Bar.
2016-06-25T13:30, 38°41.65′N, 76°28.85′W, Strike headsail and motorsail under main alone. ETA 16:20. Sailed perhaps 4 nm in 2 hrs.
2016-06-25T17:16, 38°42.67′N, 76°10.116′W, Anchor Down.
Estimate 24 nm in about 6 hrs.
2016-06-26T07:41, 38°42.67′N, 76°10.116′W, Engine On. Wind E, light. Water glassy.
2016-06-25T13:38, 38°46′16.6″N, 76°33′50.6″W, Herrington Harbor North.
Estimate 24 nm in about 6 hrs.
