August 19- 26, 2014 DC to Colonial Beach and Solomons

We did leave the Yacht Club at the respectful hour of  6:10am.  Very quite and calm.  

We again passed by Mt. Vernon and took a close look at the anchorage and channel leading to it.  Something to consider when we return again.

About half way down the river (with a following current) we were hailed on the radio by another boat, “rock me baby”  which was also at the yacht club.  They were Loopers as well and we never quite hooked up with them while we were at the yacht club.   I should explain that Loopers, are people in the midst of the Great_Loop journey.  Gold Loopers like us, are people who have completed the journey.  We are the experienced sages and non-gold Loopers, knowing this, will ply us with all manner of drink to here our advice.  Alas, it only lasts for a short time but still one an drink for free at lest for a night.  

The trip was good with the current pushing us along at about 8 mph until the tide switched and we began fighting the incoming flow.  But by then we were only 20 miles away from Colonial Beach

We did encounter a few areas of very large algae blooms.  Not good for the sea strainer which can clog but this time we suffered no ill effects.  It seems strange to me finding such expansive algae blooms in an active flowing river.  But I did find out that its not uncommon in the Potomac, this from locals boaters who have been cruising the river for decades.

We started making water up near Mt. Vernon and had just topped off the tanks (180 gallons) as we entered the algae area.  The primary intake filters would have clogged in short order had we still been running the water going through that soup.

As we rounded the turn leading to the highway 301 bridge across the Potomac, the southeast winds and long fetch of the river started to knock us around.  Luckily we only had about 8 miles to go at that point.

We entered Monroe Bay while Bill was out in his Trumpy waiting for another boat to pull into the shed ahead of where he normally docked his boat.  His distinctive Virginian accent made it easy to identify him on the radio.  We followed along shortly after and met a whole group on the dock to take our lines.

We got all tied up and plugged in and then pretty much stayed on board, watched some modern family before I went to bed around 8:30.  We didn't sleep well our last night at Capital Yacht club probably because we knew we had to be up before 6AM.  So we were tired.  

The next day I took a long hard look at the new winch I had ordered before we left.  It had arrived while we were in DC but I wasn't comfortable with the mechanics.  So I called a few engineering friends and after soliciting their opinions decided it wasn't the right way to go.  It seemed to be better to just re-build the original winch (actually it’s a hoist).

I discussed it with  Bill and he knew of a machinist who might be able to do the job.  So off we went about 6 miles out of town to a guy named  Kirk, who welds aluminum.  He wasn't there but we talked to his assistant and left the hoist and its various pieces there.  Not sure when it’ll be ready though, so I went ahead and found a place in California which has winch/hoist parts.  Called him and he’s looking in his pile of cannibalized winches and hoists for something we might use.   I'm not to excited though because he wasn't sounding too confident on the phone

Boat House Marina from the Street

So here we wait.  We could be here another week!   I don’t want to proceed without use of the dinghy since we anchor out so much and its our only conveyance.  Well, that's not entirely true.  We do have a second dinghy I purchased last year as a means to take the dog into shore.  But we don't have an engine yet and rowing, as romantic as it sounds, is not all that much fun in the rain ocean swells or over long distances.

And the internet at Colonial Beach seems to be down.  The providers are saying they are working on it.  Meanwhile we have to use our cell phones for data but today I discovered our good old hot spot software is non functional on Mary’s phone because of a recent Android system update.

Soda lovers (Mary) dream, $0.50

Now, in order to use her phone we have to go through some convoluted steps.  We each have a 2 GB limit per month.  It was nice before when we could split the usage between us.  But with this latest snafu we have to be careful with my phones limit or embark on this goofy work-around to use Blue Tooth for accessing a hot spot on her phone.  And only one device can be connected.  Oh well.

I ran into Charlie, the yard foreman this morning, and asked him to help me with the broken holding tank elbow.  I wasn't able to turn it out and didn't have a suitable wrench to use on the adapter.  And I was a bit  reluctant to torque the fitting very hard since it snapped apart when I was trying to remove the hose.

So he came in with two big wrenches and cranked away breaking the seal and loosening the broken fitting so I could get it out.  However the blockage in the hose is still there and proving resilient to my formidable efforts..   Tomorrow is another day though.

Next morning I did walk to the Ace hardware in town to buy two plumbing fittings and a hose barb.  And also bought  a drain snake and a better vise grip pliers so I don’t have to ask the yard guys to help me remove a threaded PVC elbow.  Sheez …

Mary slept for 16 hours today.  She came down with some cold thing so I was pretty much on my own.   I fiddled with the hose to no avail.   And then fiddled with the internet to no avail.  Finally I just took a walk along the beaches on the Potomac.  Plenty of people still in the water in the late afternon.  And as much as I wanted too, we didn't go to Densons tonight.

Woke up the next morning and noted that I now, have "the" cold.  We didn't do much but hang around the boat.  I finally couldn't stand not doing anything so later in the afternoon I took my bike down and rode to the Food Lion for more seltzer water and a few other staples.  As I was packing up the bike a nice gentleman inquired whether or not I had left a 12 pack behind.  Knowing I didn't buy any beer I said no.  

The food Lion ... where they know my name

 I got back to the boat and we put everything away.  And then realized I didn't have the seltzer water.  It comes in 12 packs.

After I returned from my second trip to the Food Lion with the seltzer water this time, it began to rain so we just lazed around and watched several Boston Legal episodes before going to bed.

The only excitement of the day was when George, next to us on the dock, took his 50 foot steel boat out so the grand kids and great grand kids could have a boat ride. 

We started working on alternative plans to mitigate this infernal waiting for the hoist to be repaired.   But since we’re both sick there wasn't much progress.  And not much progress clearing out that clog in the forward head hose either.  There’s always tomorrow though (I keep saying the dont I?).

I did head off to the Food Lion again and found Ball Park Hot Dogs.  Mary loves them.  But invoking the," I'm sick" excuse, I forgot the buns.

Some colorful homes here

Mary didn't get up for church the next morning so we walked to Densons around 11 for their brunch.   About halfway there we were intercepted by Rocky, the Densons owner who offered us a ride.   But we’re spry young seniors who are active (sorta) and needed the walk.  So we declined.

Waiting for brunch at Densons 

Fixing the forward head

And the brunch was, well WOW!  It was the very best omelet I have ever eaten.  And I mean that very sincerely.  The best.  The young chef, David, has a future I suspect.

Colonial Beach Police Station

We got back to the boat and I worked on clearing this stubborn clog.  No luck.   So like I said before,  there’s always tomorrow.    But in this case it was early afternoon so  I went to the hardware store to buy a more substantial snake and a water pressure gadget that would fit the one inch hosing.  And being the efficient biker that I am, rode over to the Food Lion again (they know my name now)  where I bought hot dog buns to go with the Ball Park hot dogs I bought yesterday.   I did make an attempt to stop for an ice cream cone at McDonalds but the line was too long so I left.  But not before toying with the idea of taking my bike through the drive-through.

Once  back on the boat we tried this water gadget.  It's essentially an expandable rubber ball but very slender so it will fit into 1 inch hose.   After hooking up the dock water to it I let do its thing.  As far as I can tell it moved the clog further down the hose and closer to the end.  At first I wasn't able to keep the body of the gadget all the way in the hose which significantly reduced its pulsing pressure.  But with a little hand soap I got it all the way inside.  Still didn't really help much.

Then I tried the more substantial snake and got it to twirl/push the clog within four feet of the end of the hose.  I was contemplating just cutting the hose and splicing it back together but a splice introduces the almost 100% chance of another clog developing at the joint so I’m resisting that idea.  If I cant clear it out tomorrow I’ll have to yank, wiggle, cut and swear until I get the hose out and then repeat the process trying to thread it back through the small openings.  One might try imagining shoving very stiff hose through two, 90 degree bends located in a blind and inaccessible spot.  

Main Intersection.  Food Lion is left of McDonalds

I went for a walk while Mary made Hot dogs and then we ate them watching a Boston Legal episode before walking to the river before it got too dark.  Nice warm evening.

We also finalized some planning.  If the welder here cant get to the hoist drum by Monday next week, we’ll head up to the Solomons where some friends of ours know someone there who has local knowledge about machinists and  where to get things fixed.

Cyrus, the sweet cocktail loving dog of Beth's

Anticipating that outcome, we made reservations for a week at Calverts Marina in the Solomons.  Its right near the welders shop so we’re hoping we can at least get the dinghy down and take a few joy rides by Labor day.

And we also learned a few things about Monroe Bay and Colonial Beach:

• The State of Virginia passed a law letting municipalities allow golf carts on streets with 25mph speed limits.  And Colonial Beach took advantage of this so there are golf carts mixed in with trucks, cars and bicycles on the narrow streets. 

• Colonial Beach used to be well known as a racially backward place.  In since changed but the history is still fresh in some minds.  

• Monroe Bay used to be named just Monroe Creek because it is, well, a creek.  A wide one to be sure, but a creek.  However someone put forth the idea that adding "Bay" to Monroe would add a bit more sophistication and interest to the area thus possibly attracting more visitors to the town.  "Who wants to visit a creek anyway" was the thinking.

Colonial Beach City Pier

The next day, on his way back from Richmond dear old Bill picked up the hoist drum and bracket that we had left with Kirk the welder.  It wasn't going to get done.  But Bob’s friend, Jerry who I spoke with yesterday, did give me 2 places in the Solomons to call for repair to the hoist.  So we'll give those places a try Wednesday when we plan to arrive there.

One of the few main thoroughfares.  Densons is on the right

We poked and prodded on the forward head hose obstruction again to no avail.  Yes, there's always tomorrow.

The Looper boat squeezed past us and the boat to the right

We welcomed another Looper boat in to the marina… they had to thread the needle between our bulky beast and another boat but made it fine.

I created the routes to the Solomons with a stop over at St. Marys river and the anchorage there, Horseshoe Bend.

Bill's Ferrari Mini

We ran into Bill as we were heading out for dinner so we all hopped in the golf cart since he was going to Densons again too.  Only downside to this was his desire to take out one of his fancy antique cars.  He was going to drive the Ferrari mini but instead suffered our company.

Bill's 70' Burger.  

But Mary did get a tour of his 70 burger, Cherish  Nice!

We went to bed rather early since are departure time is between 8-9.

Leaving Colonial Beach

We departed the dock at 8:30!  It was clear skies, cool breeze and flat water.  Perfect day.  We had 39 miles to go and arrived at the anchorage at 2:30pm.  Only two other boats in here.  The trip down river was unexciting but for a brief interlude from the Naval Weapons Test Range Range Patrol Boat asking our destination.  We were headed south so we didn't have to detour or wait.  But we could hear the explosion even though they were firing things well off north of us.

St. Marys is really a pretty river.  This anchorage is up the St. Marys about 3 miles and lies directly in front of th St. Marys College of Maryland.  They have a free dinghy dock there and on Fridays during the summer, concerts up on the hill.  Alas, we didn't have time to explore it but maybe on the trip back down the bay.

Entering the Anchorage

College docks

Leaving the St. Mary's Anchorage

It was a very calm and cool night which meant we had lots of dew on the boat the next morning.  And I forgot to close up the fly bridge so it was nice and wet up there.  I got everything set and running by 6:55am and then woke up Mary who came up to the bow and hosed off the anchor chain as it came up.  Very muddy with mushy silt like mud.  But we were making water on our way to the Solomons so we just used a large amount hosing off the chain so it would be less messy in the chain locker.

Heading out to the Bay past Point Lookout

We made out way out of the St. Mary’s and into the Potomac, around Point Lookout Light at the  northern end of the Potomac where it joins the Bay.  I had laid out a course to go directly to Cedar Point which marks the entrance to the Patuxent River.  The route brought us close to a military buoy marking a military zone.  We were hailed on the radio by the Naval range boat but I couldn't understand them.  Their radio was breaking up.  So they came roaring up to us in a three outboard go-fast boat and politely tried using their radio twice before I could understand what they were trying to say. 

Navy Range boat speeding away after talking with us

Yellow, Military buoys 

We were asked to move closer to shore outside of the test area delineated by the yellow military buoys because of some test they were conducting.    Following their precise directions, we headed in towards shore and away from the area.  Then we began to notice then several planes traveling over us at low speed, and subsequently more flights of 1-3 planes every few minutes.  So I guess they weren't kidding around.

One of many helicopters and planes flying over us

After about 20 minutes the test must have been concluded because they called me on the radio again and said we could proceed as we had intended.  It was rather interesting!  Polite guys too.  They repeatedly thanked us for making the detour.  

Entering Mill Creek.  One might even see a yellow crane!

We came around Cedar Point and headed into the Patuxent River until we came up to the entrance to Mill Creek and the Solomons.  I called Calvert Marina on the radio and they indicated we should look for a yellow crane which is at the fuel dock.  We went up the whole creek and back down and saw no yellow crane so it was back on the radio to ask directions.  It turned out that we had passed right by it as we entered the harbor area of the creek,  I kept thinking the fuel dock was further up the creek and never even saw it when we entered.  Oh well.  Feeble old folks I guess.

The fuel dock.  And a festively colored crane 

We fueled up with about 200 gallons at only $3.59/gal and then proceeded to where they indicted for  us to tie up for the week.  Of course it was at a dock we had passed twice before looking for the damn yellow crane.

We tied up next to a 86 foot green trawler.  A huge boat.  It looked to be a Northern Marine, but turned out it was built by Delta.  Next to this behemoth, our puny little boat appeared particularly petite.  Their bow was higher than our sundeck with the dinghy loaded.

The owner came from Alaska and actually managed northern Marine before leaving and helping to form Delta Marine.  They're heading back to Alaska this fall.

We walked to the marina office and took care of the paperwork and paid.  I called Justin the welder earlier as we were coming into the creek and he said he'd come down to the boat the next day to look at what we had.  Later on he called back and requested some pictures and any schematic I might have of the hoist because he wasn't sure if he could handle the welding job.  I sent him what I had and so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.

Our misbehaving dinghy hoist

Meanwhile I took care of some banking chores since they have a usable internet connection and then got my bike down and road over to drop off  my jig saw at Bob and Martha’s boat.  He’s currently tracking down a water leak and needed a saw to get into a bulk head. 

They are right across from the fuel dock we just visited but at a different marina.  The ride over there, even though I can see the place, was 2 miles.  Now if we had a functional davit I’d have zipped over in the dinghy in 5 minutes.

We ate on board and I took my standard evening walk around the place.  Its sort of a resort but in not great shape.  They do have a pool of sorts.  Otherwise everything else, restaurants, bars, shops etc.  is on the opposite side of the creek. 

So tomorrow we start the hoist repair process I hope!   And the forward head repair again.  And I’ll probably see if Bob needs some help too.  Busy day!  So we’re going to bed at 9pm.