I begin this chapter of the trip highlighting the last few weeks. Our plans to be off the boat for 3 weeks turned to 5 weeks. We enjoyed the time off the boat by welcoming William Hughes Dorman into the world, cutting grass at Sweetwater for a few days, Amanda attending her college reunion, celebrating our 41st anniversary, and having a side trip to Williamsburg on the return trip to the boat.
In these days we have learned much, which follows:
B.O.A.T. is an acronym for Bill Out Another Thousand. The end of the first leg of our trip was Deltaville, VA. We were having some electrical issues that were confusing me (doesn’t take much), so we determined a good game plan would be to leave the boat at a boat yard, get the repairs done, and not have to pay for storage (in water or out) while we were home enjoying our newest grandson. We soon learned we had other issues much more critical than electrical. My boat vocabulary now includes: shaft sleeve, cutlass bearings, corroded drive shaft, delaminating fiberglass, alternator temperature sensor failure, intermittent voltage regulator. As I borrowed money from my grandchildren’s college fund, I had to remind myself that any one of these things could have been significantly worse if they had gone undiscovered. So I am working on my thankful attitude and trying to refocus on the reason we undertook this adventure. The last couple weeks have made me think that a pleasure boat could possibly be an oxymoron.
The delay for repairs on the boat yard also changed our trip plan. Though The Loop can be done at different paces, there are certain milestones in the journey that must be acknowledged and obeyed, purely for safety. One rule: be off the Great Lakes by Labor Day, ensures avoiding the big winds and seas, and dropping temperatures of the North. We were no longer comfortable we could make that deadline, unless we skipped every site and did nothing but drive the boat on the route. We started this adventure to enjoy the trip and each other; sitting on a boat, burning diesel everyday for 9 weeks didn’t sound fun to us. So, we modified the game plan and decided to enjoy the East Coast until the weather forecast says “cold is coming”. Then we’ll turn South. It is a little of a disappointment, but a necessary decision for safety and enjoyment. We look forward to our modified plan.
With that said, we headed out from Deltaville, VA. on the morning of June 22, after a successful sea trial the day before, ensuring all issues with the boat had been successfully addressed and resolved.
Our plan was to cross the Southern section of the Chesapeake, going West to East, to Tangier Island. Three to four hours, tops. The forecast was windy and choppy, but we were to arrive before noon, so the worst of the wind would come later in the day. With the winds rocking the boat and stirring the fuel in our tanks, the fuel line got stopped up and we our 1 engine shutdown.
Coast Guard towed us in. 
In the marina 
This Coast Guard crew was professional and on their game getting us to safe harbor.
I’ll skip the details of the next few hours, but we were successfully towed in to Tangier, where we spent Friday through Monday cleaning out one tank to ensure trash could not possibly cause a problem like this in the future. I’ve learned much about fuel polishing, as it is called, and now have added fuel polishing to the long list of preventive maintenance practices.
Tangier is a unique little island with lots of history going back to the Revolutionary War. Crabbing and tourism are the only industries holding the little place together. The population continues to dwindle as the kids finish school and move on to where they can make a living. Sadly, the bay is slowly eating away at the land. It is projected the island will be gone in 50 years, unless state or federal funding builds a seawall around the whole island. Not much hope for them.
The little marina: old, cheap, and clean.
We enjoyed meeting Mr. Milton Parks, owner of the little marina (a few slips and a couple of bathrooms). He is famous in the boating community in this area and has a sharp wit that brings lots of smiles. He’s at least the 3rd generation of Parks on the island. Eighty eight years young, and almost deaf, but on his game. A crabber and diesel mechanic all his life, the loud engines of his past make a conversation with this man not only interesting and repetitive, but also pretty challenging. He’s a good man and I am fortunate and better for having met him.
We met new friends at Tangier, enjoyed our last evening together sitting on the dock, and then we all went different directions on Tuesday morning. Our destination was Solomon’s Island. An uneventful ride across the bay, with the Honey Queen performing beautifully. Anchoring out, we really did no site seeing here. The winds were calm, sunset was beautiful, and we savored the quiet solitude of being “on the hook” with no boat or people anywhere nearby.
Wednesday morning, 26 June, we traveled 42 miles North to Annapolis. One of the prettiest days we’ve seen. Winds were 3-5 knots, from the South, with flat seas. It was nice to set the auto-pilot and let the boat hold the course, while I enjoyed a stress free day at the wheel. Amanda even took a little nap below deck it was so smooth.