Air temp 70, water temp 75, winds E @ 10
Not moving today
We slept in this morning since we were at the dock and not moving the boat. After breakfast we dressed for public viewing and walked to the Kroger - the local grocery store. We carried our wheelie (like a luggage wheelie for walking through an airport) and fold-up box to cart everything back.
While Laura started groceries, I walked about a block farther to the Taylor Hardware store for a few things on my list. I was looking for some JB Weld epoxy for aluminum (wanted to fix a few screw holes in my main mast to stop water leaks), additional water filters for our house filtration system and a gallon of Muriatic Acid what we use for cleaning our bathroom hoses and waterway-stain off the boat. They had everything!
Laura and I finished groceries then carted everything back to the boat - about 1/2 mile. We did stop on the way to see if one of our favorite salons was open where we typically both get haircuts. They were closed for Memorial Day Weekend but open next week. We'll see....
I was sitting in the cockpit during the afternoon when this huge barge came through the bridge and down the narrow waterway. This was the longest barge I had ever seen. Check out the picture. The barge seems never ending...
After packing everything away we relaxed and waited for Dean and Sue along with Pete and Bunny who were coming here today. Laura had asked some of the boats on the free dock to move a bit in order to make room for both our friends and they happily complied. But, 10 minutes before they got here a different sailboat took one of the spots. Dean ended up staying on our dock while Pete went through the bridge and tied up to the free dock on the other side. We had a nice reunion with Dean and Sue then everyone agreed to order take-out from the local Mexican restaurant - El Toro Loco.
Dean, Sue, Laura and I walked across the bridge to see Pete and Bunny. We hadn't seen their new boat yet which is an Endeavour 43 just like Second Wind. It is still a work-in-progress.
After chatting a bit and enjoying a glass of wine on the boat, we ordered our dinner and walked about 10 minutes to the restaurant. Laura had called and placed the orders for all 3 couples. Before she ended the call, she asked if they had Margarettas to go. I thought, "Nobody will give you alcohol to go." but, guess what? They did and she ordered one for each couple. Nice!
We invited everyone over for dinner on Second Wind. The gals ate below in the salon while us guys ate on the cockpit table - wasn't enough room for everyone in one place with all the food we had. The chow was excellent and I enjoyed it a lot. I ordered my usual shrimp fajitas. Yummm. After talked a bit after dinner, we all retired to our own boats.
Monday, May 25th (Happy Memorial Day!)
Air temp 62, water temp 75, wind S @ 10
Moved the boat about 1/4 mile across the river to the Atlantic Yacht Basin
Another sleep in day as no rush and no major jobs pending. After breakfast I did climb down into the bilge to clean our LoPro bilge pump. It was turning on every 1/2 hour or so which usually means the electronic sensor is dirty. After cleaning, it seemed to work fine.
The boat behind us left about 11am so Pete and Bunny came back through the bridge and docked between us and Autumn Borne. I tried to get a picture of all 3 boats together but it didn't come out so well. Guess I should have walked up to the bridge. Oh well. Here are all 3 boats tied up next to each other in Great Bridge. You have to kind-of look through the dock fence to see the boats. From left to right is Autumn Borne, La Bella Vita and Second Wind.
Since the marina yard was not working over the long weekend, I figured it would be easier for us to get a quick haul-out on Tuesday if we were thereto bug them in the morning. I called and they had a transient slip for us. So, a short time later, we untied from the free dock and motored over to their fuel dock. We filled up with diesel (71 gallons from Myrtle Beach), pumped out our holding tank and just backed the boat up about 50 feet to our dock for the night. Very easy.
Laura and I then did 3 loads of laundry since it had been about 10 days from Tim and Karen's - our last laundry stop. I walked around the huge marina to remind myself of being here with my trawler in 1997. We had left the trawler here for the winter and the local broker sold it for us and got very close to the asking price.
Happy hour(s) were in the cockpit where I practiced the flute a bit while people walking by kept giving me the eye. Guess it's not everyday when you hear a flute being played in a marina.
We had a nice dinner in the cockpit of BBQ chicken breasts along with zucchini in tomato sauce over egg noodles. By the way, our BBQ grill is working great now. I fixed something!
Tomorrow morning I will talk to the marina management about getting our boat fixed. I'm pretty sure we bent a blade on our propeller with whatever we hit through the last bridge. The boat will have to be hauled out of the water in order to troubleshoot and fix. My best scenario would be to buy a new propeller and have it installed in a day. We have a spare that we can install but it doesn't work as well as the one on the boat now. I've been thinking for several years that we need a new, larger propeller for better speed at lower engine RPMs. I'll let you know how it goes.
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