Yard Life

Chesapeake, VA   –

It has been long week, perched 15 feet up above the gravel lot with a bird’s eye view of the boat yard. The days are all running together and there is not much new to share. The crew spent as much time as possible off the boat, sitting by the dockmasters office on the canal, walking the yard, looking at others boat projects, exploring the storage sheds, and just hanging out.

The times we did leave the property we found ourselves riding our bikes aimlessly through the local neighborhoods and parks. And we might have found a watering hole or two. Good news, Svengoolie comes in well on MeTV.

Our emotions have been all over the place, many highs and lows. We’re bored, hot, and tired. Tired of sitting around, tired of being hot, tired of not moving forth on our journey, tired of each other at times, tired of mindlessly scrolling through our phones, and tired of just being here. We have described it to each other as a combination of summer camp and county fair. Hot, sweaty, dusty, sticky, stinky, and a whole slew of characters. At least swimming pool at camp. We both did our share of county fairs over the years, Dave as county Sheriff, every day of the fair for 25 years and Tasha with the radio stations for 20 years covering seven county fairs. Neither of us have been back since we left those jobs, yet here we are.

The boat work has been progressing, but due to the extent of the damage, it hasn’t been as quickly as first estimated or hoped. The fiberglass is a process of layering, and with the deep gouges, the layers have been many.

It’s a fine-tuned craft and Adam has been on it every day, all day. It’s been hot for us, 11 days on the perch, but we aren’t working in the heat like the yard guys. Unfortunately for one crew member, the heat was too much, and he collapsed and was taken away by ambulance. He was back later in the day but sent home for the rest of the week to recuperate. Can’t imagine this all summer.

The Now or Never continues to be the one steady boat in the yard, as many have come and gone. Others in the barns or along the docks, are waiting, either to get started or be completed. So many in need or work. We are the only ones crazy enough to be staying on board, though we believe it has paid off. We have had crew on our boat consistently, every day, working both sides (damaged side vs. maintenance side) of the boat independently. We have been blessed as many have had to wait weeks and months for work to begin and be completed. The captain was certainly right in wanting to stay to oversee the work while we look pitiful living aboard. They do seem to feel sorry for us.

The props were returned early week, as they rebuilt the mangled one and reconditioned the other, saving us thousands. Our dockmaster made carrying it look too easy.

The starboard half of the boat (non-damaged) was painted mid-week, trying to get us done by weeks end.

The damaged side did not cooperate. More layers of fiberglass are needed and there were a few rain delays. Once completed, they will move inside the boat to work in the bilge and engine room area where the holes were and other cracks from the impact of our “hit”. Two thru-hulls to replace, props placed back on, and the port side painted will round out our work. It appears the end is near. We are hopeful to splash by mid-week. And by weekend be headed north into Norfolk and beyond.

While we would love to be in the water with a/c, once we missed splashing on Friday, we were in no hurry. This past week, the USCG announced that the Great Bridge Lock will be closed for the majority of the next four weeks. We are a stone’s throw south from the Great Bridge Bridge. The lock is just a few hundred yards north of the bridge. We must traverse both to motor north to Chesapeake Bay.

The Great Bridge Bridge and Lock name is derived from the American Revolutionary War Battle of Great Bridge, which took place at this location December 9, 1775, and resulted in the final removal of British government from the Colony and Dominion of Virginia. So much history.

The lock will be closed Monday through Friday of this week. It will reopen once every two hours for the weekend and then only be open the same schedule nights and weekends for the following three weeks. The Yacht Basin is anticipating a large back log of those waiting to transit. Commercial vessels have priority and typically they do not let pleasure craft lock through with commercial. We shall see. The lock is 600’ long, so luckily it will be able to hold quite a few pleasure craft at once, but with lockage only available every two hours, it’s gonna be a mess. There is already a bag log as a tug hit the lock and closed it before the schedule Monday close. Yikes!

We will use the few days to clean the boat inside and out including our back deck carpet. Every bit of the Now or Never is dirty from life in the yard. The captain may do an oil change and first mate reprovision for the next leg of our trip towards D.C.

When we started this blog and invited you along on our journey, we wanted to share every day life, the good and bad. This is the not so wonderful part of cruising, that grounds us and reminds us that cruising isn’t all dolphins and sunsets. Included is the disappointment is losing three weeks of cruising time and most likely months from our cruising kitty. We have insurance, we just aren’t sure how it all may pay out yet. Thankful for just how lucky we were in the whole scheme of things. We can’t help but think how worried this all would have made Mama Sally.

As the yard worked to put the Now or Never back together, they discerned that the gouge that ran the lenfth of the Now or Never, ran mostly inline with a stringer, it is their belief that reinforcement along the hull is what kept the Now or Never from taking on water and sinking. There is always a bright side!

Again, we are so appreciative of the love and support from friends and family, fellow boaters, and those we have never met in person but follow our journey. It can seem a tad lonely at times, far from home, just the two of us, but we thrive on the encouragement of our home port crew. We have heard from so many and find inspiration from the calls, texts, emails, blog and fb comments. We’re hopeful this less than upbeat tale won’t turn you away and you will keep you cruising along, it should be all fair winds and following seas from here on out! We are blessed to be following our dream, boat yards and all. Sending a big shout out to you – our home port crew!

Cheers!  David, Tasha,  

                  & Remy forever in our hearts!

 

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