The big decision for the day was where to go from here. We clearly needed a marina or somewhere that we can tie up for power. Also, a big storm was heading up the east coast and we wanted to be in a secure spot as far from it as possible. We knew we were heading south because we needed to be in White Hall Marina by the end of the week where our car is so we could drive to South Florida the following weekend.
We started calling marinas in Herring Bay, about two hours south of Annapolis. They were all booked. Our next option was to call marinas in the Solomon’s, a six hour cruise. Several were booked but we found one, called Spring Cove Marina, that had space. Spring Cove was one of the pricier options but we rationalized the expense, opting for comfort and amenities such ask an on-site swimming pool and laundry. We knew we might be there for two or three nights. So away we went. We left at 11 on yet another hot, hot day. Again, the seas were calm and the passage blissfully uneventful.
Jonny spent a lot of time researching solutions for the broken generator. It turned out that it’s a significant expense since we need a new exciter (the part that produces the electricity) which costs about $3000!! But the boat is 20 years old and we need it so he ordered it and had it sent to White Point Marina where we can hopefully have it installed while we’re away in South Florida. A minor consolation was the $250 we would save by not having to buy a new power cord and drying it out instead.
We came into the Solomon’s and arrived at Spring Cove Marina at 4:45 and discovered that our bow thruster wasn’t working. If it’s not one thing, it’s another!
That didn’t prevent Jonny from tying up easily up in a nice shady slip. The grounds of this large marina are filled with large shady pine trees. Grassy areas with picnic benches abound. The pool beckoned and we went for a delicious dip in the jellyfish-free pool. We had salmon and salad for dinner and slept well with plenty of AC.
On Friday, we did various chores all day. Jonny repaired the bow thruster. Lynn did two loads of laundry and finally started writing her blog. Needless to say, it was hot enough for another swim in their very nice pool where everyone remained socially distant in their little family groups.
We also took the marina’s loaner car to do some grocery shopping. We really wanted to buy soft shell crabs but the fish market said they haven’t had any for weeks so instead we bought rockfish to cook on the grill.
When we returned to Zendo, we had our nightly cocktail and nibbles and Jonny prepared the rockfish which we had with salad. We watched a TV show that Jonny had downloaded for our viewing pleasure. We’ve had pretty limited access to television lately which is not a terrible thing as long as Lynn can watch her nightly PBS News Hour.
On Saturday, Jonny did more repairs including diagnosing and fixing the leak in our fresh water system which was driving him crazy with the bilge pump regularly coming on. Lynn finished up all the blog entries. There was a lovely breeze on the grassy lawn so we sat on a recently sanitized picnic table and read in the cool shade. We decided to stay at this comfortable marina for a third night and just chill. The next day we would amble over to a marina off of the mouth of the Potomac.
That evening we explored our options as to where to go next and we decided that we would move on to the Potomac and do some exploring along the mouth of that great river. We scoped out two possible marinas (because we need to tie up to get AC in this heat with our broken generator)! We had burgers, home fries and salad for dinner and watched some TV before going to bed.
Oh, man! Sorry to read of the failures, but that is boating, unfortunately. Best of luck.
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