New plan

OK... still coming home on August 20th but things are a bit different.

We rented a car and drove to St. Mary's. Very do-it-yourself. Rocky and his Aunt Mabel run the show and it is very rustic. We have to do a ton of work - maybe more than we are willing. We need to remove the backstay to get the travel lift around the boat. Also, all sails off, canvas off, cover the boat with netting. We are also a little worried about getting there - with all the twists and turns in the river! All this in 92 degree, humid heat!

So, friends had suggested Brunswick, 40 miles to the north. A bit discouraged, we drove the extra 40 miles. Took us less than an hour. We're not used to those kinds of speeds. Pam wanted to make lunch on the way - just like on the boat.

At Brunswick we could see why our friends had recommended the place. There are hundreds of boats at the docks. The salty old bird that runs the place made our adventure sound very mundane. People leave their boats there all the time. Getting ready for their winter in the Bahamas. You mean we aren't the first? Very normal. Bring the boat in, put it to bed like we do with Miss Pearl every year in the Pacific Northwest. Get all the bumpers out, lots of lines, don't leave any sandwiches in the fridge and ... leave!

So, one more adventure coming up. We will leave here on Monday early and exit the Saint Mary's River entrance. Sail north to the Brunswick entrance - and tie up at Brunswick landing. Plan B would have us go up the ICW in the event of bad weather.

We've been toting this canvas bag around with us... supposed to be a spinnaker so we pulled it out the other day. Wow... we've got big sails. Looking forward to trying that.

So we are doing lots of little chores, changing pumps, building a wifi antenna, installing a wine glass rack (very important), installing speakers (for Jimmy Buffet music for Charlotte), cleaning the raw water strainer, getting the who's who organized so we can get some maintenance done while we are gone. Also a little sight-seeing.

Leaving on Monday for Brunswick.

St. Marys

St. Marys closer

St. Marys up close  - hmmmmmm

Brunswick

Brunswick - closer

Spinnaker