Friday, September 23, 2016

Mill Creek - at anchor

The anchorage has only a few modest homes nearby - it's a  beautiful setting
I had a lifeline give way when a fender got caught between the boat and a piling. I went to see Zahniser's Yachting Center in Solomons for a fix in the spring this year but they didn't have the right part in stock. I visited several places on the way north but I found it remarkably difficult to find the exact, right parts for the repair. Giving up, I brought the assembly back with me south to Zahniser and went for the complete replacement which they completed in 1/2 hour. I have to say that they are very good! They did what they promised and at a reasonable price.

When I reinstalled the lifeline I checked the other lifelines on the boat and to my chagrin, three were missing retaining rings. They could have failed at any time with at least the loss of the end fittings not to mention perhaps putting me overboard if I was leaning against them at the time. So my advice is to check your lifelines to be sure all the fittings have ring retainers in place. It's not something you think of everyday, I certainly didn't.

There's six boats in the anchorage but there's plenty of room
The ride across the mouth of the Potomac will go down as the calmest ever for us. The wind was out of the north at 5 mph with little current, just a perfect passage. We're anchored in Mill Creek and will probably be here Saturday too. NOAA has a small craft advisory issued for Saturday with winds of 10 to 15 and gusts to 20 kts but on Sunday everything is supposed to calm down to 5 to 10 kts out of the north so we plan on reaching Hampton Sunday afternoon. At the moment the ICW is closed on both the Virginia Cut and the Dismal Swamp route due to high water. Hopefully it will subside by Wednesday, our projected departure date from Hampton. There always seems to be something happening on the ICW!

3 comments:

Max and Nancy said...

We are following your trip with great interest. Thank you for all your informative comments along the way. We are starting our trip from Kinsale, Va. in 2 weeks. Fyi according to Cruisernet.com the Virginia cut is back open again as of yesterday September 23 although the Dismal Swamp cut is still closed. Thanks for pointing out their closure. Good luck on the rest of your trip and safe travels

Bob423 said...

Max and Nancy, glad you like the posts! I'll be commenting on what I find at all the inlets and other shallow spots too. We'll see if the GPX routes I posted work.

Unknown said...

I will be in Elizabeth city by tonight, was hoping to motor up the Dismal tomorrow. Then down the eastern route Tuesday or Wednesday. Thanks for the closure notice, will alter our plans.