It's been a drizzly couple of weeks, first with the hurricane (although compared to the devastation in New York and New Jersey we don't have anything to complain about!) and then the residual storm this week pushing rain and COLD down here, we haven't exactly finished our list of things to do on the boat before we can put it back in the water.
We were scheduled to go back in this Friday afternoon, but it looks like Monday at the soonest, maybe Tuesday. Something that is super critical for us going back into the water is making sure we coordinate with the tides.
We have to make sure we go in at "slack high tide" which means the water is as high as it's going to get and shifting to the low tide for the day. Of course, the tide changes everyday, so it's all in the scheduling. We are on a small river, called Core Creek, off of the main part of the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) And the tides RUSH through this section and trying to motor our boat out into it with the water either rushing one way or the other is not a fun prospect.
The ICW, if you're not familiar, is a 3000 mile canal system, most of it natural inlets, salt water rivers and bays, along most of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. It is possible to travel the coasts of several states without the hazards of traveling on the 'open sea'. Although you have to pay a lot more attention in the ICW than on the open sea because there is a lot of traffic from barges, other sport boats, sail boats, fishermen, and bridges! Not exactly the set-the-autopilot-and-read-a-book kind of watch. On the other hand, it's usually pretty flat water, so no one is feeling crummy.
Although we did manage to pick up a bigger propane heater for the inside of the boat, because with lows in the upper 30's, and NO insulation to speak of on a fiberglass boat......it's been.......brisk! And there seems to be only so many layers you can wear to bed.
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| "ICW" in North Carolina |
We have to make sure we go in at "slack high tide" which means the water is as high as it's going to get and shifting to the low tide for the day. Of course, the tide changes everyday, so it's all in the scheduling. We are on a small river, called Core Creek, off of the main part of the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) And the tides RUSH through this section and trying to motor our boat out into it with the water either rushing one way or the other is not a fun prospect.
The ICW, if you're not familiar, is a 3000 mile canal system, most of it natural inlets, salt water rivers and bays, along most of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. It is possible to travel the coasts of several states without the hazards of traveling on the 'open sea'. Although you have to pay a lot more attention in the ICW than on the open sea because there is a lot of traffic from barges, other sport boats, sail boats, fishermen, and bridges! Not exactly the set-the-autopilot-and-read-a-book kind of watch. On the other hand, it's usually pretty flat water, so no one is feeling crummy.
So, we're scrambling to finish all the chores, while Mehari is sitting on blocks. Projects like: a new toilet! some fiberglass repairs to the rudders and back deck, painting the entire hull with anti-fouling paint, and what seems like a thousand other miscellaneous projects. All while doing laundry, shopping, and shifting stuff off and on the boat.......oh yeah, and living!
I think we'll all be glad to get back in the water, and back to a 'normal' routine.....which I'm not sure we know what that looks like, but are willing to learn ;)
From the ICW in North Carolina.......
Hems
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