Time to refresh

The trip from Bellhaven to Coinjock was uneventful and then we left Coinjock Tuesday morning at 0630 for the final leg of the journey to Oxford and the point of beginning.

We just missed the first bridge opening but got some reprieve by a barge coming southbound so the North Landing Bridge opened early. From there the group of boats at the opening traveled through the bridges together. When we got to the Great Bridge Lock there was an issue with the locks so we lost about 45 mins while the problem got resolved. After that there was only the Gilmerton Bridge which now opens on demand so we made it through Norfolk fairly easily compared to other passages. We stopped by mile 1 at Ocean marine for fuel since their fuel price was $1 less than Oxford's.

As we journeyed up the Elizabeth and James River there was little wind but once out on the Bay we picked up a nice sea breeze and sailed. We were able to sail most of the evening until the wind slacked off and clocked more behind us. So we motored until we started making our turn into the Choptank. We were able then to sail right to the Tred Avon where we began motoring to prep for our landing. Since it was still early we motored slowly so we would get there after 0800. We arrived at the marina about 0830 concluding the trip that began 4 December.

The rest of the day we started getting things ready for the work we need to do and preparing for our trip to Chicago.

Thursday morning they hauled Amekaya so we could do some bottom work before continuing. After looking at the bottom in daylight it looked even better than I thought after diving on it. The bottom was extremely clean. No doubt the 11 kts offshore took care of any growth. We bought a Max-prop folding prop to replace the OEM fixed blade prop that we used instead of the Vari-prop from the PO.

While in the slings we asked for our weight. The advertised empty weight of our boat is 33,000# but the hanging weight of our boat was 42,000# without much water on board. A big difference in weight. So fully provisioned the boat will be over 43000#.

We are now on the road in Chicagoland visiting family and friends for a few days while the bottom dries before working on it. Seems really odd to be sleeping in a bed that's not moving, not wearing bathing suits or having boat chores to do.

Next update when we get back to the boat.