On the Hard

The picture above shows the reflection of the bow, 8 inches out of the water.


By Wednesday night we had said goodbye to the beautiful Dismal Swamp Canal with its miles of honeysuckle, occasional turtles and Great Blue Herons, its serene reflections and the comraderie of boaters rafted together on the dock at the North Carolina Welcome Center near South Mills. We were anchored with Puff on Mill Creek, amidst the busyness of Norfolk, Hampton and all the ports and docks and activity of this huge area. The 'plan' was to start early Thursday morning, heading for Annapolis where we would get the boat hauled to check on the possible damage of our going aground on May 4th. There was no lift wide enough to pull Harmony out of the water until we arrived in Norfolk. Going to Annapolis would take us closer to where Gareth and family live, so we thought we could have the job done there. The insurance company considered that an all right decision.

Weather permitting.... well, weather was threatening rain and lousy winds for going north, so at 7 AM on Thursday, Lew decided to have the boat pulled at Cobbs Marina, our favorite boatyard, in Norfolk. Puff took off, with sad goodbyes. We'll see them in Keyport next month. We made the two hour motor trip south across Hampton Roads and here we are. We honestly thought there was nothing wrong with the boat. It was a wise formality to get it hauled and check to see if there had been damage to our hull. As it turns out, once again, we are in a good place to get bad things fixed.

The hulls are fine but what a nasty surprise. The hulls are separate compartments above the keels. The port keel has a foot-long gash that poured water for over a minute when the boat was finally out of the water. The starboard keel has scratches along the bottom. We're not sure what else might be wrong. Probably next week the insurance surveyor will be able to fit in an appointment for us. After that, the fiberglass work and any other repairs can begin. Stay tuned.

The good thing about all this is that Cobbs did a lot of work on this boat two years ago when we bought it and Lew brought it up from Florida. We spent a lot of time in this area and know where the stores, restaurants and laundries are. It will also be terrific to spend the weekend with Gareth and family, four hour's drive away in Maryland. Next week we'll not only have the professionals here to fix things we cannot, but Lew & I will also get a chance to clean up and take care of some of the things we've found to need our attention.

Someday we'll get home. This feels like 'Charlie on the MTA', the Kingston Trio song.