Life on the hard

Josh working on the hole in the keel

By the time we get Harmony back in the water we will have been living 20 feet above the ground for at least three weeks. The fiberglass work is coming along beautifully. Josh is a magician and the port keel will be stronger than ever. We have installed a thru-hull GPS fish finder ahead of the port keel so we will be able to see the depth under that pontoon. One of the reasons we’ve run aground in the past is because the depth finder is on the starboard side, aft. That isn’t much help with a 21’ beam in narrow channels.
The plus of being “stuck” in mid air is that there is plenty of time to get the chores done. Lew has been varnishing like crazy. I have cleaned and polished the isinglass. In spite of the dust from the yard and the sawdust from sanding the bright work, Harmony is beginning to sparkle beautifully.
Inside, I’m in the process of cleaning out every closet and drawer in the whole boat as well as cleaning every surface from top to bottom. If we were home, I am sure I would not dedicate 6 - 8 hours a day to spring cleaning the boat. So, however reluctantly, we are getting our floating home in ship shape again. We’re even getting the Dismal Swamp souvenirs, tannic acid stains, off the white hulls. If we ever do the Swamp again it will be in a brown boat.
The boatyard is a memorable experience in itself. Imagine a whole fleet of garbage trucks starting at 6:30 AM - and staying on your block. The enormous lift-cranes begin moving boats in and out of the water, power hoses blast away for bottom cleaning, and painting, drilling, sanding and grinding all begin during or before morning coffee. Because this is a marina that can handle large boats, there have been boats hauled in on flat-bed 18 wheelers from the west coast and every where in between. Norfolk is a good place to begin the summer sailing migration up to New England and Nova Scotia, beginning with a leisurely trip up the Chesapeake, so some people have their yachts trucked overland to start.
Harmony is on the corner of two gravel “streets” that are double- and triple-deep in boats of every size. From our cockpit we see a tug, numerous sailing yachts, a “pirate” ship, a commercial cruiser and, in the yard next door, a whole fleet of Navy ships. Last week three Zodiacs or similar Navy boats were brought by trucks, smaller trailers and all. A day after we arrived a submarine was hauled up. Today a Coastguard, Tow Boat US and some Army inflatables arrived. All we need are the Marines.

We are supported by stanchions and climb a portable staircase to get inside. We are so high up that both Lew and I have been in the cockpit when a duck flew by at eye level! We could step off our boat onto the top of the truck cabs. The lifting crane passes by within a couple of feet a few times a day as we watch some yacht gently swinging in its sling. It really isn’t what you expect to see out your window. As the gentleman in Maine comments, this is neither a leisurely “vacation” nor “retirement” but it certainly is an adventure! The best part of an adventure is to have lived through it and enjoy the stories you can tell. Maybe it is keeping us young.