Back on the Water Fishing Bay Deltaville VA USA

‘Honest guv, I parked it between these 2, I should be able to get it out!’

We hate BV being lifted in or out of the water.  We find lifting-out is particularly stressful but a lift-in comes a close run second.  However, on this occasion with Lee’s careful oversight, it all went very smoothly despite there being only just enough space to get the travel hoist into position.  It was so tight that they had to temporarily remove supports from the yachts on either side of us to get the hoist into the gap.

Rolling downhill towards the sea

It then set off down the hill to the launch area with us following on behind.

I then got chatting to Lee about where he wanted us to moor for our 24hr stay on the yard’s dock and before I knew it BV had been launched.  I barely got time to take any pictures.  Whilst she was still in the slings we jumped on board and did a careful check for any leaks.  Not finding any, we crossed our fingers and turned the start key; the engine leapt into life and ran very smoothly.  Always a relief after it has sat idle for a few months.

New upholstery in place.  Tricia from Bay Canvas has done a great job

We then moved BV onto her overnight mooring so that we could receive deliveries.  The sails were coming from the sail loft but, much more exciting, we were also waiting for our soft furnishings to arrive.

We got word that Tricia was putting the finishing touches to the last cushions and so, rather than distract her from that, we borrowed a vehicle and Nicky did a run to pick up what had been completed.  By the end of the day we had everything in position and were delighted with the result.  We had deliberated long and hard over various swatches to pick the right material, but you don’t get the full effect until the cushions are in place.  The sails eventually arrived although a small bit of work had been missed so we sent the mainsail back which delayed us fitting it until the following day.

View from the top (Pt 1).  Refitting the wind instruments, changing the bulb on the tricolour light and checking the rigging

Mast monkey with OCC Roving Rear Commodore
burgee at the masthead

With the sails all back on board we had to move out to anchor so, after a morning attaching the mainsail, it was time for a trip up the mast.  We had removed our anemometer from the masthead for our time out of the water, so that needed refitting, and we also needed to change the tricolour bulb.  I brought the whole light fitting down with me: better to take the fitting apart in the cabin where any dropped parts could be picked up.  It meant Nicky getting a second work-out hoisting me up the mast to refit it but I also did a rigging check and lubricated all of the sheeves and bearing surfaces as I came back down.

View from the top (Pt 2)

But before returning to deck level there was time to enjoy the views over Fishing Bay.

The sock we had used to protect the plastic bearing on the top of the DuoGen from the harsh summer sunlight; it was originally all black!

Whilst we sat out at anchor the weather changed somewhat and the skies became overcast making our solar panels less effective.  To give us a little extra charging power we set up the DuoGen in wind mode and discovered that the protective sock we had put on it for the summer was now 2-tone.  Just as well we had put it on or the plastic bearing on the top of the DuoGen would have taken all of that UV damage whilst we were away instead of the sock.

We spent 4 days at anchor in Fishing Bay getting BV back ready to go sailing and waiting for the end of a spell of northerly winds.  Everything had to be tidied up down below and the deck gear set up and made ready for our first sail.  We secured the new SCUBA diving compressor in the aft machinery space which meant that we also had to do a certain amount of repacking to hide away the bits and pieces that previously had lived there.  The generator also needed some attention.  It initially ran fine but then the output voltage fell well below what it should be when under load.  We have ordered a new capacitor for it which we hope will correct that fault but we may need to have some tests run by a Fischer Panada engineer to see if there is something more significant wrong with the windings.  Watch this space for the latest updates on ‘the saga of BV’s generator’.

Whilst we were at anchor we still went ashore for the evening social gathering.  It was great fun and it allowed us to keep abreast of the busy maintenance work everyone was doing in the boatyard.  Hopefully they will all launch very soon and enjoy being back in the water but, for now, it’s our turn to be sailing again with an early start planned for the morning.

Deltaville, Virginia, USA