December 2008

The shoulder pain is really slowing the project down. Add the usual holiday events and not much is accomplished. I manage to start winterizing Ninkasi but hold off winterizing the engine in hopes of doing the annual New Years Day sail.

November 2008

Our friend Larry heads south for the winter. This time he's going without us. Sure wish we were going too. Ninkasi is really feeling neglected.


The shoulder is getting worse so I stop therapy and it’s back to the doctor. After an MRI, the doc says I need surgery on the rotor cuff. I put the operation off until January in hopes that I can finish the projects.

October 2008

Finally got to see the orthopedic folks. Cortisone and therapy enable me to restart work on the projects, but something is still wrong with the shoulder. Except for painting, the foyer is almost done. Donna finally made a decision on cabinets, countertop, sink and fixtures for the bath and we got them on order.

September 2008

By mid September, it’s obvious the projects won’t be done in time to go south this winter. It may be for the best as my arm/shoulder is giving me a fit. Deploying and retrieving the anchor was always bothering my shoulder on the trip and now the pain was almost constant. It’s time to see the doctor.

August 2008

We took Ninkasi on a few weekend cruises with the Portsmouth Boat Club, but other than that, we’re still land bound. We did start the bath remodel, mostly planning. The problem with the plan was it kept getting bigger and more involved. First the project grew from just replacing the shower to add a new vanity, sink, countertop, tile floor , wainscot, and lighting.

Starting the work only increased the work involved. Undetected leaks behind the shower had rotted out studs and created additional work. Removing the existing linoleum floor exposed a rather large crack in the slab floor that required repair. In the meantime, the project acquired more territory and included the master bedroom and entry foyer.

June 2008

Living at Home and Fulfilling a Promise. After living for 8 months on Ninkasi, returning to our condo was like entering a palatial mansion. The ole place seemed so large. The one thing that did not change was Buddy wanting to be feed the minute we walked in.

Sleeping in our bed was very comfortable, but sleep did not come easy at first. The ceiling fan provided the gentle air flow we had become accustomed to, however the sound of water lapping against the hull was missing.


One unwelcome reminder that we were home was the trek to the 3rd floor bathrooms. The shower in the first floor master bath had been broken for almost 2 years. We had planned to replace the broken fiberglass corner unit with a nice full tiled shower. In fact, I had promised Donna I would remodel the bath prior to making another “snowbird” trip. Big Mistake!

Day 59, Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Got underway at 0630. The overnight thunder storms, rain and change in the wind direction have cleared the air of smoke for the moment. The temperature is also down a bit. The forecast for today is clear in the mid to upper eighties. That’s gotta be better than the past few days. We still have not been able to confirm the operation of the railway bridge #7 (next to Gilmerton), but we are headed home anyway.

We arrived at the North Landing Bridge just prior to the 1200 opening. We were joined in just a few minutes by four other boats. When the bridge tender attempted the opening something went wrong and the bridge would not open. He made two more attempts to open before informing us that the bridge was “stuck” and he was calling maintenance. Maintenance arrived, diagnosed the problem, needed parts and had to wait for the part to come from Great Bridge. All the waiting boats dropped an anchor to wait out the delay. Two plus hours later there were 8 northbound boats and 2 southbound waiting when the repairs were finally completed and the bridge opened.

The delay totally destroyed our bridge schedule. We were now going to hit the Steel Bridge during the evening rush hour closure. We cleared Centerville Bridge at 1500 and the Great Bridge at 1600. After passing through the Great Bridge bridge, we pulled over to the port side and tied up instead of proceeding to the lock. Tying up here allowed us to wait for the 1700 lock through and hit the reopening of the Steel Bridge at 1800. The good news was a report form the Gilmerton Bridge that the malfunctioning railway bridge was operational and in its normal open position. Only four boats continued north at 1700, three sail and one power. We managed to make all the remaining bridges together and said goodbye to each other after passing the Jordan Bridge and Waterside.

We pulled into Scotts Creek marina about 1930 and with some dockside help, secured the boat. We then enjoyed a brew and packed a few bags to take home. Don Wade arrived about 2000 to give us a ride back to our condo. We loaded our meager belongings into the car but Don persuaded us to detour to the PBC clubhouse for a short visit. We received a warm welcome home from the Wednesday night pot-luck dinner gang and enjoyed a few brews and hot dogs. We finally left and arrived at the condo about 2200. We’re Home!!!

Location: Portsmouth, VA, MM Zero. Boat distance traveled, 50.6 miles. Time actually moving, 8 hours. Total travel time, 11 hours.