Month: June 2015

It was a beautiful day so we decided to take our children out for a short cruise up the Delaware. Maneuvering the boat seems to be getting a little easier each time we take it out, however, today we needed to get gas and that was a whole new experience.

Our Marina does not sell gas, so we decided to go to Curtin Marina in Burlngton. It would be my first time docking anywhere besides my own slip and I was happy to have the extra deck hands. Thankfully, there were no other boats at the gas dock, so all I had to do was  pull up slowly, bow first. Seemed easy – it wasn’t.

Our home slip is nestled in the corner of our marina, next to a tree line, and is largely protected from wind and currents. The gas slip at Curtin is behind Burlington Island, but still subject to tides, current and wind. My approach would have been fine in still water but I came in way too fast. Fortunately, I  had several deck hands to cushion the blow by pushing against the dock’s pilings and roof as we came in. New lesson learned.

I guess because it is still early in the season, and a weekday, there was no one to assist at the gas pumps, so we walked up to the office to make the purchase. Gas prices were great at $3.05 per gallon. We had heard there was a nice restaurant and bar at Curtin’s but they do not open until mid-May. Perhaps next time we will try it out.

After gassing up, we headed north on the River, past Bristol and Tullytown, up to the Steel Mill area before turning around and heading home.

All in all, it was a great “3 hour tour” and fun to have the family out for the first time.

 

When we arrived at the marina this morning, several more boats were in their slips, including our neighbor. This meant that when we docked I would no longer have a double sized slip and would need to maneuver my boat into a standard slip with a 35′ Sea Ray next to me. Oh well, had to happen sooner or later.

The trip to Philly went off without a hitch. I was not sure if we had enough gas to get all the way to Penns Landing and back, so we turned round at the Talcony-Palmyra Bridge. Even docking went smoothly and I feel like I am getting the hang of this.

Today, we ventured out into the river. Everything went perfectly. We took our time in the marina, went wide around the jetty and into the Delaware. The river was deserted so we went back and forth a mile or so, then headed back into the marina. Docking went well and Lyn was fast becoming a pro with the lines.

We had the obligatory martini to calm the nerves and planned the next excursion. Feeling even more confident, I decided the next time out we are going down river to Philadelphia. Lyn was not excited.

I am a tax accountant and typically work the first four months of the year and take off for the next eight months. Lyn owns a wedding photography studio that is currently operated by our daughter, so she is mostly retired as well. After April 15th we have all the time in the world and that is a main reason we decided to try owning a yacht.

Since we knew almost nothing about operating a large boat, we planned to hire a local captain to teach us the ins and outs. On a bright sunny day, while sitting on the bow, searching the internet for a captains, we heard a loud crash. This was surprising since we were one of the few boats in the marina at the time. Apparently most boaters wait until May to put the boats in the water.

Looking up, two piers over, we saw that a 40′ sail boat had just rammed into one of the finger slips. We watched as the flustered captain and his wife pushed off the piling, as if nothing had happened, and pulled their boat back into the main channel. From there they headed to another slip, on the other side of the marina, and attempted to dock with just a bit more success.

 

That is when it occurred to me – the marina was almost empty. This guy was taking advantage of the situation to learn how to operated his sail boat. Wow, what a great idea. No other boats to hit, no one around to laugh at your lack of sailing skills (well, except us) – it was perfect. I decided right then that the following morning, weather permitting, I was taking the boat out and and practicing. Hell, if that guy managed not to sink, I could do it too! Lyn was not as excited.

The following day we spent about three hours going back and forth across the back half of the marina, backing into slips, doing 360s, occasionally smashing into an empty finger pier, and it was a fantastic experience. My biggest fear about boating was maneuvering around a marina, especially backing into a shared slip. Now I had at least a little experience and the odds of me ramming a neighbor had dropped dramatically. Lyn also gained a lot of deckhand experience: guiding me in, jumping onto the pier, tying the lines.

Feeling overly confident, I exclaimed to Lyn,”Tomorrow, I am going out into the river! She was not excited.