Unlooping - Preparing for the Return Trip

Last picture of us together on our boat.  Taken in Norfolk, VA - April 2017.

Completing the Great Loop is something that I have wanted to do for many years.  Our plan, in fact, took many years just to develop, but I have had to make the decision that the best thing to do, for now, is return to Chattanooga.  The river will give me a place to practice running the boat by myself and give me time to focus on all the other things that keep me close to home.  Someday, I hope to be able to throw off the lines and begin the trip again.

I’ve seen the boat twice in the last 14 months. Both times it was sitting on the dirt in a storage yard. The first time was last October when I went back to assist my friend Tom with winterizing. Blue Ayes has always been a “southern” boat. This was the first time she has ever been removed from the water and flushed with antifreeze. That process was something else!  It took 100 gallons of antifreeze to do it the engines, generator, heads and air-conditioning units. The fresh water system, including all the water lines, was blown out with compressed air so that nothing was left.  Everything that could freeze or mildew had to be removed and since we had been living aboard, that was a lot of stuff!

Sitting on the hard - Herrington Harbor North

My second visit was at the beginning of April when I went back to start loading things back on board, do some cleaning and organizing. In the process of doing that, I discovered a few things that needed professional attention. Those as well as waxing and detailing have been completed. Almost everything that was unloaded is back on-board except for our dingy which I hauled back to Marietta to lighten the load for the return trip.  Tom and I worked on a plan for the return - a very aggressive plan - which would get the trip done in 22 days.  I doubt that this will be achieved, but it's a plan!

The rest of April, May and June were spent getting ready for Regina’s celebration of life and dealing with all the other things that must be done. The slide show that I put together of the event had me searching through the house for old pictures during which I found things that had put away since we left Maryland 29 years ago! Some of these discoveries made me laugh, some cry and many were “why did we ever pack this”!  

We had the celebration at the yacht club in New Smyrna Beach, Florida on the day that would have been Regina’s 60th birthday. Her cousin, Laurie, worked for three months to make sure that this was a special day. All of us found things to be displayed and Laurie created amazing sets for the favorites of Regina’s life. It was a very tough day, but I think it was exactly the party that Regina wanted. Many friends present, beautiful setting, sunny day, great food and drink and wonderful shared memories.

I have returned to Maryland to get ready for the return and the boat is finally back in the water.  There were a few surprises after getting here.  A couple of bilge blower fittings were broken and had to be replaced, the rear enclosure curtains needed new elastic straps, the compass had to be replaced and my DirecTV access card had expired!  Now that's serious.  Getting a replacement is going to be tricky!

Regina's brother, Rob, is going to start the trip with me.  He arrives on the 17th to start learning to be a boater.  Hopefully, not too big a challenge for an Army guy.  I'm sure he is going to have a whole new appreciation for "swabbies" before he's done.  The scheduled departure from Herrington Harbor South is Friday, July 19.  Stay tuned to see when Blue Ayes makes it to Chattanooga!

PS - sorry about the crazy font display, I've redone this a dozen times and it will not stay as selected???????