Time Out on the Sassafras

Wednesday, October 1st: Charlestown on the Sassafras River

This morning Bob was still unable to start the engine and finally called Boat US. Then he decided to run our little Honda generator and try the starter one more time and - it started. We canceled Boat US but asked where to take our boat to get the problem checked out - then we pulled anchor and proceeded up the Sassafras River to the Charlestown Yacht Basin marina where we had a mechanic look at the engine and where we will stay for the night.

The mechanic checked batteries, engine temp. (which Bob was concerned about), all the connections, and wiring. Everything was fine but he did clean the connection to the ground wire and said a corroded connection could create problems. In any case, the engine starts easily now, and the cost of the mechanic is mitigated somewhat by free dock space for the night and use of all the services here - water at the dock to top up the tanks, electricity, showers, wifi and bikes that we used to go to tiny town of Galena - and the little grocery store there where we bought a few vegetables and some very nice meat. Back at the boat we defrosted the fridge, put everything away (what a mess this boat can get into!) and walked up the hill to have fried soft shelled crab (for Bob) and crab cakes (for me) for dinner. 

Tomorrow we may move south along the Maryland side of the bay (Virginia is directly across on the other side) - and choose another of the rivers to explore. As usual, it all depends on the weather. We hope to do more anchoring before the week is through.