Days 225 - 237 - Leap of Faith - bonus blog page

I had mentioned there would be a hiatus of the CL blog while the two couples visit their grandchildren for a few weeks. CL is sitting safe and secure at the Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth, Virginia. John and Priscilla spent 8 days in Boston visiting grandson Jackson and are now in Chicago visiting granddaughter Eleanor. Dale and Andy are in Chicago visiting their two grandsons Brodie and Kaden. We will all be back aboard CL on May 28 and soon thereafter start our voyage north on Chesapeake Bay.

While still in Portsmouth Dale arranged for our 100 hour oil change and zinc collar replacement on the shafts. There was one surprise. Once again a length of crab pot line wrapped itself around our prop while we were tied to the dock. This one is a baby compared to the one that we found in Bimini.

I started to write a final blog page before we flew out of Norfolk but did not finish it. However, a recent posting in the Looper Forum (newsletter) reminded me once again that “stuff” can happen. Read on.

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Miles cruised 1/2 mile, fuel purchased $0, slip fee $24, daily high temperature

On our last night in Norfolk which is 1/2 mile away from Portsmouth and a 10 minute ferry ride, we had a delightful farewell dinner with our Looper pals Artie and Laura from Leap of Faith. There are endless raffle prizes at the Rendezvous. Believe it or don’t Robert from Over Ice won a ball cap from the accursed boat broker. Robert thinks he is being stalked. I won a cruising guide for the northern Atlantic coast. We are not going that way. We are going up the Hudson River. Laura from Leap of Faith won a free night’s dockage at the Croton-in-Hudson Marina. They live on Long Island and will never go up the Hudson River that far again. We traded. Win, Win, all around.

We went to dinner with Wayne and Lynn and Artie and Laura at the Brick Anchor brew pub. It was a 15 minute walk from our boat in the rain. We had docktailed extensively prior to our departure. There were several classic comments made by the Rendezvous session presenters. One that really hit home for everyone spoke to what happens at the completion of the Loop. You need to join two clubs immediately – Weight Watchers and Alcoholics Anonymous.

It was a short 1/2 mile cruse across the Elizabeth River to the Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth, Virginia.

We saw three ducklings huddled on the shore by our marina. No momma duck in sight. The tide was coming in and the ducklings were retreating up the narrow beach. We saw them a few hours later and the beach would soon be under water. Later that night we saw the three ducklings paddling alone in the fairway. The beach was underwater and still no momma duck. We had dinner at the marina restaurant and we saw a momma duck paddling in from the Elizabeth River. We are sure it will be a joyous Mother’s Day reunion for those lucky ducks.

Subject: Leap of Faith update
Posted by: Laura and Artie on 5/17/2016 at 10:47 AM
Reply via email to: Laura and Artie (laura.ortmann@gmail.com)

Hello All. I know that the coconut telegraph has alerted some of you to our circumstance, so I thought that I would post an update here. While in Norfolk at the Rendezvous, Artie apparently stepped on something. Our next stop was Tangier Island and by our arrival that afternoon his condition suddenly worsened. Long story short, I took my first helicopter ride as we were transported from Tangier inland to Salisbury, MD to the local trauma center. Fast forward, his condition worsened over the next few days, but is now vastly improved. He’s finally been discharged from the hospital and has moved down to the Crisfield, MD area for extended care, where we will have to remain for the next two to four weeks. I was able to move the boat over from Tangier Island to Somers Cover Marina, in Crisfield, MD with some assistance. I cannot say enough about the folks on Tangier and here in Crisfield at the Somers Cove Marina, and will be posting separately about each of them, as well as a thank you to the many Loopers who have reached out to us to offer assistance. Oh, and the culprit? Apparently a 1.5 centimeter (not mm, cm!) portion of a packing staple. And yes, he was wearing shoes! I will update further as time goes by, and we hope that some of you are moving north slowly enough for us to catch you on the Erie in late June. We have every intention of continuing the trip with this wonderful and caring class of 2016-17 Loopers. It’s incredible and humbling to me that folks that we met two short weeks ago at the Rendezvous are now some of our closest friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Laura, MV Leap of Faith If anyone would like to touch base with Artie directly, he can receive emails and can be reached at artie dot ortmann at gmail dot com or if you have our boat card, feel free to text.

Laura Ortmann

MV Leap of Faith

Bonus photo

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.

“The days pass happily with me wherever my ship sails.”
– Joshua Slocum

Joshua Slocum (February 20, 1844 – on or shortly after November 14, 1909) was the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Nova Scotian born, naturalised American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer. In 1900 he wrote a book about his journey Sailing Alone Around the World, which became an international best-seller. He disappeared in November 1909 while aboard his boat, the Spray.