Day 256 - Stingray Point — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased $0, slip fee $89, daily high temperature 77°

We spent a second day in Deltaville. It gave me the opportunity to work on the dingy steering system. We had not used the dingy since we were in the Bahamas 9 weeks ago. The Teleflex steering system had locked up and we could not turn the steering wheel. Since the Internet knows everything, I Googled Mercury 40 hp steering system. Up came numerous YouTube “how to” videos. The Teleflex manufacturers videos explained that eventually every boat with a steering system will freeze up and need replacement. Their video explained how to find the part number on the cable and how order a new one. The other videos were from boat owners that fixed their existing Teleflex steering system. I watched several of the the videos, grabbed the tool kit and started disassembling the steering system. Eventually I had taken enough pieces off to get at the shafts that were caked in hardened old grease. I cleaned the shafts, applied new marine water proof grease and worked the shafts in and out. They became dirty again so I repeated the process until the grease coming out of the shaft looked clean, I reassembled the steering system and it works perfectly. Off we went for a dingy ride to explore the Rappahamnok River. There are dozens of marinas and literally a thousand boats on this section of the river. Deltavilla is a small town but it has enough marinas to have its own West Marine store.

This the repair kit we did not have to buy for $159.00.

The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately 195 miles (314 km) in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.

CL under roof. We have to move on Sunday so I can watch Game of Thrones. Satellite TV does not work when we have a roof overhead.

The area where our current Marina is located is called Stingray Point named by Captain John Smith on July 17, 1608. According to Captain John Smith, he was stung by a stingray there while exploring the bay. Captain Smith is said to have given orders for his men to dig a grave because he believed himself to be dying from the sting. Walter Russell, a doctor of physic, and also a member of Smith’s crew, applied a “precious oil” to Smith’s wound. The Captain recovered sufficiently to eat the stingray for his dinner that evening. The legend that a cure was given to Smith by local Native Americans, who lived along what is now called Antipoison Creek, has been largely discredited.

Captain John Smith

Duck tales – photo taken at the Tidewater Marina of a mother duck and her 9 ducklings. I don’t know if this is the same mother for the three juvenile ducks but they all seem to be getting along swimmingly

Bonus photo – In memoriam to Cassius Clay (aka Mohammed Ali) who passed away today:

“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”
Muhammad Ali

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.

“In August 1961, I visited President Kennedy at Hyannis Port. The Berlin Wall was going up, and he was about to begin a huge military buildup – reluctantly, or so he said, as he puffed on a cigar liberated by a friend from Castro’s Cuba.”

Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal born Eugene Louis Vidal; 3 October 1925 – 31 July 2012) was an American writer (of novels, essays, screenplays, and stage plays) and a public intellectual known for his patrician manner, epigrammatic wit, and polished style of writing.

As Eugene Louis Vidal, he was born to a political family; his maternal grandfather, Thomas Pryor Gore, served as United States senator from Oklahoma (1907–21 and 1931–37). As Gore Vidal, he was a Democratic Party politician who twice sought elected office; first to the United States House of Representatives (New York State, 1960), then to the U.S. Senate (California, 1982).