We Are Heading South At Last

We are now back in Solomons having failed to escape the Bay before the cold weather settled in. Last night there was a frost in our area. The good news is we are officially on our way south with our buddy boat Windsong.

A little more than a week ago we were passing the time on the very peaceful La Trappe creek enjoying watching huge flocks of geese, when we got the idea to defrost the freezer. Having completed this not so enjoyable task, the next day Linda then noticed the temperature was slowing rising in the freezer. It was very apparent that in my haste to get the defrosting done, I had damaged the evaporator plate. We decided to return to Oxford, now a day sooner than we had planned to be in better position to make a repair. Just before arriving at Oxford we had a call from Ted. He had found that his engine heat exchanger was leaking and the the entire unit would need to be replaced. The part would need to be shipped in and therefore we could not leave on schedule. We shared our story and we were both relieved that we were not holding each other up. The US distributor for our refrigeration system is in Bowie, Maryland so I made arrangements to go to their office to pick up the parts they recommended, which was a replacement evaporator, but also a filter dryer as a precaution, since the system had been compromised with the leak. Ted's brother in law David loaned us his car for the trip to Bowie. I installed the parts, which was really labor intensive, especially fitting the evaporator in the freezer. We made arrangements with Bachelors Point Marina and Boat Yard to evacuate the system and recharge it with R134 refrigerant. We tied up at their T head and stayed a few hours to allow the system to settle down after the new charge. Meanwhile Ted and Alice were continuing to have their own problems. The first part sent in was defective so a second had to be shipped. In testing the new heat exchanger, a leak in the exhaust system at the mixing elbow was discovered which ultimately required the fabrication of a replacement. Both boats were then ready and wouldn't you know, the winds on the Chesapeake were gusting 35, causing another day's delay.

We enjoyed our stay in Oxford. It is rich in history, having been established as the first port in Maryland in 1683. Ted's sister Margarete and her husband David invited us to dinner one evening. Margarete made the best crab cakes either of us have ever had. They are wonderful host with fascinating stories and have a beautiful home looking out on the Tred Avon River.