Young Son Bought a Boat and You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore

Steve’s son, who lives in Winchester, VA, bought a 1980 Morgan 382 last winter. Steve helped him move it from Jordan Creek which is south of Belhaven, North Carolina on the Pungo River to Solomons, Maryland on the Patuxent River. Manned by a competent crew of three – Deckhand JR, First Mate “Fish” and Captain Young Son, Celerity left North Carolina on Saturday and arrived in Maryland on Tuesday.

As expected, they motored more than they sailed, but Celerity proved herself a seaworthy vessel and with a little TLC, will be an impressive boat.

The first night was the least pleasant. Heading up a channel in the North River off Albemarle Sound looking for a place to anchor, they needed a spotlight to navigate around the crab pots. With the spotlight on, the fuzzy bills starting swarming, flying into mouths, bombarding eyes, zooming up nostrils and any other orifice they could get into. There was no talking and with limited visibility, they hurriedly dropped anchor for the night.

Up early the next day, they fired up the generator and wasted no time getting underway.

On day two, they went through the lock at Great Bridge, VA. A lock is a section of water closed off by gates which control the water level so that boats can be raised or lowered as they pass through it. It’s like an elevator for boats.

If you’ve never been through a lock, you will be impressed. Deckhand JR sure was.

The Mexican tall ship tied up to the dock at Waterside Marina in Norfolk, VA provided the most non-alcoholic entertainment on the trip.

This ship is a training vessel for the Mexican Navy, spending much of the year on the high seas while teaching the essential elements of seamanship and navigation.

Wondering how long those cadets would stand on the yardarms, Celerity followed her for a bit but then headed north and with a 25 to 30 knot breeze, it was a great day of sailing.

Crossing the mouth of the Potomac impressed Steve. At 11 miles, it’s a lot wider than he thought it would be. Motoring up the Patuxent, they pulled into Calvert’s Marina around lunchtime. Mission accomplished.

Glad that young son bought a boat and that he asked his dad to join him on this adventure, I am reminded again that this is what retirement is all about.

As soon as Celerity’s dock lines were secure, Steve headed home. We couldn’t wait to see one another.

Many couples have trouble adjusting to “normal” retirement because they are not used to spending so much time together. However, when you retire to a sailboat, you spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week together. So far, this has not been a problem for us but we do like it when folks tell us how well we get along and work together. Hearing that makes us say WHEW…maybe we can do this!!

Still, I don’t think family and friends really understand how together Steve and I are. Take, for example, the text Steve gets from my older daughter the day before Mother’s Day. We have plans to visit with the kids the following weekend, but she wants her mom to have flowers on Mother’s Day. Steve thinks that is sweet and wants to oblige so he agrees to buy some and surprise me with them Sunday morning.

I’m on deck working on the teak. Steve sticks his head out the companionway.

S: You want to ride up to Grantsboro? (We only have one car now so Steve doesn’t want to hop in and leave me behind without letting me know where he’s going.)

M: What for?

S: Chelsea wants me to buy you flowers for Mother’s Day. I can do that, but she also wants me to surprise you with them and I can’t do that. I can’t hide flowers on the boat. So do you want to ride up to Grantsboro with me to get your flowers and then act surprised to see them tomorrow morning?

M: Aww, that’s so sweet, but we can’t have flowers on the boat. There’s nowhere to put a vase.

S: So what do you want me to do?

M: Tell her that. She’ll understand.

She did and we laughed about it the next time we talked.

See?  We’re not the only ones who are having to adjust to life aboard FNR.