You can't get here from there. (or) Capt. Ron was right.

This morning when we punched up the GPS information for where we were going it said about 24 miles.  42 miles later we arrived.  All the inlets and bays in the Chesapeake are like branches on a tree.  Instead of just walking around the tree, you need to climb all the way up, and then all the way back down - if that makes sense.  And if not...   Today the temps were in the 80s again.  We also had a pretty spectacular lightning display last night.  It lit up about half the sky around us, but no wind or rain for us.  Sometimes you get lucky.

We are in Cambridge, MD.  We came for the shopping, screw sightseeing.  Actually we spent the first two hours that we were here draining our diesel tank.  We've owned this boat for 2 years, sailing and cruising on the Great Lakes.  But as Capt. Ron tells us, "If it's going to happen, it's gonna happen on the ocean!"  When the boat was built the vent for the diesel tank was located in such a position that under certain conditions (sailing in 12 to 15 foot waves which break over the transom, or waves continually running down the side deck on port tack) the vent is/was under water, forcing water into the fuel tank.  We had noticed water in the fuel filter sight bowl on a couple of occasions.  When I drained it off it was salty so I knew it was ocean water and not from dirty fuel , as sometimes happens. Diesels don't like water in their fuel so I decided to modify the vent system, and to get all the remaining water out of the tank.  We drained the bulk of the fuel into empty cans which we have for later in the trip.  Then we sopped up the water in the bottom of the tank.  (Sue is planning to do laundry later in the trip and I figure her sweat shirts and towels should clean right up.)  Then we ran all the fuel through a water separating funnel to make sure it was clean, going back into the clean tank.

I understand Cambridge has a hardware store.  Tomorrow I get to go shopping for more boat project supplies.  And maybe ice cream.  I'll pass on a Dunkin' Donuts.