Dear friends and dear family,
It has been a very long winter and our Contessa remained on the dry all winterized and wrapped to endure the harsh winter at Haven Harbor Marina in Rock Hall, MD under the watchful eyes of our newly acquired friends and great craftsmen of the boating industry.
It is May and the weather seems to be stabilizing and it is getting warmer. We are anxious to bring her back south into the warmer waters to which she is much more accustomed to and we are more than happy to accommodate that.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Rock Hall, MD – Chesapeake
It has been three weeks since we arrived at Rock Hall to prepare our Contessa for her journey back south going home. The long and cold winter prolonged Haven Harbor Marina in their preparatory work in launching all the winterized boats they housed for the winter. Our Contessa was one of them. Much work has been done by some amazingly capable talents, very capable hands of a couple of Mikes, Rickie and others, as well as under great leadership and dedicated hard work our Contessa is ready and eager to start her journey home.
There is no one more pleased to stand at the helm and take his ship home, then our own Admiral Joe. Fair skies and calm seas to the admiral and his crew!
The morning is mellow, yet the sky is laden with moisture and a very intense sun behind it all pushing its rays through in the attempt of warming the cold waters of the north.
Its 4:15 pm and we are at our first dockage for the night, Dozier’s Regatta Point Marina, Deltaville, VA. Our journey started just about 10AM and mostly was a smooth ride despite a brief intercept of inclement weather which brought in wind and choppy seas. I have never seen so many small boats out there fishing and trolling as today. I suppose everyone got cabin fever and just needed to get out doing their favorite outdoor thing.
Thank God we made it to our dock just in time for this huge storm to pass by. It brought strong gusty winds ranging up to 40 KN and plenty of rain to follow. Maybe a half hour later everything calmed down and we were able to go check in and go have an early dinner at the Railway Restaurant across the creek. As the craw would fly it would be a short run but we needed to drive around the creek and a couple of coves to get to the only restaurant in the neighborhood. The food was decent yet more on the deep-fried side but there was a choice of salads too. The restaurant was filled with people and as the evening progressed more were emerging from the convoluted forested flat areas embracing the coves and creeks of the local area. Early retirement with a dramatic sunset in the distance was very much welcomed as we adjust to our boat living with ease and grace.