Sept 1 - 4  Marion, MA to Stonington, CT (Dodson Boat Yard)

Well it had to end sometime - cruise day was not smooth, but not horrible either, just not a glorious, giddy day on the water.  I’d rather go through 3-4 foot waves than to have a strong following sea.  A following sea sways us wide side to side.  It just feels like we are going to turn all the way over.  Plus, it’s very hard to move around.  One thing that remedies the swaying back and forth is to increase the speed and cut through it faster, so the captain took it up a notch or two and we traveled at 15-17 knots as compared to our regular 8-10 knots.  Checking below, water was noticed dampening the carpet in the master state room which meant water was coming out of the rudder stuffing boxes; and a glance in the engine room reported a lot of water in the bilge.  SO…..the rudder stuffing boxes that had been repaired twice already, once again needed attention.  

So as soon as we came to port in Stonington, CT (Dodson’s Boatyard) Harry conversed with the harbor/dock master and they took to action immediately scheduling a haul out tomorrow morning.  Their service was amazing, being a transient and all. 

For dinner we called the launch to pick us up and we walked to one of our favorite places - Noah’s restaurant and ate at the bar.

September 2

Poor FINALLY was hauled out ‘on the hard’ for repair.  it was so sad to see her out of the water - much like a fish or dolphin out of water….just ain’t right.  

The plan was for a one day fix so Harry called the rental car place and one of the guys suggested an inexpensive hotel and so off we go from the marina to find our new home for the evening…. 

I’m not going to say too much about this place but to say inexpensive is not the right word.  The right word is down right cheap.  The Westerly Aqua Blue Star Motel is one of those places where criminals hide away or check in to kill someone….but as Harry said, the grounds are meticulous. Ha.  The bathroom door wouldn’t even shut and the air conditioning front panel would every so often fall off onto the bare floor, scaring the living daylight out of you!  I did enjoy the TV - watching it like i’d never seen one before, didn’t even care if the picture was squeezing images close together much like those mirrors in a carnival fun house.

September 3 

Morning soon came and we were not killed in our sleep, so we packed up and headed for breakfast….Harry said, ‘I’m guessing you don’t want to stay and have the Aqua Blue’s continental breakfast?’

A bit after lunch at the marina FINALLY was put back in the water and a test run was completed.  I did not attend the test run, but spent that time in the Stonington library, looking at magazines, catching up on emails and recharging electronics.  Harry finds me there and reports the test run  proved a success and we’d be under way tomorrow morning for Brandford, CT.