Repairs, already?!
On September 15th we arrived in Mathews, VA to prepare to dock at Zimmerman Marine the next morning. Though sad about needing repairs to our fuel lines, Nate was excited to see this top class outfit in action. Silver linings?
Needing some groceries, we journeyed up a small creek in the bay to a kayak launch. Luckily the tide was up as we barely had enough depth for the dinghy. This is by far the prettiest grocery trip I have taken - picturesque. We walked from the dock into the town center which has not stop light and most buildings are from late 1890s. Unfortunately Josephine dropped her phone while jumping from dock to dinghy. Her bare toes were not able to locate it in the murky mud.
The next morning we were up with the high tide as the entrance to Zimmerman is very narrow and very shallow. One of the employees piloted us in. Nate thought the entrance was like Gilligan’s Island TV show (photo below on the right). Maybe this is Nate’s translation of his childhood memory? What do you reckon?
We docked our boat next to three other boats getting repairs. There were over 25 boats on the hard (out of the water) getting repairs as well. Many owners were still living on their boats while high up in the air. The boatyard is dog friendly, has showers and two loaner cars for customers as the location is RURAL. We immediately enjoyed daily life amongst the employees and felt the company culture was very positive. You can read more at www.zimmermanmarine.com.
This is Bob. He was the sole technician to work on our fuel lines. Nate worked alongside him many days assisting and learning. Bob likes heavy metal music and is originally from Brooklyn. Bob also got to witness Queso falling off the boat on two occasions when he slipped on the deck barking at a passerby and when he slipped trying to jump from boat to dock. Part of the repair involved soaking up all the diesel that had leaked into the conduit which holds the fuel lines. During the weekend, Nate and I worked on passing rags back and forth from the bow to the stern.
During repairs we kept busy. We took daily walks in the neighborhoods, paddle boarded, and did boat projects. We got to visit two National Parks in the area; Yorktown National Battlefield and Jamestown Island.
Once we realized the repairs would take more than a few days, we decided this was a good time for Josephine to visit her sister at college. Josephine had never seen the campus and what a treat for the girls to share a long weekend together. I was a bit jealous of the Addy time Josephine was getting but was so glad to hear about their adventures; beach bonfires, ice cream and Josephine even got to ride the crew launch to watch Addy row. As soon a Josephine returned from her California trip she crashed with Queso.
Everyday we wondered when our repairs would be done and finally on the 27th we were ready to move on. We were excited but also a little sad to leave a place you had gotten to know. The routine of 12 days in one spot had been nice when you live a transient lifestyle. We got to know new people, learned about the workings of a business and found beauty in Virginia.
