Of all the boat yards I have been in with Oh!, there is nowhere that compares to the Bert Jabin Yacht Yard that Oh! is now hauled out at for the summer. This place is incredibly clean, welcoming and so peaceful.
The travel lift at the yard could just barely fit Oh!. At one point I thought they might need to get out the industrial size Vaseline to squeezer her into the lift, but they had 3 inches to spare on each side! No problem…yikes! I must give credit though where credit is due. The crew at Bert Jabin were super professional and great to work with. I am pretty sure Oh! and I are going to like it here.
Plus, Oh! is in a corner of the yard that is next to a beautiful nature park, and just 50m from the waterfront. So I can paddle board each evening when I am too exhausted to do any further work, or just go for long relaxing walks. In the morning and evening it is so peaceful here…if you close your eyes it sounds like you are in a park listening to birds chirp and the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze. In the photo below Oh! is at the end of the pier to the right of the red roofed building…what a perfect spot!
The nature park has interpretive trails and a day camp center, and is home to a lot of song birds. The creek nearby has herons and seabirds, osprey and there are hummingbirds here too. It is beautiful spot to go for a quiet walk and just listen.
There are yoga sessions each evening and a small dock where locals come to launch kayaks and paddle boards to explore the creek. The creeks here are more like narrow ragged inlets off Chesapeake bay and are typically lined with marinas. If you wanted to find a boat this place has hundreds for sail of size and design.
There is a lot to do to get Oh! set for the summer storage. First get her cleaned up. Then arrange for the repairs and services I need. Then organize and stow a lot of gear. No shortage of tasks…at least this is a really beautiful place to get all that done.
It was amazing how yellow and stained the hulls had become over the past 20 months. Below shows the difference, just cleaned on the right of the photo and the yet to be cleaned left portion!
Yesterday was spent getting just half of the hulls cleaned so they can eventually be polished and waxed. Today I will try to get the remainder done, plus remove a prop that looks like it needs a new bearing and finally get some information to a service company that will be doing some work on Oh!. Hopefully I won’t end up as stiff and sore as yesterday! I am not whining though because this place is so relaxing to be at, but it us physically taxing work. The best part is that there are no hard deadlines looming that make getting everything done so much more stressful. So I can balance the work and relax part much better.
Home for now… is pretty darn nice!
Cheers from Oh!