Atlantic Yacht Basin…Again!

Monday September 12 – Thursday September 15

Prime Time’s return to the Atlantic Yacht Basin was uneventful. Mark, Anneke, and I were all disappointed that we were heading in the WRONG direction for Texas. We also knew that we had made the RIGHT decision! I really like AYB…it would be a great place to wait out some potentially nasty weather.

We were able to dock Prime Time once again to the front wall at AYB. Jason Henry…who had been working on Mark’s Grand Banks Hedone…was all too happy to stop cleaning and catch our dock lines. We jumped off Prime Time and immediately saw Chuck Grice down the wall talking on his cell phone (what a shock…Chuck is ALWAYS on the phone…I guess that’s what world-class yacht brokers do!) Chuck is an unbelievably kind and sensitive man. Mark and I quickly decided to play a practical joke on him. We were able to walk up close to Chuck before he saw us. You could see this look of surprise and bewilderment on his face. He asked ‘What happened…Why are you guys back here”? We told him that we had lost one engine and destroyed both wheels on a deadhead! Chuck’s mouth dropped open and you could see the pain in his face. Mark and I couldn’t keep from laughing any longer, and we told Chuck that Prime Time was in perfect shape. It was great to see Chuck again. I had thought that it would be at least a couple of years before Anneke and I returned to AYB.

Mark, Anneke, and I spent the next few days doing boat projects and just relaxing. Cruising back from Coinjock, we identified a problem with the port-side Naiad stabilizer fin…it wasn’t working! As a matter of fact, we weren’t positive that it was still attached until we took a boat hook and probed over the port rail. It was still there! James Taylor at AYB called in a technician to take a look. After 15 minutes, he found a “hidden” electrical relay that wasn’t completely connected. Bingo…the fin instantly centered and we were saved. You DON’T want to make this trip without stabilizers! Mark spent some time rewiring the shower sump pump switches. It appears that they had never been wired properly. I was “bilge boy” and gave them a very thorough scrubbing and hosing. We had already stripped off the bimini top in preparation for the bad weather, so it was given a good cleaning.  Anneke even found time to borrow the Mitchell’s kayak and tour the area. FUN STUFF! 

On Wednesday evening, Mark’s wife Thelma and 11-year old daughter Cheyenne returned from a vacation. It was a pleasure meeting these nice ladies. We also met their pet dog Sugar Boy…a great little “Poma-Poo”. Mark and Thelma also own a white Lincoln stretch limousine. They primarily use it for their charter business and to transport their delivery crews around in style. We were going to have dinner Wednesday night at an Italian restaurant literally across the street. Mark insisted that we all climb into the limo for the SHORT trip. It was a hoot!

Wednesday night or early Thursday morning was predicted as arrival time for Hurricane Ophelia. Winds were predicted to be 70+ miles per hour at the Atlantic Yacht Basin. It never really happened! While it did get squally, Ophelia had turned once again and we were spared.

I had some serious concerns about Anneke making this trip. Hurricane Rita was getting nasty and looked to be heading for the Gulf of Mexico. We talked…talked…and talked some more about this. FINALLY, I was able to convince her to catch a flight back to Cleveland. She really wanted to stay aboard Prime Time and help us. In retrospect, this was a VERY good decision! We all jumped back into the limo Thursday afternoon and took Anneke to the Norfolk airport. It was sad…