Just so we don’t give a false impression of our adventures, not all is rosy or goes according to plan. After our delightful family holiday in Quebec City, we have both come back to Bushranger with the dreaded lurgy. Mark’s symptoms are running 2-3 days behind mine. So whereas I was ‘flattened’ upon arrival back in Hampton, Mark was ‘flattened’ today.

Yesterday we moved Bushranger to Put In Creek. We fired up the dinghy to explore the creek as far as we could go. It seems the water level is less than 18” the closer one gets to town! So we turned around, headed back to our boat and did more maintenance in 36C heat. I am not even going to mention the humidity level. Bushranger now sports cleaned and polished eisenglass on the flybridge, polished stainless steel rails and her river mustache has been removed.

With all the work in the heat we thought we would sweat out the lurgy. Unfortunately, not for Mark. He is feeling very poorly. This meant a change of plans. Instead of heading for the undeveloped eastern shore of the Chesapeake, we opted to sail up into the Rappahannock River. If we need to seek medicine or other supplies we can do so easily.

After carefully studying the weather information, we set off for supposed winds of 5 knots from the south with calm sees and clear skies. So how did the weathermen get it so wrong? We ended up with white caps in seas of 1-2 feet with winds of 15+ knots from the north, with rain threatening. Now, on a sailing boat – this would not be a problem. On a motor boat, especially a slow trawler, this is a little unpleasant. We rolled. We plowed. We rolled and plowed. Essentially, at times we were ‘riding broncos’. Thought I might have to make use of my seasick tablets. I ended up helming quite a lot today as Mark was nauseas and wanted to lie down. We passed the no longer used Wolf Trap lighthouse.

Not all is bad. We are now at Dozier Marina in Deltaville on the Rappahannock. It is a most charming marina with superb facilities in beautifully landscaped gardens. When Mark checked in he was won over. With croaky voice he refused handshakes explaining his diseased state. The Dockmaster produced a two liter bottle of Jack Daniels – a cure all for everything. Mark could have spent the afternoon working on a cure. We have been for a swim in their pool and met fellow loopers. Tonight we are dosing ourselves up with Mark’s curry. We think we may stay here two days, depending on Mark’s recovery.

Plans? What plans? It is all a journey of discovery.

Such is Life!