The Tides Inn and Marina

Finally the sun made an appearance today, but the winds continued to blow at around 15 - 20 knots.  We decided to stay at the Tides Marina another day, use the shuttle to reprovision and the laundry to take care of the pile of clothes that had accumulated over the last two weeks or so. It was also time to change the oil and filter in the new generator.

Since it was a sunny day, we walked around the grounds a little and took a few pictures.  Built in 1946, this is looking at the Inn from the dock.  The laundry room is the little building at the end of the dock.  It was conveniently close to the boat (and free).

This is looking from the patio down Carter Creek towards the Rappahannock River.

To the right of the patio is a croquet field.  There is also a par 3 "Executive course" on site as well as a regular 18 hole course.  They even have loaner clubs.

Katy loves croquet, maybe we can get a game in tomorrow before we leave.

The chairs at the end of the croquet field also looked inviting.

The grounds were nicely landscaped.   Around the Inn were several cottages.

Looking past one of the cottages over Carter Creek.

Inside the Inn was one of the nicest lounges we had seen.

There was a fire in the fireplace.  Unfortunately Ted could not find any firewood to "stoke it up a little".

What an inviting place to relax.

I  also took a few more pictures of the classic wooden yacht, Sunnyland.

The oil lamp and binnacle at the helm is a nice touch.

The yacht is a 38' Elco. Elco stands for Electric Launch Company that developed a series of electric and gas powered boats which became the premier recreational boats of their day, beginning in 1893.

By the time of World War I, the company had hit its stride, building high quality yachts for the likes of Thomas Edison, JP Morgan, John Jacob Astor, and hundreds

of other notables, including Charles Lindbergh. Lindbergh took a 38’ Elco (only ten were built) for the summer following his marriage in order to escape the crowds who followed him everywhere. While others produced lovely wooden boats between the two wars, many felt none compared to the Elcos. During World War II Elco built 399 PT boats including the famous PT 109.

After the war the interest in recreational wooden boating declined and Elco closed its doors. It is estimated that of the 7500 Elco boats built, only 400 remain today. The name was purchased in 1987 and a new company produces small boats, but the days of wooden Elco yachts are gone.

Tomorrow we continue northward on to the Saint Mary's River, a tributary of the Potomic.