Oriental

We're tied up to the town dock, free for 48 hours, here in Oriental, North Carolina. (see http://towndock.net/harborcam) We spent the first night at the marina next door -- the town dock was full -- which was great because I could take a hot shower and hook up my heater.

The trip down the Neuse River yesterday was short, only about four hours, but really wet and cold. A cold front came through, and the heavy rain cut visibility down so much that I couldn't see the next marker -- it also got really cold. I had my iPhone in a plastic bag, but my fingers got so cold the touch screen stopped working. I had to stop about half way, take her out of gear, turn on the anchor light, go below, put on warmer clothing, and get my bearings.

I dried the iPhone, put it in a fresh plastic bag, and put on my wool mittens. That made all the difference, and the second half of the trip was actually pretty good even though it was directly into the wind and rain.

However, as I approached the harbor entrance, the engine began to cut out again. I'd actually gone over two weeks without changing a filter, including a lot of rough weather in the Chesapeake and during my grounding. The rough seas yesterday weren't bad, but they did kick up some spray and bounce us around a bit.

When the engine started to cut out, I was already committed and had to enter the harbor, so I throttled down to idle so she wouldn't die, left her in gear, quickly put up a small jib, and sailed into the narrow harbor. Luckily, I'd already dropped the main, and the winds were only around 10 knots, so it wasn't too big of a deal.

I sailed the 1,000 yards to the dock, furled the jib, took her out of gear, and coasted into the slip. I had enough power left to put her in reverse and stop her as a guy on the dock grabbed my bow line and helped me tie up.

I only had one spare filter left, so I ordered another four, along with two sets of spare belts. One of the boats on the town dock left this morning, so I changed the filter this morning and moved over to the free dock.

Dinghy watch:

Zoe and I walked down to the consignment shop this morning and looked around. They had a used Dyer sailing dinghy that wasn't in bad shape. It didn't have any sails, but the spars looked good, and the only damage was the rotten teak gunnels. I checked their web site and found that new ones sell for almost 4k, so I decided to make an offer. I ended up buying it for 300, no tax.

It fits on the foredeck, so I think it will be okay. I'm not sure I want to use it before I fix the gunnels, but it came with oars, so I might try it out just for fun at my next stop. I still have my inflatable, but will probably get rid of it once I get to Texas. I'd really prefer a hard dinghy, especially a sailing one, to an inflatable.

Trip watch:

The trip down from Portsmouth was pretty good. We made good time and mostly had good weather. There was a bit if wind and waves on the rivers adjacent to Pamlico Sound, but it didn't bother us too much, nor did it slow us down much.

I guess the best part of the trip so far was Thanksgiving day at Tidewaters Marina. They put on a complimentary meal with all the trimmings, including an open bar. I ate a lot, but only had one beer -- I prefer ice tea with my Thanksgiving meal.

Radio watch:

I finally picked up my radio in Virginia Beach. Jason, another sailor I met on Cruiser's Forum, gave me a lift the day after Thanksgiving, and actually drove me over to a couple of marine supply stores to pick up some stuff I needed.

I picked up a new depth sounder to replace my dodgy one. After I explained the problem I was having, he said he'd had a similar experience and had solved it by drying out the head unit and cleaning the connections.

I'd had some moisture problems, but had already solved them by re-caulking it. I took his advice and cleaned the connections and saw an improvement immediately. I've only had a few failures since leaving Portsmouth, but it keeps getting better each time I clean it, which is great because I haven't had time to install the new one yet. However, I think I'll keep both just in case.

Portsmouth

We made it to Portsmouth, Virginia just after dark yesterday. We'd anchored in Willoughby Bay the night before -- not recommended, see below -- after a great trip down from Fishing Bay. We sailed almost the entire day and the wind vane worked great too. I'd bought some extra locking nuts and readjusted the arm at Solomons, and that made all the difference.

However, the trip over from Willoughby Bay turned out to be an all day ordeal -- should have taken under three hours -- ring a bell? First, the wind was already gusting to 20, and had been all night. The forecast called for 35 knot gusts from the west in the afternoon, so I wanted to get out while the getting was good.

So this time, I tied in a double reef first, then raised the main so she's sail to anchor, making it easier to pull in the chain. That part went well, and we were underway by 0915 -- plenty of time to get into the Elizabeth River and to the marina before it got ugly, or so I thought.

We ran aground at the north end of the Willighby channel about 30 minutes later. The chart shows a channel of about 10 feet, and most of it is. However, the north end has shoaled and is really only 2.5 -- I draw 5. There is a note at the bottom if the chart that alludes to this, but I failed to notice it until too late. There's also an additional green buoy right in the middle of the channel -- I guess that should have been a clue.

I called the Coast Guard on 16, and asked them to contact Tow Boat US, but they never did. I finally called the marina -- I still had their number in my phone -- and they called them for me. Otherwise, I'd still be there. I've lost a lot of respect for the Coast Guard.

Apparently, the watch stander has a form she needs to fill out and won't actually do anything for you until she's got all the boxes filed in. I grounded a little after high tide, so the 30 minute delay only made maters worse as the water got shallower.

They finally got me off at around 1500. At that point, I was taking 35 knot gusts and heavy seas, 3-5', on the beam. The waves are what finally helped the tow boat get me off. Actually, it was the second boat, the first one lost his engine after about an hour, and we had to wait another half hour for the second one to arrive. His tow line was old and parted twice before he got us off.

Then we had to motor directly into to 35 knot gusts for an hour to get into the river. It was rougher than what we'd experienced in the mouth of Delaware Bay, so I was expecting to loose the engine at any moment. However, she ran flawlessly all day, so hopefully those problems are behind us.

I'll have more to say about the Coast Guard later.

Back in the South

We crossed the mouth of the Potomac just before dark last night, and anchored in Virginia waters a couple hours later. We're finally back in the South after a little over four years. We're still a long way from home, but it should start to get a bit easier now.

The weather looks good for the next couple of days, so we hope to make Norfolk by tomorrow night. I need to pick up a radio, and will probably hang around through Thanksgiving. It looks like we'll take the ICW down as far as southern North Carolina -- the engine's working better now, so a few days of motoring shouldn't be a problem.

I did have another belt break during the trip yesterday. We had just crossed the mouth of the Potomac and I noticed a different sound coming from the exhaust -- it had stopped pumping water. I quickly shut her down, pulled of the cover, and saw that the small belt for the impeller was missing. I'd tightened it up a couple of days ago because it was really loose, but I probably got it too tight. Anyway, we were up and running again in a few minutes.

That might have been a little exciting, but no where near as exciting as tying in a reef earlier. We were under a SCA until noon, so we didn't get underway until 0900 -- figuring we let it settle down a bit before we got to the bay. I raised the main in the Patuxent River, but had to motor sail to make it around the channel markers. At that point, the wind was about 15, gusting to 20, which was consistent with the forecast.

However, once we rounded the point and turned south, it picked up considerably -- I learned later that it was gusting to 30 knots. It wasn't real bad, but I decided it might be a good time to reef the main. I'd never done it in strong winds, so this was a good opportunity to try it and get some experience. It was also a good spot with no traffic and lots of sea room.

A job that should be completed in a few minutes at most, must have taken me at least 30. First of all, I'd run the main halyard into the cockpit, which meant gong back and forth to the mast to loosen it and drop the main. Since I haven't done this much, it's not marked, so I can't just loosen it and go forward and pull down the sail.

Secondly, I don't have my jack lines setup right now, and with the netting laced onto the lifelines, my tether won't slide along, so I have to continually hook and unhook as I move along -- it's only 6 feet long. Couple that with a trial and error method, and you get the picture. Oh, and did I mention it was blowing 30 knots? When I lowered the sail and tried to hook the tack and pull in the clew, she essentially hove to, which kept the sail full and made it tough to do anything.

I finally had to drop it completely in order to finish tying it it, but after that, she was fine and we continued on. I'll work in my technique, but I think it boils down to speed. Once you get caught broadside to the wind, your options are limited.

Belts

After struggling to keep my alternator belt tight and chewing up a few belts, I decided to tackle the problem while waiting for the next weather window. I was able to get Yanmar belts from the marina, but they weren't even close to the length of the current belts. I've mentioned before that the tensioning bracket for the alternator looked like a homemade kludge, so that probably explains the difference.

Armed with the correct length and photos of the engine in my service manuals, I realized that the previous owner moved the attachment point for the tensioning bracket lower on the engine and used the homemade extension to lengthen it and push the alternator out further. This requiring a longer belt.

I'm not sure which came first, but it could be due to replacing the original alternator. After moving the attachment point back to where it should be, I had to file one edge of the bracket arm so she would slide freely along the alternator and allow me to tension the belt.

She looks pretty good now, but I still think she's slightly out of alignment. I might be able to adjust or perhaps flip the pulley on the alternator to make it line up better, but I'll let her run for a while before messing with it again.

Norfolk watch:

My radio is waiting for me in Virginia Beach, so I'm anxious to get down to Norfolk -- a two day trip. I'm thinking about leaving tomorrow morning, but that would mean more motor sailing. However, the winds should be better on Saturday, as well as the temps -- it'll drop to near freezing again tonight. It won't cost me anything to stay another night, so I'm leaning that way, but won't decide till later.

Astros Moving to American League

I'm a baseball fan, and have followed the Astros for years. However, I just read they've been sold and will be moving to the American League after next year.

I don't like the American League or the DH, so it looks like it's time to find a new team. Luckily, I've been following St Louis ever since they picked up Lance Berkman, so it won't be too hard to make them my new team.

The DH just isn't baseball. It removes all the drama when the pitcher doesn't have to bat.

Solomons

It cleared up nicely on Tuesday, so we took advantage of it and motor sailed down to Solomons, Maryland. The forecast for Tuesday had looked good, then became marginal, so I'd planned to wait a few more days, but when I checked again in the morning, it looked really good for the afternoon. So good in fact, I couldn't resist.

It was a great trip down, and I was tempted to go further, but once the sun went down, it got really dark, so I decided to make for Solomons. It was overcast, and although the moon would rise well before our next anchorage, I was having difficulty dodging crab pots in the dark -- their floats are painted black -- and didn't want to tempt fate.

We anchored the first night in St John's Creek, but it was so tight, it made me nervous. The winds were forecast to gust up to 25-30 over the next couple days, and temps should dip to freezing tonight and tomorrow night, so after we got fuel, I decided a few nights in a marina wouldn't be a bad idea. We're in Spring Cove Marina, right next to shore.

I'm going to try to pick up spare belts, filters, and additional provisions while we're here. I'm also going to check the coupling again, but it's already lasted longer than the last time, so I think it's fixed.

Zoe watch:

We took a long walk down to the local West Marine last night, and she got to socialize and get treats, so she's pretty happy right now. We've got a little rain, but we'll try to take another long walk this morning. I also need to hook up shore power and turn on the heater this morning. The low last night was 46 and the high today is only 47 with the low tonight of 33, so it's about that time. We're both ready to get down south.

Interesting Article

Here's an interesting article I found today about why people buy sailboats and go cruising -- and why many of then give up relatively quickly, sell the boat, and move back on land. Hope you enjoy it...

http://dennisonberwick.info/?p=2527

Weather Window

I spoke to the skipper of another sailboat anchored nearby this morning about the weather. It turns out he and his family, a wife and young son, live in Annapolis and are from Austin. They motored down from Annapolis yesterday, and he said the same thing about the waves -- very steep and close together. His boat is bigger, around 40', so they didn't bother him quite as much, plus Annapolis isn't very far away.

All I know right now is that if they forecast 3' or bigger, I'll sit and wait. At this point, it'll be mid-week before the next weather window, so I'm trying to get a few things done while we wait.

I finally hooked up the tuner yesterday, and the performance, though not excellent, is at least acceptable. I was able to check in to the MMSN on 20-meters, the Waterway Net on 40-meters, and WLO on one of the marine frequencies in between. I didn't do anything special, so improving the ground, should help a lot. I may also add tuned radials, but as long as it works, I'm not too concerned.

I moved the am-fm radio over to the starboard side with all the other radios this morning. That allowed me to hook it back up to the antenna. So, now I can listen to NPR and Car Talk, plus jazz and classical music. It's been a while, so this morning was a real treat -- sorta like Christmas.

I also plan to do some more rearranging before our next trip so Zoe can find a better place to hide in rough conditions. That'll mainly consist of stowing as much as I can instead of keeping it in boxes stacked on the v-berth. Zoe likes to go as far forward as possible, so she ends up climbing over all that stuff, and I'm worried she might get hurt.

Staying Put

It looks like we'll be staying put for a while. We want to go south, but with the winds out of the south for the next few days, we'd have to motor most of the way. However, the forecast calls for 3' waves and there's a small craft advisory (SCA) through Sunday night.

I looked at the forecast this morning, and although there was a SCA in effect, the 3' waves didn't look too bad, at least on paper, so I figured we give it a whirl. Once we got out beyond the lee of Curtis Point and started taking those 3' waves, I understood the reason for the SCA. Since the wind was against the current (that was in the small print) those 3' waves were more like 4-5', with a very short period. It was more like hitting someone's wake, over and over.

We took a few pretty good ones, and I decided it would be better to wait a few more days. Other than the thought of loosing the engine again, they didn't bother me, or the boat which can take a lot more than I can, but poor Zoe can't see what's coming and gets thrown around down below.

It looks like early next week should be good, so we'll sit here until at least Monday morning. Once we get to Norfolk, which is about 3 days away, the weather won't be that much of an issue. It's just getting there that's the problem.

I still have plenty of things I need to do on the boat, as well as catching up on sleep, so a short delay isn't a big deal. It's relatively cold right now too, so the warmer weather next week will make the sailing much more enjoyable. It was 36 in the cabin when we got up this morning.

Happy Birthday Marines

Just wanted to wish the Corps and my fellow Marines a happy birthday.

We made it down to the Rhode River last night and anchored a little after midnight. After sitting for about three hours waiting out the fog in the early afternoon, and with more fog and high winds on the way, I decided to go ahead and make the trip down after dark.

I was afraid the fog might catch us, but it looks like we made it just in time. We were completely socked in this morning when we got up. It cleared up by mid morning, but then the winds picked up. It should blow pretty hard through Saturday, so this is a good place to sit and wait.

As the winds kick up, I'm watching the GPS to make sure we don't drag. After dragging a couple times over the last couple weeks, I'm really paranoid. We're in 9' of water, with about a half mile of fetch, and 150' of chain out. I put up the riding sail, which only helps a little, and my small anchor off the bow to help reduce sailing, or hunting, at anchor.

We shouldn't have any problem, but again, I'm still concerned. At this point, I can only drag to a soft shore, so it's not that big a deal. However, you never know how well the bottom will hold, and we should have 30 knot gusts tomorrow. It's actually gusting pretty close to that now. (Just looked at the chart, and it shows a soft bottom, and it looks like I'm slowly dragging, so I may move later when the wind dies down a bit. That way I can drag a little without getting into trouble. It's going to blow harder tomorrow, but not till the afternoon.)

Trip watch:

The leaves are changing, and the trip down the Sassafras was beautiful. It's really pretty here in the Rhode River too. There was little or no wind, and the waves, which started out less then one foot, became glassy like a lake after dark. On top of that, we had a full moon.

I passed a few large vessels, mostly barges, before dark, but after the sun went down, I only saw two more over a seven hour period, and one was a small boat, perhaps another sailboat, but too far away to really tell.

However, I did have another engine problem after passing under the Bay Bridge. An alarm sounded, which turned out to be overheating, so I shut her down, turned on the anchor light, and went below to check it out. With no wind, no traffic, and only a slight current, I just let her drift. -- we had a few miles if sea room all around and were in 40' of water, so anchoring wasn't an option.

Once I got the cover off, I could feel the heat, and thought she'd just overheated. However, once I got out my flashlight, I saw she'd thrown a belt. I quickly put the old one I'd changed out a few weeks ago back on, and got back underway.

Even though I was still worried about beating the fog, I kept the rpm's down just in case. I have one more spare, but I'm not sure where it is right now and didn't want to dig for it in the dark. I'll buy a few more before I leave this anchorage. I'll also try to figure out why they keep wearing out.

On to Annapolis

We had to go up the Sassafras river a few miles to get fuel, so I stayed at a marina for the night. I was down to less than 5 gallons -- I have a 30 gallon tank, with an extra 5 gallons on deck, so I was already into my reserves.

I'll PM my engine this morning, then head south with the tide, bound for the Annapolis area. There's still not much wind, so I'll probably have to motor much of the way. I'd prefer to sail, but the weather's getting colder, and we need to get going -- hope Zoe understands. Depending on how things go, I'll either anchor just north or just south of Annapolis. I've been to Annapolis before, so no need to visit on this trip.

In fact, I went to the Marine Corps Rugby Training Camp there while I was still with 2nd Tank Bn at Camp Lejeune. I helped all the good players get orders, so I figured I'd get a set for myself as well. It was a lot of fun, and for those interested, I wasn't selected for the team, but did get to play on the second team against the Army's second team -- I think we won our match (in spite of me) and our first team won the inter-service title. I don't remember the date, but it was summer, and prior to my joining the 26th MAU in the fall of 1985.

Fogged in

We woke up from a bumpy night to calm seas and a bright blue sky, so we weighed anchor and got underway by 0645. I was able to do close to 5 knots, so it looked like we'd make Chesapeake City before dark.

However, after about an hour motor sailing -- still not much of any wind -- I noticed what looked like fog just to the north of my course about 5nm away. With the bright sunshine, I figured it would burn off by the time I got close. Unfortunately, it met me about halfway. I tried to slow down and wait for it, then killed the engine and hove to to hold position, but it quickly engulfed me, and I had to anchor. I'm only about 3.5 miles from where I started -- probably lost a couple miles while hove to.

That was a few hours ago, and I still can't see more than about 100 yards. It looks like CS is a no go for today (heard on the radio that the canal was closed due to the fog anyway), but I hope it'll burn off soon enough to allow me to make it a bit further up the bay to a better anchorage. I'm a little over a mile from shore right now in a shoal area, and have already been buzzed by one small fishing boat.

Zoe watch:

She doesn't like the engine much, but the repairs I've made have reduced the vibration and noise a bit. She and I are relaxing on deck, enjoying warmer weather -- well, she's relaxing, I'm keeping a sharp lookout for fishing boats.

Anchored in Delaware Bay

There wasn't much wind, and the 4 to 7 foot waves on the beam shook up my fuel tank, so I couldn't motor either. Gave up after she died halfway across the mouth of the bay, and limped up the bay. Not a great anchorage, a bit rough, but I'm beat and it's better than nothing.

Getting Underway Again

The special tool I needed to torque on the locking nut finally arrived Friday. I put it on the same day and aligned the engine yesterday. While I was waiting for the tool, I filled and re-drilled several of the lag bolt holes for the engine mounts -- they were loose. I also glassed in one of the supports that had come loose, then bedded the aft mounts in epoxy.

It was hard to get to, so it isn't real pretty, but it's nice and solid now, and that's what counts. I plan to pull the engine in Houston and beef up everything, so I'm not too worried about looks now.

Trip watch:

It's about 0400, and I've been up for a while getting ready for the next leg. With the weather improving steadily, I've decided to go outside down to Norfolk. I'd planned to go inside down the Chesapeake, but with the delay, I'd have to either go in the middle of the night or fight the current -- up to almost 3 knots in places.

I'd also have to put up with much colder weather for several days -- the low tonight in Norfolk will be 47, but it'll only be 33 in Chesapeake City. That's a big difference on a boat with no heat. The engine will heat the cabin a little, but I can't run it all the time.

I'm having coffee and oatmeal right now, and hope to leave shortly after 0530. With any luck, I'll be at anchor in Norfolk Monday night. I just hope I have enough wind. If not, I'll have to do some motoring. Depending on how things go, I might stop for the night in Ocean City, but I'd still have to do an overnighter down to Norfolk, so we'll see.

Leaving Cape May

If all goes well, we'll leave Cape May early in the morning. The part and the tool finally arrived on Friday. It didn't take long to put it back on, but I'm not totally satisfied with it.

However, the tool allowed me to torque it on tight, and I hope the locktight will hold it. The staking will help too, but I don't think I did a very good job -- too hard to get to.

The weather is looking better and better, so I'm probably going to go outside down to Norfolk. It's not really any further than the leg from Sandy Hook to here, but I do have to go an additional 30 nm into Chesapeake bay to get to an anchorage, so it'll end up being longer overall.

I just checked the weather again, and it still looks good, so I'll make one final check in the morning before committing. I can still do the Chesapeake, but it's so much colder -- don't have heat on the boat -- that I'd really prefer going straight to Norfolk.

Plan to use the wind vane this time, so I may be able to post during the trip. I think the outboard hanging on the stern pulpit disturbed the airflow to the wind vane on the port tack, so I'm going to stow it in cockpit locker for this trip. That should make the trip much more relaxing and enjoyable.

Waiting on Part

The new locking nut wasn't shipped until today -- should arrive tomorrow -- but I'm not sure about the tool yet. I need a special tool to tighten the nut enough to keep it from vibrating loose.

I may try to realign the engine as well. I think I can use epoxy to hold the mounts in place -- the runners are either rotted or just wallowed out and the lag bolts won't hold, at least on a couple of them. I may not be able to get it perfectly aligned, but I think I can make it better than it is now.

Anchor watch:

If you read Roger's post concerning the high winds we got the other night, you no doubt recognized the reference to me. Based on his telling of the story, his suggestion I put out a stern anchor kept me off the rocks.

Well, that's completely untrue. In fact, it was the stern anchor that kept me beam to the 50 knot gusts when the wind shifted to the north, and caused my bow anchor to drag. The stern anchor didn't drag, but neither did it hold me, we just swung on it like a pendulum until the wind abated and my bow anchor reset.

Had I not put out the stern anchor, I would have been bow to the wind, and the anchor would have held, just as it did during the hurricane. Or it would have slowly dragged and given me a chance to start the engine, hold position, and put out more scope. With an anchor off the bow and the stern, the engine was useless. I just had to ride it out, and hope for the best.

So, his "patting himself on the back," is pure BS. He knows that, but gets paid to write about sailing, so maybe he figures telling the whole truth might hurt his bottom line. Anyway, no one was hurt, and I learned another valuable lesson, or two.

By the way, the original problem, for which he suggested the stern anchor, was that a couple boats had just anchored south of me which meant I wouldn't have enough room to swing once the wind shifted. I told them that, but they ignored me -- lots of people out here seem to think they know everything. Instead of taking Roger's advice and putting out the stern anchor, I should have moved. That was the correct solution, and I take full responsibility for not doing the right thing.

The rest of Roger's description is more or less correct, however, he neglected to mention he almost dragged as well. He barely got his stern anchor eased and to the bow in time -- I didn't have enough rode to do that, and waited too long. Stern anchors have their place, but this wasn't one of them, and never in a storm.

I think about half the boats, at least four, dragged, and one sustained damage.

Trip watch:

If I get everything tomorrow and get it fixed, I can leave Thursday morning and head up Delaware Bay. However, if the part or tool is late, or it takes me longer to reinstall it or align the engine, then it'll be at least another day.

I've been watching the weather, and it looks like Sunday/Monday is shaping up to be really nice all the way down to Norfolk on the outside. So, if I'm delayed, I may just sit at anchor another couple days and go down outside as originally planned. There are too many unknowns right now, but I'd prefer to go outside.

Zoe watch:

She really likes the marina life. She gets to see lots of people, sun herself on the deck, and take a few walks everyday. I like the hot showers, but since I've been using the extra time rearranging everything, we'll both be more comfortable once we get underway again.