The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (and not the Clint Eastwood movie)

Belated post, one that I intended to write on Tuesday (Dec. 23) when we arrived in Wrightsville Beach, NC.

We left our anchorage at Camp Lejeune on Tuesday morning and quickly spotted bottlenose dolphins swimming with us.  We had first seen a few in the congested Morehead City area, but these were much closer to the boat.  My camera was giving me fits that morning, so David suggested I put the camera down and just enjoy the dolphins.  Brilliant idea.  Wow!  A mother and a youngster swam beside us for quite a while.  I peered right over the side of the boat and into their eyes when they surfaced each time.  Too, too cool!  Definitely the high point of the day.  So......dolphins = The Good.

We were motoring through the ICW on our way to Wrightsville Beach in a light fog and drizzle that morning.  The drizzle subsided; the fog increased to the point were we could not see the next navigation aids in front of us (estimating less than a quarter mile visibility).  Thankfully there was very little traffic and the forecast kept calling for the fog to lift in the late morning.  For a while, I was leaning out of the cockpit with binoculars trying to see through the fog to the next marker.  The water and fog merged into one pale gray palette and it was impossible to see the markers until we were practically two boat lengths away.  Along this part of the ICW, if you stray off the channel, it gets dangerously shallow, so we needed to be sure we were in the channel in plenty of water.  David kept one eye on the depth gauge and the other on the chart plotter.  Fog + Shallows = The Bad.

We arrived at the Wrightsville Beach Bridge just before the 2pm opening (and the fog had lifted).  A (motor?) sailboat, Anna Rose, was making small circles ahead of us killing time until the bridge lifted.  When the bridge swung into motion, Anna Rose did not quickly accelerate through the bridge.  She putted along and zigzagged slowly after passing through.  She did not respond to radio calls.  She was oblivious of the world around her.  So, we settled in at a slow pace, kept a safe distance, found the turn to the channel that would take us to Seapath Marina, yielded to an oncoming powerboat who was also heading into the channel, turned at Green 25--keeping close to Green 25 as instructed by the dockhand at the marina--and promptly ran aground in soft, soft sand.  Reverse did nothing to ease us off, so David killed the engine and called for a tow.  Thankfully, we had been advised to purchase tow insurance back in Annapolis.  In 20 minutes, a nice guy in a red boat with big engines came to our rescue and gently eased us back into the ICW from which we had just turned.  He then led us straight to the marina (we skimmed the bottom once more!).  Running aground = The Ugly.

The northern part of the ICW is not subject to tides.  We had recently gotten into the tide-affected region and had not quite tuned in closely enough........we arrived at Wrightsville Beach at exactly the LOWEST tide of the entire month of December.  We thought Virginia Dare drew 6' (underwater depth of your boat).  We have since learned that she draws 6'1" while EMPTY.  With us and all of our gear on board, she probably sits around 6'6" -- an awful lot of keel in shallow water.  Lesson learned.

Not many photos from the day, but here you go:

This was the light fog.  It got much worse.

Lawn art just north of the Wrightsville Beach Bridge (if I recall correctly)

More art, because everyone needs a giraffe in their yard!

The dreaded Green 25 (you better believe we tiptoed past it this morning [Dec 28] at high tide!)

I forgot to mention that we endured a day and a half of strong (30 knot!) winds and pounding rains at this marina WHILE we were knocked out with bad colds!  We basically slept for two straight days (Dec. 24 & 25).  A tornado touched down not far from here.

Down for the count

Well, we pulled into a marina at Wrightsville Beach on Tuesday afternoon and I was all set to write a post entitled The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly to describe our day.  However, we were tired and hungry, so we walked down the street to the Mellow Mushroom for pizza, came back, and crashed.  Post never written.

Delicious pizza and beer

Fast forward to the next morning, Christmas Eve, when we both wake up with horrible colds......wet cough, fever, chills, headaches, muscle aches, you name it, we got it.  We basically spent Christmas Eve under quilts, drank tea, and never really ate.  Our Christmas "cocktails" consisted of NyQuil, Sudafed, and Advil with an occasional Afrin and albuterol thrown in for good measure.  Christmas morning was more of the same, but David made a nice breakfast since we were hungry.  The sun came out in the early afternoon so we went to the beach for an hour.  The fresh air and sunshine felt good although our bodies felt 100 years old.

Christmas dinner postponed until this evening, I think.

Fresh air and sunshine on Christmas Day

Coinjock Marina Restaurant and Lounge

Well, we arrived at the legendary Coinjock Marina and Restaurant this afternoon where, we hear, they serve a mean prime rib dinner.  So, we'll be checking it out this evening.

Our day was pretty uneventful although crossing Currituck Sound from the North Landing River was a little bit dicey for David to navigate......many parts of the ICW crossing the Sound were only 10' deep (we draw 6').  Zoiks.  As always, he was calm, cool, and collected and we made it here just fine.

Virginia Dare at sunrise in Chesapeake, VA, this morning

 

Rusty things along the way

Cannon anyone?

My favorite bird is the bald eagle, so I will snap lots of photos when they're in the vicinity.

He watched us slip past his perch

Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal

Saw four eagles today

Last one, for today

BRIGHT green growth at the end of the dead log

This abandoned marina is for sale.  Any takers?

Keeping watch

A chilly 46 degrees crossing Currituck Sound

Currituck-Knots Island Ferry

Some areas were VERY shallow (above)

We've heard so much hype about the Coinjock prime rib dinner -- tonight, we will check it out.

And we're in the south, so the snowman wears camo and carries a gun.

Officially entered the ICW

This Red 36 marks the official start of the northern end of the Intracoastal Waterway. 

Yesterday morning, we left Hampton and headed toward the ICW.  We'd been told many times by many people to "keep your heads on a swivel."  There can be a lot of traffic in this harbor -- the third largest in the U.S.  However, that was not the case yesterday morning.  There were very few vessels in our path.

The route to the ICW takes you past the majestic behemoths of the naval yard, lots of industrial acres, downtown Portsmouth, more industrial sites, and finally to peaceful pine forests.  We experienced our first VHF communication with bridges and locks and had a good day overall.  That's not to say that there wasn't a pleasure boater who didn't know -- or chose not to follow -- the "rules of the road" for waterways (he was reprimanded by a bridge master).

Waiting for bridges to lift or locks to open takes a lot of finesse to keep the boat "treading water" in the appointed location, usually close to said bridge and other boats.  David did a great job.  I kept an eye on the depth of water (we draw 6' and some areas have very "skinny" waters) and communicated with the bridge and lock personnel.  We did just fine, but didn't realize how stressful it was until we exited the lock and bridge in Chesapeake, VA, and decided to tie up at the Atlantic Yacht Basin half a mile away.  Very nice people greeted us and gave us the lay of the land.  We walked to town to stock up on groceries, grabbed showers at the marina, grilled dinner, and ate in the cockpit for the first time on this trip.  It was 60 degrees with blue skies and sunshine when we arrived yesterday afternoon.

Time to sign off and prepare for today's trip down to Coinjock Marina where Aric tells us they serve the best prime rib :)

Things to watch for on the Chesapeake Bay:

Cargo ships and military targets -- the two "small" wrecked boats to the right are used for target practice!

Smith Point Lighthouse and many others

Nearly invisible "fish traps" -- not all of these are marked on the charts!

Yesterday's trip through Norfolk harbor to the ICW:

A container ship at anchor as the morning fog is lifting

Navy vessels in port and lots of security boats scurrying around

Healthcare at the ready

Interesting scenery

The tugboat pilot CANNOT see where he is pushing this 4-story beast!

Elizabeth River ferry

Our first bridge

Our mast passing under the bridge

The underbellies of two cars as we pass under another bridge

Inside the Great Bridge Lock in Chesapeake, VA

And so, our adventure finally begins!

Our first day underway was pretty uneventful.  It was a very chilly morning at Herrington Harbour North -- there was a thin crust of ice on the water when we woke up!  We caught a little wind early in the day, but the building winds never showed up this afternoon.  So, we motored.  Still, not bad.  Very happy to be on the move and on the water.....not tied to a dock.

We made our way to Solomon's Island (MD) and found a nice spot (here) on Back Creek to drop anchor.  Granted, it took three tries to get the anchor to hold, but the third time was a charm.  The sunset was a pretty "red sky at night" and the water is absolutely mirror-like.

Now, we check the weather and charts and calculate how far we think we can make it tomorrow.

Farewell to Herrington Harbour North

The Captain

Thank you, Kevin and Lauren, for this awesome travel mug!  It keeps my coffee SO hot, SO long!

My favorite moment is when we cut the engine and the wind takes over.  

That's "Hoss," we followed him down the Bay.  He made it all the way to Norfolk.  We did not.

Cove Point military zone.......very sci-fi.

On our approach to Solomon's Island, we skirted around a local yacht club race (of Buccaneers).

Sunset at anchor on Back Creek near the Calvert Marine Museum

Waiting for a weather window

Well, it's a gorgeous, blue-sky, filled-with-glorious-sunshine kind of day on the Chesapeake Bay (check out the marina webcams).  We had originally thought we'd set sail today, but rather than dance with a few leftover gusts from the recent nor'easter on our maiden voyage, we decided to wait until calmer winds enter the region and leave on Saturday (leaving on a Friday is widely considered superstitious).

So, the fuel injection pump has been reinstalled and tested.  Everything onboard has been securely stowed.  The pantry has been stocked.  Water and fuel tanks are full.  All systems are go and 48 hours from now, we'll be heading south on the Bay!

Enjoy the day!

Standing on the bow of Virginia Dare looking east to the Bay.  The "small" rectangle on the horizon (just left of center) is a freighter steaming north toward Baltimore.

When are you guys leaving?

When are you guys leaving?  That, my friends, is the question of the day.  Every day.

We were preparing to set to sail yesterday, but during our departure checklist on Wednesday, David found a leak in the fuel injector pump for the Volvo diesel engine.  Aric, our trusty mechanic at (and owner of) Chesapeake Marine Engineering, removed the pump and made some calls.  We trotted the piece across the Bay Bridge yesterday morning and delivered it for repair/rebuild.  Alas, our departure was foiled.  

But the day was not lost, we walked around historic Annapolis and toured the Naval Academy.  The museum in Preble Hall was fascinating.  I’d like to get back to see the chapel (it was closed for a service) and the tomb of John Paul Jones.  Speaking of chapels, at the recommendation of the docent at the Annapolis visitor’s center, we toured St. Anne’s Church to see the Louis Comfort Tiffany windows.  Imagine my dismay when I read the sign “No photography.  God is watching and so are we.” (with a drawing of a surveillance camera).  What?!?!  I’ve been in dozens of chapels, churches, and cathedrals in Europe and not one of them prohibited photographs (flash, yes, but not photos).  Why??  The light was perfect.  The windows were richly colored and beautiful.  You'll just have to take my word for it, or take the online "tour" (a PDF).

Back to the tasks at hand…..since purchasing Virginia Dare in late September, we’ve had several repairs and upgrades made before beginning our adventure.  Some of these items were discovered during the survey, others were found after that inspection -- listed as known and unknown, below.

• Freshwater pump replacement – unknown
• Latch on stern locker – known
• Bad solenoid to stove – unknown
• New rudder bearings and lip seal replacement – surveyor assumed it was a bad lip seal, turned out to be excessively bad rudder bearings that had to be replaced
• Installation of AIS, a computer program that shows ships on the water in our vicinity.  It gives details of ship size, name, destination, heading, etc.  It also shows our boat to other vessels and gives them the same information. – our choice
• Installation of single side band (SSB) radio – our choice
• Installation of a freezer – our choice
• Broken manual (foot pedal) freshwater pump – known
• Leak from bolts extending through toe rail to aft locker – unknown
• New turnbuckle to roller furler to prevent binding (original was too short) – known
• Replace windscreen struts and latches – known
• Tear in bimini at zipper – unknown
• Broken snap and malfunctioning zipper on mainsail cover – unknown
• Winch on port side of mast is nonfunctional – unknown
• Drip in porthole above nav station – unknown
• Fuel injection pump leak on Volvo diesel engine – unknown 

David says it’s a good thing we didn’t change the name of the boat as we had originally planned.  With all the superstitious voodoo associated with changing the name, surely we would have thought Virginia Dare was rankled and fighting back.  However, we kept the name because both sets of previous owners had great experiences with her, and we figured we’d keep the good juju going.  Hmmm...

I have to say, when David found the leak on Wednesday he let rip some choice expletives (this man rarely swears).  The discovery tipped our level of frustration a wee bit over the edge.  That being said, we’re glad it happened at this marina where great service abounds.  So, we wait for the phone call to say the injector pump is ready.  When it’s reinstalled, we’ll watch the weather again and look for our next window. 

In the meantime, we might get David to Washington, DC, this weekend.  He's been to the Kremlin, but not our nation's capitol.  

Stay tuned, friends, we WILL get out of here!

When AIS and SSB were being installed, the contents of many lockers ended up on the port settee.  The clutter made us crazy!

SSB going in the nav station

Escaping the clutter below and knitting in the cockpit

David checking out the new multi-function display

I've made bread -- had to halve the recipe so it would fit in our oven

Voila!

I borrowed Mildred's sewing machine at Thanksgiving and made new pillow covers (wrinkled from travel)

Aric explaining what has to be done to the fuel injection pump

Sunrise yesterday morning - pretty day for a drive

Crossing the Bay Bridge

Naval Academy chapel

Star on a flag sewn in 1879

Star on a flag sewn in 1919

Incredible detail on model ships made of bone by French prisoners of war at the Naval Academy museum