Salt Pond, VA to Atlantic Yacht Basin, Great Bridge, VA

Today:          30 miles           5.6 hours           ICW ST Mile: 12.6
Total:          172 miles        28.35 hours

     When Pete returned after walking Bailey, he told me not to rush this morning. The fog is “as thick as pea soup!” So, we continued with our morning prep and for a change, ate breakfast before departing around 7:25.
     He checked the engine and once again, there was no drop in the antifreeze level. He feels that the leak is coming from the hot water heater. He will continue to check and leave the valves that isolate the water heater shut and let it heat once the boat is plugged in.

     The extra half hour enabled the fog to lessen, still requiring extra caution and extra eyes while exiting Salt Pond. Fog might be a bit unnerving, but it sure can create beautiful images.

  

                   Spider Webs

 

 

 

  

 

     The current was against us so our speed remained in the high 4’s to mid 5’s as we crossed the James River. Traffic on the water suddenly increased as we continued on the Elizabeth River. I was down below when things got rocky. While passing a huge working dredge, a ferry passed close by then turned behind us, a container ship was coming up behind us and a crazy power boater was totally blissful as he passed off our starboard, in between the 2 floats marking the submerged dredge piping! Somehow, Fate generally looks kindly on children and fools!

  

 

     Further up the river, a Naval ship was being moved. Crew was on the decks while 4 tugs moved the ship. We also saw 2 new tugs, one of which had a number of guests on board. It was also surprising to see 3 aircraft carriers undergoing restoration at one time. The tanks used for some of various jobs aboard the ships is amazing. We even saw a smaller sub # 635 - According to Wikipedia:

USS Sam Rayburn (SSBN-635) was a James Madison-class fleet ballistic missile submarine named for Sam Rayburn (1882–1961), Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Sam Rayburn was in commission 2 December 1964 to 31 July 1989 carrying the Polaris missile and later the Poseidon missile. Following decommissioning, ex-Sam Rayburn was converted into a moored training ship for use at the Naval Nuclear Prototype Training Unit at Goose Creek, South Carolina.

 

     After a short wait, the Glimerton Bridge opened without announcement, RR bridge was only opened enough sailboats to pass on the very Eastern side.
     Great Lock schedules is on the hour for south bound and the half hour for northbound. However, the lock was already loaded at 12:20 when the tender hailed us. “If you wish to make this opening you need to speed up!” We did, and we made it. The lock closed and was equalizing by 12:40. I think that there might not have been any north bound traffic for the 12:30 opening so, since there was a commercial tug and barge, he opened early. The power boat, who arrived at 12:40 for the 1 PM opening, had to wait over an hour for the next southbound opening.
     It was early enough that we could have snagged dockage just south of Great Bridge Bridge, at the free dock. Instead, Amy, SV ROWAN is here at Atlantic Yacht Basin for repairs and joined us for dinner.

 
Amy's SV ROWAN

      I also was able to watch a high school rowing club launch their sculls.

  

 

     Pete and George worked until around 6. Somewhere around 4:30, I went below and Pete commented that the corn beef dinner in the crock pot wasn’t being very aromatic. When I checked, the meat, potatoes and carrots were all firm. Panicky, I checked our good friend, Google, and found that I could microwave it. Unfortunately, I don’t own a microwaveable bowl that big. So . . .I microwaved the meat first, then the veggies. Miraculously, dinner was ready when Amy arrived. The food was good, and the desserts Amy brought from Hummingbird Bakery in Downtown Norfolk were decadent. Three different, but equally delicious tarts: Lemon Meringue, Apple Crumb and Mocha Banana Mousse. It was such a great visit! We look forward to doing it again.
     Before bed, we checked the weather for the next few days. Once again the winds are expected to kick up to 15- 25 mph on the Albemarle and Alligator River from the SSW, which will be right on our nose Saturday / Sunday and from the West on Monday. We will have to modify our reservations in the morning.
     We’ll, we started this cruise about 10 days earlier than previous years in the hopes of taking a more leisurely cruise. Didn’t plan on using most of that in the first 2 weeks!

~ ~ ~  /)  ~  ~   K & P

Deltaville, VA to Salt Pond, Hampton Rhodes, VA

Today:           30 miles           5.6 hours              ICW ST Mile: ——
Total:            142 miles        22.65 hours.

     When Pete checked the engine antifreeze, he was pleasantly surprised to see that there was no leak from yesterday’s travels. We dare not speculate for fear of jinxing!
     The charter fishing boat next to us left only minutes before we did. The skies were overcast, and the showers were scattered around us for most of the morning. Temps were in the high 60’s with breezes very light.

 
Rain was all around, but the sun peaked out sunrise.

It is difficult to see through the glare on the windows.

Sunrise might have been to the East, but
storm clouds to our West along with the rains.

     Traffic on the water was rather busy. We were passed by 4 commercial ships heading north, 2 others heading up the York River. The anchorage off of St Charles had 12 ships at anchor. A Naval catamaran was doing slow training up and down past the anchorage. One of the barks, that participated in the Schooner Race last week, sailed by us on her voyage north. I counted 22 of us snowbirds heading south. Only 3 pleasure craft were heading north.

  
Smith and Wolf Trap Lighthouses

     Pete was able to get some work done while underway, but retook the wheel when his partner had to fix a problem with their project. Once we were docked, he was back at work for the remainder of the day. Pete has been doing it for a while, but I finally started to listen to Audible books while at the helm. Now I know why he likes to spend so much time at the helm. I better find a few more books just for me. I am usually the one to find and download books we both like to listen to when we’re on longer car trips.
 

MV ISLAND DIVER

   As we were looking for the dock hand at our slip, Pete was sidetracked by a very unusual boat a short distance from our dock, The MV ISLAND DIVER Hardwick. It is a UK naval buoy tender for ports, built of steel in 1964. It was excessed & bought this couple 7 years ago. She draws 7 feet, and is double ended with round bottom. Of course, Pete went over and talked with the owners.
     He sat down below, while up above I worked on updating the blog, modifying photos on the phone, and reading. The rains had stopped around 11 and by 1 the sun periodically peaked out, but the temps in the mid 70’s and gentle breezes made for a delightful afternoon.

  
Views from Salt Pond Marina

     I spoke with our neighbor aboard MV CLARABELLA. Rhonda & Craig bought her in April and moved aboard. They are enjoying the lifestyle, but need to be near airports so Craig can continue to pilot commercial planes.
     Cleaning up after dinner we read and watched some TV. It is another early night.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~   K & P

Solomons, MD to Deltaville, VA ~

Today:           68 miles             9.5 hours          ICW ST Mile: ——
Total:             112 miles          17.25 hours

     It was dark when the alarm went off this morning, but it was a little before sunrise when we slipped from the dock around 6:50 AM. Though the weather reported 66 degrees, it felt much cooler with the 10-15 mph breezes, very high humidity, and heavily clouded sky. We were around a small flotilla of about 15 boats, either in front or behind us. Most of us probably settled in due to the winds.
     As we approached the Bay, we hit a light shower. We could watch it as it traveled over land to our SSW. Seas ran about 1–3-foot chop from our aft port quarter. Bailey would have preferred no waves.
     We had the current with us until we were south of the Potomac River. We also used the jib, while the winds cooperate. Doing 8.4 mph is really wonderful. Unfortunately, the rest of the day was against the current and no wind, so 6.8 feels a lot slower.
     During the day, winds lightened, and waves decreased to 1-2 ft. Clouds and showers also came and went. We could see the rain to our east, but as we turned towards Deltaville, we hit a downpour. Thankfully, it passes by the time we approached the marina. However, when we radioed in for dock assignment, we were told there was no reservation for PEKABU, AND, there were NO slips available, but were invited to drop anchor. Pete told them that "we did have a reservation, made Saturday morning at 9:30 when we changed the reservation date. This was unexceptional!" Miraculously, dockage was found. When I went to pay the bill, our paperwork was in the reserved slip pile.

 
Views from Deltaville Marina

     Once secure, Pete returned to work. As I completed the log and put things away, I spoke with Chris, from the catamaran behind us. They and their 2 teenaged boys live aboard and once repairs are completed they will be cruising south and hopefully to the Bahamas. He invited us to join them for Tuesday Tacos, but unsure how long Pete still needed to work, I had to decline. It was a good call as Pete worked until 6:45.
     After dinner the hunt for fruits flies continued, but nowhere near the numbers from yesterday.
     Knowing tomorrow afternoon would be busy work wise, we turned in earlier than usual. Tomorrow’s departure will also be around 7 am.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~  K & P

Our Journey Begins Again . . . .

Thanks for waiting and reading our blog.  I have been writing faithfully each day and taking lots of photos with my new iPhone, which is apparently a problem with the photo format. At least that is what I think it might be as I am experiencing problems posting them to the blog.  So far, I have not find the answer to my problem. I plan to contact Blogspot directly to see if they can identify the problem. I will post them as soon as I can.

                                                                                    Thanks,  Kathy

HOME ~ Grasonville, MD to Solomons - A 3-Day Stay

Today:                 44 miles            7.75 hours          ICW ST Mile: ——
Total:                   44 miles            7.75 hours 

   Well, it’s time once again to begin our journey South. It is hard to believe this is our 9th cruise!
   Skies were clear, temps pleasantly in the low 70’s, and winds were calm with intermittent breezes. . . . A beautiful day to start our journey.

  

     We cast off lines by 8:20 and made the 8:30 Kent Narrow’s bridge opening. With the current until 1 pm, we averaged about 7.8 mph, traveling with current until about 1 pm. Engine is running well, but Pete noticed a leak around the hot water heater. Thankfully our mechanic had put in shut off valves as well as the expansion tank. We can isolate the hot water tank. It can heat up once we plug in. This will buy us time to buy extra antifreeze and, hopefully, find and fix the leak.

Summer  2021  ~

Super high tide at 
Safe Harbor Narrows Point Marina

    It was a busy summer. Pete’s workload has increased. That meant that he only had weekends for boat projects, and they were either hot or stormy. We have had an unusual amount of hurricanes/ tropical storms that have affected the Gulf and East Coast. At our marina, we had some strong storms and a few highly winds, but the biggest challenge was getting the dog on and off during very high tides caused by the winds out of the South. It keeps the tides from ebbing and pushes more up the bay. Bailey’s hind quarters are becoming weaker due to nerve damage. Pete’s new upper body regimen is carrying her up the companion way and on and off the boat.
     We put in a work order for the remaining engine work at the beginning of July. 4-6 weeks turned into 10 weeks for the evaluation, then another 3 weeks until he returned to complete the work (4 days ago!). Pete had made multiple calls to two different divers to clean the bottom of the boat. One finally showed 3 days ago, too!

 
 

Bailey giving
Pete support

   Pete changed out the wire and GPS antenna, only to find it still didn’t work. Then he went and found the fuse, replaced the burned out one and. . .it still isn’t working. He plans to talk with Garmin before investing in a new GPS. We have the iPad and phone, so we’ll be OK.
     Our starboard side windows have been leaking. I had sealed them up with white duct tape (and no one really noticed!), but during the last tropical storm, the window completely separated and slid down. Thankfully, we didn’t have much water damage. I thoroughly cleaned the opening and the window. Pete found an excellent video for reseating the window. He purchased exactly what was needed, and made the proper pressure board with ratchet straps. He was able to install/seal the window. The next replacement will go even smoother, but will be done in Florida.
 

The old awning
just beginning to mold

   I did quite a few sewing projects: a soft door for Bailey to access the companion way, 2 new fitted sheets for the forward cabin, and made a new awning for over the cabin. The one I previously made worked great, but was made with untreated duck cloth. Mold blossomed over the entire cloth causing it to become mottled grey, UCK! Sewing such a large length of cloth, creates it problems when sewn on a very small table in a very small space. I only had to finish the bottom seams when my machine would no longer pick up the bobbin thread. Thank heavens for Martha. She has a wonderful sewing room, with 3 different sewing machines, cutting space, numerous workspaces and everything one might ever need for sewing projects. AND she offered it to me to finish the awnings! Not only did I get to visit with Martha and Dan, and finish my project, but the sewing machine repairman, David Olsen, also lives in Rock Hall, so I was able to drop off my machine for repairs (also 3 days ago.)
     I cleaned the boat from stem to stern ceiling to floor, inside and out- my fall cleaning. We have taken the stuff not needed for the cruise off the boat, so she’s sitting slightly higher in the water.
     With the higher temps or rain on the weekends, PEKABU didn’t get a good cleaning all summer. So yesterday, while Pete staged the car at St John’s Marina, south of Charleston, I hand scrubbed the boat. Now she is ready and I’m a bit sore!

 

Cranes and Bay Bridge
Only 10 foot of clearance top and sides

 

The Spirit of Atlanta

     Around boat chores were visiting friends and sharing some great meals; routine medical appointments; seeing the amazing Preservation Hall Jazz Band with friends at Wolf Trap National Park in Sterling, VA, catching a really cool Drum Corps International show with 6 different bands in Allentown, PA; was able to see the s barge with super cranes made in China, making way under the Annapolis Bay Bridge to their final destination in Baltimore; and, of course, hung out with our granddaughters, playing games, being silly and photo shoots. The 8-year-old is a definite Diva while the 5-year-old simply enjoys the moment . . . Until she’s had enough. Along with that beautiful ginger hair comes a noticeable stubborn streak!

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band

 

  

 

     Paul, SV KYA ANNE, our good friend from Ft. Pierce has made his way up to Annapolis this summer, where he is doing some major projects. We are sorry that we were unable to meet up before we started heading south. He will be following us after the boat shows in Annapolis. Perhaps, we will meet up as we continue south.

Fish in a feeding frenzy . . . and escape!

     Our friends Alexi & Rob, MV LAMANTIN, have finished most of the work on their boat while staying in Rock Hall this summer. They left a few days ago, but will be waiting out the weather in Hampton Roads, at the bottom of the Bay. That little bit of info encouraged us to look more closely at the weather and especially the winds. Since the lower Bay will be experiencing winds of 20-25 with gusts above 30 through Tuesday, we have decided to stay here in Solomons in till then. A little R & R would be appreciated.

Saturday, 10/9/21 ~ Solomons Day 2

     The breezes were gently, the sun was out and temps were in the low 70’s when we got up. However, the wind out of the NNE built through the day, the skies covered with clouds and the temperature slowly dropped.
     Lots of sailboats headed to the Bay for some great sailing. The Calvert Maritime Museum was loaded with guests for the celebration Sea Squirts: Dino-Power, the Mighty Dinosaurs. Both of the museum’s classic wooden boats, the WM. B. TENNISON, a log-built bugeye, and the DEE OF ST. MARY, a sailing skipjack, passed by our dock multiple times heading to and from the Bay with guests.

And then the rains came.

  

Partial clearing after rains

   Pete took advantage to check the engine, which is still losing antifreeze. He thinks it might be from the head gasket, which is to be replaced in Ft. Pierce. He borrowed a marina bike to make the run to West Marine for antifreeze, then replaced what was lost. The wash down hose and wand were replaced. The enclosure was hung and then rolled up. The couple of things that needed to find homes on board were put away. We also chatted with neighbors on the dock. By dinner time, we had to done jackets as cool, raw wind was blowing.

 
Sunday, 10/10/21 ~ Solomons Day 3

     Overcast skies and cool winds greeted us this morning. After breakfast, we headed over to Spring Cove for a pump out and fuel. Pete has a very busy workday tomorrow and we are looking at about 9 hour run on Tuesday to get to Deltaville.
     Pete relaxed and read up in the cockpit while I worked on downloading and processing photos.

Monday, 10/11/21~ Solomons Day 4

     Pete was busy all day with work. I am trying to edit photos taken with my phone. It is a great camera with a computer and phone attached. The “live” photo editing is proving to be frustrating. About half of the many photos I took of our granddaughters defaulted to “live.” I figured it was OK as I could simply use the best slide as the photo and not bother with the rest. Unfortunately, the recent software upgrade has changed some things and the learning curve is a bit frustrating. The kids are excited to see the results.
     Pete went “big game” hunting in the cabin. Somehow, one of the apples rotted on the bottom and I didn’t realize it. There are fruit flies everywhere. The vacuum does a great job for the hunt. I took it up after he put the vacuum down. He got most of the hundred plus flies.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~  K & P