Norfolk, VA
To see as much of the world as we can,
Using the smallest carbon footprint we can,
Spending the least amount of money we can,
Making as many friends we can.
Jen, Silcox and CA in the cockpit. Yes, it was chilly on the water. Of course, we had a great time.
Sailed Saturday. Not far. Not fast. But it was still spectacular.
Had a good-bye party on Liquid Therapy. They're headed south for the winter. Here's one of Brooke's blog …
Above: teak from the starboard ("hazmat") deck locker next to the port ("propane") locker. The blue tape hides 28 screw holes. Which is better? The no-teak look? The teak frame?
Back in March (Befores and Afters) we pulled a plug of soft adhesive out of a significant hole in the …
That's Aluminum Chloride (AlCl3) from our water tank. In addition, there was sand. We had noticed the particulate in our drinking water, so we knew the tank needed to be cleaned.
The good news is that we have to gloriously large inspection ports , making cleaning possible. The ancient gaskets had …
That's Fawkes at Hospital Point. The picture doesn't portray the gusty and choppy water. Monday Morning was just astern of her. Folks are on the move south.
Except, of course, for us. We moved about a quarter of a mile NNW to a new apartment. Sigh.
We didn't make the …
It's that time of year. Folks are getting ready to head south. Last year at this time, we were Done Fooling Around, and had started planning to take Red Ranger to the Whitby-Brewer Rendezvous. Ultimately, that didn't work out (Sweaty Palms -- Best Laid Plans, and Gang aft agley.) We were …
Cindy Ann (Red Ranger), Jen (Red Ranger), Sue (Liquid Therapy), Steve (Red Ranger), Stanley (Green Eyes) and George (Grace). Yes, it was rainy. We're all boaters, we all have pretty good foulies. In a variety of colors, it appears.
The crabs were delightful. There were lessons learned on the sudden …
As a Birthday celebration, we went to Chef Todd's with Lloyd, Barbara (SolMates) and Dave (Fawkes). Chocolate Torte Cake! Dinner with friends. Joy.
Now for the concerns. On Friday, the house battery voltage was 10V. 10V is—effectively—stone dead. A level of discharge from which batteries rarely recover.
On …
Labor Day means—what?—end of summer? Party? Labor? We did some labor. But that's not what's important.
On the party front, Red Ranger's crew is still in recovery mode. Saturday night it was beer, wine and snackies on Fawkes. Sunday afternoon it was Bloody Mary's at The White …
Hurricanes are dangerous. Video.
In 2010, we had a "near miss" from Hurricane Earl. It weakened before arriving, and we had a rainy night.
This year, we had Irene. It plowed right through Hampton Roads and could have charged right up the Bay. Lucky for us, it drifted off shore …
Dave and Karin and Kyle are visiting the Hampton Roads area.
Of course, we took them for a day sail on Red Ranger.
And they brought their friends Hans and Ruth. So we had seven on board, and things worked out perfectly.
Winds were from the SE at 5 to …
Do it again? Absolutely. It is a great trip.
Changes?
No schedule for a rendezvous with the family.
No attempt to meet folks at an anchorage (like Lewes). Only meet folks at dockside.
More time to wait for fair winds and tides.
11 days on the boat.
72 hours …
Where do we stand on August 12th?
The engine (or transmission or something) is throbbing. A lot.
As the crow flies we're 94 nm from home. If we go back the way we came, it's 223 nm and four more days of travel. We have three days of vacation.
If …
Tuesday, the 16th, was an important objective of the trip. A rendezvous with the family. Everyone else had driven up from Rehoboth to have dinner with us in Lewes. Dinner included five nieces and nephews, plus a bonus friend of a nephew; Mother; three sisters plus husband and permanent …
Things we did on August 10th:
Motored out into the Delaware Bay with moderate confidence. The tranny was still throbbing or pulsing. But we were tired of being stuck in Greenwich, NJ, so we were willing to take a chance.
Sailed for about three hours. This was our first sailing …
One of the locals drove me all the way to the nearest West Marine. Really.
What an amazing gift.
We were graced and blessed by the kindness of strangers. Again.
Put in the new shifter cable. We're ready to move.
Technically, the boatyard and/or marina was closed on Monday. But. The mechanic was gracious enough to help me by watching over my shoulder while I took apart the linkage between binnacle and transmission.
The shifter on the tranny didn't feel like it was going all the way into Forward …
Sunday, a day of rest.
Apparently, looking at my log, we did nothing. Really.
Mistakes were made.
Looking back, I count doing nothing on Sunday as a mistake.
All was not lost, however.
The kindness of random strangers started to rain down on us. Ernie gave us the grand tour …
Mistakes we made on August 6th:
Pulling into Nantuxent Cove. It was small, shallow and not very sheltered. Port Mahon, Delaware, might have been better.
Anchoring anywhere near crab pots. Our keel and rudder protect our propellor from just about all assaults. Apparently, however, if you switch gears right over …
Stuff we saw on August 5th:
Bridges. The William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge, known as the "Chesapeake Bay Bridge" (or sometimes the Kent Island bridge,) is right there outside Whitehall Bay. Dual-span bridges are painful to line up against, since there is all that structural steel at varying distances …
New for August 4th:
Watching closely for container ships. In the Southern Bay, the shipping channel is close to the Eastern Shore. We barely see the ships. Up here, however, they're right in the middle of the bay! An AIS tracking app on the iPhone (like Marine Traffic) helps. Proper …