Summer Trip to
Oxford.
Over this past summer, I only made one trip to Oxford to
check on the boat, and that was August 11.
Not sure why only one trip, but that’s what happened. I took out new solar panel and its mount,
controller and some 1” by 2” rectangle tube anodized aluminum with me to mount
the panel. I also took some other stuff
for the boat that we had worked on while at home. The yard is making good progress on its “to
do” list, which includes bottom paint, engine and generator service, and waxing
above the water line. I stayed at our friends
Pam and Jerry Jana’s house. It was odd
being there alone as they were away on safari in Botswana and other places.
I managed to get quite a lot done during the 4 days and
headed home on August 15. I stopped more
or less on the way to visit our friends on Autumn Borne. They are summering in Catskill, NY, at
Hop-O-Nose Marina. Nice dinner and
visit. Stayed the night and then headed
back to NH the next morning. They will
leave to head south on Autumn Borne around the 1st of October and we
will head to Oxford and Rhiannon somewhere around the 19th of
October. It would be nice to catch up
with them on the water.
Oxford and getting
ready
Friday, October 17,
2014, we rented a car for the trip to Oxford. It is cheaper to rent a car and drive there
for the two of us, than to fly. In
addition, we get the car for a week so we can provision and run the 100 other
errands required to get us and the boat ready to head south.
Monday, October 20, 2014,
we actually get away. We again went
through upstate New York to Kingston.
This time to stop and visit Lisa’s Uncle Tom (McElrath). He has always been one of our favorite
people. We again stay with the Janas, although this time they are home. It is very late Monday when we finally pull
in. We learn a lot about Africa listening to them describe their trip and thru
the pictures they took. It was an
awesome experience for them.
Tuesday, October 21,
2014. Rain and wind. Unpacked
everything aboard the boat. We had
packed everything up in June so the yard guys could access what they
needed. We unloaded the car and unpacked
and put everything away. Dinner at the
Jana’s.
Wednesday, October
22, 2014. More wind and rain. Continued unpacking and began
provisioning. Went to dinner at the Oxford
Market. Very good food, close to Jana’s,
but not close to anything else. Huge
selection of teas – Jeff would have loved it!
Thursday, October 23,
2014. More provisioning and checking
out all the boat’s systems to make sure everything works before we leave the
dock. The new solar panel is mounted and
looks nice. We will attach the
controller and the rest of the wiring as we have time.
Friday, October 24,
2014. More preparation. We hoped to
leave tomorrow, but Jim and Judy Foster called and they will be in Oxford to
test drive a new boat tomorrow. So we
will stay another day and see them tomorrow.
We return the rental car today.
Saturday, October 25,
2014. Today is cleaning day. Now
that most everything is stowed, we spend the day cleaning Rhiannon, inside and
out. The Fosters show up at 4pm with
another couple. The Janas arrive at 5
and we all go to Pope’s Tavern in Oxford for dinner. I think a good time was had by all.
Sunday, October 26,
2014. Another departure
post-ponement. The wind is now howling
15-25 with gust to 35. Not what we want
on our first day out of port this season.
We met a couple docked next to us (Tim and Joan) on Black Seal out of
Marion, Mass. That’s where we used to
take the previous boat with a crew on our summer trips They are also headed
south. I helped Tim measure his mast
height. It’s 60 feet, so he won’t have
issues with the ICW bridges, but he draws 7 feet of water – that could be an
issue heading south. Lisa got a call
from Lucy Chapman, a friend now living in Washington, DC. She wants to drive over and visit (2 hour
drive). They arrive about 3 and we all
go for Mexican at El Dorado (very nice).
Lucy brings her fiancée Paul Bishop who we enjoy meeting. Another nice evening and great food. If we keep this up, we’ll weigh 200 pounds
before we leave the dock.
We talked to Dean and Sue Perry on Autumn Borne. They are now in Weems Creek in Annapolis and
plan to leave tomorrow.
We discover that the water heater on the boat will not work
on shore power (120v AC). The circuit
breaker keeps popping. Bummer. After check the heater and all the
connections, we determine that the issue is actually the breaker. We will order a new one (or several) – if one
is bad, more are probably close.
Monday, October 27,
2014. We actually leave Oxford – off
the dock at 8:15am. Clear, no wind, 55 degrees.
Talked to Dean and Sue. They are
underway south from Annapolis.
10am, wind W @ 7 Tide with us since leaving Oxford. 2pm wind
south @ 10 and Autumn Borne is in sight off our stern. How’s that for timing! 3pm, tide shifts against us. Wind S @ 15-20, only making 5.4 knots over
ground. The knot meter has decided that
is doesn’t want to work. The GPS gives
us speed, but the knot meter combined with the wind instrument tells us about
“apparent wind”. 4:45pm, we cross the
mouth of the Potomac and into Virginia.
6:45pm (sunset), we anchor in Mill Creek, Reedville,
VA with Autumn Borne rafter alongside.
Dean and Sue come for drinks and dinner.
66.2NM, 80SM today.
37°47.55’N 076°19.19’W
Tuesday,
October 28, 2014. Today is a very
windy day out on the Bay and we elect to make it a layover day. We worked on a new TV antennae only to
discover that the TV does not have a digital tuner and we can’t get any
stations. Dinner onboard Autumn Borne,
great hamburgers.
Wednesday,
October 29, 2014. Anchor up at
8am. Sunny, 65 degrees. In the Chesapeake, the wind is SW @ 15-25 and
the seas are 3-5 feet. We see our first
porpoises as we leave the anchorage. Only went as far as Deltaville, VA. Anchor down in Godfry Bay at 1pm. Wind is supposed to shift into the NW and die
down. The river at the bottom of Godfry
Bay is the Piankatank – “Frogs jump from bank to bank in the Piankatank” as the
locals say. 25NM, 30SM today. 37°30.73’N
076°21.12’W
Refilled fuel and water from jerry cans. 4:30pm a squall line is on the horizon. We moved over to the north side of Fishing
Bay. The wind shifts to N-NE @ 25. 2 more SM today.
37°32.40’N
076°20.06’W
Thursday,
October 30, 2014. Anchor up at 8am. It is clearing after the rain
overnight. 60 degrees and the wind N-NE@10.
There were 13 sail and 2 power boats in the anchorage last night. It is
nice to see all of them out on the bay.
We saw our first brown pelicans of this trip today. At 3:15pm, we are in Norfolk, VA, at Mile
Marker Zero, the official beginning of the Atlantic Inter-coastal
Waterway. At 4pm, we are tied up at
Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth, VA. You
might remember that in 2012, we were in this marina for Hurricane Sandy.
Autumn Borne is anchored next door at Hospital Point
and dingy in. We all go to dinner at the
Bier Garden here in Portsmouth. Great
German food and lots and lots of choices for beer.
Our slipmate is Windswept. Larry and Estella Gundler from West Chester,
Ohio. It is a Morgan 42 and they are
headed to Vero Beach for the winter.
52NM 63SM today.
36°50.53’N 076’17.87’W
Friday,
October 31, 2014. Halloween. Left
the dock at Tidewater at 8am. Sunny and
cool. 55 degrees. Gilmerton Bridge at 9:30am. 13 boats at the opening heading south. At
Dismal Swamp cut-off, 6 of the boats headed that way. All 6 were flying the Canadian flag. Steel Bridge at 10am. Great Bridge Lock at 10:30am, but had to wait
on a “Red Flag” vessel. A “Red Flag”
means that no other vessel can go through the lock (or bridge) at the same
time. We finally got through the lock at
11:30am with 16 other boats.
At 12:30pm we were lucky enough to find a spot on the
“free dock”, which actually the wall between the lock and the bridge. We tried to make room for Autumn Borne, but
they went on to Atlantic Yacht Basin for fuel, water and a pump out. We just did all that while at Tidewater. They are just ¼ mile away, so we will see
them on land. Rain and wind
overnight. Dinner on board. 12SM, 10NM today. MM11.
36° 43.28’N 076°14.49’W
Saturday,
November 1, 2014. Wind howling, rain, cold.
50 degrees in the boat when we awoke.
Generator and heat on. Shopping
later in the day after the rain stopped – hardware store, grocery, Radio
Shack. Tried to get our TV to work with
the new antennae, but the TV has the old analog tuner and we get nothing over
the air.
The wind continues to howl from the NE. There is no tide where we are, but there is a
“wind tide”. This strong NE wind has
blown the water away and we are down 4 feet.
Hopefully, the wind lets up and the water comes back, because we cannot
get across Currituck Sound if the water is down 4 feet – very shallow there
anyway.
Lisa found the winter hats and gloves. We had an early dinner at Chili’s with Dean
and Sue. Tonight the time changes from
Daylight Savings to Regular.
Sunday,
November 2, 2014. Rain ended, but
not the wind. Although during the
morning today, the wind eased a bit and the depth of the water has
stabilized. Benny made a nice breaksast
on board (pancakes, eggs and ham). We
met Dean and Sue at Panera Bread, then back to Autumn Borne to watch the
Patriots play the Broncos (their TV works).
Watched the first half of the game and then back to Rhiannon. Still cold, wind still from the North, but
down to 10. The water has come back a
couple of feet.
Jeff (our youngest – attending Emmanuel College in
Boston) called and has been accepted to a school in France (Province) for the
spring semester. Great for him!
Monday,
November 3, 2014. Left the wall at 8am, through Great Bridge Bridge with 8
other boats including Autumn Borne, Roi Soliel, Sophie, Monday Morning. Sunny, wind NW at 10. 50 degrees.
The Pungo River has been closed and abandoned for a
few years now, and nature is reclaiming the land. Now there is what appears to be an abandoned
tall ship (replica?) tied to the abandoned marina docks. Halloween trick or treat? At 1pm, we cross
into North Carolina. Water still down a
couple of feet here. The water across
Currituck is skinny, but we don’t touch bottom.
3:35pm, anchor down at Broad Creek at the entrance to Abermarle
Sound. Sunny and 65 degrees and the wind
is W at 10.
There were three scheduled bridges today. We made all of them on schedule. Great Bridge, Centerville, and North
Landing. We added three jerry cans of
fuel to the tank for the run tomorrow.
50 SM, 40NM today. MM62. 36°12.05’N
075°56.71’W
Tuesday,
November 4, 2014. Election Day. Now that the Republicans control both the
House and the Senate, but do not have a veto-proof majority in either, we can
continue to be assured of the non-functioning of the government.
Anchor up at 6:30am – sunrise. Clear, wind
SW10-15. The Abermarle is “lumpy”, so we
take a comfortable tack across, about 20 degrees off the suggested course, then
run along the lee shore to the mouth of the Alligator River. Easy crossing, although it adds 5 extra miles
to the crossing. Lisa isn’t feeling well
this morning and sleeps all the way across.
We make the Alligator River Bridge at 10:30am. We enter the Alligator River with 14 other
boats, 8 sail, 6 power. We start down
the Alligator-Pungo River Canal at 1pm, and are out the south end at
4:15pm. We have been averaging 5.8 knots
today – nice. At 4:45pm, the anchor is
down at the top of the Pungo River, just south of the southern entrance to the
Canal. 9 sailboats are anchored here this evening. Wind is calm.
72SM, 58NM today. MM 127 35°33.68’N
076°28.54’W
Wednesday,
November 5, 2014. Anchor up at
7:15am. 5 boats already gone. Cloudy 50
degrees, wind WSW at 10-15. As we cross
the Pamlico River wind SW 5-10 and seas flat. As we enter Goose Creek, a
sailboat is aground next to the channel by Green 7. It is Blue Eyes, a singlehandler Pearson 36
out of Boston. He manages to get off and
we loose track of him as the day wears on.
At 12:15, Lisa is on the wheel, and BAM, we hit
something under water between Red 24 and Green 25 at the south end of Goose
Creek (35°11.99’N, 076°36.00’W). There
is an obstruction and a wreck shown here.
Maybe the wreck has moved out into the channel. After checking out everything, we seem OK, so
we continue on. We get on the VHF and
warn the other boats headed this way. At
1:15pm, we are on the Neuse River. Wind
on the nose, but only 10 and dying. Waves
on 1-2. 3:30pm, we tie up at Oriental
Inn and Marina, planning to layover tomorrow.
We refuel, fill with gas and bathe the boat. Unfortunately, we cannot stay as there is a
flotilla of 18 boats coming in tomorrow.
The are a Sail Magazine 1st time ICW trip. People doing the ICW for the first time are
“escorted” by people who have done it before.
Seems like a great idea, but a bit overwhelming for this marina. They are in Dowry Creek tonight, another
small marina. 55SM 44NM today.
MM182. 35°01.47’N 076°41.74’W
Our slipmate here is Windswept (Larry and Estella
Gundler, with Joe Tigner onboard). We
also meet Dick and Leigh Woodling (Shady Side, MD) on Adventure and Greg and
Paula Smith on Kanga. We also met Jason, who is single handing a 1978 S2 30 named
Silent Running, that he bought on ebay.
Dinner at the Toucan Grill, nice.
Thursday, November
6, 2014. Off the dock at 7:15am.
Cloudy, 60 degrees, wind SW@10. Adams Creek at 8am. Tide against us
now. We are in a parade at 4 knots
following a barge with Mezza Luna, Sulky, Outbound and Windswept. The railroad bridge at Morehead City is closed
for repairs and only open from 12-1pm, and everyone is headed for that place at
that time. Also, the ICW runs right
through the firing range at Camp Lejeune and it is closed because of maneuvers,
so we will stop at Swansboro tonight. We are passed by 5 Navy patrol boats
(heavily manned and plenty of weapons, both on the personnel and mounted on the
boats headed north. Later, they pass us
heading south. We also hear Nay Warship
21, 41 and 81 offshore on the VHF.
At 4:30pm, we try to enter Dudley’s Marina and run aground
trying to get into the slip. The wind is
up to 20 knots and making this interesting.
We finally tie up to the face dock.
We meet Windswept again, along with Outbound and Mezza Luna. The wind howls overnight with one gust at 50
knots! We hear from other boats at
anchor that they have dragged. Not
fun! Dinner on board and a visit to
Steve and Deb Crane’s Outbound (also a Catalina 42).
We can hear the heavy guns firing at Lejeune (and
maybe the warships offshore). Sounds
like a thunderstorm. Boom Boom.
About 6:30pm, we notice a boat aground in the same
spot we ran aground trying to get into a slip on C dock. It is Jason on Silent
Running. He was stuck. He called
TowBoatUS and they wanted to charge him $500 to tow him off the shoal and 100
feet into the slip. He told them no
thank you. So, John B (on the Tayana
docked behind us), and Steve Crane (Outbound) and us proceeded to get him
un-stuck. I got a 100 foot line out of
the locker, Steve got a big fender and we floated the line out to Jason. Then we put the line on one of the primary
(big) winches on the tayana and John B. winched Silent Running off the
shoal. We then used the line to pull him
into the slip, where Lisa helped him tie up to the dock in the howling wind.
The same wind that has us pressed to the dock has him blown away from the dock.
Good deed for today done and we saved Jason $500!
47SM, 38NM today.
MM 227. 34°04.82’N 077°06.74’W
Friday,
November 7, 2014. Off the dock at
6:45am. Clear, windy NW 15+. 48 degrees.
At least the wind has shifted enough so that we can get off the dock. We have to get past Camp Lejeune by noon as
they will be resuming their live firing – and the ICW runs right through the firing
range. No firing this morning. We do see many inflatables loaded with
Marines chasing each other though the boat wakes and then us to the shore – all
are soaked. They a “tended” by a Marine Patrol Boat (heavily armed) Training or
play? – or a bit of both?
As we approach Onslow Beach Bridge at 8:30am, the
wind is gusting to 25. The bridge tender
is holding the bridge to get all the boats through. We make the Surf City Bridge at noon, The
Figure 8 Island Bridge at 2:30 and the Wrightsville Beach Bridge at
3:00pm. Surf City and Wrightsville only
open on the hour, so if you miss the opening, you wait until the top of the
next hour!
We head over to the anchorage at Wrightsville Beach
following Windswept and Outbound and are anchored at 3:45pm. There are lots of other boats here
tonight. It is a calm, beautiful night
with a full moon.
All day we have been smelling diesel fuel. Finally, we track down the source. One of the injectors on the main engine, or the high pressure line feeding it is leaking. Tried to tighten everything down, but not too much ot you can cause more damage. We'll see tomorrow how we did.
4 scheduled bridges today. 56SM 45NM today. MM 283.
34°12.35’N 077°47.95’W
Saturday
November 8, 2014. Anchor up at
7:15am after refilling the fuel from jerry cans (10 gallons). Left through Banks Channel and Shinn Creek
back to the ICW. This was is deeper and
we are headed south from the anchorage.
There is lots of water after this whole area was dredged last year. Windswept follows us out as do 2 Canadian
boats, Deep Blue II and Morning Tide. It
is Sunny, but only 45 degrees, wind N at 5.
As we enter Snow’s Cut to the Cape Fear River, the tide is with us – it can
run more than 2 knots here. As we enter
the Cape Fear River the tide is just turning in our favor. At 10:40am, we turn out of the river and back
into the ICW at Southport. At 2:50pm, we
cross into South Carolina. At 3:45pm, we
pass through the Little River Swing Bridge.
At:4:40pm, we pass through the Barefoot Swing Bridge and at 4:50 we are
tied us at Barefoot Marina, where we are greeted by Jimmy Collins, who always
seems to be here to grab our lines.
Dinner on board as we watch a beautiful sunset off our stern.
The fuel leak is still present, so we are going to have a mechanic take a look, as we plan to be in Myrtle Beach a few days anyway.
71SM 57NM today.
MM 354. 33°48.15’N 078°44.67’N
Sunday,
November 9, 2014. A lazy day. Showers and laundry day. Lisa’s cousin Terry
(aka Tess) came to visit with her granddaughter Noel. We went to dinner at the Waffle House and
then to Walmart for a few items and so Noael (who is 2) could look at Christmas
Trees. Nice visit.
Monday,
November 10, 2014. We spent the
morning doing boat chores and I began mounting the controller and running wires
for the new solar panel. At 11am, Steve from Sea Pupp Service shows up to check out our fuel leak, He loosens the injector clamp and the high pressure fuel line, cleans everything and re-torques everything, and voila! the leak is gone. Maybe when we hit that submerged whatever it was coming out of Goose Creek we knocked something loose, or maybe there was a speck of dirt in the fitting, but whatever it was seems to have been fixed - but we will continue to keep an eye on it!
At 2 pm, we
went with Bonnie Black to look at real estate in the area. We are not ready to buy, but we did want to
get a feel for what is available.
Lisa’s friend Stew Nelson died today, he was 88. He was an avid sailor, ice boater and husband
to Judy, who Lisa bowls and does stained glass with. We are sad today. Our prayers are with Judy.
Lisa’s cousin’s daughter (Lindsay, now 15) came to
visit and we stayed up too late playing Rumiocube, like rummy, but with tiles.
We did not get to see her brother Nick this trip.
Tuesday,
November 11, 2014. Veterans Day. Thanks to all who have served their country.
Today Lisa gave Rhiannon a bath and refilled water
tanks. I worked on this blog and
refilled the fuel from the jerry cans and then refilled the cans, so we are
ready to leave on Wednesday.
Lauch and Diane McKay came to visit, and we all went
to lunch at Cracker Barrel and the they drove us to the grocery and other
errands. You might Remember Lauch as
Lisa’s concierge physician on our first trip south (when she had tonsillitis
here in Myrtle Beach). He is a retired
physician and they are both lovely.
After putting away groceries and dinner on board, we
are to bed.
