SV Orion - Annapolis, MD

December - Time Flies

12/31/2010

December has come and gone in what seems to be a blink of an eye. From Charleston to St. Augustine to Daytona on Orion in two hops and then by train to NC and back. And, Christmas, of course. Saying goodbyes to our traveling companions on Quicksilver and Sea Mist. Seeing sights, preparing for Christmas, visiting with family, and all of sudden it’s New Year’s Eve. Where did the time go?

The newly restored and re-opened Bridge of Lions

St. Augustine

After staying at St. Augustine our first year traveling south, we had avoided it ever since, not because we didn’t enjoy this beautiful, historic city. However, the anchorage is close to the inlet and the current that changes with each tide cycle inevitably loosens a couple anchors from the bottom, causing drama and anxiety that we wanted to avoid. However, this past year, St. Augustine installed mooring balls, removing the factor of uncertain holding or nearby boats dragging, so it took us no time to decide to make it a stop on our way south.

A shrimper dries her nets in the St, Augustine harbor.

We left Charleston on the 2nd of December in the pre-dawn darkness, dodging a spinning cargo ship, as we headed down the Cooper River out to sea, making a direct run to St. Augustine. Having never come in the St. Augustine inlet, we had checked with BoatUS and other cruisers who had run it recently. There was some shoaling that made the entry a little tricky, so we decided instead to come inside at the St. John’s River about 20 miles north of St. Augustine and run inside on the ICW from there on in. This worked well. We approached the St. John’s sea buoy at dawn on the 3rd, after a night of motorsailing down the Georgia and northern Florida coast. The fishing boats were out, but our route managed to avoid any close contact. We picked up the current as we headed up the river and kept it with us all morning, allowing us to make record time. We were through the newly restored and re-opened Bridge of Lions on our mooring just after noon. Quicksilver was already here on a mooring nearby, but today wasn’t going to be a day for socializing. We headed in for some showers and made it an early night.

Saturday, Dec. 4th was a big day in St. Augustine. The British had returned and the city had rolled back the clock to the brief period in the mid-1700’s when it was under the rule of the English crown. There were a hundred or more re-enactors strolling the city streets and we were treated to a day-long schedule of events starting with a Christmas parade in the morning and ending with the Grande Illumination procession by candlelight at night. There were fife and drum concerts, mock trials, formations of the various brigades for roll call and pay distribution, and period performers. With the weather cooperating, it was an amazing welcome back.

On our last night in St. Augustine, we gathered for a farewell dinner at Pizzalley in the Spanish Quarter. It would be the last time the four couples on Sea Mist, Quicksilver, Marianna and Orion would be together. After an enjoyable week together, we were ready to move south to Daytona, where we would once again put in for the month to travel north (by train) for Christmas.

A sign of things to come

Daytona Beach

We headed out before dawn on the 10th and made our way south on the ICW toward Daytona Beach. Quicksilver would turn off at Palm Coast, but the rest of us planned to stay at Halifax Harbor Marina, Daytona's city marina. Sea Mist had changed their plans to pull in and get their dinghy motor worked on by Blake, who had done such good work for us last year. The day was grey and overcast, never shaking off the chill, making for a colder day’s travel. Quicksilver actually had to dock in the pouring rain. By the time we made it to Daytona, the rain had stopped and the sun was beginning to peek out behind the clouds. However, we had not left the cold weather behind us. It wouldn't be long before we were using the heat once again.

We spent the time in Daytona provisioning the boat for post-Christmas travel, preparing for Christmas, and getting the boat ready to leave for a couple of weeks, with a couple of boat projects sandwiched in. No trip to Daytona is complete without a trip to Angell and Phelps Chocolate Factory – or make that a few trips. And since we discovered the Flea Market last year, that’s become a “must” stop as well. While we had a car over the weekend, we took a road trip to see Blue Springs State Park, which, with its warmer waters is a haven for manatees this time of year. We weren’t disappointed, as we saw dozens of them lolling about the clear warm waters of the spring.

After a few days, our numbers were dwindling. Pat and Fred headed north (by plane) on the 15th, the same day as George and Gail. We continued to enjoy Bill and Bettye’s company for a few more days, taking some long walks to explore a wider area over to the beach and down route 1. By week’s end, their dinghy outboard was repaired and back on board and the weather had warmed back to more seasonable temperatures. By Monday, the 20th, we were on our way via the local bus system to catch the train in Deland for NC to spend Christmas with Cathy’s family in Winston-Salem. We were hopeful that the weather would be warmer when we returned.

The new 'down' switch installed on the windlass.

Boat Stuff

In what has become a very routine procedure for us, Dave moved forward to attempt to drop the mooring as we prepared to leave St. Augustine. However, he was surprised to find that starting the engine had engaged the windlass “down” switch, which was now attempting to drop the anchor and chain. Cathy was scratching her head, when she heard Dave call back from the bow for her to reset the windlass breaker. The windlass? She was having trouble making any sense of this, and also wasn’t 100% sure where the breaker was. In the meantime, the chain was piling up on deck. The anchor did not fall, since it is secured with a line when not in use, but despite his work to return the chain to the locker, he wasn’t able to get the anchor as secure as normal because he couldn’t override the “down” switch. It was obviously time to replace the switch. Luckily, he had anticipated the problem. The switches had been getting spongy and R Pelican had warned him that they weren’t so easy to find. Our windlass is made by Leroy Somer, a European manufacturer no longer makes our model. The switches (we discovered) are still made by an Italian company. It was just our luck that our last stop at the Annapolis Boat Show was at a vendor that was just starting to carry the switches. He contacted his distributor who was also at the show and we left with the 2 switches we needed. It was now time to put one to use.

Other than the relatively short wires on the existing switch, the replacement was pretty straightforward. Dave loosened the screws on the existing switch, which is embedded in the windlass housing. He tied the existing wires to the housing to keep them from falling in and becoming inaccessible. Then, he clipped them, cut the excess wire off the new switches and spade-connected them to the existing wires, so they could be more easily replaced in the future. A quick test confirmed it was working as it should. Since the new switch came with a gasket, no sealant was necessary. Cathy cleaned the surface carefully before Dave screwed the new switch in place. It should last us for at least another 10 years.

Another surprise when leaving St. Augustine was the loss of true wind information at the helm and the loss of several readings on the Raymarine multi-data instrument below decks (depth, true wind, speed, lat/lon, etc.) We suspected and later confirmed that a wire had simply come loose under the helm. Once in Daytona, we were able to confirm this and re-connect it. Why it happened was not entirely clear, since we hadn’t been into the pedestal at all in months. But all appears to be connected and working now.

Christmas Gallery

Like much of the southeast, we were surprised and delighted by the arrival of a Christmas snowfall. It was picture-perfect, and great for making snowmen and having snowball fights. We spent 10 days with Cathy’s family, including a couple of days with Bonnie’s and Adam’s families.

On New Year’s Eve, we reluctantly said our goodbyes and boarded the train for Daytona. Although we would travel overnight to reach Florida, we had a 6-hour layover in Raleigh. Since we were only a couple of blocks from downtown, we took in their First Night festival, including an early “acorn-drop” at 7pm for the kids and others like us who wouldn’t last until midnight. So, we brought in the New Year a little early, but at least we were awake for this one. After a celebratory margarita at Jibarra’s, we boarded the train and were quickly asleep, which is how we welcomed in the official New Year.

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Late November - Charleston

11/30/2010

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Pat, Bettye, Dau and Gail ready for a stroll

This was our third Thanksgiving spent in Charleston, and it lived up to our expectations and more. We managed to arrive for one of the warmest weeks they’ve had in quite a while, that allowed us to dig out the shorts again and enjoy the sunshine. It will be hard to say goodbye again.

Cape Lookout lighthouse from anchorage

Cape Lookout to Charleston

The moon was bright, its reflection creating a ribbon of light in the water of Cape Lookout Bight as we prepared to raise anchor for the trip to Charleston. It was 3:45am, our agreed-upon start time. We had chosen this painfully early hour in part because it would help guarantee our arrival in Charleston in daylight and in part to use the moonlight to help see to raise anchor. By this time, we were now 5 boats traveling together: Marianna, Windward, Sea Mist, Quicksilver, and (of course) Orion. The light winds and flat seas that had seen us into Cape Lookout the previous afternoon had been swept away by north winds that were gusting above 20 knots and building the seas to 5 feet with a short interval. There were small craft warnings through late morning. So, our checkpoint conversation that morning was one that tested our belief in the forecast. Despite the unsettling weather, the conditions were exactly what had been forecast. They were expected to lie down over the course of the day and remain calm through our afternoon arrival in Charleston on Saturday. Should we leave as planned? We decided to proceed. (Some crews were better with this decision than others.)

So, we all began to raise anchor. On Orion, we needed to use the engine to relieve the pressure on the anchor chain exerted by the high winds. As we were in the middle of this process, we got a call on the radio. Quicksilver’s anchor rode was fouled in the windlass. Cathy yelled for Dave to stop raising the anchor, but with so little chain now remaining, we had to keep the engine in gear to keep from dragging. Sea Mist already had their anchor up and was trying to maneuver in the Bight without getting too close to any of the other boats at anchor. George came back on the radio and said he would have to partially disassemble the windlass to release the rope. While we waited, Marianna made repeated calls to Windward on the VHF, with no response. Then things began to come together. Windward responded that they had their anchor up after some problems of their own. Quicksilver then came on to say they had managed to free the rode and raise the anchor. So, Dave moved forward and we finished raising our anchor. The moon, by now, had set, so it was very dark. Sea Mist had started a slow trip out of the harbor. We put our engine in gear and proceeded out ahead of them to take the lead. But it wasn’t smooth sailing yet. We heard George call another boat in the anchorage. He had made contact in the confusion of getting underway as the anchor came up. He was able to exchange contact information with the other boat before finally getting underway. So, by 4:30, we were out in the ocean with some pretty impressive following seas chasing us down the coast. We just kept our fingers crossed that these would settle down as forecast.

The higher winds meant we were making great time, motorsailing with the headsail, averaging almost 7 knots and reaching over 9 knots as we surfed down the waves. A pod of dolphins was also enjoying the waves, as they announced their arrival by leaping up directly off our bow, and then racing with us for an hour as Cathy stood watch late morning. By mid-afternoon, the winds and seas were moderating as forecast, meaning our speed dropped, but making for much more stable conditions on the boat.

Sailboat passing at sunset

Sunset found us off Frying Pan Shoals, still on target for a mid-afternoon arrival in Charleston. The calm conditions continued overnight, and we benefitted again from the light of the full moon rising just after sunset. This was the longest trip we've put in since getting our AIS working on the Garmin chartplotter. With the AIS information super-imposed over the radar targets, it was much easier to assimilate the information about "what's out there". We were then able to give the others a heads up as we identified the big ships and their likelihood of crossing our path. It also helped with some smaller ones, since more class B signals are starting to appear.

We managed to pull into the Maritime Center before 3pm on Saturday, Nov. 20th. We all had our stories about the trip, but the most important thing was that we had a smooth trip and were set to enjoy our time in Charleston.

Touring Charleston

Here are some pictorial highlights of our time in Charleston.

Further South
Our stay is coming to an end soon, with our next stop being somewhere in Florida. As the forecast is for lower temperatures here in SC, we're hoping to find warmer weather in the Sunshine State.

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Early November - Traveling with Company

11/17/2010

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Marianna and Quicksilver sailing on the Pungo River

The storms in the northeast were kicking things up and making it difficult for Pat and Fred to make their way south. By the time they did arrive, they were trailing 3 other boats: Windward, Sea Mist and Quicksilver. As we made our way further south, the flotilla expanded and contracted, but we were never traveling without at least a couple of other boats.

Sunrise leaving Hampton

Hampton to Oriental

We pulled out at sunrise on the morning of the 8th of November. Having never left this late in the year before, we were now past the fall time change, and were leaving an hour earlier than we usually do. That put us on the dock at Great Bridge between Marianna and Quicksilver by 11am, a new record. However, we were not in any hurry. Windward and Sea Mist had decided to take the Dismal Swamp route, which requires an extra day. We would take that day at Great Bridge, so we spent the time running errands at the myriad of stores nearby and then enjoying each others company.

Quicksilver in the Elizabeth River

By Wednesday, we were ready for a leisurely start toward Coinjock, passing through the last 2 opening bridges for the next 60 miles. Our lay day in Great Bridge had given Chandelle time to catch up on their run south from Annapolis, so we gathered with them on Orion that night at Coinjock, enjoying appetizers from Crabbie’s and some of Pat’s delicious minestrone soup. The winds were building on Thursday from the Northwest, making conditions right for sailing across the Albemarle and down the Alligator River. Chandelle decided to make for the end of the Alligator-Pungo canal. This would put them beyond the tricky 64ft Wilkerson Bridge at the canal’s end, which is always a nail-biter for them with their 63+ ft mast. Marianna, Quicksilver and Orion were heading for the bottom of the Alligator River, initially expecting to meet up with Sea Mist and Windward there. It was not to be. In the way of things with multiple boats, conditions prevailed to turn Sea Mist back to Elizabeth City for a propeller repair (having hit something in the Dismal Swamp) and to propel Windward further to Belhaven (to meet up with their son). So, it was just the 3 of us anchoring behind Deep Point off the Alligator River, welcoming its protections from the increasing winds which were gusting to 30 knots by the time we rounded the point.

Orion sailing in Pamlico Sound

Thursday was another gusty sailing day, but unlike Wednesday was sunny and therefore warmer. But first we had to make the long 20 mile run through the Alligator-Pungo Canal. Within minutes of cleaing the western end, we put up the headsail and made our way down the Pungo River, past Belhaven and across Pamlico Sound before dousing the sail as we made our way into the narrower Goose Creek channel. Our destination for the night was R. E. Mayo, the legendary commercial fishing dock on the Hobucken Cut. There are no services and the dock is just OK, but the people couldn’t be friendlier. We had a “planning” meeting on Marianna that night and decided to stay another day here before moving on. That would give Tom and Dau on Windward a chance to catch up as they made the short 20-mile run from Belhaven, arriving late the next morning, just after their son arrived in their truck. (Apparently it’s a 60 mile journey by land from Belhaven, but a truck is still faster than a boat.)

George shucks some fresh oysters for Gail

Friday was a beautiful day, sunny and warm with a good breeze. We took advantage of the extra day to take the walk over the Hobucken Bridge into “town”. It’s a great opportunity to get a panoramic view of the ICW at the top of the bridge. George also got a reward for his efforts, when we stopped at Pate Boatyard to get some fresh oysters for Gail, which the proprietor gave to him for free. Gail and Dau (the only takers) said they were delicious.

On the dock at R. E. Mayo

With more boats traveling together, travel plans require more time and consultation between the various boat crews. One thing that was hindering our ability to make these plans much more than a day ahead was the lack of good weather information. From Coinjock to Oriental, the access to the internet is virtually non-existent, and NOAA forecasts only provide the conditions in the immediate area. It looked like there might be a window for a run to Charleston over the weekend, but it was difficult to tell without more information. Also, George and Gail had learned of a marina north of Oriental with a buy one-get one deal that sounded nice. Since we weren’t in a hurry, we decided to pull into River Dunes to check it out for a couple of days. On Sunday, we awoke to fog which delayed our departure for a few hours as we waited for it to lift. By about 10:30, we began our trip south from R. E. Mayo to Broad Creek, a trip of about 15 miles, where River Dunes is located. As we travelled, we heard from Sea Mist, who were on their way south from Belhaven. They decided to join us at River Dunes as well. With the flat calm conditions, it was no surprise that Chandelle decided to take this window to travel from Beaufort to Charleston, taking their 7.5ft draft boat around some of the notoriously shallow spots in NC south of Beaufort.

Relaxing at River Dunes

We pulled into River Dunes just after lunch, the entrance being well-marked and comfortable even for Quicksilver’s 6.5 ft draft. We were glad we had decided to stop, since it was a beautiful facility with more amenities than we boaters are used to seeing, such as a hot tub, fitness center and a steam shower. Wow! It didn’t take long to decide to extend our stay for another couple of nights. Waiting for weather has never been so good.

Tom advertises his Ham call sign

Within minutes of checking in with our Broad Creek destination on the Waterway Net, we were hailed by Tom aka K8TF, who lives with his wife Ellie on Broad Creek. They had wanted to meet us for several years now, but our schedules had never worked. We were now going to be close by for a few days. Tom and Ellie stopped by shortly after we docked, and then joined us for a get-together by the fire in the lodge porch that evening. The next day, they took George, Gail and the two of us on a tour of Oriental. George and Gail are looking seriously at relocating south, and Oriental has possibilities.

Sail Repairs

It was a simple request that made our life more complicated. A fellow sailor had installed a new furling main sail that wasn’t furling quite right. He wanted to look at ours for comparison, but in the process discovered a problem with our sail that needed immediate attention. The webbing that attached the tack (the corner at the bottom of the mast) to the furling mechanism had almost worn through. It would not take much stress for it to completely fail.

As is par for the course, we discovered this on a Saturday night. We were planning on leaving Hampton early Monday morning, so the chance of getting it repaired before we left seemed slim at best. And the reason we were waiting another day was because the winds were supposed to be up the next day. So, how would we be able to drop the mainsail, get it repaired and hoist it back up on a windy Sunday? What kind of repair would even be required? David sent that question to Bruce at Neil Pryde in Annapolis in an e-mail Saturday afternoon, not expecting an answer before Monday.

Pat sews new webbing onto the Main Sail

To our surprise, Dave received a reply when he got up the next morning. Bruce gave his recommendations for the type of webbing needed to repair the sail and other considerations for completing the repair and checking it once installed. After reading the e-mail, we popped up on deck to check the condtions. We wanted to drop the main sail as soon as we could find the calm conditions to do it. It was just before sun-up and the harbor was calm. So, we braved the cold and unfurled the sail to get a closer look at the webbing. Unfortunately, there was going to be no temporary fix. A new piece would have to be sewn on. As we were contemplating whether a sailmaker in Hampton might be open on Sunday (due to the presence of the Caribbean 1500 fleet), Pat approached us and offered to help. She had her sewing machine on board and thought she might have the webbing similar to that used on the sail.

The repair is complete

She reviewed the existing webbing and Bruce’s instructions and confirmed that she had the correct material with her. She generously offered to haul up her sewing machine, which she installed on our cockpit table to allow her to position the sail for the repair. After studying the existing installation, she carefully removed the frayed piece, cut the new one to length and sewed it onto the sail. Unfortunately, there was finishing work that required hand-stitching, which Pat did as well, breaking a couple of needles in the process as she worked the thread through several thicknesses of material.

Hoisting the sail

That afternoon, the wind shifted to the northwest, putting us in the lee of the nearby buildings. We saw another lull in the wind and used it to hoist the sail back into place. Remarkably, it had been less than 24 hours since we had discovered the problem. The generosity of friends is hard to place a value on.

New remote switch for inverter

Other Boat Stuff

We took care of some smaller boat projects while we waited in Hampton. Dave installed a remote switch that was compatible with our new inverter. It was a relatively easy job to install it where the previous one had been.

We had a little “incident” leaving the dock at Bluewater, which caused us to snap off a vent cover on our starboard aft hull. Dave managed to get in a neighbor’s dinghy to install the replacement cover before we left Hampton.

And, of course, we did the normal routine maintenance: changed the oil, had a diver change the zinc, and Cathy continued to work on waxing the upper deck (will this ever be finished?)

Hampton – Parting Shots

We continued to enjoy the time we spent in Hampton, even if it was longer this year than we originally anticipated. The hospitality from Kate at the Public Piers, who made space for us on one of her busiest weekends, made for a wonderful stay. In return, we made way for other boats and even helped by fixing the tires on one of the loaner bikes. We enjoyed the company of the Caribbean 1500 boats, who were much delayed in their departure and got to know more of our neighbors at a wonderful boater’s get together, sponsored by La Bodega. We were pleasantly surprised when Neal on Eole, who hails from Rochester NY, pulled in beside us and found he was close friends with Joanne and Ralph on White Bird. (Joanne was surprised, too, when she called Neal one night, asking him to look us up and he put Dave on the phone.) We even got to share the dock one night with the historic schooner Godspeed from Jamestown, as she made her way north on the Bay.

We joked with Pat and Fred and the rest of the flotilla that Hampton had thrown a parade honor of their arrival. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Hampton University was having their Homecoming that day as well.

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Late October - Back in Hampton

10/31/2010

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We are back in Hampton, but this time staying at the Public Piers for a couple of weeks. We are working on Orion, helping out some fellow boaters, swimming and visiting with friends. In the meantime, we follow the progress of Marianna as she makes her way south.

Down the Bay

Orion was finally underway again after a month on Broad Creek, motoring in a light wind out of the Magothy River, through the Bay Bridge. Having left the dock late, after 1:30, we had only a few options for ports for the night. We decided to head for the West or Rhode Rivers, depending on which had the best protection. This turned out to be the Rhode River. It was going to be a short stop, dropping anchor just before sunset and getting up a first light to head south to Solomons.

What greeted us as we awoke the next morning was quite a surprise. The night wasn’t as calm as we thought. On top of the bimini, our solar panels were covered in pools of blood, feathers and animal parts. There was blood dripping down the sides of the cockpit and running down the deck – and feathers everywhere. We were at a loss to know what had happened. We hadn’t heard anything. Using the deck washdown hose, we sprayed off some of the worst of the mess, but realized we would have to wait until we reached a dock in Solomons to really clean it off. At least the inside of the cockpit was largely unaffected. We can’t say as much for the poor bird on the losing end of that fight.

The rest of the trip to Solomons was cold and overcast, but uneventful. We pulled onto the Spring Cove fuel dock shortly after 3pm, cleaned up, fueled up, pumped out and then headed back to anchor once again in Mill Creek. The sun finally broke through shortly after setting anchor, which would be its last appearance for at least 36 hours. We knew the forecast for the next day’s planned trip south of the Potomac was not pretty – rain likely all day – but at least the wind would not be too bad and it would be behind us, making for a much easier Potomac River crossing than the forecast for the rest of the week.

Early the next morning, we put in all but one of the enclosure panels and began motoring out of Solomons back out to the Bay. It was going to be a wet, messy trip. But the weather was not going to be our only headache. During our hourly engine checks, we began to notice a disturbing trend in the fuel vacuum pressure. It was creeping up with each passing hour, meaning there was a blockage developing in the fuel line. We were likely traveling on borrowed time. Sure enough, around 10am, the engine sputtered like it was going to shut off. Cathy ran down and switched to our other Racor filter. Unfortunately, the pressure remained high. When Dave went down to check out the situation, he saw the Racor bowls were not staying full. He tried re-filling them, but the level wouldn’t stay up. So, we pulled out the sails and killed the engine. Dave had already placed a call to Deltaville when he had seen the pressure rising. He wanted to talk to Matt or Jon, before doing much more with the fuel line. In the meantime, the winds were allowing us to make reasonable progress.

We had been hoping to visit Indian Creek to see Joy and Rusty on Slow Dancin’. However, we weren’t sure what the wind would allow us to do. Just before we reached Smith Point at the southern edge of the Potomac, Dave got a call from Jon at Deltaville. After talking through the symptoms, they decided the problem was likely a blockage in the fuel line before the Racor filters. If that was the case, it might be possible to clear it by blowing through the hose. Dave first tried to clear it by blowing toward the Racor filter. Nothing happened. So, he tried blowing back toward the fuel tank. After a couple of tries, he heard a distinctive “pop”. He could tell the line had cleared. After re-connecting the fuel lines and topping off the Racor bowls, we re-started the engine. The fuel vacuum pressure had dropped back to an acceptable level. We called Joy and Rusty and told them we would see them as planned. They met us in the rain, as we pulled onto the dock shortly after 4pm.

With winds forecasted to gust to 30 from the southwest the next day, we arranged to spend 2 nights on the dock at the Indian Creek Yacht Club as guests of Rusty and Joy. This gave us a couple of days to visit with them and enjoy their hospitality. They are working to prepare Slow Dancin’ for another trip south, with a planned departure in early November. We compared notes on different boat projects and offered a little assistance with some. But we were trying to get to hook up with Steve on Bay Dreamer for the weekend, so we needed to move on, and headed out early Friday morning.

In sharp contrast to the preceding days’ travel, Friday was sunny and warmer. We pulled out the sails soon after leaving Indian Creek and sailed south until we had to turn into Mobjack Bay. As we rounded New Point Comfort to head northwest into the East River, our angle into the wind was too tight to sail, so we motored the last few miles to the anchorage. We rejected the popular Put-in Creek anchorage due to the crab pots and chose a protected bend in the East River, next to a couple of rafted boats. We stayed a couple of nights, but since Steve was still having some transmission problems, we didn’t hook up as planned. Instead we used the time to get some boat work done.

When we decided to take a break and explore Put-in Creek by dinghy, we were surprised to find 2 new neighbors in the anchorage upon our return. That’s how we got to meet Bob and Marilyn on Peaceful Easy Feeling, a Beneteau 473 (one beautiful boat). We followed them back to Hampton on Sunday, but with their boat under full sail, they quickly disappeared over the horizon. We learned later that despite their record time down the Bay, we managed to take our slip at the Hampton Public Piers long before they made theirs in Salt Ponds. The full moon tide was lower than normal and they ran aground on a falling tide in the already shallow entrance. It wasn’t till 7:30pm before they could free themselves.

So, we settled in at the Hampton Public Piers and started working on a list of boat projects and trips that would fill our time while we waited for Marianna and Quicksilver to arrive from points north.

Boat Stuff

While in the East River, with the beautiful weather and the dinghy in the water, Dave used the time to clean the water line and wax the hull. We used lemon juice for the waterline, which was kinder to the environment and to our bottom paint and seemed almost as effective as the more caustic alternative. Cathy spent her time on the upper deck, polishing the rest of the stainless steel and waxing the foreward part of the upper deck that is normally blocked by the dinghy. The main reason for launching the dinghy was to allow Dave to check out his fuel line fix on the outboard (which worked well) and to run the gas out of the dinghy, since it doesn’t age well.

Once we arrived in Hampton, the list of projects grew. Cathy took advantage of several days of good weather and time on the dock to strip and re-Cetol the cockpit seats and the toe rails with Cetol Natural Teak, so that they will match the swim platform and the port caprail. The several days effort paid dividends in a beautiful new finish. Before re-mounting the dinghy, we covered the newly-refinished toe-rails with foam pipe insulation to keep the rails looking good.

In the meantime, Dave worked out a way to implement a temporary solution to our fuel blockage that would keep us running if it happened again. He purchased some fuel line that could attach to the Racor filters and run into a 5 gallon diesel jug. This would keep Orion going for almost 10 hours in an emergency.

Taking Time Out

One of the main reasons we wanted to get back to Hampton was to spend Halloween with the grandkids at the Virginia Air and Space Center. However, we had difficulty finding a slip for the weekend until the very last minute. So, instead we went to visit the grandkids in Richmond and Jarratt on Halloween weekend. It was amazing how much they change in just a few weeks, especially the littlest ones.

Of course, being back in Hampton meant we could go back to the Community Center for swimming, visit with our friends at Joy’s Marina and enjoy the downtown happenings, such as a Halloween party with a great band and lots of interesting costumes. Also, with all the boats in and out of the Public Piers heading south, we enjoyed time with some new friends, such as Scott and Lisa on Messenger, who were taking their first trip south. We helped point out some of the things to look for and some to avoid as they made the journey.

As our friends get closer, we are keeping busy, but looking forward to getting back together for the trip south. Hopefully, our next update will have us on our way.

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Early October - Working Hard

10/17/2010

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Dave and Noah work on a cage to hold oysters at a friends dock.

We spent the first half of October on the dock in Broad Creek, off the Magothy River, north of Annapolis, visiting some more with Gail and George of Quicksilver, who were preparing their boat to take a trip south this winter, after a 4 year hiatus. We had originally planned to leave for Annapolis shortly after returning from Rochester and Reston. After talking through all the boat projects needed onGeorge and Gail’s boat, we offered to stay longer to help them. A little over 2 weeks later, we were ready to head south again.

Quicksilver’s Projects

It took over 2 weeks of work, but Dave and George managed to finish almost all of the items on the laundry list needed to get Quicksilver ready to go. This included some significant items, such as completely replacing the AC wiring, grounding the DC circuit, installing fuses, re-plumbing the fuel line, mounting new bow and stern lights, and installing new LED cabin lights. There were some agonizing moments -- such as when the ignition switch failed and the engine wouldn’t start or when the watermaker wouldn’t work – that made it feel like the list was getting longer instead of shorter. However, by the end of stay, all major work was done and the systems were all working.

George was feeling pretty good about leaving for a planned weeklong vacation, as our stay with them came to an end, much more confident that Quicksilver would be ready to cast off shortly after their return.

Solar panels before moving to their new home

Up on the Rooftop

the past 2 ½ years, we had been tying down our 4 flexible solar panels in their “temporary” location on the foredeck and on top of the dinghy. This didn’t look the best and frequently got in the way of launching the dinghy, opening hatches and just moving about on deck. So, with the extended time at George and Gail’s dock and the access to George’s Sailrite sewing machine, we decided to work on the more permanent solution to securing these panels. We had always wanted them on top of the bimini. This would put them out of the way and give them maximum, shadow-free exposure to the sun. The question was: how to do it? We talked through the options and what Cathy was able to execute with the supplies and sewing skills she had. The solution chosen was to attach straps with Velcro hook to the solar panels and Velcro loop strips onto the bimini. While the bimini was off the boat, Cathy also re-stitched some worn seams and added a new “channel” to allow the solar panel wires to run back through the cockpit to the companionway, but still out of the way of our movement in the cockpit.

Solar panels installed on the bimini

With the modifications made, we re-mounted the bimini, attached the solar panels, and then Dave re-wired the panel connections to make them more permanent and to allow each panel to be removed individually, if it became necessary. The new configuration looked good, much neater than before, and we kept our fingers crossed for them to stay put in high winds. We didn’t have to wait long for the test.

The night after putting the panels in place, a classic Chesapeake thunderstorm moved through as a cold front approached. Holding nothing back, the wind began to toss Orion around, shortly after the rain began to fall. Cathy threw on her raincoat and scurried up on deck to see what had happened to the solar panels. Not good news. The starboard pair had slipped off and were hanging over the lifelines, secured only by a cable tie. She grabbed them and called for Dave to help bring them down to weather the storm.

Given all the work to sew all the straps and Velcro, Cathy was at a loss to suggest a fix for the problem. After some more thought, Dave decided that we needed to help secure them with some line. He tied them down to the bimini supports and we’ve had no problems since. Let’s hope they stay put from now on.

Bimini under repair

One side effect of getting such a close look at the bimini for this project was a re-examination of the rest of the enclosure. Sure enough, although a cursory glance revealed no problems, it didn’t take much more than picking at the stitches with a finger nail to see that they were close to failure. Three years of constant exposure to the sun had taken their inevitable toll. So, Cathy took each of the 13 panels off and re-stitched them as well. Presumably, they’re good for another season or two.

New 1200W inverter

Powering Up - Again

As we left the Bahamas at the end of March, our inverter failed, causing us to return it for a replacement under warranty. We were treated very well by the company, whose representatives ended up sending us 2 different inverters, although both were not exactly what we needed. So, we sold these and replaced them with a new 1200W inverter from Vector. However, it wasn’t going to be as simple as disconnecting the old inverter and connecting the new one. Since the new unit’s dimensions differed from the one it replaced, Dave needed to find a new board to mount it on and seal the wood before mounting it on the engine room wall. A bigger deal was the fact that the connections were different, so the original wires had to be replaced with new ones. Given the heavy wire, Dave needed to get some help crimping on the connections required. He was finally able to get help with this from Steven’s Battery Warehouse while we were in Pasadena.

So, we had the unit mounted and the wires with the right connectors. It should be a simple install, right? Well, maybe not.

As Dave was connecting the last of the wires, which happened to be the ground, the post on the inverter broke. To say he was upset would be an understatement. After opening up the back of the inverter to see how the ground post was connected, it appeared a relative easy fix. The grounding wire inside had a ring terminal that could simply be attached to the right size bolt. So, we found one in our supplies, along with the necessary nuts and washers, turning what appeared to be a disaster into a relatively easy fix. Dave powered the unit up, we plugged in a light and – Voila – it worked.

So, we won’t have to go without ice and blended drinks this winter. Isn’t that great?

Other Boat Stuff
-          In the process of working with George on Quicksilver, Dave helped to add fuses to the battery connections, per a recommendation in his survey. In thinking this through with George, he decided it was a good idea to do the same on Orion. So he ordered some fuse holders and inserted them in all the positive wires leading from the battery.

-          Cathy took advantage of the cooler weather and some sunny days to refresh the Cetol on the port caprail and the swim platform.

-          Dave once again sealed the cracks in the box that houses the generator.

-          Piggybacking on another recommendation from George, we got two of our fire extinguishers inspected and tagged to reflect this.

The Sailboat Show is not just for sailors

Annapolis Boat Show

After having skipped last year’s Boat Show, we were looking forward to checking it out again this year. We had a new list of things we were looking for, but nothing major. One item that was not on our list was a sea drogue. (This is something like a parachute that you drag behind the boat in heavy seas to keep the bow into the waves.) However, we stumbled across a vendor selling one for an incredible price. There were two versions: one with a point of attachment for a float and one without. We decided to buy the one without the attachment point. Cathy later sewed some webbing onto the drogue to enable a float to be added before it would be deployed. Now, let’s hope we never use it.

Susan checking out VHF radios

Susan from Daisy Sue stopped by on her way north to join us for the Boat Show. She found a few things for her boat, including the lettering for her new name.

At Point Lookout

Birthday Girl
We had planned to move Orion south to Solomons the weekend of Cathy’s birthday. However, the weather gods didn’t cooperate. Since we still wanted to visit Don and Cindy and the kids, we rented a car and drove south. We had a wonderful visit with them, enjoying a fall picnic and bonfire, pumpkin picking and a walk on the beach at Point Lookout on a beautiful fall weekend. It was a great way to spend a birthday.

Now, we just need to bring Orion back this way.

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September - Hampton to the Magothy

9/30/2010

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We’re drying out from over 24 hours of solid rain, as Orion sits in Broad Creek off the Magothy River north of Annapolis. The waters finally receded, causing the docks to appear again. We moved here after a trip north that made stops in Deltaville, Solomons (briefly) and Annapolis. We will likely stay here through the Boat Show weekend, October 8 – 11.

Deltaville - Again

The rain came as forecast , but we cast off the docklines anyway, heading north to Deltaville and leaving Hampton behind for the season. Our stay had ended with a bang, literally, as the Bay Days fireworks lit up the sky the night before in a spectacular display that most agreed was the best ever. Hampton wanted to do it right for their 400th birthday. The passing warm front that had brought the rain was kicking up the waves as we passed the mouth of the Bay, but as we rounded Old Point Comfort, we were able to silence the engine, pull out the headsail and ride the southerly winds all the way to Deltaville. Although it was a Sunday, we were almost alone on the water, the normal weekend traffic kept on the dock by the dreary weather and the first of the cool temperatures that had finally broken the summer’s withering heat. By mid-afternoon, we were on the service dock in Deltaville.

We had come to Deltaville a couple of weeks earlier to have the engine checked out by our Yanmar mechanic. There were no pressing problems, but Dave likes to have it looked over once a year to help keep it that way. Jon had checked the engine on that trip, made some recommendations and put in a parts order. Since we had to leave early due to the arrival of Earl, and since we wanted to be back in Hampton for Bay Days, we deferred the engine work until this return trip.

With only a little engine maintenance planned, it was likely to be a short stay, so we had our time scheduled tightly. Cathy wanted to do laundry, make a grocery run, check out the farmer’s market where we had bought sweet potatoes last year that lasted us through to Spring, and we needed to go by the bank. Soon after we docked, Cathy went to do laundry, where she saw John, from The Suzanne, who was back in the yard getting his trawler ready to launch again, after taking a year off for medical reasons. Another couple, Rod and Carol, who were traveling the ICW for the first time in a Sea Ray, were also there, and we agreed to meet again over supper in the screen room. Over a supper of spaghetti and freshly caught crabs (John’s thank you for Cathy folding his laundry), we discussed travels on the ICW, the good points and bad points, as we compared notes between a sailboat, a trawler and a Sea Ray. The biggest difference was, of course, the speed of travel. We would have to leave before dawn and plan our day carefully to reach a destination by a reasonable hour, when the folks on the Sea Ray could get up, have a leisurely breakfast, take off and be tied up long before we arrived. Also, the two of us long-time cruisers had more options for staying at anchor or “off the grid”, than our friends on the Sea Ray. Same waterway, different experiences.

The next morning, we had an early visit from Keith, the boatyard owner. Apparently, the dock we were tied to was scheduled to be demolished that day in preparation for the installation of a new 70 ton Travel Lift. (We thought it looked a little too empty.) We had to move to a slip in the marina. Since we needed the engine to be cold for some of the work to be done, we ran the engine as little as possible, only 6 minutes, to keep the temperature down. Once we were settled in our new slip, Cathy went to get the courtesy car to run some errands, while the Yanmar mechanic, Jon, arrived on the boat to work on the engine.

We had a small oil leak that Jon thought might be caused by a loose oil dip stick or valve covers. He replaced the valve covers, and while they were off checked the valves to see if they needed adjusting. They didn’t. He also replaced the alternator and raw water belts. Dave had delayed his normal fuel filter change to allow Jon to check the fuel in the Racor filter bowl. The Racor was doing its job, since there a little darker fuel in the bottom of the bowl which Jon drained out in the process of changing the filter. He also changed the on-engine filter, which looked good. He supplied us with a new oil and transmission oil dipstick, which we were hopeful would take care of the leak.

Neil installs grease fittings in the rudder tube.

Speaking of leaks . . .

What about that rudder leak? We get asked this frequently as we see people again who last saw us as we were trying to deal with the problem last year. The rudder has continued to leak intermittently over the last year. In discussions with Beneteau, they sent us a couple of parts that they were proposing as an alternative solution, which would require the boat to be hauled to install. We weren’t enthusiastic about doing this, but we wanted to get a more expert opinion. We sat down with Matt and Keith for a discussion of our alternatives.

Since the water coming in is no more than nuisance levels, and since Dave installed the automatic bilge pump in March, we no longer have to bail the water more than once a day at the end of a run. So, one possibility that was suggested was doing nothing. We also considered installing the part from Beneteau, but this was going to be an expensive proposition (haul out, drop the rudder, install the part and re-install the rudder) with little confidence among those of us in the room that it would have a high probability of success. An intermediate alternative that would involve a small investment, but might have a better chance of success, was to install 2 grease fittings in the tube surrounding the rudder post, and fill the cavity with white lithium grease. It would be an easy installation, and it would provide another barrier to the water coming up the through the tube into the boat.

The day after our meeting, Neil was on board, installing the grease fittings with some 5200. Early the next morning, he pumped in the grease, and we were set. (He came early enough that we could make the trip to Solomons and get in at a reasonable time. That was very nice of him.) As with all repairs, only time would tell whether it would make a difference.

Sew, what’s new?

With all the heat this summer, we were trying to keep the cabin as cool as possible, by covering any hatch or portlight that didn’t already have a curtain. There are only 3 of these, but by far the most significant uncovered opening was the companionway. The clear lexan is great for letting light in the boat, but when the boat is closed up and the sun is beating down, it starts to act like a greenhouse. So, we decided to make a simple Sunbrella cover that we could put in place when we leave the boat to block the sun and keep the temperatures down. Using the large scrap we acquired last year, Cathy sewed 2 pieces together with a sleeve on either end. The sleeves were designed to hold a weight that would keep the cover in place.

Once it was stitiched, we took a trip to the hardware store to find a suitable weight. We decided on a yardstick for the bottom and a piece of ¾” PVC for the top. The PVC would allow us to tie it down, if it looked too windy. When not in use, the cover rolls up neatly around the PVC for storage. Of course, by the time Cathy finished it, the hot days were mostly behind us. Maybe it will get more use next summer.

Other Boat stuff

Our oven door had two popped rivets on the bottom that were causing the gasket to fall out of place and were putting pressure on the remaining intact rivets. So we bought a rivet gun and some stainless steel rivets to repair it. After drilling out the old rivets, we installed the new ones with little trouble. Cathy used the opportunity to clean the inside and outside of the glass and the gasket, which were getting pretty dirty. Who knew you could actually see through the glass?

Dave ordered a new fuel cock for the dinghy outboard, having discovered the existing one was frozen. Once installed, he restored the fuel line to its original path, which should ensure the fuel flows in the open position and stops in the closed position. Pretty basic, right? Of course, this is something else we need to actually test once the dinghy is back in the water.

Our LED 40-light strips were having some problems, but Mastlight stood behind them, sending us a replacement (and a spare, just in case). One of the Wal-mart fixtures we had installed had a faulty switch as well. So, Dave bought a couple more fixtures and completely replaced the 2 that are mounted in the Main Saloon, leaving us now with 2 spare fixtures which we haven’t decided yet how to deploy.

Hurricane Earl’s close call had motivated some of our neighbors to think about acquiring heavier dock lines for use in high winds. Before leaving Hampton, Dave helped Sue on Daisy Sue splice loops into the ends of her lines to make them easier to deploy when the next storm arrived.

Bay Days

We deliberately delayed our departure from Hampton (a record 4 month stay) to allow us to stay for the Bay Days festival the weekend after Labor Day. We had heard lots of stories about this festival, but had always had to miss it before. It takes place in downtown Hampton, with a slightly different footprint than the Pirate Festival. In addition to the usual craft and food vendors, there were many more performing venues than at the Pirate Festival, and a central area for organizations that help protect the Chesapeake Bay. We made the rounds of the exhibits on Friday and Saturday, but as the crowds swelled in the afternoon and evening, we were merely watching from afar. The Hampton River was more crowded than we had ever seen it, with boats anchored and rafted together everywhere.

After enjoying a picnic on the dock with our friends at Joy’s Marina, we settled onto a dock box to watch a spectacular fireworks display, some of which was launched from the nearby bridge. It was awesome.

On the Road Again

Part of the reason we were moving Orion north was to make it easier to do some road trips. We had made later than usual appointments with doctor, dentist and financial planners, which had us traveling north to Rochester, back through Bethlehem PA and back to Northern Virginia, all during the last week of September. So, we got to spend time with Dave’s parents and his sisters, along with a brief visit with some of Cathy’s former colleagues and our neighbor in Reston. It was a busy week, but we enjoyed the time together, which is always too short.

Our travels were made possible by the hospitality of our friends Gail and George, who let us put Orion on their dock while we traveled. As they scramble to get their own boat, Quicksilver, ready for a 2nd trip south this winter, we decided to stay a little longer and help as much as we could with some of their projects. This decision was not without its own rewards, which included a visit with Bev and Larry from Chandele, who had almost all of us for dinner one night soon after we returned from up north. (It was almost all of us because Dave was unable to go, since he was entangled in a 9-hour chat session with Norton in an attempt to correct a problem introduced by trying to uninstall their product in preparation for an upgrade.)

Buying Frenzy

And so it begins. Groceries, spare parts, oil filters, fuel filters, extra supplies, and on and on. We get ready to go south, and we start stocking up on everything, while it’s easier to get. Some we bought locally, at places like Bayshore, Fawcetts, Annapolis Yacht Sales, Sam’s Club, even a Blockbuster that was going out of business. The rest we bought on-line. Of course, since we are moving from place to place, we ended up having the on-line purchases delivered to addresses all over the eastern seaboard. New York, Maryland, Northern Virginia, Southern Virginia. The boat starts filling up and the waterline starts going down. Every year, we try to scale back, but then stuff starts piling up everywhere.

Aahh. The boating life.

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Late August - Moving Again

8/31/2010

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Boat under sail in Fishing Bay

We finally threw off the docklines for more than a short sail, and headed up to Deltaville for some boat work. Unfortunately, Hurricane Earl was on the move as well, and he interrupted our plans a bit, which turned out to be his only effect on us. We’re not done with Hampton yet, but our time remaining is getting short.

Calm times in Deltaville before Earl

EARL-y Out

We had been watching the tropical storms start forming one after another off Africa and knew it was only a matter of time before we had to deal with one coming close to us. Danielle was the first threat, but she decided to stay well offshore. But Earl was starting to look suspicious. The boatyard began to buzz with discussions about the storm. Was it a threat or not?

Orion was docked in the boatyard’s service slip next to the TravelLift. As Tuesday morning arrived, we awoke to the sound of the crane moving and began to watch a procession of boats being hauled and transported into the yard. Needless to say, this got our attention. Dave went off to consult with other cruisers and the boatyard about alternatives for weathering the storm, while Cathy made preparations on the boat. The remaining enclosure panels would need to come down. Before doing so, Cathy cleaned and polished them. If we were going to be at anchor for several days, we would need some more groceries and would need to do laundry. We also needed gas for the generator and the dinghy.

When Dave returned, he had our options laid out. Larry on The Dove, Larry and Lynn on Two Morrows, and Michael on Wind in the Willows were on the hard in the boatyard, and had various experiences to share, having weathered storms nearby before.   The boatyard management also had their experience and recommendations.

It boiled down to this. We could haul the boat, stay where we were, or move to find hurricane protection.

We didn’t think staying put had much appeal. Any storm surge would put our dock well under water. Getting hauled would be the safest alternative, but we knew that once we came out, we wouldn’t go back in for a couple of months. To hedge our bets, Dave had already placed our name on the haulout list. We could take it off if wanted, but it was already too late to choose to add it. Once hauled, we would need to shift our attention to take advantage of time on the hard, doing boat projects that can only be done with the boat out of the water. Having been hauled each of the last 2 years though, we were really hoping to skip the haul-out this year. That left moving to a safer place. In our discussions over the last 2 days, a local hurricane hole kept coming up – Wilton Creek. It is about 10 miles further up the Piankatank from Jackson Creek, where Deltaville Boatyard is located. Dave looked it up on a chart and plotted a route there. It looked like there would be plenty of protection and enough room to anchor comfortably, as long as not too many other boats had the same idea.

But what about the storm? How bad was it going to be? We kept watching the updates from NOAA and the weather channel. It was hard to tell what surge there would be, but the winds did not seem too bad. At worst, gusting to 45 knots. We felt we could weather that easily in a protected anchorage. So, we finally decided that we would take our chances in the water, and move to Wilton Creek. To ensure we still had options if we got there and didn’t like it, we decided to head over Tuesday afternoon. If we liked it, we would simply stay through the storm. By 3:30pm, the laundry was done, and Dave was back from running some errands in town and getting gas. We were ready to head out. With no wind to sail to, we simply motored our way up the Piankatank, following its twists and turns until we neared the Rt 3 bridge, where we hung a right to follow the stakes marking the entrance to Wilton Creek.

The lone anchored boat in Wilton Creek

At the second bend, we saw the first and only boat anchored in the creek. As the creek opened up toward the north, there were high banks, topped with tall trees surrounding us on all sides. We chose a spot to anchor around the 2nd bend in 7-8 feet of water at low tide. The anchor set well, and we had 2 days for it to dig in well before the storm. We would spend Wednesday continuing our preparations for the storm. Cathy stowed the enclosure, while Dave got the generator going for the first time in 5 months. We launched the dinghy, with plans to explore the creek, as well as making sure it was available in the unlikely event we needed to get off the boat. However, the dinghy motor didn’t start as easily as the generator. The gas that was sitting in it from the Bahamas did not age well, even though it was ethanol free. We needed to empty the tank and then get new gas. But in our haste to leave, we didn’t have enough gas to mix a fresh batch for the dinghy motor.

Andy visits us from shore

We were in luck however. We had been anchored only an hour or so before we met Helen and Andy, who were checking out the creek from their home on the Piankatank. They were assessing whether they needed to move their sailboat back into the protection of Wilton Creek. We chatted about the prospects for the storm, and agreed to check in the next day. We offered to help them move their boat, and they offered to help us if we needed anything. When they arrived the next day, they agreed to fill our gas tank for the dinghy. Dave proceeded to drain the dinghy motor and fill it with the new gas. However, he still wasn’t in the clear, since he discovered the fuel cut-off was stuck in the closed position. Luckily, he had had an outlet added to enable connection to an external fuel tank. He used this connection and managed to re-plumb the fuel line. With that change, the dinghy motor started up and stayed running. We were in business.

Helen and Andy's home on the Piankatank

We used the dinghy to visit Helen and Andy to thank them for their help. Their home on the Piankatank had a beautiful view of the river. As we returned to the boat, we met the first of a few anchored neighbors. Hampton Rose had arrived after a trip up from Little Creek, near Virginia Beach. They were to be joined the next day, Thursday, by 5 more boats. Meanwhile the owners of the boats docked nearby were busy adding lines. Dave dinghyed over to help attach the lines to the outer pilings. He even tried to help deploy an anchor for a trawler, but the weight of the anchor and chain overwhelmed our little dinghy. As a way of saying thanks, we were invited to the dock for a pre-storm party, and got to meet many of the boat owners who lived in the complex nearby, as well as some of our anchored neighbors.

Boats anchoring Wilton Creek

After such a big hype, though, Earl was a bit of a letdown. He brought some much-needed rain, along with wind and cooler temperatures that were a relief from the sweltering heat of the days preceding. But there was no surge, and the winds barely exceeded 10 knots. We used the rainwater to help clean the deck, which was the least cluttered it had been in a year. By early afternoon, the rain had stopped and the sun began to appear. We stayed in the creek until mid-day on Saturday, using the time to put Orion back together and to take some time to explore the creek by dinghy. Overall, we were glad we had dodged this bullet.

SPOT Personal Tracker

Spotting Orion

We have added a new capability for tracking Orion’s movements, with our recent purchase of a SPOT Personal Tracker device. It communicates our position via satellite. We can either choose to manually send our position at regular intervals or have it automatically send a position. We are currently manually sending the position every time we do a log entry, which is once an hour while we are underway. We have configured our website to show these position updates on a new Location page. It makes it easier for family and friends to understand where we are, especially in our more remote travels.

The device also has a “Help” and a “911” feature. If we press the “Help” button, an e-mail with our position will be sent to our emergency contacts. If we press the “911” button, the Spot Control Center will be notified. They will attempt to verify the call by contacting our emergency contacts, and then activate the emergency response unit applicable to our location, normally the Coast Guard. We hope to never need this feature, but it is good to have more redundancy for distress calls in the event of an emergency.

New cockpit pocket for the SPOT

Boat Stuff

-          Despite our early departure from Deltaville, Cathy was able to use her time there to make another pocket to house our new Spot device in the cockpit.

-          We were disappointed when on our first trip up the Bay, we turned on our AIS only to find out we were receiving no signals. Once we arrived in Deltaville, Dave discovered the problem was simply a loose wire that he had forgotten to permanently attach. Once he secured the wire, the signals started appearing again.

-          After a brief trip out on Orion before leaving for Deltaville, we discovered that the growth on Orion’s bottom and running gear were affecting her performance, losing us up to a knot of speed. We had a diver come to clean the bottom and change the zinc before we left, which should be good enough to keep her running through October.

Sue and crew aboard Daisy Sue

Daisy Sue sets sail

We have been helping our friend, Sue, get her boat ready to take out of the slip under its own power. This involved getting her engine impeller changed, and getting the safety systems and gear ready to pass inspection. Her navigation lights needed work, some of which was just cleaning corroded connections. A more significant project was wiring her steaming light, which was mounted, but had not been connected to a power source. We helped her climb the mast for the first time to check the bulb, and then Dave helped her trace the wiring back to the panel and re-connect it to a breaker. With just minutes to spare before the Coast Guard Auxillary inspector arrived, she completed the repairs, passed the inspection and received her sticker. A few days later, we joined her as she took Daisy Sue out for the first time on a sail, marking a milestone for both Sue and the boat.

Bonnie and Troy by cave exhibit at VLM

Family and Friends

We were treated to one more visit from our daughter’s family, when they came to see the Virginia Living Museum and take a fishing trip out on the bay, before school began again. There were 2 more dock parties as well, celebrating summer’s end and our neighbor’s 60th birthday. .

Woody's 60th birthday party

We plan to stay in Hampton for the big Bay Days festival this weekend, and then move on north, as we start the final preparations for the trip south in October.

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Late July / Early August - Lazy Days

8/15/2010

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This summer’s heat wave has encouraged us to look for projects and diversions that take us out of the soaring temperatures and into cooler climes. We’ve made more trips to see family and helped out friends in Hampton as well, but managed to find some time to address some projects on Orion – like that troublesome air conditioning.

Keeping Cool

After discussing our A/C problems with an expert in Cruisair systems that we trust, we focused in on two likely problem areas: the SMX II Control panel and the internal circuit board in the unit. The SMX II control panel had not worked to allow us to change the temperature or even change from cooling to heating mode for over 2 years. We had no reason to know which of the two was the problem, so Dave searched for a way to isolate it. He found the solution at a place called Flight Systems, Inc. They offered the service of checking out both of the panels and repairing one or both for a reasonable fee. If either had no problems, there would be no charge. So we carefully removed both boards, packaged them up and sent them off. In less than a week, they were returned. The only one with problems was the control panel. Once re-installed, it worked as it had originally: displaying the cabin temperature and the cooling target temperature, allowing us to change the target and switch from cooling to heating mode.

So, we were feeling pretty proud of ourselves that we had the problem solved, when late one evening it stopped working abruptly with a before-unseen error message on the control panel. The message indicated a high pressure condition existed, which could be related to restricted water flow. We cleaned out the strainer, allowing the system to start working again. It stayed working all the next day. The next night, however, Cathy woke up wondering why the cabin seemed so hot, only to discover the AC had turned off again. After checking the strainer, it was becoming obvious that this wasn’t what was limiting the water flow. The next morning we tried flushing the system with fresh water, but we still couldn’t get it to restart.

More consultations led Dave to believe the problem lay with our pump. A neighbor on the dock had a used Cruisair pump that we could borrow to get our system re-started and confirm the pump to be the root of the problem. The pump enabled the AC to start again (leading to rejoicing among the crew), and a new one was promptly ordered. We chose a March pump, ordered from Tri-State pumps, which arrived shortly after. It was quickly installed and is working great, but has not yet been time tested.

We remain optimistic that this will solve the problem once and for all, although we’ve been fooled before.

A new AC outlet made it easier to run our icemaker.

It’s Electric

Our air conditioning woes had caused us to borrow window units more than once for several days at a time. This and the daily use of the ice maker caused a spider’s web of cords through the cabin, which we decided to solve by installing a new AC GFI outlet under the nav station. Following the path of existing wires, Dave connected the outlet to the existing AC breaker, a short run from the location of the outlet. Since we keep the ice machine under the nav station, the cord was now neatly out of the way.

The burned out shore power cord

Dave finished his electrical exercises by installing a new end to the power cord damaged earlier in the summer.

SignaLink Device

Staying in Touch

Dave has been staying in touch with a project, called WINMOR, that will provide e-mail capability through the Ham radio, using software to perform the function that the very pricey Pactor modem has traditionally provided. The software is in Beta test, meaning it has advanced to the point that it is ready to give it a try. Dave confirmed that he needed some hardware to make it work. This included a 6-pin data cable for the Ham radio that would connect to a SignaLink USB device to interpret the sound signals from the radio and communicate them to the PC software and vice versa. (The cost of this equipment is about one-tenth that of a solution using a Pactor modem, but will be slightly slower.)

With the device in place, Dave was able to make a connection, but so far hasn't successfully sent an e-mail. He thinks he's close though. More to come on this.

When it is working, we plan to use this capability to receive weather GRIB files while underway or in remote areas and to send e-mail status/travel updates to our family as well.

Other Boat Stuff

Cathy spent her time on sewing projects (re-stitching another failing anchor bag), updating the boat inventory and ordering supplies for the fall. Dave repaired our dinghy bridle (used to haul the dinghy out of the water), replacing its rusted hardware with some made of stainless steel.

Troy making faces in the mirror

Work and Play

From drywall installation at our daughter’s house, to running cables at Steve’s house, to oil changes and engine maintenance on Sue’s boat, we manage to keep busy while getting to visit family and friends. Our grandson, Jayden, celebrated his 4th birthday as July came to a close. We joined the family in Richmond to celebrate, and followed this with a trip to take Droz and Jayden to NC to visit with Cathy’s family.

Jayden's birthday party

We enjoyed visits from our children and grandchildren as we explored some new and some familiar sites in the area. We visited the Portsmouth Children’s Museum with Bonnie’s family one Sunday in July. Droz came to visit for a week on the boat. While there we took in the Virginia Living Museum, and made a return trip to the nearby Virginia Air and Space Center. As the week ended, Adam and his family came to visit for the day.

In getting around Hampton without a car (most of the time), we’ve made much more use of the bus system, making our way to the mall, to Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and even to the local Red Cross chapter, where we taught 3 First Aid / CPR courses over the course of a week. It’s pretty convenient.

Travel Plans

We have made plans to visit Deltaville as August ends, followed by some trips to northern Va and Rochester in September. We plan to move Orion north into the bay after the local Bay Days festival the 2nd weekend in September. Maybe we’ll see some of you when we do.

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Late June / Early July - Hampton is Hot!

7/15/2010

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Hampton turned 400 years old on July 9th, with a combined birthday celebration and Pirate Festival weekend bringing in its 5th century in style. Unfortunately, we have another reason to remember that date, since it was the day our air conditioning stopped working. The daily high temperatures have rarely been below 95 since.

Replacement Garmin GPS 17X mounted on the deck

Fixing Our Position

We finally received our replacement GPS unit to tie into the Garmin 5208 chartplotter. Garmin had made some engineering changes, so the replacement unit had a different mounting footprint from the original. The screw holes didn’t line up exactly and the opening for the cable needed to be expanded. As a result, we needed to fill the screw holes with epoxy and then drill out new holes. Once this was done, we mounted the GPS, and re-ran the cables to the engine room, where they connected to the chartplotter. Dave installed a new box to house the connections, making them much neater and more protected.

New Junction Box

The result was encouraging. The chartplotter showed our position without any of the error messages we had been receiving in May. AIS and radar continued to work, and the position showed as before on our Raymarine instruments and VHF radio. At this point, we can only keep our fingers crossed that our problems with the unit are behind us. We look forward to using the new AIS capability on our next trip out into the Bay.

As a little compensation for the difficulties with the many chartplotters, Garmin sent Dave a complimentary copy of its Homeport route planning software. He has used it to create, organize and load routes to the chartplotter, a process which requires many fewer steps than with Mapsource, its predecessor. As with any change, there are features that take some getting used to, but Dave believes this will become the new primary source for all of his routes and waypoints

Damaged shore power inlet

Shore Power

For the 2nd time in a couple of years, we had to replace our shore power inlet, when one of the prongs showed signs that too much heat had charred the surface around it. Having done this before, Dave was able to make the switch much faster this time, after receiving the replacement parts.

A new neighbor joins us on Orion.

Moving In

It started innocently enough. We got a call from Archie, the owner of Joy’s Marina, asking if we could help someone move their boat from a nearby marina over to a slip at Joy’s. It was a sailboat, and the owner was new to the boat and new to sailing. So, having us on board might make it easier to move the boat. When we arrived at the boat, slightly ahead of Sue, the new owner, we started to study the project in front of us. We knew a lot about Orion. But there are so many things we take for granted on our boat that we needed to understand on someone else’s. When Sue arrived, she was able to give us some clues, but she admitted there was a lot she didn’t know. So, we called the previous owner. The picture gradually began to take shape. The boat had sat in its slip without moving for years. The engine had been started successfully recently, but not to move the boat. Oh, and by the way, the channel into the marina would have just barely enough water for us to leave as we headed toward a new moon low tide. With the water falling, we tried to get underway quickly, but discovered that there was no water coming out of the engine’s raw water output. After ensuring the raw water intake was open, that left the likely prospect that the impeller needed replacing. Taking her out of the slip under her own power wouldn’t work. Archie then offered to tow her. He and Dave went to launch his boat while Cathy and Sue continued to ready the boat.

Meanwhile, time is ticking and the water is still falling.

Before too long, Dave and Archie returned. We attached a tow line and cast off the dock lines. We steered toward the curve in the channel, using a quirky depth sounder and the instructions from the previous owner about how to find the deepest water. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work. We were quickly aground. After some maneuvering, Archie managed to get her off and the rest of the trip to Joy’s Marina was uneventful. Since then, we have helped Sue with some ideas about how to get her boat moving again and build her confidence along the way. We helped her move some of her things out of her apartment one day, and took her for a ride on Bay Dreamer and Orion. Although the sailing wasn’t great on either trip, she’s getting a little more experience in the other aspects of boating – such as navigation, docking, and, oh yes, evading storms.

Droz and dad put in some family time

More Family Time

We spent much of the past month with family, which limited work time on Orion. We helped our son’s family move from Emporia to Richmond and returned to visit them on July 4th, when Dave’s parents and sister had arrived from points north for a visit. Our grandson, Droz, came to visit us for the week leading up to the Pirate Festival, which gave us time to enjoy his company.

While Droz was with us, we did some sightseeing around Hampton Roads. One day, we took a trip to nearby Buckroe Beach with Krista and her boys. Another day, we took a bus trip to Norfolk, rode the ferry to Portsmouth and back and then took in Nauticus, a Maritime Museum, with lots of hands-on exhibits and the Battleship Wisconsin docked next door. It was a big hit.

Keeping our cool

So, how are we managing without A/C? We did OK for a few days, swimming when we could during the day and catching as much breeze as we could down below. However, it just wasn’t enough, since the humidity alone was enough to do us in. Put together with the soaring temperatures, and we knew we weren’t going to last much longer. However, we were once again saved by the kindness of friends as we took the loan of two different portable A/C units. These have made all the difference. And we are hopeful Orion’s unit will be fixed soon.

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Early June - Back to Hampton

6/15/2010

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Dave takes little Troy on a carousel ride

We're spending more time in Hampton, but the roads between here and Emporia are becoming very familiar as we travel back and forth to see the grandkids.

Garmin 5208 – The Saga Continues

We received our chartplotter back from Garmin and re-connected it as soon as we got back to the boat. We were excited to see the AIS now working, which was easy to verify in the busy Hampton Roads harbor. The SD card reader also was working as it should. However, we still have a minor problem with it. The GPS still isn’t working, so the unit has no idea where we are. To confirm the problem was now isolated to the GPS (which is a separate component from the chartplotter), Dave connected our little Garmin GPS 76 to the chartplotter. Sure enough, our position was displayed as expected. After relaying this finding to Garmin, they agreed to send a replacement GPS. Since this unit is mounted into the deck, we won’t remove the old one until the new one arrives.

Since we might need to use the GPS76 as a back-up in the future, Dave ran a more permanent wire from the chartplotter which can allow an easier connection. This enables us to take Orion out using the back-up GPS while we wait for the replacement GPS 17 to be installed.

On the Water

Although Orion’s been in Hampton over a month, we’ve spent very little time on her, with our travels back and forth to Emporia. So, when we finally got a chance to move her again, we decided to have her checked out by a diver. Her running gear was clear of barnacles, as were the thru-hulls, so a quick wipe-down and a zinc change got her ready to move. We were joined by our daughter, son-in-law and grandson for a fishing trip one afternoon. It was good to get Orion moving again, and we could try out our jury-rigged GPS installation. It wasn’t such a good day for fishing, although our son-in-law managed to catch about a dozen croakers, it wasn’t his best day.

We also got a chance to take a trip on Bay Dreamer one Saturday evening, as we made our way down the Elizabeth River to see the Norfolk Harborfest fireworks.

We are the Champions

Steve invited us to the championship game of the Poquoson Little League “minors”, on which Krista’s oldest, Jared, played outfield. The Mets beat the Diamondbacks winning the championship in what became a runaway game, 11 to 6. We joined the team for a celebration afterward, which included lots of ice cream and cake. That’s the best kind.

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