We set out for a marathon trip up the East Coast, which has come to an end as we arrived on New Year’s Eve back in Palm Coast.  The travel wasn’t too bad and the time with family made it worthwhile.  We even managed to work in a boat project on Orion, while we stopped by Hampton to check on her.  

Our itinerary for the holidays took us to Jarratt, VA to visit with our daugher’s family, then Richmond to celebrate Christmas with our son’s family.  We then took a right turn and headed east to Hampton to check on Orion and pick up our friend Sue for a trip north to Rochester, via Bethlehem PA, where we visited with Dave’s sister Diane.  After a few days in Rochester, we turned south on Christmas Day, arriving in Winston-Salem, NC the day after Christmas for a few days with Cathy’s family.  By New Year’s Eve, the celebrations had come to an end, and we were on our way back home.  Throughout our trip, It was almost comical as we became a slow version of UPS, picking up and dropping off packages, mail, and people from one location and delivering to a number of destinations along the ways.   As far as we know, everything made it where it was supposed to go.

One first for us was spending Christmas morning in the virtual world of our son’s living room, celebrating their Christmas morning with them in Richmond and us in Rochester via Skype and a webcam.  In a surreal twist, we had Dave’s sister from Bethlehem PA on another computer, making it a 3-way call.  It was a great way to bring the family together.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

Do I Smell Something Burning?

The call came about a week before we were due to head north for the holidays.  Sue, our friend who is watching over Orion back in Hampton,  smelled smoke and quickly unplugged her heater and disconnected from shore power.  When we arrived a week later, we were to meet a local marine electrician to have an official diagnosis.  However, Dave was quickly taking things apart and doing his own analysis.  It didn’t take long to see the core of the problem.  The wires leading into the GFI (a feature of Beneteau’s French wiring plan) showed damage from heat.  Dave had a simple solution in mind: bypass the damaged GFI in favor of a newer US-standard GFCI that Dave installed a couple of years earlier.

When the electrician arrived, he reviewed the damage and explained that, although our boat's wiring was in excellent condition for the boat’s age, it was still inevitable in a marine environment that time would increase the resistance in the original wires, causing them to perform below their rated capacity.  Since the load the wires could carry when new was so close to the fuse rating, any degradation could make them vulnerable to overheating when a heavy load, such as a space heater, was placed on them.  The solution was threefold:  1) upgrade the wiring capacity to exceed the fuse rating, 2) as Dave suggested, put the new GFCI first in line for the AC outlets to protect them, and 3) run any heater on a lower setting.

Dave agreed with the recommendation and arranged to have Don return and do the re-wiring on his next trip.  In the interim, Dave installed the heavier duty GFCI and we pulled the wires through the channel from the outlet to the back of the breaker panel.  With that done, the job to finish the re-wiring would be much easier.

About to get going again

With a little time to get things ready on Orion Jr, we plan to head out again shortly after the new year.  Our plan is to travel south to Stuart and then take a right turn through the Okeechobee Waterway to the West Coast.  We’ll keep you posted.

 

We spent the first 2 weeks of December making our way through Georgia and into northern Florida, putting into Palm Coast Marina in time to make the trip north for the holidays.  As we checked into the Waterway Net after arriving in Palm Coast, we heard Fred check in as well from Georgetown in the Exumas– just a little bit south of us and a new speed record for Marianna.  In our own way, we were making tracks as well and covering new ground, traveling 10 out of 12 days since leaving
Charleston. 

Georgia On My Mind

Avoid Georgia.  

For 5 years, we had managed to follow that advice. The large tides and shallow water at low tide on the ICW were good enough reason to avoid traveling through this state on our way south to Florida.  We had made small incursions north of the Florida-Georgia border – anchoring at CumberlandIsland and up the river to St. Mary’s– but never
traveled the ICW south of the Savannah River.  A quick hop outside from SC and we were in Florida. 
 
But not this year. With Orion Jr’s shallower draft we should have no trouble with even the lowest water in Georgia. And we weren’t really looking to do long offshore runs in the little boat.  Our friends on Les Miserables were not quite so carefree about Georgia’s shallower spots, but we
agreed to continue to lead the way and raise any alarms on shallow water.  
 
Once we left the Bull Creek anchorage south of Hilton Head, we had only a few miles to go before we crossed the Savannah River and the Georgia state line, which included a particularly shallow stretch. This certainly was causing some concern for our traveling companions on Les Miserables. 
However, the sun was warm and the tide was rising, so we had a pleasant, uneventful run through the skinny section and on south into Georgia.  The bridge opening at Causton Bluffs even went the smoothest of any opening we had done on the waterway, without our even touching the throttle to
adjust our speed.   Our destination for the night would be Isle of Hope Marina, in the suburbs of
Savannah. The marina’s proximity to Savannah put it close to the municipal bus route. So, on Saturday, we headed into the city to see the sights. 

Merry found a bike tour that turned out to be a great way to see the city’s historic district.  We met our guide at a shop not far from the center of town and were outfitted with bikes and helmets before heading out on our tour.   Savannah was laid out by James Oglethorpe, Georgia’s founder, on a grid with several “squares” or parks every few blocks.  As the city expanded the plan was followed, so that now it has dozens of squares, making for lots of greenspace and blocks and blocks of historic buildings.    As we rode around the
city, we took in our guide’s stories about the city’s past and its famous sons and daughters while enjoying a beautiful fall day. 

From Savannah south, the ICW winds through marshland, crossing sounds every few miles, making for a scenic trip over the hundred miles remaining in the Georgiaportion of the waterway.  We spent the next 2 nights at anchor,
first at Wahlberg Creek off St. Catherine’s Sound and then on the Frederica River.   Our first travel day started later, as we waited for a rising tide around 10am.  It was going to be a stretch to get as far as we wanted, but we were able to motorsail in the stiff northeast breeze, boosting our speed and compensating for the areas of opposing current.  We made Wahlberg Creek’ s north entrance by late afternoon, entering its deep northern entrance off St. Catherine’s sound.  We followed the creek south around the bend before dropping the hook. The northerly wind and cloudy skies had made for a chilly day, but the good news was that it kept the no-see-ums at bay for the night.  Next morning, we headed out again at first light to ensure a higher tide at the creek’s southern intersection with the ICW, which we passed without incident.  As the sun rose, the day warmed and the skies cleared.  With the current with us most of the day, we were going to reach the infamous Little Mud River ahead of schedule and at lower tide than our companions had hoped. However, once again we passed without problem.  With a favorable current and tide, we opted to head for the Frederica River to anchor beside Fort Frederica on St. Simon’s Island.  Twenty years ago or more, the ICW moved from the Frederica Riverto its neighbor, due to some changes in bridges over the 2 rivers.  Since the old waterway is no longer maintained, the charted depths were suspect. We found the northern entrance to be much shallower than charted, but the southern entrance was much more accurate. While anchored off Fort Frederica, Merry and Wiley rowed ashore to visit the fort.  They really enjoyed their time exploring the fort, learning how, if the Battle of Bloody Marsh had ended differently, we might all be speaking Spanish. Orion Jr’s crew had visited the fort a number of times from land.  And since the milder weather was like a siren call to the bugs, we retreated down below as soon as the sun began to set.

We left even earlier the next morning pulling anchor in the semi-darkness.  We wanted a rising tide to get through the southern intersection of the Frederica River and the ICW and through Jekyll Creek.  It was going to be a gamble.  When NOAA was calling for patchy fog, we were not sure how far we’d get.  We made our way down the river with the patches of fog only briefly limiting visibility enough to be very worried.  By the time we were back on the ICW and crossing the Brunswick inlet, the conditions were calm enough that we decided to turn left, passing out the inlet between St. Simon’s and Jekyll islands for the ocean, leaving the shallow water behind us for today.  Although there was little wind, the incoming swells over the ebbing current made for rough conditions in the inlet, but once we were out of the channel, the waters settled down and it was a pleasant trip to the St. Mary’s Inlet, which we cleared just ahead of a submarine enroute to Kings Bay.  Turning south at the inlet’s intersection with the ICW, we were officially in Florida.  So, we can’t say that we did all of Georgia, but we saw most of it from the ICW, a first for the crew of Orion Jr.  

Putting In for the Holidays

Once we put into Fernandina, Les Miserables was only 1 travel day away from their destination on the Ortega River at Jacksonville.  They had travel plans from the Jacksonville airport on the 15th, but had a comfortable 8 days to get there.  We had more distance to cover to Palm Coast, which would take us 3 travel days.  So, we spent a day in Fernandina, saying goodbye to Merry and Wiley and then weathering a cold front that blew the balmy weather into memory.  After looking at the long range forecast early Thursday morning, we initially decided to stay put one more day, but then as the weather started to calm down, we abruptly changed direction and cast off mid-morning for a late start.  After a bone-chilling day on the water, we made it to Palm Cove around 4:30 and just at low tide, seeing some very shallow water in its entrance.  Good thing we don’t have to worry about that any more.  

The next day’s (much warmer) run brought us to St. Augustine by mid-afternoon.  This was our first time picking up a mooring on Orion Jr.  With the wind and current opposing, and the little boat’s generally poor maneuverability at slow speeds, it took more than one attempt to get lined up on the mooring for a successful pick up.  It just goes to show there’s still more for her crew to learn.  More bad weather was coming the next day (Saturday), but we had a short run to make, so it might be possible to beat the weather.  We got up at first light, and made the decision to go.  The strong flooding current made for a difficult transit of the mooring field but sent us flying down the waterway.  At one point during the trip, we were making 8 knots.  With our amazing speed, we pulled into Palm Coast by 10:30am, just before the winds started to kick up and the weather began to deteriorate.  Whew!  We made it. 

As for Merry and Wiley, we talked to them from St. Augustine as they were sitting down to a dinner in Jacksonville, having made a successful transit up the St. John’s to the Ortega Marina.  We had made good on our promise to help get them to their destination in time for the holidays. 

As for our travel plans, we wouldn’t be picking up our rental car until the 15th, five days away.  For Cathy, this was no problem, since she was desperately trying to finish making a stocking for one of the grandkids and needed every minute to finish.  Dave spent his time installing a new (louder) high water alarm and meeting with Blake, the outboard mechanic from Daytona Beach to get our 2 outboards serviced.  


Traveling North

It seems crazy, but after working so hard to get south by boat, we are once again heading north into the cold to celebrate Christmas with the family.  This will be a year for a world tour, as we make stops in Jarratt, Richmond, Hampton, Bethlehem PA, Rochester, NY and Winston-Salem NC before returning to the boat.  But it wouldn’t seem like the holidays without the family, so it all makes a strange kind of sense.  

We continued to make our way south through SC from the Waccamaw River to Charleston for Thanksgiving.  We spent extra time in this our favorite city, since it wasn’t clear when we’ll be back through on a boat.  From Charleston, we made our way to Beaufort, traversing the low country bordering the ICW.  As the month ended, we were anchored in Bull Creek near Hilton Head, looking to move into Georgia on the ICW for the first time in our travels.

North of Charleston
Our stay at the Osprey Marina in the wilds of the Waccamaw River was originally planned to be 3 days to allow us to weather a storm that was passing through, but we extended our stay by one more day to enjoy the amenities of this friendly place.  It didn’t hurt that the slip fees dropped to $0.25 a foot for the fourth night either.  It was easy to settle in here, with the friendly staff, the free breakfasts, a welcome bag that included cheese and crackers, which we put to good use getting together with a couple from Rochester on the front porch the first night.  We worked on the computer, while relaxing in the rockers outside the office, overlooking the narrow entrance channel.  Taking a walk to explore beyond the grounds, we discovered a small local zoo, with a herd of buffalo among other exotic animals.  

We ended up leaving Osprey on a Saturday, which meant the local boaters were out in force.  We learned later that duck hunting season started the same day, which meant that the boats were filled with hunters and the boats were themselves decked out in various amounts of thatch to disguise them from the unsuspecting ducks.  Our destination that day was Georgetown, a small historic town at the top of Winyah Bay.  Georgetown is home to some shrimping fleets, so we lost no time in finding a local seafood processor to buy some fresh local shrimp for dinner.  Mmmmm!  Leaving at first light the next morning, we had a long day ahead of us to reach Isle of Palms Marina.  As we wound our way through the marsh on bays, rivers and cuts dug through the marsh, the currents alternately pushed us along and pulled us back, making it unpredictable how long it would take.  But overall, we had a good day, pulling onto the dock before 3pm.  We could have even made Charleston (since the Ben Sawyer bridge wasn’t on afternoon restrictions on a Sunday), but stuck with our plan to arrive Monday morning.

Leaving around 8:30am the next morning, the tide state was at dead low, but we were trying to arrive at the Maritime Center at slack current.  Traveling the ICW stretch before the Ben Sawyer bridge, our depth alarm kept sounding, reminding us of the low water here.  We were thanking ourselves that we were on Junior, not Orion, since the bigger boat would have been aground in the middle of the ICW, waiting for higher tide.  (We spoke to someone the next day with a 5 ½ ft draft like Orion that did exactly that.)  With only 2 ½ ft below us, the depths were merely an interesting sidelight, not the drama of past years. Whew!  We traveled up the Cooper River as a container ship passed us outbound and pulled onto the dock before noon.  The weather had finally warmed up and we looked forward to a beautiful Thanksgiving week in Charleston.

Charleston – One last(?) time

Charleston holds a special place for us and pulling into a slip at the Maritime Center feels a lot like home.  So, this was going to be a bittersweet stay.  With plans to trailer Orion Jr north, it seemed possible that we might never get back to this city on a boat.  While we could always visit by land, we both know that it would never be the same.   So, we drank it all in – taking walks through the charming streets, down to the Battery, along the river; sampling pralines on Market Street, lunch at Hyman’s, church at The Circular Church; watching the container and cruise ships move up and down the Cooper river;  and simply socializing with the dockhands and boaters at the marina.  We celebrated Thanksgiving together with the other boaters, complete with turkey, ham and all the trimmings.  The warm weather for much of the week seemed too good to be true, making it easy to linger in the cockpit, rather than being chased below by cold. 

As the week ended, we were given an unusual treat.  Our friend in the SC Maritime Organization was going to be crewing on the Spirit of SC, the tall ship that docks at the Maritime Center, on Saturday.  We agreed to meet him between trips to say hello and catch up.  To our surprise and delight, we were welcomed on board the ship for its sunset cruise.  We got to help raise the sails (a little more work than those on Orion Jr), and Dave even got to man the helm while we docked. It was great wind for sailing the harbor and the sunset was breathtaking.  A beautiful night.   Our thanks again to Troy for making it happen. 

Orion Jr ‘s shallow draft secured us one of the shallower docks in the marina (we saw 2.5 ft when we arrived at low tide).  Again, in our new mode of travel, we were no longer stressed out about this.  Our neighbor at this shallow location was another smaller boat, Les Miserables.  Wiley and Merry were on a year-long trip from Chicago and were tiring of the stress of traveling the waterway with its shallow depths and uncertain hazards.  The warnings from the guidebooks were taking their toll.  Since they were also a smaller boat, they had difficulty keeping up with most of the other boats on the waterway, so they were having difficulty hooking up with a buddy boat.  We asked them to join us for the trip south to Florida, and we would guide them through the shallow spots and other hazards.  They gladly accepted and we once again were traveling in company.  After waiting out some weather, we pulled off the dock late Tuesday morning, November 28th to make our way south with Les Miserables now our traveling companions, saying goodbye to this beautiful city and the friends we’ve made there for at least the near future.

South of Charleston
Although we attempted to time our travel through the ICW south of Charleston carefully to take advantage of favorable currents and bridge openings, we were dismayed to discover the 20+ knot winds on the nose as we pounded west into the waves generated by the wind over the westerly flowing current.  Orion Jr was seesawing through the waves, with the outboard frequently cavitating (popping out of the water) as we crested the larger waves.  Rather than subject ourselves to more of this torture, we called it a day early and anchored in the protected Tom Point Creek, which was amazingly comfortable after the strong winds and waves outside its mouth. 

The next day we made much better time, traveling all the way to Beaufort, SC.  With the weather moderating, the trip was much more pleasant.  The only hitch being our mistaking the schedule for Beaufort’s downtown Lady’s Island Bridge, which has a noon time restriction and opens only on the hour all day.  Since we had timed our arrival for 1:30pm, we had a half hour to kill. But we had not too far to go beyond the bridge, so this wasn’t too big a deal.  We took the courtesy car into Beaufort for a tour of the town before sunset.  The next morning dawned clear and cold.  We had second thoughts about pulling out into this frigid weather.  After waiting a couple of hours, we headed out for a much more pleasant run to what would be our last stop in SC – Bull Creek near Hilton Head.

It had been 5 years since our last stay at Bull Creek, just before our first ever ocean run to Florida.  This visit was eventful for a different reason. Soon after anchoring, Wiley and Merry were preparing to come visit us when they discovered their boat was laying at an odd angle.  It didn’t take long  before we both knew what the problem was.  They had wrapped their rode around the keel – something Orion had done twice to us.  The solution was simple enough – use the dinghy to push the bow around.  Rather than put his motor on the dinghy, Wiley attempted to do this by rowing.  However, the current was just too strong.  Before he had to resort to mounting his outboard, we managed to flag down a local boat and they easily pulled the boat around.  Then Merry and Wiley rowed over to Orion Jr to celebrate their good fortune at being rescued and our accomplishment of 3 days of travel together.  Their stress had been greatly eased by having us to lead the way and talk through any trouble spots.  We were enjoying having company again.  It looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Can you hear me now?
“Ben Sawyer Bridge, Ben Sawyer Bridge, this is Orion Jr calling.”  Cathy repeated her hails a couple of times, getting no response.  With the bridge only a mile away, this was the latest in a series of signs that we had a problem with our VHF radio.  When we had a similar experience hailing the Maritime Center from a short distance away, we knew it was time to replace the weakest link in our radio system – the antenna.  Dave had already ordered a replacement Metz antenna after we had been having difficulty talking to marinas, bridges and other boats all the way down the ICW.  The antenna was waiting for us in Charleston.  To check that the antenna was truly the problem, Dave connected it to the radio down below and called Cathy on the handheld on shore with the old and new antenna.  The difference was dramatic.  He then was able to talk to the Ben Sawyer Bridge from miles away.  

Yep.  The problem was the antenna.

This was going to be Cathy’s first trip up the little boat’s mast.  We chose a quiet morning, with no ship traffic in sight.  The little boat swings much more wildly from the passing ship wakes than Orion did. Cathy didn’t want to be up the mast with that kind of rocking.  It turned out to be a very easy switch – an unusual event in boating repairs.  With the antenna in place, Dave talked to the bridge west of Charleston, with several miles and tons of buildings in between and had no trouble hearing or being heard.  Problem fixed.  The only downside would be the increased chatter that would now disturb our travels.  The price of success.

Water, Water Everywhere

Our trip south of Charleston, pounding into waves on the Stono River proved more eventful than just giving us a rough ride.  We were shipping water over the bow with each wave.  What we didn’t realize until we arrived at the anchorage was that the water was running through the edges of the forward hatch into the V-berth, making for wet bedding and cushions.  With fading sunlight, we pulled everything up on deck and managed to get the wind and weak sunlight to dry the bedding enough to make for a warm and dry night’s sleep.  Dave replaced the weather-stripping ( a delayed project from the summer) and we hoped for the best.

Just before we turned into the anchorage, we heard our small high water alarm go off.  Cathy checked to see where the water was coming from.  The bilge had enough water (not a lot), that the bilge pump float switch should have triggered the bilge pump to empty out.  However, even turning the bilge pump on at the breaker was not causing the pump to work.  After testing the wires, Dave determined the pump was bad.  We installed a less-powerful spare on board and the problem appeared to be solved.  The good news was that the extra water gave us a chance to test the manual bildge pump, which worked like a charm.  

Georgia's coming

So, we're done with SC and as December began we moved south to head into Georgia on the ICW for the first time.  Uncharted territory for this crew, but that's part of the reason why we're on a different boat this year.  

We’ve spent the last 2 weeks exploring new places in North Carolina and re-visiting places in both Carolinas that we haven’t seen in 5 years, since we first started south on our live-aboard journey. We had company early, with Pat and Fred joining us for the trip up the Pamlico to Washingon, NC and then set off on our own after they put Marianna into Northwest Creek to travel north for a wedding.

Little Washington

The fog refused to lift, running the risk of delaying our departure from Dowry Creek long enough to put Washington NC out of our reach.  We kept looking southeast, where the channel to the waterway should be and wondered when we would even be able to see the closest mark.  The sun rose, but the fog stubbornly clung to the water surface.  A couple of boats slipped out anyway and were quickly swallowed up.  We decided to wait.  By 9am, we could see the first few marks and decided to head out a little ahead of Marianna, since our slower speed was going to set the pace and ultimately determine our destination.

Washington, NC is 33 miles off the ICW, up the Pamlico River to the west of its intersection with the Pungo.  We were making this side trip to see some parts of NC typically missed by cruisers making a beeline south to Florida.  Washington offers 2 free nights on their free docks and there is a quaint historic downtown that we enjoyed exploring over the 4 days of our visit.  Locals call it “little” Washington, to avoid confusion with its bigger cousin in DC.  However, they are proud to point out that this one was named first (in 1776), the first city in America to be named for George Washington.  

The fog did eventually lift, but not before we had a stressful experience trying to locate that sailboat on the ICW that was heading for Orion Jr as it appeared and vanished in the shifting mist.  As most often happens on mornings with the fog, the sun did its work and soon the sky was clear and the water smooth and calm.  We pushed the engine a bit and decided we could make it to Washington at a reasonable time, despite our late departure and a slight ebbing current on the Pamlico. 

After our arrival, the dockmaster was quick to show up with a welcome packet and gave us an overview of the town.   Since the weather was going to turn nasty overnight, we took a quick walk through downtown in the fading light and discovered there would be a Beaufort County Traditional Music Association (BCTMA) “jam” session at the Inner Banks Artisans Center gallery on W Main St that evening.   It didn’t take us long to decide to return and check it out.  BCTMA is an organization of over 100 members who have an interest and a talent for playing traditional music, whether it be folk, gospel, bluegrass, etc.  We got to hear a smattering of a variety of different genres before the evening was over.  They had any number of instruments to accompany their vocal harmonies: banjos, guitars, mandolins, a base, harmonica, even the spoons. Our hostess, Bobby Jo, who provided refreshments, was equally entertaining and encouraged us to return on Saturday morning when the group gathered again. 

On Friday, as forecast, the rains came, the winds blew and the temperatures plunged.  To make the most of our visit in the weather, we rented a car and did some sightseeing out of the elements.  We took a ride on the free Bayview to Aurora ferry.  Chatting with one of the ferry’s engineers, we learned that it was instituted to provide transportation for workers at the Aurora phosphate plant on the Pamlico’s southern shore.  The plant started operation in the mid-60’s and ships its products out by tug and barge through the ICW to Morehead City.  An interesting side-effect of the mining effort is the treasure trove of fossils uncovered in its depths, revealing the sea life that covered this part of NC over hundreds of millions of years.  Many fossils are on display at the Aurora Fossil Museum, which reveals the size and shape of the huge predators and prey that were some of the oldest occupants of what was once a vibrant sea. 

Throughout our wanderings, we enjoyed some local cuisine.  We were told we had to stop at Bill’s, whose claim to fame was a simple chili dog.  The ordering process was simple, since they only thing they served was hot dogs with chili, mustard and onions.  You could have them hold the onions or go light on the chili, but don’t ask for catchup, it’s not an option.  The limited selected didn’t keep people away, since we had to stand in line to get ours and the orders in front of us were for 10 and 12 at a pop.  The next day, we took a ride south to Chocowinity for some homemade BBQ, slaw, and apple jack ( a dessert, not a drink) at the Memorial Free Will Baptist Church in nearby Chocowinity.  Although we walked into the place right at 11 am when they opened, the famous apple jack was already gone.  But the BBQ lived up to its reputation. 

We enjoyed another concert (not a jam session this time) with the BCTMA on Saturday night, with a Barbershop chorus and several singers performing a variety of songs, some of which were there own compositions.  Sunday was a quieter day.  After services at the First UMC, we wandered downtown and enjoyed the view of the river from the boat.  By Monday, it was time to leave, but we felt we had done justice to this little town.  

River Dunes to Socastee – The Inside Story

After spending a couple of nights north of Oriental in River Dunes, where we said goodbye for now to Pat and Fred, we moved on south, down the Neuse, through Adams Creek to Core Creek, past Morehead City and on to Swansboro.  The tides and currents returned with a vengeance, sweeping us gleefully down to Morehead City in a rush and then forcing us to grind our way south past the Beaufort inlet at speeds that hovered near 3 knots for over an hour, as the current tried its best to pull us out to the ocean, reminding us that this was the route we used to take with Orion.  Not with her little cousin.  Now we were back on the inside.

Our first stop was Swansboro, which was 50 miles from Oriental, a long day in Orion Jr , made longer by the opposing current for the latter part of the day.  Swansboro sits at the mouth of the White Oak River and just off the Bogue Inlet, making it a high current area, and our arrival was no exception.  We decided to stay here a few days to wait out weather, and pulled into Dudley’s, an inexpensive marina, with friendly staff and decent shower/restrooms.  We took their courtesy car to re-supply with alcohol, since Cathy discovered that she was no longer burning the alcohol in the stove, but the absorbent matting that was supposed to hold the alcohol.  (Oh, that’s why it doesn’t smell so good.)  We walked into town from some apple fritters at Yana’s and a blizzard at Dairy Queen.  (Does the exercise to walk there count, if there is a dessert at the end of the road?)  

“Gentlemen, start your engines”.  We didn’t actually hear it, but the words came to mind, when, on Saturday morning, after the front moved through, everyone on the dock was starting up to get underway at the same time. The dock attendants were out early to help us deal with the current and some awkward movements in what was going to be a favorable current, if we could just fight it enough to get out of the marina.  It went fine, but as we were rounding the bend past Casper’s Marina on the other side of the inlet, we both had a sinking feeling.  Lined up in front of us, but just off the waterway were dozens of little fishing boats, motoring around, lights on – waiting.  A fishing tournament was being held that day and the start time was 6:30am.  I looked at my watch:  6:28am.  Dave, they’re going to take off just as we get there.  Sure enough, the siren sounded and everyone took off at once, half of them in front of us and half of them behind.  The good news is that most of the wakes were at a 90 degree angle to us, making them easier to take. 

The next stretch of waterway had 4 opening bridges over 53 miles, two of which open only once an hour.  With the unpredictability of the current, it was too risky to plan a run to make it through all 4 on one day, so we planned a stop after the first 2, at Harbour Village Marina, just past the Surf City bridge.  Since this is an unusual stop for most of the ICW traffic, who either stop at an anchorage called Mile Hammock 15 miles beyond Swansboro or at Wrightsville Beach, just past the last bridge, we became “out of sync” with the regular traffic on this stretch of the waterway.  Our next day’s travel found us alone at the final 2 bridge openings.  Contrast that with 5 years ago, when we transited with at least a dozen boats at every bridge.  It was almost bizarre.  Since it was Sunday, we started picking up the weekend traffic of small boats going fishing or just out to enjoy the day at Wrightsville Beach.  After we fought some more current to get to the Cape Fear, we soared down the river, reaching 8 knots before making the turn back into the ICW at Southport.  With little traffic around us, we were surprised to hear the dockmaster at St. James Marina tell us we were the first of 8 boats to come in for the night.  What 8 boats?  As we started to turn into the marina, we looked behind us and there they were.  The boats from Mile Hammock had caught up with us.  We weren’t alone any more.  The good news was that one of the boats was Born to Cruise, who had traveled with us back from the Bahamas to Charleston back in 2009.  We caught up with them for a while until the bugs drove us inside.  

We had a later start the next morning, since we had a shorter run to Myrtle Beach and only 2 opening bridges, both of which were on request.  After encountering a pack of boats once we entered the waterway, once they passed us (and they always pass us), we were on our own again most of the day.  This stretch of the waterway was the most familiar to Cathy, since these beaches populated her past.  Holden Beach, Ocean Isle and finally, Sunset Beach, where we spent many summers with family.  The old Sunset Beach bridge was gone to the delight of every boater we talked to, and the shallow water at Lockwoods Folly and Shallote Inlet were no longer a concern for us.  Other than some more fierce current once we passed Sunset Beach bridge, the only gotcha that day was the final bridge.  With our marina no more than ¼ mile beyond the Barefoot Landing Bridge, we were held up almost an hour waiting for the workmen on the bridge to clear it.  Finally, we were allowed to pass and we pulled onto the dock as sunset was fast approaching.  

With a front approaching in a couple of days, we decided to hunker down at Osprey’s Marina, near the town of Socastee, SC for our next stop.  It was supposed be inexpensive and very nice, but it very remote.  Since it was only about 17 miles down the waterway, we had a much shorter run the next day from Myrtle Beach south.  That gave us time in the morning for showers, a grocery run and some re-fueling before finally pulling off the dock around 10am.  Wouldn’t you know it, the current this short day was with us, bringing us in before 2pm in what for us was record time. 

Boat Stuff

The sewing machine came back out when we arrived in Dowry Creek.  The spacious lounge gave Cathy room to work and, with Pat there to advise, they patterned and made 2 new panels for the enclosure to help provide a windbreak for the cold days of travel ahead. Cathy also made another pocket for the stern anchor line.  After Dave shredded some jeans doing wash (what were you doing, Dave), Cathy made more dock line chafe protection from them. 

Dave installed a new double 12V outlet under the companionway stairs, making it a shorter run for devices in the Main Saloon.  Finally, we learned a little more about the little boat the hard way, when we discovered the solar vent on the forward hatch is not exactly air or water tight.  At Dowry Creek, the after-effects of Hurricane Irene had created an explosion of house flies.  When these kept appearing below, despite our closing every hatch, we realized that we needed to cover the solar vent with a screen, which made a huge difference.  Then, in River Dunes, after Dave had washed off the boat in the morning, we started to crawl into bed that evening only to discover it was soaking wet.  Apparently the water hose had found the opening during the morning’s washdown.  Oops!  After sleeping on the settee overnight until the cushions could dry, we learned our lesson from that mistake. 

We are taking a leisurely trip south, which put us just 130  miles into the ICW near Belhaven NC at the end of October.  That was where we connected with Pat and Fred on Marianna,who were able to catch up with us after jumping south with a long run from Sandy Hook to Great Bridge.  Although, given our different cruising speeds, our time traveling together would be limited.  

Dismal Swamp

Although this would be our 6th trip south, it would be our first trip taking the ICW route through the Dismal Swamp to Elizabeth City.  We had often heard how serene and lovely this route was, but had never wanted to risk taking Orion’s 5-1/2 ft draft through it.  The number of submerged logs and stumps and the stories of damage to other boats made us choose the more-traveled, but less interesting Virginia Cut through Great Bridge and Coinjock.  However, with Orion Jr’s shallower draft, we had no qualms about finally trying out the Dismal Swamp, and seeing what all the talk was about.  

The first benefit of taking the Dismal Swamp route was that we had one less opening bridge to maneuver the first day through Hampton Roads, the turn-off being just after the Gilmerton Bridge.  There are fewer openings of the initial lock on the canal, so we had to time our arrival to the Gilmerton’s 12:30pm opening in order to make the 1:30 locking at Deep Creek lock, the entrance to the 20 mile long canal.  Unlike the lock at Great Bridge, which can sometimes be a change in elevation of only a few inches, the rise in the Deep Creek lock would be 8 feet, requiring long lines and more attention to tending them as the water rose.  The passing of that much water into the lock creates quite a bit more turbulence at the high end, than in the Great Bridge lock as well.  

However, the biggest difference between the entrance to the Dismal Swamp canal vs the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal on the Virginia Cut had to be the nature of those passing through and the lockmasters themselves.  There is no commercial traffic in the swamp and little room to pass.  Most boats are in no hurry and it becomes a very tranquil trip down the canal.  In our case, we felt pretty much alone while underway.  However, there are few stops on the canal, so the few places to stop are thick with boats by day’s end.  Knowing this, we took a spot on the wall just after the Deep Creek lock, and were quickly joined by 11 other boats, since the winds were forecast to kick up over the next couple of days.   So, few of our companions moved on until things settled down a couple of days later.  This gave us a chance to get to know the lockmaster on duty, Robert, whose hospitality far exceeds that of any we’ve met to date.  

Each morning we were invited to the lockmaster’s office for breakfast and coffee.  Then Robert would invite those people on the boats in the first locking to join us as well. He was full of information about the lock, having worked as lockmaster for 17 years, the most junior of the lockmasters.  We were treated, along with other first-timers, to a lock history lesson our first morning after breakfast.  Robert had to keep it short, because he had to scurry up to the bridge to open it for the boats leaving the lock.  He knew the timing well.  If boats wanted to make the last locking at South Mills on the other end, they had to be through the bridge by 9:30am.  But he makes the most of the time spent with him. 

Some of the things we learned about this waterway are that it was built before the Revolutionary War as an essential commercial link between Virginia and Northeast NC.  George Washington surveyed its planned route.  The canal is fed from the large, shallow Lake Drummond, about 10 feet above sea level.  The canal sits at about 8ft.  The locks on either end lift the boat traffic to the canal’s height and lower them back to sea level.  Running along most of the canal’s southern side is US 17.  The northern edge is mostly encompassed in the Dismal Swamp State Park, farms or other rural uses.  The area was hotly contested as a vital supply link during the Civil War, and its dense forest made it a refuge for slaves escaping on the Underground Railway before then.  The recent fires and subsequent dousing from Irene created a new lake in the Dismal Swamp, as the peat underground burned away, leaving a hole to be filled with Irene’s torrential rains. It is believed a similar process created the much larger Lake Drummond.

Our first stop at Deep Creek was on a free dock adjacent to a small park.  The community of Deep Creek is a short walk away with a grocery, drug store, restaurants, and even a dentist in easy access.  The traffic on the 2-lane road through the community is heavy and backed-up, in sharp contrast to the tranquility of the dock just a short walk away.  Our 2nd stop was at the Visitor Information Center on US 17.  It also has a free dock, which is much smaller than that at Deep Creek.  Just beyond the dock is an opening pedestrian bridge which gives you access to the Dismal Swamp Visitor’s Center and several miles of nature trails.  The Visitor Center had loaner bikes that we used to explore some of these trails and a long paved path on the south side of the canal. 

We planned to spend only one night at the Visitor Center and leave in time for the first locking at South Mills the next morning.  Because of our small size, even though we were tied to the dock, the boats had been rafting to the much more substantial trawlers behind us.  However, as the day was nearing its end, we noticed 3 sailboats approaching that were looking for a place to stay.  One of three asked to raft to us, but it became quickly apparent that this was a very bad idea.  They were a heavy boat, with much higher freeboard, that Orion Jr would not be strong enough to support.  Instead, the other boaters around us helped them tie to the dock around us, to other boats behind us and even to a tree on shore.  At this point, our early departure seemed in question, but to our surprise, they decided to cast off early as well and we all made it into the 8:30 locking at South Mills with them and 5 other boats.  

Elizabeth City to Dowry Creek

We were following the weather and therefore most of the other boats as we headed down the Pasquotank out of Elizabeth City Monday morning.  The winds were supposed to be 10 knots from the North, and should make for a smooth crossing of the Albemarle.  However, that wasn’t the case.  The winds and waves were higher than forecast and mostly on our beam as we made our way toward the Alligator River entrance.  It was with relief that we finally pulled into the Alligator River Marina and called it a day.  It was a chance to do laundry and get a hot shower for the first time in a week.  Then we had to scurry inside to escape the deluge of mosquitoes Mother Nature had unleashed in Irene’s aftermath.  

The next day, we had another windy ride down the Alligator with winds and waves again higher than forecast.  The shelter of the Alligator-Pungo Canal gave us several hours of calmer conditions, allowing the winds to calm down before we exited and made our way to Dowry Creek.  We pulled into the marina to wait for Pat and Fred to join us a couple of days later. The marina is a great place to stay in a beautiful location and with well-maintained and comfortable facilities.  We enjoyed the nightly get-togethers where we met our fellow boaters, although the amount of food did little to help our waistlines.

Marianna Makes It South

After a short day on Thursday, October 27th, Pat and Fred arrived at Dowry Creek, less than a week out of New York.  We had been monitoring their progress on the Waterway Net and via phone calls as we could.  They arrived on what might be the last gasp of summer on a beautiful warm day that found us eating ice cream in Orion Jr’s cockpit later that afternoon.  (Dave wanted to show off his freezer capability to Fred.)  That weekend we rented a car and explored this area of northeast NC, traveling to Washington and Bath further inland, south to New Bern for a farewell dinner for Skip and Cherylle, and then out to Manteo and Kitty Hawk by way of the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and the village of Stumpy Point on the Pamlico Sound.  We managed to join Gail and George as they passed through on a road trip south and had a good time catching up with them.

We hope to travel together for a few more days before we have to separate again.  They will be putting into New Bern to travel north for a wedding, while we continue our trip south.

Dinghy Change

We have our Portabote mounted on the port side of the boat, which makes port side-to dockings a challenge for getting on and off the boat.  However, the boat’s prominent position allowed us to execute a trade we’d been hoping for.  Someone with a 10ft Portabote dinghy was looking to upgrade to a 12ft dinghy.  We had always wanted to downsize to the 10ft model.  The cruiser approached us about making a trade and the deal was struck.  Now we have a dinghy that takes up 2 ft less space on deck and is much lighter to launch and store.  We had planned on looking for someone to make this exchange once we reached Florida, but never expected it would be so easy to have someone come to us.   

Traveling on Orion Jr – So, what’s it like?

We’ve been getting used to more time spent on Orion Jr.  She’s definitely more compact, with most less-used items requiring lots of shuffling to dig them out of their hidden storage locations.  We started questioning the water in our freshwater system, which caused us to give it a thorough cleaning when we arrived at Dowry Creek.  We had never really flushed the water tank thoroughly once it was installed.  Since the cleaning, the water is tasting fine.  We’ve struggled with showers, while we’ve been staying on so many free docks, but without access to shoreside showers.  Once the weather is warmer, we had always planned to shower in the cockpit.  However, the temperatures are quickly getting colder and that is a difficult prospect to face.  For now, it will be shoreside facilities until the temperatures improve dramatically.

The freezer’s ice-making is working well and the cycling of the bottles is pretty simple.  The solar panels are doing their job and we actually have had to turn on devices our first day off the dock to siphon off the extra watts being produced by the alternator and the solar panels.  Otherwise, running the generator an hour a day makes up for the power lost overnight.  We manage to stay warm overnight and have found that the smaller boat retains the heat much better than Orion.   

Docking continues to be a learning experience as the full keel and outboard make her sluggish to respond to any direction given at the helm.  Luckily, she’s pretty light and we can manhandle her if we don’t get it quite right.  As a result of our docking difficulties in the Alligator River Marina, Dave tried his luck at the helm and docked the boat for the first time in 5 years.  He even backed her into the slip.  It happened to be the wrong slip, but they let us stay there.  

Despite the challenges, though, it’s working so far. 

We spent the first 2 weeks of October making the final preparations for our departure for points south.  Given the late start on the canvas project, Cathy was barely coming up for air, while Dave’s projects were mostly done, leaving him time to start some of the provisioning, stowing and organizing on the little boat.  At this point, we’ve made our final trips to see the kids and grandkids, turned in the car and are about as ready as we’re going to get.

Closing In
Cathy spent almost all of her waking hours during the first half of October working on the 3 panels that would enclose the companionway.  This is traditionally called a dodger, but our enclosure was breaking a few of the rules that would make this an official dodger, which usually has 2 bows, with the longest of the 2 leaning aft.  Ours had only one, which naturally leaned forward.  This difference meant that most instruction manuals about how to build a dodger were not that helpful.  Instead, Cathy relied on studying the panels Pat had made for Orion and copious advice from both Pat and Jo. 

The first panel to be made was the center one or windshield.  The biggest challenge in constructing this panel was spanning the large sliding hatch, which needs to move back and forth right where you would normally want to secure the panel to the deck.  Without any deck fitting across the 4ft expanse, the panel was at risk of sagging or bending so the clear vinyl (i.e. Strataglass or just “glass”) would not be flat and visibility would be poor.  To ensure the glass stayed as flat as possible, Cathy installed a 2” wide batten that we trimmed to about 4 feet in lengt to fit a
pocket that she put into the panel’s base.  The panel was then attached by zipper to the canvas roof and the 2 yet-to-be-built side panels, and with 2 twist-lock fittings screwed into the deck on each bottom corner.  Constructing this panel without a proper sewing table to work on was a bit challenging, since it required working with the large pieces of glass with limited flat space, while preventing any scratches that would affect our ability to see through the finished product.  

But Cathy managed to finish it, and from a distance it doesn’t look too bad.  She quickly moved onto the 1st of the 2 side panels, using the lessons learned from the windshield to make this a simpler construction.  Then the 3rd panel was virtually a mirror image of the 2nd, making it even easier to finish (applying still more lessons learned).  Once all 3 panels were in place, Cathy used boat blanket material to make sleeves for the part of the bows that touched the glass.  This prevents the hot metal from “burning” the glass and has the added advantage of giving us a surface to hang pockets in the cockpit.  Almost exactly 2 weeks from starting the first panel, the 3 panels were installed and protecting the cabin top as the first of several days of rain arrived.  The cabin stayed dry with the hatch open, as designed.  But there was little time to sit back and admire this accomplishment, since there’s was still plenty more to do. 

Cathy next turned her sewing machine to the construction of several cockpit pockets that would hold the detritus that we need in the cockpit while underway  -- horn, binoculars, log book, water bottles, SPOT tracker, guide books, etc.  Using Sunbrella, Phifertex (a mesh material), some webbing and sew-on hook and Loop (aka Velcro), she constructed four of these pockets of various sizes and mounted them on the bows and the stern rail.  Before stowing the sewing machine for the duration, she also added a zipper to the sail cover to keep the mainsail off the bimini and solar panels and created a few boat blanket sleeves for Steve’s boat as well. That should hold us for now.  It’s time to put the sewing machine away.  

Staying In Touch

While Cathy busied herself with the sewing, Dave found other things to do.  He decided to move the Ham radio from Orion over to the little boat.  This is important in keeping a 3rd party aware of our movements via the Waterway Net, especially when we have trouble with our cell phone reception.  Installing the radio required some more cable and copper flashing, which then allowed Dave to temporarily hook up the radio to test different configurations and possible mounting locations.  Once he was successful in talking to other radio operators in distant locations, such as Miami, he felt confident to make the installation permanent.  The antenna tuner was mounted in the starboard locker under the cockpit, with the radio itself mounted in the Main Saloon behind the settee.  The mike and controls found a spot between the starboard portlights in the Main Saloon.  The combination worked well.  Dave was able to check in on the Waterway Net and could hear Fred check-in from Connecticut.  Not bad for a small boat.

Our other radio, the VHF, is used for routine communication with bridges, marinas, other boats, etc.  while underway.  We had installed a new Standard Horizon model on the boat before leaving Mayo.  However, unlike Orion, we didn’t have a remote mike.  We had debated whether this was necessary, given how much smaller Orion Jr was, but with the radio below and the outboard making more noise in the cockpit, it was difficult to hear sometimes, and even harder to talk and man the tiller.  Our Standard Horizon radio model was compatible with a remote mike, which Dave purchased as a birthday present for Cathy, since she was the one most concerned about access to the radio while at the tiller alone, especially when docking.  The mike was easy to install on the transom, with a relatively simple run back to connect to the radio in the Main Saloon. 

No problem staying in touch now.

Small Boat gets a not so Small Boat

During the hurricane, we had taken our Portabote dinghy off Orion and stored it at Steve’s, where it remained for another six weeks, in case another storm arrived.  However, as our departure date neared, we needed to get the dinghy back and mounted on Orion Jr.   We were a little overwhelmed when the 12 ft boat had to be stowed on deck.  We wanted to put it along the lifelines on the port side, but since it didn’t follow the curve of the deck, it took a couple of tries before we found a way to stow it out of the way of the anchor and the deck washdown pump.  We finally found a location that worked, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be using the port deck much while the dinghy is on board.

The other parts of the dnghy (transom and 3 dinghy seats) had to be stowed as well.   Two of the seats would fit in the port locker up under the cockpit coaming, a space we couldn’t otherwise use.  So, Dave epoxied some clips to the hull that he then used to strap the 2 larger seats in place.  The transom and the other seat found a spot under the companionway stairs.  Finally, we had to bring the Mercury outboard over from Orion, but that fit nicely on the port stern rail, in essentially the same location it had sat on Orion.  Amazingly enough, everything fit.

Who knew this little boat had so much space?  Now we have 2 boats in one.

Goodbye Orion

Orion couldn’t be completely ignored before we left.  She would be spending her first winter in the cold climate in more than 5 years.  We had managed to work out a mutually agreeable arrangement with Sue to stay on board over the winter and keep an eye on her, but we still needed to winterize a number of the systems on board.  So, we dusted off the notes we had taken from that first winter and started working our way through gallons of antifreeze.  We started with the Air Conditioner, then did the deck washdown and swim shower.  Before winterizing the engine, we topped off the fuel tank with diesel, ran it enough to warm up the engine (and lower the diesel level a little), then changed the engine oil, filter and transmission oil.  After running the engine a 2nd time to circulate the new oil, Dave cleaned the raw water strainer and dumped in the antifreeze until pink liquid started spewing out the exhaust.

The only system left to winterize was the bilge pump, but Cathy first had to empty and defrost the freezer to eliminate the possibility of any water entering the bilge.  This done, it was a simple matter to pump antifreeze through the bilge lines.  With Sue on the boat, the fresh water system would be in use, so it didn’t need to be winterized.

There were a couple of small repairs that were needed to be done before we left.  Dave re-bedded the stanchion that we had repaired in May, and the pump-out fitting, both of which had minor leaks in them.  Then, of course, we had been working for weeks to remove all the stuff off Orion that we had accumulated over 5 years of life aboard.  Some went to Orion Jr, some to storage at Steve’s, some of it we sold (goodbye icemaker), some of it we gave away, and some it stayed behind.  With all of our clutter gone, Cathy took time to do a final thorough cleaning of the boat, literally from stem to stern and top to bottom.  It hasn’t looked this good since we first stepped on board.  

So, with some reluctance, we turned the key in the lock for the last time this season and walked away to Orion Jr.  Orion will be in good hands, but she won’t be our home again for several months.

Friends and Family

Before heading south, we made one last trip to visit the kids and grandkids and enjoyed time with both our son’s and daughter’s families.  Between doing flips and somersaults and playing mock battles with superheros and getting beat at video games, we could only hope that we connected with each of the kids before leaving them for a couple of months.  We celebrated Cathy’s birthday twice, which meant we got to eat 2 cakes (yum!).  

As the season for cruising began, we started to see more boats staying in the Hampton River or on the dock at the public piers.  We were delighted to find our friends Ron and Lena on Discovery among them.  They stayed for a week and we caught up and shared ideas on places for them to leave their boat for the next 9 months while they refurbish their new home in Salt Lake City.  (They settled on Deltaville after driving up to visit them.)   

Sue came to visit for 10 days as she made her decision to move back to Hampton.  We spent some of her time familiarizing her with Orion’s systems.  We re-connected with some of the local live-aboards at a dinner with John and Lisa who own a huge motor yacht in the marina.  And, finally we enjoyed a farewell dinner with Steve and Krista Monday evening before heading out.  Our time in Hampton had come to an end.  We were to be up and underway the next morning and headed south on Orion Jr.  This time we were going to the Dismal Swamp, which would be something new and we were looking forward to it.  

Water Fun

Although the original Columbiadesign included a built-in water tank, ours had been removed at some point in its past.  Also, the sink faucet had been removed.  Having a water tank and working sink faucet were high priorities if we were going to live aboard.  After considering lots of options, we stumbled across a water tank on clearance at West Marine, that we calculated would fit into a spot under the cockpit sole. The water tank would feed a Shurflo pump, which is gravity-fed.  This pump is controlled by a companion faucet that Dave mounted on the galley sink. 

The plumbing required 4 hoses to be run: one from the water tank
to the pump; one from the pump to the sink; one from the tank to the on deck fill and one to vent air to a through-hull.  Since the pump is gravity fed, we decided to mount it on the surface at the base of the water tank.  Given this location, hooking up the 3/8” hose from the tank to its inlet port was pretty straightforward.  Running the hose from the outlet to the sink required a little more work, since it had to be fished under the main saloon floor and up under the  sink.  For the vent hose, we decided to use an through-hull that originally routed the bilge pump into the 
cockpit, so that any water could drain out of the cockpit scuppers.  We hadn’t like this arrangement, so we moved the bilge pump hose to a new through-hull, which Dave installed on the transom, and then attached the ¾”  water vent hose to its old fitting.

How’s that enclosure coming?

Cathy continued her work on the canvas enclosure, cleaning up some loose ends, literally and then adding webbing loops and a wire channel to allow Dave to mount 3 of the flexible solar panels. 
Before beginning work on the any of the window panels, she had to ensure the bimini structure was firm.  To that end, she decided to install struts to support the forward bow (over the cabin top) and aft bow (mounted on the stern rail). This was simply a matter of hardware (mounts, end caps) and a few cuts on a stainless steel pipe.  With these in place, the structure was not going to move and the patterning of the enclosure was ready to begin.  This process has begun, but more on that in the next update.
 
With the rain we’ve had the past few weeks, the bimini was getting its test for watertightness. 
And water was seeping in through the webbing loops that Cathy added for the solar panels.  So, we decided to waterproof the bimini, using the leftovers to apply to the sail cover, which had obviously not been done for years.  

Other boat stuff

There have been another long list of smaller projects on the boat.  We installed 2 new stern
cleats to match those we added to the bow.  Dave drilled a hole in the transom to allow the engine wires to pass through to the batteries.  Using Reflectix, a mylar-coated bubble wrap, we insulated the ice box and the Waeco fridge to (hopefully) reduce its power draw and extend the life of the
ice it makes. Cathy also installed weatherstripping around the ice box lid to reduce the leakage. 
With the solar panels installed on the bimini, Dave ran the wires through the cockpit coaming and connected them to the solar controller.  Since storage space is at a premium, we found a set of storage drawers that would (just) fit under the companionway.  Finalizing the use of these 2 alcoves allowed Cathy to shorten the settee cushions. 
 
And the list goes on.

Parting Shots 

We took a little time out to visit our daughter’s family and Cathy’s family in NC.  Our grandson
Troy took his first trip with us to NC as well, entertaining and exhausting us for the 2 days
of our visit.  We will hopefully get in one more visit to the kids and grandkids before we leave, but we have returned the car we’ve been borrowing all summer to its owner, our friend Sue, and our days and trips (by land) are becoming fewer. 

With the 2nd weekend in September, Mother Nature sent a blast of colder air through the Southeast that was a wake-up call (as if we needed one) that summer was fast disappearing.  As the temperatures plunged from the 90’s on Thursday to the mid-60’s on Friday, we struggled into our jeans and sweatshirts and re-doubled our efforts to get to a stopping point on Orion Jr. It will be cold before
long, and we need to be on our way to warmer weather – “done” or not. 

Blocking out the sun

One of the bigger projects that was a “must” on our list before heading south was providing some shade and weather-protection in the cockpit.  That meant building a bimini and at least part of an enclosure. 
Cathy had done some smaller canvas projects in the past – cockpit pockets, a cover for the generator box, a modification to the helm cover.  But this was going to be a whole new dimension.  An enclosure would have to be designed, a frame built and the canvas sewed and mounted so that it fit securely and looked nice.  This seemed like a tall order for someone who barely knew how to thread a sewing machine.

Despite serious misgivings, Cathy bought a book to get started.  It recommended that she build a mock frame out of PVC and tape that would give us an idea of how a possible design might work before casting it in stainless steel, strataglass and canvas.   We wanted a design that would cover the most area, but allow us to sail the boat, go forward from the cockpit, mount the solar panels, and hopefully, stand up if necessary.  It also had to fold up
reasonably well for trailering.  With the backstay and mainsheets descending into the aft third of the cockpit, this wasn’t going to be the straightforward design of Orion’s center cockpit enclosure.  Cathy talked through possible designs with Dave and our friend Pat, who builds canvas professionally.  Using lots of measurements of the cockpit dimensions, she put a tentative design on paper. 

There would be 4 bows.  The forwardmost would be a single bow mounted on the cabintop.  The next 2 would be attached at a single mount point on the cockpit coaming forward of the winch.  The  4th would be a single bow mounted on the stern rail.  The canvas that stretched over the first 3 bows would be continuous.  However, the section between the 3rd and 4th bow would have to come down when sailing to allow the mainsheets free movement when the main was up.  This panel also had to accommodate the backstay passing through it.  Now we would try to build a mock frame that resembled this design to see if we could make it work.  

Having raised the boom to accommodate standing headroom in the cockpit, we felt pretty confidant our bimini design would allow Dave to stand up as well.  So, with the raised boom in place, Cathy had Dave stand in the cockpit, and we tried to guess what height would allow him to stand, but still have room for the frame, the canvas and solar panels above him without interfering with the boom.  We set this height at 74” above the cockpit floor. Then we strung a line from the mast to the backstay to mark this height.  We bought several pieces of PVC, several couplers and some masking tape and started our construction with the forward bow, since this seemed to be the simplest.  After assembling the pieces to the dimensions in Cathy’s design, we had to adjust pole lengths and angles to make it work. Then Dave used his knot-tying expertise to suspend the frame from the height line.  We stood back to admire our work and then discovered quickly that the design wouldn’t work.  It was going to be way too wide, and would not allow us to move forward on deck without a struggle.  Now what?

We realized that the section above the cabin top had to be narrower and mount inside the grab rails. That meant there would be 2 different panels of different widths on the first 3 bows, instead of one continuous line.  It seemed a little odd, but we decided to proceed with that approach and run it by Pat for a reality check once we had mocked up the rest of the frame. Throughout the rest of a hot 8 hour day, we sawed, taped, tied up and measured to get a frame that we thought we could turn into an actual enclosure.  We took pictures of the finished design and all the significant
measurements.  Then we sent it off to Pat for a review.  She gave us her comments, none of which were:“What on earth were you thinking?”  which Cathy took as an endorsement to proceed. 

The next challenge was going to be where to get the bows bent.  We talked to some canvas makers in the Mayo MD area, but decided it would be better to do the work in Hampton, where we could be living and sewing on Orion while working on Orion Jr. Then we found someone in Hampton, Jo at Canvas and Cushions, who was willing to take Cathy’s measurements and bend the frames.  She met us on the boat the Monday after we arrived back in Hampton.  We showed her the design on paper and the mount points marked on the boat with tape. She graciously helped with a few design issues and seemed OK with the somewhat unconventional design.  A couple of weeks later the bows were done and we began mounting them.  (The next day, as you may remember, we got to strap them down for Irene.)  

So, after a summer of stops and starts, it wasn’t until early September that Cathy hauled out her newly acquired Sailrite sewing machine and began sewing Sunbrella panels for the enclosure.  She started with the panel that would cover the middle 2 bows, sewing a panel that was the distance between the bows plus 1 yard. At Pat’s suggestion,
Cathy marked the bow positions directly on this fabric, using the excess fabric for the sleeves that would hold the panel on the bows.  A couple of days later, a bimini suddenly appeared where the hadn’t been one before.  Maybe this really was going to be possible.

The next task was the forward panel or “dodger” section of the bimini.  It was a little simpler than the middle panel, because there was only one bow. Another few days and there were 2 panels mounted.  Wow! But she saved the most complex for last. The final panel had to accommodate the backstay.  Dave had (thankfully) suggested we just take the mainsheets off the boom when we weren’t sailing to remove this complexity from the design.  Cathy decided to make a drawstring sleeve to hopefully minimize the size of the opening for the backstay.  Without a pattern to go by, she made her best attempt, which looked OK, but was woefully too big a hole.  Rain would be able to pour through the opening.  It’s back to the drawing board for that one.  

But at least 3 panels are near completion and the finishing work on them seems doable.  The next task will be to pattern and build the enclosure.  This involves sewing the very expensive clear vinyl Strataglass material that will become the windshield.  It’s not something you want to make a mistake on.  Stay tuned for how that goes.

More Boat Stuff

So, what has Dave been doing to keep busy?  The easy answer to that is everything else but the canvas.  
 
On our trip down the bay, we were unhappy with the way we had to  manage fuel.  We needed to have
another fuel tank that could be easily deployed, so that we had more fuel capacity at hand for longer trips.  Dave solved this by arranging the fuel locker with the 2 6-gallon fuel tanks end to end on the top level.  He then plumbed them to a valve that would allow us to easily switch from one tank to the other.  Then to ensure the fuel going to the engine was as clean as possible, he positioned a filter between the valve and the engine, with a glass bowl that lets us see the fuel and filter.  It can also be easily drained if any water is found in it.  That should take some of the stress out of our fuel management.  

Our other concern from our shakedown cruise was the ground tackle.  Dave had wanted a Delta 22 anchor for the little boat, instead of the 3 danforths that it came with.  He was consistently frustrated in finding an inexpensive Delta 22, so he decided to start out with a Delta 14, which should be the right size for the boat.  Using an idea from a boat we saw in Mayo, he cut a piece of 4” PVC drain pipe and clamped it to the bow pulpit to mount the anchor out of the way.  The next piece of the puzzle was finding a convenient place to store the
rode. There was a sizeable anchor locker, but no deck fitting to access it.  Dave installed a small hawspipe (metal fitting with a cap) on deck to provide that access.  Since the Columbia has cored decks, he drilled the holes for the fitting and the screws a little big and then coated them with epoxy to seal the wood core, before through-bolting it on.  With the deck access in place, Dave was able to load the anchor locker with rode for the primary and secondary anchors, the primary anchor being the Delta. 

The final improvement that would complete the ground tackle upgrade was to install 2 new, larger bow cleats to accommodate the anchor rode or a bridle.  These would have the additional beneficial effect of allowing a more secure tie up to a dock as well – the need for these highlighted by our preparations for Irene.  Using the same technique of drilling oversize holes that were then filled with epoxy, Dave through-bolted the new cleats in place on either side of the existing central bow cleat supported by a 5/8”piece of wood. With all the upgrades done, we feel much better about our set-up for anchoring out.
 
There’s also a long list of smaller projects: replacing the fuel vent hose, getting new storage cabinets to fit under the stairs, repairing an anchor bag, upgrades to the water system, and sorting through things on Orion that will need to be moved to the little boat.  Lots of things still need doing, but the list of the must-do’s is getting shorter.

Bay Days 2011

Hampton’s annual Bay Days festival fell on a beautiful late summer weekend, and we got to enjoy more of it this year when Rick and Carla from Euphoria arrived in time to share it with us.  With their spot on the Hampton Public Piers, they were in the thick of the festivities.  This year, we sampled more of the many bands that were performing throughout the weekend. 

The clock’s  ticking

Despite taking breaks for the festival and to visit with friends, we are never too far away from Orion Jr, and the next task to do.  So far, the weather has been reasonably kind, but we know it’s getting colder.  And we will eventually have to cut those docklines and head out. 

Hurricane Irene helped kick up the adrenaline level as August came to a close.  It wasn’t just preparing both boats for the 7.5 feet surge.  We were also getting ready for our son’s marriage, which took place at the height of the storm on Saturday morning (Aug. 27th) at Virginia Beach.  So, our boat projects were put on hold for a bit as we first prepared for the storm and the wedding and then hosted 2 of our grandsons for a week after the wedding. But we managed to get a few things done in between.

Woodwork
 
Shortly after arriving back in Hampton with Orion
Jr, we started work to restore its teak to sleek and shiny condition. The exterior wood looked pretty well
weathered, but most was undamaged.  The only exception was a split in the starboard toe rail, which we discovered in Mayo, when we washed the deck for the first time.  Dave had taped it in place for the trip down.  Now, we could take the time to repair it.  
  
There were 2 repairs needed.  The split pieces needed to be re-attached, and the 2 screw holes forward of the crack needed to be filled so that the screws would once again hold the wood in place on the deck.  Dave epoxied the 2 pieces together and then taped them in place.  Next he popped out the teak plugs in the screw holes. He put tape below  each of the holes and partially filled each with epoxy.  Once the epoxy hardened, he was able to screw through the epoxy and secure the toe rail to the deck.  Cathy fitted new teak plugs in the screw holes and then sanded the rail in the same way she did all the other wood.  Seven coats of varnish later, it seems to once again be fitting to call it “brightwork”.

With the exterior wood done, Cathy turned her attention to the wood in the main saloon. A repair
was needed here as well. The fiddle that originally lined the starboard ledge must have popped off at some point in the past, because it was laying loose in the V-berth when we first boarded the boat.  Also about a foot of its aftmost length had a jagged edge where a piece had broken off. 
Since this broken edge would not be visible, we focused instead on strengthening the screwholes so that they would once more allow the wood to be screwed into the fiberglass along the back of the settee.  Using the same technique he had used for the damaged toerail, Dave filled the holes with epoxy.  He was then able to screw the fiddle back in place.

With the repairs complete, Cathy finished prepping most of the wood in the main saloon and a recently-acquired dishrack.  After applying 5 coats of varnish, the results look great.  Her only regret is that what didn’t get done will have to wait for quite a while before she will likely be able to get to it.  You can only make that kind of mess so often.  

More Power 

Having invested so much effort in getting the DC wiring right, Dave now turned his attention to the AC wiring (that is shore power).  He wanted to install a 3-breaker control panel on the board above the batteries that contained all of the other electrical components.  To do this, he needed to mount it on a box that would hold the wires and circuit breakers, which he could then mount on the board.  He found a junction box at Lowes that would do the trick.  He just had to cut a hole in the cover to allow him to drop in the control panel. 

Once the box was modified, he mounted on the board and began running the wires to power the 3 circuits.  The first would be the main switch that
would control the 110 outlets that were to be installed.  The 2nd would power the battery charger.  The 3rd would control an outlet for a heater or air conditioner.   Once the box was wired, we needed to run the wires into the boat and install some AC outlets.  After much consideration, we decided to choose 2 locations on either side of the galley, with the wires running up the starboard side behind the settee to the 1st outlet and then forward under the V-berth and back through the head to reach the 2nd outlet. 

Other than some smaller tasks (putting latches on the cockpit lockers, connecting the chartplotter to the VHF to provide our position for DSC calls), we spent much of our  time planning for, researching, and ordering parts for other enhancements that are still planned: a water system, the bimini, new cleats, ground tackle, insulation for the Waeco fridge.  But before we could get very far, we had to turn our attention southeast, as the waters began to churn in the Atlantic for a storm that soon had a name – Irene. 

Stripping  Down and Tying Up
 
Dave had been watching the storms in the Atlantic all summer, but when Irene started to move toward the Bahamas, it became increasingly a concern.  The “spaghetti” models showing its possible track on BoatUS’ website were starting to trend toward a sweep up the East Coast. That meant we had to get ready. Our first decision was whether to stay put or to go somewhere else.  With 2 boats to care for, we quickly decided to stay put.  Our neighbors in the marina had been through at least 2 significant storms with large tidal surges (Isabel and Ida) and weathered them without too many incidents.  Our biggest concern was how close we were to the sailboat that was docked next to us, since our slips are a little narrow for our beam.  We would have to do our best to prevent  any possible contact.  The surge was going to be the biggest issue.  In the past it had risen as much as 8 feet above normal high. That was what we needed to prepare for.

Preparing two boats instead of just one was exhausting and kept us busy through a long day well past dark and half of the next day. On the surface, the work to be done on both of them was the same: strip  or secure any loose items on deck, tie extra long lines to secure the boat mid-slip.  However, in execution, each boat had its challenges and its benefits. Orion, having been our home for 5 years was much more work to strip and secure, just due to the number of things on deck and the challenge of storing them so that we still had room to continue to live on her.  However, with her mid-cleats and all the lines we have acquired over the  years, it was easier to know how to secure her so that she rose and fell with the tides. Orion Jr, had very little on deck, and her small size made it easier to take care of her.  For instance, rather than dropping the mainsail and then securing the boom, we simply removed the boom with the mainsail on it and stowed it below.  The anchors that were mounted on deck could be stowed below.  The only thing that added complexity to securing her was the installation the day before on the new bows for the bimini, which now had to be secured for the storm.  The biggest challenge on Orion Jr was rigging her lines. With only 1 bow cleat and no mid-cleats, Dave had to rig shackles on the toe rail to take the lines through. Also, we had bought a number of lines for her, but we had to search a bit to ensure we had enough long ones for the storm surge.  

So on Thursday before the storm was due arrive on Saturday (Aug. 27), we woke early and got to work.  First on our list while it was calm was to drop the headsail on Orion.  (We had removed Orion Jr’s the day before.) There was a little more wind than we would have liked, but it’s a good thing we went ahead with removing it, because the wind only got stronger as the day progressed.  We had to strip the decks of anything that could be blown away or create excessive windage.  We felt pretty lucky that only 2 days earlier we had managed to sell our little inflatable dinghy.  (It was kind of sad to see her go.)  That meant that we had one less big item to worry about. The other dinghy, along with the generator box and the box that held our diesel jugs were loaded into a truck and stored at our friend Steve’s house.  The bimini and the enclosure panels not already taken down needed to be cleaned and stowed below.  Then the bimini poles needed to be strapped down and padded to ensure they didn’t scratch each other or the boat surface.  The secondary anchor came off.  The mainsail tail was strapped to the mast.    We covered the helm pedestal with a thick plastic and then tied the helm cover on over it. 

Next we began running extra lines.  The overall plan was to have the lines set so that the ones away from the finger pier were set low, which would draw the boat away from the pier as the water rose. Those on the side with the finger pier are placed higher, so that the boat will move away from the pier as the lines on the other side tighten when the water rises.  Once these lines were in place on both boats, we started working on chafe protection.  Cathy ripped up a pair of Dave’s jeans and began to furiously create long stretches of chafe protection which Dave place on lines that crossed over decking or other lines.  He also ran the lines under the piers around pilings with small lengths of chain to prevent the lines from chafing on the pilings.  Finally, we placed every fender we owned on each of the two boats to reinforce our fender board and allow the boats to be protected on the upper part of the pilings. 

After an exhausting couple of days, we felt we were ready for the storm.  We were also helped tremendously by our neighbor's decision to move out of his slip and across the river to the Hampton Public Pier, giving us much more room to move.  So, we felt we could leave the boats and let them ride it out on their own.  We couldn't spend any more time on them anyway.  Because we had a wedding to get to -- in Virginia Beach

Wedding Bell Blues

The news that Irene was targeting the East Coast on the weekend of August 27th was distressing for us, but it was horrifying news to my son’s fiancé, who was planning on getting married on the beach at Virginia Beach on the same day.  Each day created a new problem.  The judge cancelled. The wedding guests couldn’t make it.  The replacement judge couldn’t make it.  The hotel wanted to cancel.  Still they kept going.  This was the date they had
planned for so long.  It was going to happen, come hell or high water, literally.

So, we did what we could for them.  Dave created a website to help them communicate with guests the up-to-date status of where the wedding would be.  We had already agreed to pick up the cake the day before the wedding.  We arranged with Cathy’s sister to get the bride’s parents to Virginia Beach
the day before the wedding.  We agreed to watch the boys, whatever the weather for a few days after the wedding.  By Friday, when we walked away from the boat, we headed over to Virginia Beach against the much larger tide of traffic heading the other way.  It was a nice day.  Adam and Christina and the kids were swimming in the ocean and enjoying the beach.  But the storm was still coming.  By suppertime, they had another shock.  The 3rd judge had called, he was going to be delayed by 2 hours.  They were at their wits’ end.

The wedding day dawned with Irene starting to vent her fury all around us.  Dave had to make a  last minute run with the top of the wedding cake to Wal-mart to get it re-decorated, since the top layer had slid.  Cathy was trying to relay the weather and road closure info to her relatives who were deciding whether they could get from Williamsburg through the tunnel before it closed (and if they could get back).  One of the groomsmen didn’t show.  So
Dave was called on to take his place.  The photographer didn’t show, so Cathy was asked to take as many pictures as possible for the wedding albums.  The hotel thought they would lose power any minute.  And just before the ceremony, with the judge not there, Dave was asked to lead the ceremony.  (And, in case you’re asking yourself.  NO, it’s not legal for a captain to marry somebody.)  And outside the winds blew and the rains came.

So, they held the ceremony.  Dave married his first couple.  And then the judge arrived later and did it in a 2nd go-round for the legal records.  The DJ made the 2 hour drive from Emporia.  Cathy’s family braved the winds and managed to cross the James River on the Monitor-Merrimac bridge-tunnel to get back to Williamsburg.  It was a beautiful day, despite the weather with lots of memories that will certainly last a lifetime.

Good night Irene

So,  what about the boats in the storm?  They did fine.  Not a scratch.  The marina lost power for 5 days, but with the cooler weather, we enjoyed the week with our grandsons aboard who hardly noticed the lack of A/C, except for the darkness in the bathrooms on shore.  We helped out our neighbors on the dock by running our generator to recharge batteries and run bilge pumps.  

But we still are keeping a watchful eye on the Atlantic storms: Katia, Lee, Maria . . .

Orion Jr has made her maiden voyage (at least under that name), carrying us from Mayo, MD down the bay to Hampton. We finished the last of the projects necessary to get her underway as the last week in July was coming to an end. By August 1st, we were halfway to Hampton, getting the feel of this smaller boat, with her tiller and outboard engine. 
 
Final  Checklist 

Probably the most significant task remaining to be done before we launched Orion Jr was to get the
fuel tanks connected to the engine.  The original fuel hose needed to be replaced, and Dave also needed to find fuel tanks that would fit in the rather narrow opening for the fuel locker.  Modern fuel tanks are built just a little too wide to fit.  We managed to find the new fuel hose with the right fittings for the Nissan engine.  Then he located 2 6-gallon tanks that fit, and at least one smaller one thanks to some help from Greg at GBS, Inc and George from Quicksilver.  Then, Dave replaced the fuel line and ensured the tanks and the connections did not leak. Once the new line was run, Cathy crawled into what may be the least accessible and possible most disgusting part of the boat to tape up the gaps in the fuel vent hose.  (Let’s hope the repairs hold.)   With varying estimates of what the engine would use to make the run down the bay, we took on as much fuel as we could carry, which added up to about 15 gallons.  This would either just get us to Solomons, 50 miles away or it would take us all the way to Hampton.  Only time would tell.

Before leavingAnnapolis, we went to pick up our sails.  Bruce Empey, who had made the sails for
Orion, had modified the Columbia’s headsail to
make it a furling sail.  The original mainsail was not worth modifying. Also, we needed to raise the boom to allow us to be able to stand under it.  So, at Bruce’s suggestion, we found a new sail at Bacon that met the dimensions that he gave us for the raised boom.  After we hoisted it, we discovered it
needed some modifications to the head of the sail to keep it from interfering with the backstay.  Bruce had made these modifications as well.  

 

Orion Jr has tiller-steering, and the boat’s tiller had obviously been through a lot over the years, given its state when we purchased the boat.  So, one of our first projects was to bring it back to Hamptonand work on re-finishing it.  Cathy prepped and sanded it, which was all most of the surface needed.  However, there was a hole in the side near the tip, with a repair that was failing. So, Dave used some epoxy to fill the hole, making it stronger than new.  It also looks not much different from a knot in the wood.  Several coats of varnish later, the tiller gleamed. With a couple of bolts through the end, it was re-installed and the boat was ready to steer.

With several days of travel ahead, we decided to use the trip to  try out our new Waeco fridge / freezer.  It fit perfectly on an aft settee, just tight enough not to move while underway.  Dave wired it into the fuse block and we started freezing 2 liter bottles of water to use as ice for the ice box.  With our arrival several days later in Hampton, we were still working out a process that consumed the least amount of amps, but we had learned a lot.  

Just a few more things to do.  Dave needed to replace the hose for the new manual bilge pump and he also added a strainer to the bilge end of the run.  Cathy had spent the last hiatus in Hampton making curtains for the portlights and to separate the Main Saloon and V-berth.  We had purchased plastic h-track from a local canvas shop and, with some advice from Dan at Sailrite in Annapolis, we used a strong double-sided tape to mount them.  They help provide privacy and help reduce the heat in the cabin below.  And they don’t look too bad either.  
 
The rest of the time, we spent organizing things down below, removing anything we could and stowing the remaining debris in various nooks and crannies.  We had wanted to apply the name decals to the hull before launch, but alas they hadn’t arrived.  We would just have to find a way to do it in the water.  Other than that, by end of the day Wednesday, we felt we were ready to go.

Into the Water – and out again

 Our launch was scheduled for Thursday morning (July 28th), and we felt we were ready.  We surveyed the bottom of the boat for any last minute items to take care of.  We realized the speed thru-hull needed paint around its rim, which Dave  quickly applied.  He was concerned that he couldn’t be sure whether the depth transducer had bottom paint on it.  So, he had the boatyard sand it down and put the transducer-specific paint on it.  Cathy pulled the few remaining items out from under the boat, to leave it clear for the Travelift bands.  We
opened up the compartments in the V-berth that contained our new and existing thru-hulls, to make inspection easier once we were lowered in the water.  By late morning, she was underway to her launch.  We arranged to have her lowered only partway into the water at first to allow us to get on board and check the thru-hulls.  And it was good that we did.  Although all the thru-hulls were sound, including the new one, there was a tiny leak through the fiberglass seal that covered the opening of a thru-hull that had been removed.  It looked like we weren’t going any further into the water today.

After Greg (who had done the work) inspected the leak, he determined that the water had found a tiny channel through the fiberglass, which was the source of the droplets of water.  So, we hauled the boat back out of the water, and he put another layer of epoxy on the outer hull and more fiberglass on the inner hull.  To give the repair the best chance, we delayed re-launch until Friday morning.  Dave would apply the bottom paint to the epoxy on the hull in the morning, just before we splashed.  We just hoped there would be no more leak.  We then left the boat in the bands overnight and traveled to see George and Gail, who were going to keep the car for us and bring us back early the next morning.  Shortly after arriving back at the marina, Dave had applied the paint and we were going back in the water.  This time, all was dry.  Orion Jr was in the water where we could finish preparing her for the shakedown cruise the next day.

The delay in launching wasn’t all bad, since the boat name decal that we ordered on-line arrived Thursday morning.  With the boat back out the water, we had the time to apply it.  So, we spent an hour applying the name to each side of the hull.  In
retrospect, this is not something we would have liked to have done with the boat in the water.  The results look pretty good, and Orion Jr is now official.  

Maiden Voyage 
 
The rest of Friday was spent checking out boat systems that we couldn’t do on land.  The depth
sounder worked and seemed accurate, which we verified by dropping a lead line. Dave’s new deck washdown pump and associated plumbing worked great after he tightened a screw on a hose clamp. Cathy managed to rig some temporary shade over the boom.  It would keep us from raising the main, but would keep us out the sun and cooler
than without it until Cathy could build the bimini in Hampton.  Dave started the engine (easily) and checked the fuel lines for leaks (none were found). We also spent some time re-distributing weight on the boat.  While in the bands, the lift operator told us that we had only about 1000 lbs forward, but 3500 aft.  So, we stowed some lesser used items in the V-berth compartments under the cushions. Finally, we washed the outside of the boat, which had gotten pretty dirty from its weeks on the hard.  With our work done, there was little we could do, but try to escape the boiling 102 degree heat of this last Friday in July. As the sun
began to set, we started to get some relief.  We made an early night, so we could leave at first light for Solomons.

As dawn came, we were already up and preparing to move. Although we had started the engine the
day before, we hadn’t used it to move the boat, and it had been several years since we had used a tiller to steer a boat.  It was going to be a learning process,  but we had several days of sailing ahead to get used to it.  So, we pushed off the dock and made our way down Cadle Creek to the RhodeRiver, site of our first grounding on Orion.  Our only company this early on a Saturday morning was some crabbers and the fishermen headed out to the bay.  Dave had rigged our trusty Garmin 172C chartplotter with a temporary mount to guide us on our journey.  As we entered the West Riverand approached the bay, we took our first shortcut across the shoal at its entrance.  Something we would never had tried with Orion.  Once on the bay, we realized the wind was going to give us a nice push, so we unfurled the headsail and began to
motorsail.  As the day progressed, the wind built, but how much we couldn’t say, since this boat has no anemometer.  But the whitecaps and the waves behind us told us it wasn’t the 5-10 knots forecast. So, we shut off the engine and sailed on the headsail alone for the remainder of the trip down the bay, only furling the sail when we entered the mouth of the Patuxent. 

Since we had no dinghy on board, we decided to take a spot on a dock so we could visit with Dave’s cousins in LexingtonPark.  The first docking went fine in nearly calm conditions on a face dock.  Not the biggest challenge, but every successful docking is a victory.  After a couple of days
spent with Don and Cindy and family, we headed out early on Monday for the Great Wicomico River, just south of the Potomac.  After a morning of virtually no wind, which we appreciated as we crossed open waters of the mouth of the Potomac, the wind began to build out of the south, which was (of course) the direction we were heading.  The smaller boat was slowed considerably more by pounding into the waves than our big boat.  At one point, the outboard popped up out of the water, the mount no longer staying down. Later, we learned this was because we hadn’t locked the mount in the down position.  

With thunderstorms in the forecast, we wanted to make it into our anchorage before they arrived.  Turning into the Great Wicomico, the waves moved to the beam and Orion Jr wallowed with the swells until we rounded Sandy Point and made it into the protection of its shoal. After 2  attempts, we managed to get the danforth anchor to set.  It was a different process, since the anchor rode was in a bag, consisted of only 10 ft of chain and the rest rope, and without a windlass it had to be hauled in each time by hand.  Cathy had to reach back to the outboard to shift into reverse or dash forward to the chartplotter to set the anchor drag and read how far we had fallen back. With only one other boat in the anchorage and a lot of room to shore, we felt we could handle the storms when  they came. 


 
After a short while at anchor, our neighbors on La Comete came over to invite us for a visit. We took them up on their offer and met this wonderful family of 5 (children ranging from 12 to 3) who were on their way to Quebec to have their boat hauled.  They had started out in France in 2006, and spent several years in the Caribbean.  We shared information about destinations in the bay, but warned them not to expect a lot of good sailing in the Bay in July – words that would come back
to us later in our trip.  As the lightning began to fill the sky, we begged our leave and headed back to the boat to brace for its arrival.  When nothing happened for several hours, we began to think we’d dodged a bullet.  But not so. The wind started blowing and was putting a large strain on our temporary shade.  So, in the dark and bounced by the wind, we scrambled to untie it and take it down.  A quick glance at the chartplotter in the process said the boat was OK, but once the shade was down, a look around made it obvious that we had dragged.  So, we fired up the engine and moved into the wind far forward of our position, so we could fall back or (God forbid) drag a long way.  We managed to get the anchor to set after a bit, and it held for the rest of the night, even making it hard to pull out in the morning.   
 
The storm cooled things off, and we had a pleasant sail to Indian Creek where we visited with Joy and Rusty from Slow Dancin’.   After a weather day (which netted Dave his first ground tackle upgrade – 70 ft of chain), we  moved down the bay and decided to use the north winds to push us all the way to Hampton.  With a late start, this at first seemed doubtful, but by motorsailing and with a little push from the current, we pulled into our slip before 7pm, a long 10-hour run, but feeling
good to be back home. 

So, we had  made our shakedown cruise and learned a few things about life on Orion Jr. 
 1. We can travel much closer to points on shore, cutting corners, which makes the distances shorter. 
2.  There is more motion on the little boat, meaning we need to watch the weather and travel in lighter winds.
3. The radio, depthsounder, engine, sails, fuel, and electrical systems worked well.
4. The boatspeed doesn’t work at all and the compass doesn’t read correctly. 
5. The fuel economy was a LOT better than forecast.  
6. Our trip to Solomons consumed only 2 gallons and from Solomons to Indian Creek took only 4.5.
7.  We need an auto-pilot.
8. The weather forecast for every day we traveled, except one was  for winds at 5 – 10 knots, however, without exception, each day we had whitecaps and 3ft seas.  We keep wishing we
could take back the advice we gave the folks on La Comete.

 Friends and Family

On our way to the boat, we visited with our son’s family for a few days, getting to babysit some and enjoy the kids.  We also spent time with Don and Cindy and the kids, enjoying their hospitality and helping the kids with their search for a new dog.