Stopped in Deltaville yesterday and overnighted there. Received some good advice about the generator that now seems to be working just fine. Isn’t that always the way?
Left there early afternoon today and will anchor out just off Colonial Beach for the night so we can time arrival at Hampton Landing at high tide tomorrow about 1pm.
Do a first pass at cleaning the boat with a more thorough job on Sunday and we’ll be ready to do it all over again!
It’s been a great trip. We’ve learned a lot and even with the various isssues we still love the boat and look forward to moving onto it permanently.
Absent anything crazy happening in the next 18 hours this will be the last post until we get underway again. So check back once in awhile and see what we’re up to!
We stopped yesterday at Dowry Creek Marina in NC for fuel and a waste tank pumpout. It’s under new management and the guys there couldn’t have been nicer. They’re offering inexpensive gas and discounted dockage & services so anyone in the area check it out. Say hello to the bald eagles nesting across the inlet!
After leaving the marina we noticed the generator didn’t want to start. We’d had a problem the day before but a filter change seemed to work. No such luck yesterday. Because our boat is basically “all electric” without a generator many things don’t work. Things like a/c, the stove cooktop and the grill to name a few.
The a/c is easy to do without as we are either moving or anchored out and there is always a breeze. The inability to cook was a challenge. Precooked meats, cheeses and hummus/veggies worked in a pinch but it brought home the importance of frozen items that can be microwaved as that still worked.
We’ll stop at a marina tonight and use shorepower (they also have a restaurant which would be a nice change), and tomorrow head into Deltaville to have someone trouble shoot and fix the generator.
The ICW has been interesting. Not many boats, varied wildlife and lots of calm water. The evenings anchoring out have given us beautiful sunsets and peace and quiet.
Well we were late leaving Thunderbolt and then we had to pick up a part in Charleston so the decision was made to actually do an overnight run and get into Wilmington Saturday morning. I say “a decision was made” because I’m not sure how much input I really had on that one, but Captain Jim and Gary were quite sure they could do it with 2 hour shifts and I could sleep thru the night.
This also meant that dinner was on the run while offshore. That really limits what can be fixed. A couple cans of soup in the microwave was better than pb&j. Frozen entrees that just need to be heated in the microwave would be perfect for situations like this so that goes on the ever growing list of things to do/purchase when we get home.
We tied up at the City Dock right in downtown Wilmington and spent the day with family.
An early start this morning after moving the huge tree that floated into us overnight and we’re on our way to Beaufort NC for the evening.
It’s a beautiful day and should be a nice run up the coast.
Lots of rain yesterday along with current going one way and wind another resulted in us bailing early on our plan to make it as far as Beaufort SC. Everything was okay until after lunch when the wind changed and we started just pounding the waves. Thought to ride it out but when the galley cabinet door flew open for the third time and the balsamic vinegar finally escaped to crash to the floor and shatter the decision was made that enough was enough.
So we headed for an inlet off St Catherine’s Island and ducked into the ICW for calmer waters. The lesson learned was that it’s good to know your limits and it’s especially good when they are lower than that of the boat.
Thru it all Isabella slept on her bed below and didn’t make a peep. She also didn’t eat much but that’s because she’s a smart kitty!
We’re at Thunderbolt Marine this rainy morning getting the transmission oil changed as required because of the transmission rebuild. Heading to Beaufort to pick up a part and then on to Charleston for dinner and overnight.
Just like flying an airplane, when travelling by boat you need to be prepared for things to go wrong. Attitude is everything.
After a glorious day offshore on Saturday we decided to meander up the Intracoast Waterway Sunday to overnight in Daytona Beach and have dinner with friends. Upon leaving Monday morning the generator wouldn’t start and we couldn’t get the top off the strainer to see what had happened. Our initial thought was that we may have sucked up one of the many jellyfish we had seen along the way but we had no way to confirm this.
After calling around for a few hours we finally found a diesel mechanic that could guarantee arrival by end of day (as opposed to two weeks) so the question was “what do we do while waiting around “?
Enter the LISTS. What needs to be done on the boat? What needs to be purchased? Where is the nearest Enterprise rental car company?
A day of errands and laundry and this morning we were underway by 7am heading for another off shore run. Not only was the strainer clogged but the impeller had self destructed.
Oh, I’ve also learned the wonder of next day delivery to the next port for parts but that’s another story.
Heading for Fernandino Beach to overnight. A storm has caught up with us so we’re thinking all the freshwater from the sky will wash the saltwater off the boat. Sounds good, right?
After 18 years of living in the same house, sleeping in the same cubby, wishing she could get to the same chipmunks, our cat Isabella has started on a grand adventure. Since losing our other cat, Whitby, in December she hasn’t been doing well when left alone for more that a long day. So where we go she now goes.
Her first adventure was flying from our home in Springfield, Virginia to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up our new to us boat. American Airlines gets big kudos for friendliness and ease of bringing her on the plane in her carrier. She fit under the seat in front of me and was quiet thru the entire flight.
Certain precautions were made prior to flight. Anti nausea meds, carrier lined with doggie pee pads and a custom cover were great advice from our vet. Everything worked great except when on the ride to the airport she dug up the corner of the pee pad, and peed on her carrier and me because I had it on my lap trying to calm her. As Gary so often says, “no good deed goes unpunished”. So we arrived at the airport not as fresh as when we left the house. A quick trip to the “family” restroom so I could take her out of the carrier and change the pads and we were on our way. I also found a small Lysol spray after clearing security that helped with my pants and her carrier.
Once on the boat we set her up in the master stateroom with food, water and litter box. She promptly decided that the center stateroom with twin beds was more to her liking and curled up on one of the beds and went to sleep.
Isabella watching for dolphinsTough life!
Other than the first day underway on the boat when we hit big waves and got tossed around a bit she has done incredibly well. She still sleeps most of the day either in “her” stateroom or on our bed. When she’s up and around she comes up to the main area of the boat to help Gary with manning the helm or me in the kitchen.
She’s poked her nose out the open doors but we’ll wait until stationary to see how she does with the outside. Although she has her own life jacket she’s not super happy about wearing it. Maybe it’s not her color, who knows?
Departed the marina at Ft. Lauderdale Friday morning about 11am. After an uneventful trip down the river thru Port Everglades Channel to the Atlantic things got fun. There’s a term called “passing the bar” which is tough when the tides are going one way, the ebb tide another and the wind decides to add it’s two cents. The result was 10-12 ft waves. Now we have a big boat with stabilizers but it still was a thrill ride. I ended up sitting on the couch in the salon holding Isabella on my lap (who by the way was terrified) so she wouldn’t get thrown around. It didn’t last very long, only about 15-20 minutes but it was enough to persuade Isabella to spend the rest of the day on the floor at the foot of our bed. How do animals seem to know exactly where the center of the boat is for maximum stabilization?
Although Captain Jim and Gary fared well I was a little green around the edges for the rest of the day. Thank goodness we had decided to make it a short day and dropped anchor at Lakewood around 5 or 6pm.
Saturday started off early with a run just off the coast. We wanted to get as far as Port Canaveral that day which meant running about 6 miles off the coast at 10-12 knots. I got some time at the helm trying to avoid fishing boats which was fun and surprisingly easy. Gary has adapted as if he has been doing this his entire life. The seas were calm and the sun even came out after a rainy couple of days.
We were close enough to Port Canaveral to see the Space-X missile launch. More impressive than the launch was the return of the first stage of the rocket with accompanying sonic boom. It touched down like a feather. I think they’ve finally got the hang of it.
We anchored Saturday night on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) for an early start Sunday.
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It’s now Sunday about noon and we’re motoring up the ICW to get to Daytona for dinner with friends.
After two and a half days underway on the boat we’re decided that we love the boat, we love being on the boat and why in heck did we wait so long to do this?
