Day 1: Potomac to the Rappahannock. After 4 days of waiting out the rain and wind, we were up at 5:30 and away from the dock of Point Lookout Marina at 6:25. It was a nice ride down Smith Creek and into the Potomac with a big red sun rising. It's a little hard to see the crab pots at that time of day, but we did a good job of remembering where they were from our trip into the marina 4 days earlier. One strange thing: we saw blackbirds picking over an osprey nest for small twigs and ??? - while the osprey just sat there and watched. Guess we need to consult with some birder folks to figure that one out!
The run southward on the Bay seemed to last forever. First off we were going slow to make certain the rudder etc. behaved. And then there was the following sea with 3 foot waves and constant steering adjustments to keep on line. We did see a barge loaded with rock headed south from Havre de Grace and a bunch of birds hitching a ride! Later saw a lighthouse covered with birds - must have been the destination!
We stopped after 49 miles back at Dozier's Regatta Point and the dock-master met us at the pump out station and after doing our business we simply walked the boat forward to our usual spot. We quickly secured the boat, got the power and a/c working, paid our fees, grabbed a loaner car and headed to the pizza parlor for a late lunch and some time off. Stopped at the hardware store for a grease gun, some grease, and bug spray. The spiders had taken over the stern and port side of the boat and the flies decided to start eating for their winter hibernation. Ortho "Home Defense" works great and lasts a long time!
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| Water level at Pt. Lookout at it's highest. |
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| Rock barge with birds! |
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| Birds at vacation resort! |
Day 2: Rappahannock to Hampton Roads. Our regular slip at Dozier's is at the end of a long fairway and right next to the main pier - leaving no maneuvering room for a boat without a bow thruster. So with the wind against us, we backed the boat all the way out of the fairway, past the 15 boats on either side, and into the main channel - went very smoothly with Judie keeping watch and coaching Ger all the way. We may need to consider a new slip if we stop there in the spring on our way north.
Nice wind coming out of the Rappahannock but the Bay had 3-4 foot rollers on our port stern and we were in for another long day. We passed Wolf Point Light, the same light that had surprised us out of the fog/rain on the way up in June, but this time it was visible from 4 miles away! There was lots of ship traffic on the Bay and we always had at least one to keep track of. We finally made the turn at Thimble Point Light and into the Hampton Roads area and found beautiful water with comfortable six inch waves. We made our way to the City of Hampton and Bluewater Yachting Center.
The Marina is excellent - with new floating docks, great restrooms, a wonderful - but busy - restaurant and nice folks. We had to adjust our slip and the first location was down a very narrow fairway, so they put us on a small "T" dock - but about as far from the office and facilities as we could get. No matter, when we were ready we made a combined trip to the showers and dinner. Later that evening the Wednesday night sailboat races were finishing just pat R Island's dock, and we watched the boats "race" past in a dying wind and sunset. Very relaxing with a glass of wine and the great views.
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| Interesting large "landing craft" type of boat transporting a large fork lift. |
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| Hampton Roads Light and Hampton University buildings.
Day 3: Hampton Roads to Great Bridge VA and the Atlantic Yacht Basin. Timing the tide, we left the dock about 7:30 and headed south. We passed Naval Station Norfolk on our port side and once again marveled at the ships there for refit and re-supply. Warship 57 left just as we passed her slip and it was interesting to see the tugs do their work and the sailors standing on the ship perimeter. As we continued past the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, we saw lots of activity and lots of pilot boats and tugs - must have been moving day on the water!
After about 14 miles and just before the Gilmerton Lift Bridge, there was a loud bag and vibration at the stern. We immediately reduced speed to idle, and checked the stern and engine room for trouble. Finding nothing, we continued on slowly but made ready the anchor just in case we needed to stop quickly or lost something in the drive train for some reason. We were lucky at the remaining bridges and lock as we arrived right at opening time and we called bridge/lock operators and other boaters to express our situation and concerns. Christina the sailboat, also headed to Atlantic Yacht Basin (AYB), was very cooperative but Maverick the tugboat was a ass using his size and having a lack of communication skills.
Next thing we know, the bilge pump alarm is going off and we are thinking about where/when we will sink! Luckily, it activated for only short periods and a review of the bilge found it keeping up with the water flow but no source for the water. By now we have only one lock and one bridge and about one mile to go, so we prayed and continued on.
We finally made it to AYB and tied-up to the main dock. After consulting with James, the boatyard manager, I discovered a leak in the fresh water system behind the water heater. Why it happened I do not know, but we essentially wound up pumping the water from our 110 gallon fresh water tank thru the broken fitting and into the bilge! I was able to fix it and pump out the remaining water, dry out the electrical cable tray it had leaked into, and all was well on that end. They were unable to pull the boat out of the water until the following week to check on the vibration, but when they did, we found a rope wrapped around the prop. Our "line cutter' had cut it - the loud bang we heard, and it was the cause of the vibration by interfering with the prop wash as it went over the rudder.
      
The problem rope!
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