Week 32:
Wed. May 8, 2013— Day 218:
Destination: Goat Island (Mile 43) to Waterside Marina,
Norfolk (Mile 0)
Departure: 0600 hrs. Arrival:
1530 hrs. Distance: 43 SM
Winds: undeterminable in protected Dismal Swamp
Canal, S in Norfolk
Weather: mix of sun & cloud, then dark clouds
& rain late afternoon, cool in am but pleasant in pm
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| Goat Island at Dawn |
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| Along the Pasquotank River After Sunrise |
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| Dismal Swamp Canal in the Spring |
No surprises during the
night; the clear skies & stars remained with us. It was so picturesque with glass like clam
water & a beautiful colour to the morning sky. We carried a speed of 6K motoring along our
10.5 mi. route to South Mills Lock for
the 1st opening of the day at 0830 hrs.; we were 55 mins. early.
Five northbound boats locked in at 0830 hrs. & locked out at 0905
hrs. We had 3-1/2 hrs. to travel the
21.1 mi. distance past the NC Welcome Center to the Deep Creek Bridge (bascule)
at 1330 hrs. We slowed our boat speed a
few times, taking in the pristine, scenic environment surrounding us; we saw 1
eagle, 5 brown turtles sunning on a log, ducks & birds of course &
gently hit a couple of logs on the canal floor.
With 1 mile before the bridge & an hour remaining, the bridge
tender/lock master hailed us & said he was opening the bridge for 3
southbound sailing boats he had locked through early & would allow any
northbound boats to take advantage of the bridge opening if we desired, but we
would have to wait for the regular schedule time of 1330 hrs. for the lock opening
& could tie up at Elizabeth’s Dock, a 200 ft. wooden dock on the west bank
with 8 ft. water depths just before the lock.
And so we did, then locked in at 1338 hrs. & locked out at 1405
hrs. The lockmaster coached us with the
info that with <30 min. remaining we would have to maintain a minimum of 6K
to make the Gilmerton Bridge (new lift) opening at 1430 hrs. (opens every hour
on the ½ hour). Well, we barely made it
at 7K & the bridge tender was generous with his opening length of time,
even the 2 slower sailboats behind us made it.
Thank you! And the Deep Creek
lockmaster hailed us to say he knew we could do it & how pleased he was for
us all! We followed a tug & barge
along the shipping channel past the naval boats & cranes at a reduced speed
to our turn off at Waterside Marina. We
did it again—making an arrival at the same time as the Loppers Convention; the
marina was jammed with trawlers till Friday, so we were tied up at the one &
only possible spot left, on the bulkhead right at the entrance of the
marina. Once electricity & water
source were hooked up, we got to scrubbing the cockpit from the dodger to the
transom with pinesol, scrub brushes of every size & rags & all the fresh water we wanted X 2-1/2
hrs. when the rain settled in for a
while. That area looked better & the
stench was somewhat better; we will tackle the transom in the morning. Supper at Hooters as it was close by, it was
rain & most importantly was NHL playoffs are under way so an opportunity to
watch. We went from totally perfect
peacefulness last night to the noisy industrial sounds of Norfolk tonight; what
a difference 24 hrs. can make. A cloudy
evening & night with periodic showers.
Thurs. May 9, 2013— Day 219:
Destination: Norfolk (Mile 0)
Winds: W 5-8K
Weather: glorious, beautiful warm sun & few clouds
later in the day only
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| One of Norfolk's RR Bridges |
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| Waterside Park |
This was one of those perfect
weather days that is the reason why you do this kind of adventure & say, “wow,
I could do this for the rest of my life”.
I still want to be home more though after all this time. Winds were west & light, not the
predicted SW & light; hope this holds true for our passage tomorrow. Graeme started cleaning the transom before
0700 hrs. while I prepared breakfast, a relaxed one this fine morning. Once the transom was done I spent time doing
the tedious job of cleaning the stern enclosure windows from all the hardened
slim from the flies; 2/3 done in the am & the last 1/3 was done in the
later afternoon. Oh, then lovely long
showers, followed by a pleasant walk up Granby St. X 1-2 mi. to Virginia Beach
Blvd., past Harrison Opera House that was under construction in the Fall, then
back via Monticello through Norfolk Scope (semi pro hockey arena) &
Chrysler Hall to MacArthur Center (shopping mall). Downtown Norfolk looked inviting, beautiful,
clean, green, alive with roses in bloom, irises finishing there blooming,
magnolias in bud waiting to burst, Fall construction completed & a general revitalization
of this entire area! Time for lunch, without
question at Granby St. Pizza for ½ stromboli each + 1 as a takeout. Peter (owner) recognized us immediately &
told us of his wooden kayak building night course & proudly showed
pictures. We returned to the boat &
cleaned the last window panel, but the worse in my estimation & put all the
cleaning supplies away, anticipating an early morning departure. I hope all this cockpit & transom
cleaning will aid in the cleaning required back in Deltaville to but ‘Sweet Chariot
Too’ in good & proper shape for summer storage. Sens were playing Montreal tonight; they lead
the series 3:1 & Graeme insisted in watching our team, so I guess leftovers
wait another night & I get another free meal. The evening weather in this seaport was magnificent & the night was just
as great, calm & stars in the night sky.
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| Norfolk Scope |
P.S. We did not jinks the Sens; they won 6:1 &
thus won the series 4 games to 1!!! On to the round 2 of the playoffs!
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Utilities Payment Depositor
|
Thurs. May 9, 2013—Day
219:
Destination: Norfolk (Mile 0)
Winds: W5-8K
Weather: glorious, beautiful warm sun & few clouds
later in the day only
 |
Mr. & Mrs. Tourist at Waterside Boardwalk
|
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| LRT in Norfolk |
This was one of those
perfect weather days that is the reason why you do this kind of adventure &
say, “wow, I could do this for the rest of my life”. I still want to be home more though after all
this time. Winds were west & light,
not the predicted SW & light; hope this holds true for our passage
tomorrow. Graeme started cleaning the
transom before 0700 hrs. while I prepared breakfast, a relaxed one this fine
morning. Once the transom was done I
spent time doing the tedious job of cleaning the stern enclosure windows from
all the hardened slim from the flies; 2/3 done in the am & the last 1/3 was
done in the later afternoon. Oh, then
lovely long showers, followed by a pleasant walk up Granby St. X 1-2 mi. to
Virginia Beach Blvd., past Harrison Opera House that was under construction in
the Fall, then back via Monticello through Norfolk Scope (semi pro hockey
arena) & Chrysler Hall to MacArthur Center (shopping mall). Downtown Norfolk looked inviting, beautiful,
clean, green, alive with roses in bloom, irises finishing their blooming,
magnolias in bud waiting to burst, Fall construction completed & a general revitalization
of this entire area! Time for lunch,
without question at Granby St. Pizza for ½ stromboli each + 1 as a
takeout. Peter (owner) recognized us
immediately & told us of his wooden kayak building night course &
proudly showed pictures. We returned to
the boat & cleaned the last window panel, but the worse in my estimation
& put all the cleaning supplies away, anticipating an early morning
departure. I hope all this cockpit &
transom cleaning will aid in the cleaning required back in Deltaville to but
‘Sweet Chariot Too’ in good & proper shape for summer storage. Sens were playing Montreal tonight; they lead
the series 3:1 & Graeme insisted in watching our team, so I guess leftovers
wait another night & I get another free meal! The evening weather in this
seaport was magnificent & the night was just as great, calm & stars in
the night sky.
P.S. We did not jinks the Sens; they won 6:1 &
thus won the series 4 games to 1!!! On to the round 2 of the playoffs!
Fri. May 10, 2014—Day 220:
Destination: Norfolk (Mile 0) to Deltaville—Norton’s
Yachts (Mile 152.6)
Departure: 0558 hrs. Arrival:
1410 hrs. Distance: 52.6 SM
Winds: W to light & variable
Weather: very sunny, warm & blue skies
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| One of Several Huge Freighter |
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| Thimble Shoal Lighthouse |
The morning alarm came
very early, especially since I didn’t get to bed till midnight. I was surprise I slept so well in
anticipation of one more step closer to home!
It took us 1 hour & 35 min. to reach G1ER marker (Tunnel Bridge)
from the marina, following & passed by the usual huge freighters &
container ships traffic along the Elizabeth River. And at 0815 hrs. we reached Thimble Shoal
Lighthouse. Despite our cleaning efforts,
the cockpit still had a faint offensive odour from those damn May flies. I had hoped that we would see dolphins today,
as we had not seen any for several days, since Beaufort, N.C. And I was not disappointed; my day was made
when we sighted 3-4 frisky ones close by.
A number of trawlers from the Loppers Convention were also on the move
making their way to Dozier’s Regatta Point Marina, several sailboats added to
the lot + 5 large southbound freighters were seen on the horizon. While the winds were blowing from the west at
8K we were able to sail, but then they became light to calm &
variable. The Bay chop was quite calm
with an occasional rolling wave from an unknown source. I actually got my bathing suit on & read
lying on the deck X a couple of hours before my turn at the helm; the last time I’ve done that was in the
Exumas the later part of Feb.! Then Home
Sweet Home, at least for the boat! Seven
months, 32 weeks or 210 days from the date of departure! After fuelling up we moved & tied up to a
long finger slip on the new docks. And
the packing up immediately began; water & fuel jerry cans were removed from
the life lines, 99.9% of my clothes & paraphanalia were packed, all the
charts & guide books except for the Chesapeake + marine catalogues were
packed & moved to the car. Graeme
called Boat US (insurance) to say we were back in the Chesapeake & now qualified
for a refund. A quick shower after supper, then the inventory
was done of the head & port side of the main cabin. It was too late & I was too tired to
continue. We hope the weather holds the
next 2 days so we can get the exterior boat cleaning done, as we are making a
real ambitious effort to depart Mon. to visit friends in Annapolis, then finish
the drive home Tues. I missed the
sunset, but a clear sky & stars tonight with mostly calm SSW winds with
frequent gusts.
Sat. May 11, 2013—Day 221:
Destination: Deltaville (Mile 152.6)
Winds: who
cares! N & light
Weather: heavy clouds, T-storm & rain to start
then a mix of sun & cloud, warm almost humid
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| At Norton's Yacht Sales Yard |
Happy 50th
Birthday Dave!
A warm night & warm
day; naturally, cruising is finished & it is cleaning time! I woke up this morning tired before even
getting out of bed. There was a long
list of work ahead of us. While the
t-storms & rains fell I continued with a thorough inventory of the
starboard side of the main cabin, including washing the storage areas with a
mixture of Clorox, pinesol & water, a time consuming project. The ceilings, walls, shelves & a few
widely used storage compartments below the floor boards were also thoroughly
washed. Graeme worked outdoors cleaning
the stubborn deck stains once the rains stopped, hosed down the carpet runner
& made a few trips into town; The Ships Tailor does not clean canvass. I finally started the laundry at mid
afternoon X 6 hrs., washing our duvet, all the boat curtains & decorative
cushion covers & terry seat covers.
Cloud cover at sunset but gave way to clear skies & some stars for
the night.
Sun. May 12, 2013—Day 222:
Destination: Deltaville (Mile 152.6)
Weather: rain followed by a mix of sun & clouds
& fresh temps
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| Norton's Yacht Sales |
Happy Mother’s Day!
I attended the 0900 hrs.
Mass at Church of the Visitation, less than 15 min. drive; so very warm &
friendly! That gave Graeme the
opportunity to start the engine oil change.
Larry called to say they would not be driving up to see us as Lynn was
not felling well. Since it was warm
& fairly sunny I worked on polishing the stainless & somewhat
rearranged the things already packed in the car, while Graeme completed the oil
change. He insisted going to West
Marine, a bad move, as I bought a few more new clothing items, some of which
were on sale. Graeme changed the black
spring-loaded mooring lines to the original mooring lines; in retrieving these
lines from the storage area by the transom, he discovered this area was
inundated with the dead carcasses of May flies.
The area was hosed down which immensely helped with the residual stench. Some clouds at sunset but a red hue patch was
visible. The breeze was light &
fresh from the north.
Mon. May 13, 2013—Day 223:
Destination: Deltaville to Annapolis
Weather: Mainly sunny, few clouds but cool with
increased winds by evening
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| The Buckleys |
Graeme started the morning
with an early meeting with Ian, the service manager for Norton’s, with a list
of things that need attention, repairs, etc. which I’m sure will add up to an
expensive bill. Remember how I started
this blog way back in October 2012-- a definition of a sailboat is a hole in
the water, surrounded by fiberglass, that you throw money into! He also brought the side & back enclosure
panels to UK Sails for cleaning ($7.00/ lb.); the bimini & dodger will have
to be done at a later time + all will need to be waterproofed with 303. In the meantime I prepared the supper that we
were providing tonight with our friends in Annapolis. After a pleasant 3 hrs. drive we spent an
enjoyable evening catching on each others’ news & even a boat tour of some
of the other creeks we were not familiar with off the South River. A cool windy evening & night, but a
wonderful sleep in a real bed.
Tues. May 14, 2013—Day 224:
Destination: Annapolis to Deltaville
Weather: cloudy, cool & few showers
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| Home Sweet Home! |
Charlie cooked us a great
breakfast before we said our goodbyes, wishing all a great summer, then went
our separate ways, arriving back at the boat at noon. Yup, we feel we can finish the major remaining
projects & be off tomorrow & before the upcoming long weekend both in
Canada & the US. Graeme purchased
& delivered his gifts of beer & rum to the service & office
departments respectively. I thoroughly
scrubbed the shower & head, V-berth & aft cabin ceilings, walls,
shelves with Clorox & pinesol + defrosted & emptied the freezer &
fridge & we both finished packing the car—not a hole to spare. Departure is now unavoidable &
inevitable.
Although tired we enjoyed
a pizza dinner & thought of our Sens playing their 1st game
against Pittsburg Penquins in Round II of the hockey playoffs; Sens lost. The alarm was set for a very early morning
start.
.
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