hunkered down..

Up early, again, to head off into the stump filled wilds of the Albemarle NC waterways. Given Scooter's recent adventures re stumps, do you think it is reasonable to be slightly concerned here? Anyway, once more we blast of at o'dark thirty, to run 70+ miles in an effort to find a save place to park the boat and gain ground in the projected hunt for "South". Hard to tell what the projected storm track will do to this area. Might even have to shovel snow off the boat with a broom; what a hoot that would be. Maybe just some wind and rain. Coastal NC is supposed to get gale force stuff, or worse. Glad we're tied down. So, plan "B" may be to leave Scooter here 'til post Christmas, then come down and continue South. New Bern and surrounding marine environs have little if any service, or supplies available; fuel, pump out, even electrical power at the dock. Where we are at the moment, has what we need.

So, the trip from Coinjock, across the dreaded Albemarle Sound, thru the Alligator River, and then the stumpy Alligator-Pungo canal went smoothly, albeit a bit longer than planned, Actually a nice day weatherwise. Lunch was great, and the boat ran well; what more could you want . To top it off, we got to go to the marina Xmas party after our arrival. They eat well here in NC. No early stuff tomorrow; need to work out plans, do some boat maintenance; and/or watch the weather do its thing.

Later.

And the move goes on...

So, we have a BiiiiiG day planned; many, many, miles to go, & not a lot of time to get 'er done before dark. Skillfully, oh so skillfully, slide out of the close slot between the boat behind us and the million dollar yachet in front of us. (Patience, Chuckie, you'll see where this is going in a minute) Truck on down the waterway to the Centerville Turnpike bridge, fully expecting to keep on moving. Surprise, looks like the "skillful" captain forgot to read the directions: bridge closed 0630 thru 0830 so hard working folks can get to work, In my defense, I was the third boat in line. Okay, bridge opens and off we all go to the North Landing swing bridge; first bridge in NC. Bear in mind that our entire day is dependent upon timing working out. At this point, we aren't too far off. In the process of milling about waiting for the bridge to open; yep, Chuckie, our "skillful" captain found a stump to perch on for two hours while the towboat came up from Coinjock, NC. Said he has pulled 85 boats off that spot so far this season. Of course I feel sooo much better knowing that: Something about pride going before a humbling experience or two.

So we cut the goal in half and ended up in Coinjock, NC for the night. We'll give it another shot tomorrow. The aim is to get across the Albemarle Sound safely and tied down someplace secure while Diego blows thru the area.. Looks like a long day in the making; thru some pretty remote and stumpy areas. Y'all be good, get that Xmas shopping going, we'll catch you on the flip side!

Update

Most of the ride to Norfolk was nice; smooth seas, even a peak or two of sunshine. That lasted until the last two hours of travel; then up came the wind velocities, down came the rain; there went the one windshield wiper blade; set screw failed to hold. So, press on. I gotta say that there are not a lot of "geez" moments around, but looking out the window at a loaded Evergreen container ship that is right beside you; well, that might qualify. And Chuckie, I mean right beside you. Finally able to get across the entrance channel to Norfolk harbor, we ducked into Willoughby Bay.It is located just outside the Naval airbase in Norfolk. Not much protection, so quite a bit of rock & roll. Up early and underway, we had to deal with a broken RR bridge down the road a bit. Scheduled to open @ 1130; it was more like 1200 before anything productive actually happened. By then the holding tank "full" light popped on; oh, joy. Now 1400, and 30 + miles to run, we elected to park it in Great Bridge , VA for the night. Not a big fan of dark operations in strange places.

Now, if all holds together, and winter storm whatisname slows down a bit, and the Albemarle Sound is doable, we should be pretty much into NC by Sat am. The issue is, and rightfully so, that this is not a delivery type of trip. We're not pushing 10 hrs a day; not dawdling, but not pushing limits to the end either.

My apologies for the lack of pics; two issues: I can't hold the camera with the bad arm; I haven't yet figured out how to get pics from the phone into the blog. As they say, we're working on it. Ya'll stay warm; catch you on the flip side. Finally, there be a pic from the phone. ICW mile marker 0 ( as in zero, Chuckie). Progress of sorts; wish I could remember what I did to get it there.

Wild ride

Well, some days ya just  gotta wonder why you bothered. Not really forecast, but we all know how that works, eh; winds came up strongly last night and took the canvas apart on the bimini top. Not all that difficult to handle unless the wind is blowing, and one hand isn't listening to instructions. Oh, and it was cold. Off to find fuel, pump out facilities, etc. For sheer fear and stomach knotting intensity, try watching 80' of anchor chain refuse to come up 'cause the winch decides to slip. The joy of it all. So, refuelled, pumped out, de-trashed, etc, off we go. Winds were forecast to be out of the WNW 10-15. Oh, and small craft advisories; sort of the same forecast we had yesterday. On the Bay, we had 3-4' breaking seas, underlaid with some nicely rolling swells. Fortunately it was all going our way. Then we found that the US Navy had decided to use the target range they have in the neighborhood of the Potomac River. "Capt, you have to go east until
 you round Point Lookout Light" Beam on to those seas? Lovely! Anyway there is nothing quite like surfing 20,000#s of boat down a 4-5' wave face. Yeah, baby!

So we are now anchored in the Greater Wicomoco river, near Reedsville, VA; home of one of our largest, if not the largest menhaden fisheries in the US. Those of you using lipstick on a regular basis may be familiar with the products of this fishery.

Tomorrow, we're off to Norfolk, VA from there thru the Great Bridge lock and on to NC. Stay warm, catch you on the flip side.



                                                             

Day 2.

In spite of the dire forecast: small craft advisories, etc, we were up & moving at an early enough hour to get to Solomons Island, MD by 1600. Conditions were great; sunshine, light breeze, 1' or less on the seas. Still cool enough to run from the lower station, even tho' we'd both prefer to run from the bridge; quieter, and better visibility. But, until we can get the bridge canvas repaired, we will be a bit limited in the time we spend there.

At this point, Scooter seems to be running well, temps and pressures are holding well and we are getting good speeds for the RPMs indicated. We are currently anchored in Mill Creek, Solomons, MD. Hopefully, we'll be able to get a

fairly early start in the am; guess that will depend on the fuel dock being open on time. That, of course is just one of the variables involved. Then chug down the Bay to the Rappahannock River in VA Maybe further, maybe not. I can see a possible squeeze coming, what with nasty weather coming for the weekend, a RR bridge in Norfolk that has a restricted opening schedule, and some nasty sound forecasts in the Carolinas. Oh, well!

Moving, finally!

Forecast for the day; scattered showers, possible thunderstorm in am, then partially cloudy & 60+ degrees. I fell for it; probably 'cause I wanted it to happen. Thanks for the ride down, Scott. Headed down the river in misty, cool, conditions. Lots of debris afloat, but not a mission halter. At the river's mouth visibility went to 50 yds, indefinite ceiling. looking behind us, it appeared that the same conditions prevailed there as well. So, press on, eh; Radar, GPS, new fog horn chirping, OK, moaning in an obscure way, that is exactly what we did. Sorry I don't have a picture; camera balked. We threaded the shipping channels with the radar; and picked our way into the Magothy River. Not my planned start to this trip, but it is done; we are tied to the ground, fed, relaxed, and will give it a further shot tomorrow. 

Stay warm, catch you on the flip side.

2nd time around?

   So, following is a report/update on Scooter's cruising activities since our last visit
 many moons ago. Frankly, there is not much to report. Weather issues; rain, rain, and more rain .Altho', I heard it expressed as "it only rained twice, once for 45 days, then again for anther 45 days". There were some health issues that got in the way of extended cruising; now past. Some maintenance things; You know how that is,Chuckie, open one thing up to fix it, and, lo & behold, something new rears its ugly, or expensive head; Scooter now has a new Blue Sea distribution panel, new batteries, all new LED interior lights, and all new Garmin/Standard Horizon electronics; both upper & lower stations. One new prop shaft, both strut bearings, and a new rudder box on the starboard side.  Of course there is more to do......later, man.

   All of this work, thanks again, Wayne, was done in preparation  for a trip South on the AICW this Fall/Winter. In the last month, last three weeks, in fact, the port alternator support bracket bolts sheared off, leaving the bolts in the block; fun job, but done. Water mysteriously appeared in the aft part of the engine room, not in puddles, but in a spray pattern. Problem tracked down/solved. Easy, peasey, but time consuming.

   So, Chuckie, here are November 27; car is loaded, boat is fueled, etc. Captain takes one last little bag up the nicely installed, solid, immovable paver steps, to put into the car for the trip to Scooter.
Yup, you got it; trips, can't catch himself in time, and ends up driving his right shoulder into the aforementioned solid paver step edge. Hence the occasional goofy typing; left handed 'tisn't my thing.

   Ortho doc tomorrow, then pick a new departure date for New Bern, NC, before big freeze sets in here. Life certainly does have its twists and turns, eh? We'll press on best we can. Catch you on the flip side.


































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