Up the Ocean

June 11 --Monday - another night of major thunderstorms .It's still raining here and we are rocking in the harbour. Winds are on the nose and the seas are at 7 feet today outside the Chesapeake...sorry guys, not going out when we have to stay awake for 24 hours or more AND fight the weather. Staying in Cape Charles and working on little jobs. While we were commiserating and working, a 100-foot tall sho came ...Of course we had to go watch [Rick actually meant 'help'] it dock. Beautiful Dutch reproduction called Kalmar Nyckel. Everybody in town came over...apparently its been here before and they love it...no wonder!!

June 12....Yeah...no...we got out to the sea buoy at 3 miles off shore and headed up our track, the seas were 6-8 feet and the wind was 25 knots from the northeast...couldn't get over 2.5 knots, so we turned back...crap! 25 miles wasted! We left at 7:30 and landed back here at 2;30 7 freakin hours to go nowhere. So we did an oil change and re-fueled. And we couldn't keep going because its a 60-70 hour run to New York and we would have run out of fuel..probably could have made it to Ocean City but not at 2-3 nots bucking 6 foot seas!
We had 25 knots on the nose coming back into the harbour and the sky has closed around us. C.G was warning boaters of waterspouts on the Bay.

I don't trust ANYBODY's weather predictions now! We're going to wait until tomorrow afternoon...see if the predictions are 24 hours behind and if they are, take off. I am rapidly running out of Rescue Remedy!!

 So to follow that up, another celebrity. ..USHER ...came in. I can't imagine anyone with that kind of money naming their boat after someone else, so I assume it was his boat. But when you google it [I hate that word] it doesn't say who the owner is...I didn't even look at the price, after I saw the photos.

June 13 --What a difference a day makes... I think that's a song but...
we got out under the bridge into a different world... perfect for motor- sailing and we got to Cape May this morning - 22 hour trip, and the engine alarm came on...our water system is not working again... THANK GOD FOR TOWBOAT US!!!!

And thanks for all the positive vibes y'all sent out...it got us this far! 157 miles from Cape Charles.

We are in Cape May in an anchorage and now we need to find more parts and a dealer. And Ben {Towboat captain] says its an air leak somewhere so we will epoxy the shit out of all the plastic parts, tighten all the clamps again,and hope the dinghy holds enough air to get us to shore to the YAnmar dealer in case we need other things. The winds right now are 22 knots and the anchorage is along the side of the wind tunnel!!!

Tomorrow is supposed to be just as bad [wind on the nose] so we will probably stay here overnight. Besides, we were working in 2-hour shifts so neither of us got much sleep. We will do the last stretch to New York in 2 or 3 stops...no more overnights. 

I'm going to write a book about this "adventure" and I have the pictures as proof.🤣😜😂 Anyway, we left on June 13 at 8:30 am and by 9:30 next morning we were off Cape May when the motor alarm went off.

June 15 Rick is looking for parts...oil seals for and /or new water pump. We'll fix the old one when we get home.  we both slept well last night but were up at 5 am  again...habit

IF we can fix it today we will leave and head for New York. It's only 120 miles so we can do that over 24 hours and we will get there in daylight.  Then we will be in the Hudson River, take down the mast and head through the Canals for Lake Ontario.  On a higher note if the dinghy motor keeps working, we do have a back-up for the Canals. :(

Still in Chesapeake

PLAN B --- we made it to the bridge/tunnel crossing out of the Chesapeake and into the ocean doing 4.5-5 knots, fighting to keep  the 3-7 knots of wind in the sails The winds came up to 25 knot;s the seas rose to 6 foot waves and we literally couldn't get through the passage, so we turned around and did 10 knots over to Cape Charles. [So much for weather predictions and NOAA radio forecasts!!]

We tied up in the "harbour of refuge, secured the boat, went for supper at 8;30 and as we came back out the boat the Mother of all thunderstorms broke loose...thank god we were not out on the ocean!!! we are feeling the 20 knots winds in here and are soaking wet again.

So we will see what tomorrow brings. Probably would have been doing 10 knots up the coast but not a good idea in a t-storm!!

There are 17 cargo/ tanker ships at anchor outside the harbour here...wonder where they get their weather!!! I took these pics for Todd [and all the other boys reading this]

Woke up this morning at 5:30 am in Cape Charles Town Harbour Marina..the sky was ominous, the weather reports did not look favourably on today's off -shore trip so we paid for anther night and filled our water tanks, met another couple from Washington State who had a beautiful Atlantic {cat}. They walked over to see our boat, then we went to visit theirs.

SO I spent the day writing and Rick putzed at jobs ...the freakin' weather was perfect clear sky hot day and no storms or bad winds...we could have left and been in Ocean City NJ by now or even Atlantic City by tomorrow morning!! So we will leave in the very early am and probably get shitty weather for the next 72 hours at sea! Grrrrrr!

Some pics between Oriental and Norfolk

Some pics

THe Dismal Swamp Crossing

Sorry this looks choppy...just copying the F/B posts because internet is slow and sporadic and expensive!

May 31 Barefoot Landing S.Carolina...border of N.Carolina we did almost 100 miles today, but it was tough...mostly got contrary tides and winds so the sail helped. Met a boat tonight that passed us this afternoon...RumTum Tiger ...returning from Grenada to New York. SOOOO tired from today, we have been trying to outrun the Alberto effect...really sunny on the starboard [east side] and very dark and rainy on the other side of the river. Sometimes it rained on us but not much.
Tomorrow will be a slow start...no-one at the marina ot pay so we have to wait in the morning to pay. I really would like a shower too! Tomorrow or Saturday will be in North Carolina -- Snow Cut where Ross's boat is. Going to bed now. 

June 1  So Barefoot Landing 1000 foot dock is being changed to Lulu's - Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant. Not sure what that says for the outlet mall and dock space but there were NO boats there when we arrived and no answer on the radio. 

So showers [yay] and leaving. This won't be a long day today, depends on where we can stop. The only reason we are at a dock here is because when we went to stop along the river, we got stuck in the mud , and just barely got out...the river is only about 100 feet wide so not a good plan to try to anchor in this current. 

June 3   This morning we were up at 5:55 and helped Mick get off the dock at 6:30. We got fueled and were heading out by 7:06. We made it through the last bridge with oy a 15-minute wait; dodged big boats and barges and little boats...they're like fleas! Watched town boat US rescue a power boat in Morehead City; and one in Bogue Sound, and made it to Oriental N.C where my alleged cousin Ashley Erwin rus one of the marinas...we;re at the free dock. ON our way in a sailboat called and said. "Is that OtherGoose? this is Brinley...we met you in GT and other places!" We talked for a bit..they are heading up the Neuse River to New Bern to lay up the boat and head to Oregon for the summer....we need to investigate these places besides Riverside!.

Mick called us to let us know there was a spot at the free dock and he helped us tie up then we all went for supper at the Toucan Grill. After supper Rick and I went for a shower. There is a thunderstorm all around us.

June 5  Two steps forward and one step back...when we were leaving Oriental yesterday morning, we had a bit of an issue with the water intake...not sucking like it should but we got it going. We made it to the bottom of the Pungo-Alligator canal, past bellhaven and Dowry Creek Marina, 48 miles, found a lovely anchorage that we had used in 2005, and shared it with a big trawler. We watched the sunset and stars for awhile then went to sleep.
this morning we could not get the water pump to suck water so the engine couldn't be run. we cleaned the hoses, Rick went under the boat and checked the intake...no gunk. He took off the face of the water pump..impeller was fine, and I cleaned the water trainer. blew air through it and ...nothing. Oh look, the belt is broken and we don't have a spare.

And we are in a place where there is no cell service and the motor hasn't run so the batteries are low, so we can't call anyone on the radio. By 9 am the sun had charged the batteries and I could call Towboat US.

They tried to find a replacement but had no luck so they came out and towed us back to Belhaven..best $179.00 US we ever spent!!!!!WE are in a little boat yard in Belhaven...we have free internet, we will pay about $6.00 for power overnight and they will have the parts Fedex'd here by noon tomorrow.

I am not making this shit up!!! We have come to the conclusion that the Universe does not want us to go home this year, but the Universe doesn't get that we need money and can't get it down here! We didn't buy a Florida lottery ticket.! Sue, help me out here...how do I make the Universe understand the problem???  Evening in the Creek at River Forest Service, the Belhaven base for TowBoat US, and apparently a terrific hurricane hole....

Belhaven is a very pretty town with gorgeous little houses...and some pretty big ones too! I'll go for a walk and take soe pics this morning.

June 6   OK...so not as easy as expected ...the parts arrived ...shipping cost the same as parts and dock $1.25/foot ... so the bill was twice what we expected, but, captive audience and internet was smokin'...so we will install parts this afternoon and be at anchor by tonight ...hopefully closer to our destination, back at crab pots at the mouth of the canal.
We went for a walk this morning before it got too hot...these are some of the places we saw. Lovely gardens, huge lots and assorted large and small houses but all well-maintained. Okay...to work now...have a good rest of the week...don't know when I'll get internet again.What's that saying...if it weren't for bad luck... we left the dock aoud 5;15 and ere no sooner half way out the creek [and I do mean creek in the dictionary sense of the word!!!} and it poured rain on us...we ran through about a half hour of deluge to get to the anchorage where we started, but we had our fuel, groceries and soft-shelled crabs.

THis morning at 5;45 we took off and right now are sitting about 2 miles from the Alligator bridge at anchor in a rolling sea, replacing the o-ring and old impeller in the water pump [good thing he ordered a new one] because the engine compartment was filling with water...probably have to shorten the end of the intake hose to, or maybe not put the new impeller in backwards. not saying a word here

the parts came from Yanmar in New Jersey...maybe we'll stop there and get a bunch more parts!!!

June 8

We got through the Alligator -Pungo Canal no alligators, Bruce, but we thought we saw a pungo ...couldn't get close enough...

Got to the Alligator River bridge and waited for an HOUR! while they painted a spot with the bridge half open...crap! so we didn't get as far as Elizabeth City last night. Anchored along the Pasquotank River shore and when we woke up the cockpit and outside was filled with fish flies!!! Luckily we closed the screens last night against the mosquitoes hiding amongst the fish flies..and mosquito coils don't affect them!

THis morning, took off early and as we approached Eliz.City the USGC came on the radio to announce that Norfolk Habour [our destination today] is closed for some annual Navy festival so it will affect "mariners transiting the system" . no shit! ...stuck here until Sunday because of fireworks, workboat races and warships coming in and out!! I guess that means nothing will break in this area. Hahaha

irst bridge at the end of the canal in Norfolk so we are 10 miles from Norfolk in Deep Creek and if we can get through the controlled opening at 8:30 tomorrow we might just be able to get past the coast guard and out into the ocean before the festivities start at noon. 

The Dismal Swamp is beautiful...not so many turtles as there were before and except for a Carver and a German Lagoon cat going north and one monster SeaRay going south there was NO traffic. At the visitors center in the middle there were 8 sailboats rafted up , all heading south. We let Se TIger the Carver have the 40 foot dock at the bridge [lotsa rocks around] and we anchored in the channel...nobody going either way tonight. Only downside...highway right along the edge,might as well be in a parking lot.
Lots more pictures of reflections...it was dead calm all day! The biting flies are having a great dinner! AND its clouded over so it will rain tonight and tomorrow..Woohoo

Saturday June 9 waiting for the bridge tender at 8:30 to go through the last bridge and lock into the Chesapeake Bay, Norfolk and then on to the ocean to head up to Ne York...you won't be hearing from us for a few days..not sure if we will sail the 270 miles to New York or go in t Atlantic City in New Jersey for a rest.. TTY on the Hudson River.