October 2013

On Friday we did a bit of backtracking from Norfolk where we had spent a few days to Hampton for the much anticipated Hampton Cruiser’s Weekend.  Several locals, some involved with SSCA, a group that Brenda and I are members of, are putting on a terrific event to attract cruisers headed south for the winter.  The goal is to encourage folks headed south for the winter to visit Hampton.  It seems that many boats just keep going when they enter the Newport News area and pass right by Hampton.

I am very impressed with what the planning folks did to make this first event a success with discounted dock space at only $.75 a foot per night and, believe it or not, sponsored cocktail parties and even meals compliments of local merchants and town government.  Wow!

Friday night’s opening reception, included free drinks, two per person and free food, if you can believe it, I learned that there were some 40 boats signed up for the event.  Pretty amazing for a first year.

In planning our rendezvous in Essex last June, I can’t say that I had even a thought of going to the local government and asking for funds to encourage folks to visit. Actually, I don’t expect that would work very well as Essex isn’t particularly focused on bringing in outsiders and seems pretty happy with the tourists that stop there already.   Besides, I am not sure that I have quite enough energy to pull something off that’s so elaborate with everything else I have on my plate.  Besides, as they say “I’d rather be sailing”.

All I want is for folks to visit a nice spot on LI Sound, Essex, and enjoy the company of other cruisers.  Having said that, folks on the SSCA board would like our event to grow so adding more activities to our weekend in June probably needs to happen.  I guess I’ll work on that while I am home over the holidays.  Perhaps I need to put an alarm in my phone calendar to prompt me out of cruiser’s mode when I return from Florida in early November.  Yeah, a loud piercing ring on my phone with a note saying “Bob, think about the SSCA Gam in June!” would get me in the mood and snap me into action.   Perhaps.

Our stay in Hampton will be extended as we plan on leaving Pandora for a few days while we head back north by car for the funeral of my late uncle, my father’s brother, who passed away after a long illness.   Brenda and I really want to be there so we have rented a car and will leave Sunday for the 10 hour drive to CT and back.  The service is on Monday so we expect to be back to Pandora on Tuesday.  With luck, we will be able to continue our voyage on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning.   We will have to make a stop at our home in Essex first as we don’t have anything but jeans and casual clothes aboard.  Super casual is fine for someone who’s in cruiser’s mode, but not so good for a funeral.  

Perhaps I will have a few hours to clear the yard of leaves while I am home.   Now, that would be fun.  NOT!!!  Have I mentioned that we have a LARGE yard?  What ever happened to “downsizing”?  I guess we missed the memo.

In the time we were anchored in Norfolk we saw one massive ship after another pass us by.  The harbor is teeming night and day with ships arriving and departing at all hours.   Ironically, the largest ship we saw while we were there, in spite of the huge naval presence, was a cruise ship.  It’s hard to describe just how big these babies are and to see them dock without the aid of tugs, using their bow and stern thrusters, is a sight to behold.  As if moving one of these behemoths onto a dock in the wind and in very tight quarters isn’t enough, they do it in the dark.  It’s sort of like watching someone dock an office building, no make that two or three office buildings stacked on top of each other.  These ships move from port to port at night so that the passengers can enjoy the sights of the various ports during the day. Makes sense but certainly must keep the crew busy.

I have been trying to find a way to illustrate just how big these ships are and as we left the anchorage yesterday, I had my answer.   This cruise ship was moored along side of the WWII era battleship Wisconsin, on the left, now a museum ship in Norfolk.  Just see how downright diminutive the cruise ship makes a battle ship look?  When it was built in the 50s, it was one of the largest ships in the Navy.  How times have changed.  I guess it takes a lot of room to house, and FEED, all those passengers.  Big ships for big passengers.  “I think I’ll visit the buffet again honey…”

Speaking of navy, we visited the museum “Nauticus” while we were in town and were very impressed.  The museum includes interactive exhibits about the history of the area, an IMAX theater and the WWII battleship.  And, the ship is very well maintained.   In spite of the fact that today’s ships pack far more firepower, the Wisconsin is still quite a sight.   Her guns could lob 16″ shells, that weigh as much as a VW, for miles.  Later in her career she was outfitted with cruise missiles and fired quite a few in the Desert Storm conflict.  She had a very long commissioned life from the early 40s until the 90s.   To stand on her forward deck and look at the huge guns was awe inspiring. A lot of grey paint, something like 350,000 lbs of it, we were told.

The Navy has some big ships too, including the aircraft carriers.  These troop carriers probably can house even more passengers than a cruise ship but I am guessing with a lot less comfort.  “Wait, where’s my balcony?”While we were in Norfolk we also went to a movie in a great old time dinner theater.   We were sitting in our cockpit having an evening cocktail and a couple from a nearby boat stopped by and invited us to join them to go to a movie.  The theater was a spectacular old time building but with a very modern projection and sound system.  The Commodore Theater interior was classic Art Deco and each patron was seated in a plush swivel chair.  What a great time.  Here’s the two happy couples as photographed by a very enthusiastic theater owner.  While this photo doesn’t begin to do justice to the room, you can get a feel for how it looked.  Each table had it’s own light that was dimmed from a a common control panel and there was a phone on each table to place your order.  Very nice indeed.  The Commodore will certainly be on our “must do” itinerary for next year. Almost forgot.   The movie was Captain Phillips and it was particularly interesting to see a movie about the hijacking of a container ship as there are loads of them in the harbor.  

Each year there is a late season schooner race from Annapolis down the bay.  It’s a big deal and the regatta concludes in Norfolk.  While we were headed back to Hampton we passed a number of them along the way.  The Pride of Baltimore II is a particular favorite.  Oh yeah, I should also mention that my foul weather gear was waiting for me at the Hampton visitor’s center, compliments of our son Rob as planned.   I also became the proud owner of a “smart voltage regulator” from Hamilton Ferris that I was able to successfully install.  I have to say that, as simple as it was to install, It took me several hours to pull out the old unit and strip out unneeded wires from the old system.  I also needed a bit of hand holding from “Ham” himself, the owner of the Hamilton Ferris company (Ham owns Hamilton? Get it?  Pretty clever.), to be sure that I wasn’t screwing things up.  He patiently walked me through the process.   It took some time to get it installed and to check and recheck that I had done it right, it’s now working swimmingly.  

Pandora’s batteries will once again thank me now that the engine can charge things up smartly as we motor along.  When you need your next piece of electronic equipment, especially if you are looking for something with blinking red lights, I heartily endorse Hamilton Ferris .  I have purchased items from them off and on over the years and was impressed to see how much they have grown since I placed my last order.  It seems that they are now big into alternative energy for homes too.  I guess that they have taken advantage of the increased interest in alternative energy.

As I finish this post on Sunday morning we are headed up to CT and are right now on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel.  (No, I am not blogging and driving. Not a good idea. Brenda is driving) Don’t you just love mobile computing?

We had just a terrific time at the rendezvous and both Brenda and I were just amazed with the number of folks we met that we had seen in the Bahamas last winter and had seen us.  Some we already knew and some we met over the weekend.   It was sort of like an aquatic college reunion of the Bahamas School of Hard Knocks.

It’s hard to believe that I will be in Florida in a few weeks.

It’s Thursday morning and the sun is not quite up yet.  Well, it’s coming up now that I am finishing up on editing this post.  So, how about the sunrise over the city? We are anchored in downtown Norfolk, just across the river from a mass of office buildings and a mall.  On the other shore, close to us, there is a large city hospital and huge ships are coming and going constantly.  Interestingly, as the ships, some over 1,ooo feet long, pass by they leave barely a ripple as they are going so slowly, usually accompanied by the ever so attentive tugs.  Did I say that I just love tugs?  If you haven’t heard that you need to read more of my posts.  I love tugs. 

This huge, 1,050’container ship (I know that because of AIS) came into the harbor just as we did.  I did my best to stay out of his way.   Anything this big can’t be “her”.  This is an alarming angle to see such a big ship from.This fishing boat gave way too and steamed right by us.It’s hard to believe that there was a time when this fort was the major defense for the city.   It’s funny to think that the officer’s quarters were outside of the walls of the fort.  I guess when the enemy approached they would sound the alarm and say “quick, run away, behind the walls, quick”.   What a guy will do for a view.  Hard to see the water from behind an earthen wall.  Today’s navy could level this with in a single shot.  That’s progress, I think…As we entered the harbor yesterday evening we decided to head down here bypassing Hampton for a few days.  Unfortunately, I underestimated the distance that we would be backtracking as we still plan on going back to Hampton for the cruiser’s weekend and to pick up a few items that we have ordered.   I guess we will catch the tide on Friday and head back up the harbor, TEN MILES, that’s a few hours at Pandora speed, to Hampton.   However, it will be fun to be there.  We also have a few friends coming down from Williamsburg to visit us while we are there.  Another plus for Hampton.

Remember the neglected foul weather gear and sandals that we left, by accident, with our son Rob in Baltimore?  The’ll be in Hampton so going there is a must. Ditto for the new voltage regulator I ordered for the engine as the charging system is acting up.  So much for the work done at the marina in Deep River.  They didn’t pick up on that problem even though the mechanic spent 3.5 hours messing with it.  Hopefully, the supplier, Hamilton Ferris, is right and the problem is a regulator one and not something bigger.  The guy I spoke with on the phone seemed pretty confident about his diagnosis.  And, he recommended a “smart regulator” with all sorts of flashing lights and glowing numbers.  That just has to be what I need.  So much for cost control and fiscal responsibility.  Of course, there is a version that was 1/3 the cost but it doesn’t have flashing lights and glowing numbers.  Flashing lights and glowing number have to be better.  I need one of those.  Let’s hope it’s smart enough.  Fingers crossed.

The problem is that the batteries aren’t charging properly as the sensor thinks that they are charged one moment and not the next.  That means that the supply of power to charge the batteries is all over the place, charging 60 amps one second and nothing the next, literally.  And that process goes on constantly.  Not a lot of charging being done.   Fingers crossed that the folks at Hamilton are right.  If so, that doesn’t do much to give me confidence in the mechanics in Deep River where I spent a ton having the boat worked on.

Speaking of the engine, after all of that work they did, because I didn’t think I would do it right, I am now the proud owner of a few slow (fortunately) oil and fuel leaks.  That seems absurd to me as there weren’t any leaks prior to the engine being worked on.   Now I get to hunt them down, the very thing I was trying to avoid by paying someone else to do the work.   Enough complaining for now.  Something to keep me occupied for a few hours today.  What fun.

Anyway, more to the point, Norfolk is a happening place if you like big ships.  It’s home to a huge Naval presence and there is a massive amount of commercial shipping coming and going all of the time.  Add to that, the lights of a big city and a waterfront mall, and I can see why so many cruisers stop here on their way south.

Here’s a sample, and only a small one, of some of the ships we saw as we came in.

Of course, I should start with this 1,050’ monster being docked.  This is the one that came into the harbor as we did.  We followed them down the harbor as did two tugs.  The tugs did an impressive job of turning the huge ship 180 degrees and pushing her against the dock.  The amount of water that was coming out from behind both tugs was quite a sight and to see them turn the ship in it’s own length, against the tide, wow.One pushed as the other pulled.  They turned her in her own length.  Smoke billowing.  “Beware, objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.”  That applies here too. They were really close. 

Tons of big grey navy ships, one more massive than the next.

This one is supposed to be less visible on radar.  Not so sure I buy that.  No wait, we all “bought that” and lots more like her.  Your tax dollars at work.  Perhaps I’ll turn on my radar when I next pass by in a few days and see if I can see her on the screen.  Big target?  I’m thinking yes…I”ll bet that this baby will show up just fine on radar.  HUGE!!!  Oops, they forgot to get all the planes off of this one. 
I guess that it takes a lot of fuel to run a navy.  This supply ship certainly has lots of hoses to push fuel through.  Oh yeah, and we saw pelicans.  I guess that they are happy to co-habitate with the US Navy.The coast guard gets to ignore the “no wake zone” signs, it seems.  Pretty neat though.  And, they don’t have to worry about the cost of fuel.Perhaps the neatest thing of all was the AWACS surveillance plane that flew overhead.  Pretty good view.  I wonder if they “surveilled” me.  Enough pictures of the things Congress spends money on to help us.  

Let’s go shopping too!!!

Today we will go ashore for a tour of the waterfront.  There are a number of museums on the water including one that houses the Battle Ship Missouri.  Hard to believe that something that big can be obsolete.    I’ll have to learn more.  

It’s Wednesday afternoon and we are motoring along on our way toward Norfolk, our destination for the day.  Last night we were in a little harbor/cove, our first in VA on this trip. 

The harbor was barely big enough for us and the two catamarans that were anchored with us.  Both were larger than Pandora, one 44’ and the other 47’ and I was happy to have passed each of them as I sailed down the bay.

Our spot for the night, Ashley’s Cove,  was very well protected with a really tight entrance.  There was barely enough water for us to make it in but then it opened up into a nice little peaceful spot.  Holding was good in soft mud.  Ashley’s is off of Fleet Bay just north of the Rappahannock River in VA.   Try saying Rappahannock three times fast.  Rapp….

This is a shot of the area surrounding Ashley’s Cove.  The number of small harbors available in the Chesapeake is quite amazing.  No wonder that waterfront property is less expensive than in the NE.  This is a closeup of the cove.  You can see how small it is.  To look at it on the chart did make me wonder if I would be able to make it in.  However, the guide book said.   “Go for it Bob!  You can do it.”   So I did it.The cove was surrounded by some very pretty homes, each more impressive than the last.   I particularly liked this one with a steel  roof on the barn. This one had an interesting structure on the cabana.  I am not sure if it was a wind generator or a kinetic sculpture.  I have seen generators that look like this.  And, what an amazing use of windows.  I’ll bet the local window store was thrilled to get this order. How about this palatial spot?  Pretty amazing.  And, I’ll bet that this is only used on weekends.   I mentioned in yesterday’s post that we saw our first pelicans of the trip.  This photo was taken way off so it’s not to crisp.  However, behold, a (fuzzy) pelican. So, as we continue along under power, we are making nearly 8kts with the tide.  That’s good.  We should be at anchor in time for cocktails.  That’s double good.

Our plan will be to stay in the Hampton/Norfolk area through the weekend and then begin to make our way down the ICW, Dismal Swamp Canal and on to Beaufort NC.  That part of the “ditch” was our favorite and we are looking forward to doing it again.

It’s Tuesday late morning and we are sailing south toward Deltaville.  I say Deltaville as I am not exactly sure where we will stop for sure but our plans are to continue moving with the idea of being in port before dark.  At this time we are making good time, around 5.5 to 6.5kts.  That’s good.

I guess SPOT will know where we are at the end of the day.  For now, the sailing is terrific.  A bit ago we passed a catamaran.  I just love passing other boats and will never loose the thrill of seeing a boat from the stern and then the bow as I go past. Although, in the interest of full disclosure, to call Pandora “fast” is a relative term.  It’s sort of like saying “my grass grows faster than your grass.   So there!!!”.

I mention this as I spoke to them on the radio to say that I had taken some pictures of their boat as we passed.  They took photos of Pandora so hopefully, we will be able to exchange them at some point soon.   It seems that we are both headed to the same places.  He did make a specific point that he wants to be somewhere where he doesn’t see his breath in the cabin when he wakes up in the morning.   Good plan.   It’s chance encounters like these that makes cruising so interesting.

Yesterday I took some photos of a boat we passed that had a neat hard dodger.  This isn’t common and I thought that the design made the boat look more substantial. Speaking of substantial, how about this group of tugs.  Pretty impressive group.  When it comes to “form follows function”, tugs can’t be topped.Last evening a couple from a catamaran nearby in the anchorage stopped by to say that they had seen us in the Exumas last winter.  We exchanged cards and I expect that we will run into them again.  It is a very small world.

Anyway, we are really moving along nicely and it’s good to be sailing as motoring isn’t that great and the fuel costs more than sailing.  I won’t talk about how much sails cost.  Sailing is good, the breeze just freshened and we are now going over 7kts.  I’ll take it.

Near Solomon’s Island there is a significant Navy presence, with jets taking off and landing all the time.  This is a photo of the base and hangers as we headed out today. It seems that when they went to the antenna/satellite dish store someone said, “I’ll take one of everything.   No, make that three or everything.  On second thought, how many do you think we can fit on 100 acres?”  Your tax dollars at work.“Oh yeah, how about a few patrol boats?  And, make them look really old and throw in a bit of a “bannana republic” look while you are at it.  I already spent my money on antennas with the last guy.”   One of them came by us as we were sailing along.There’s something in the cruising guide about a bombing range we should avoid.  Good advice.   The Navy has been hailing boats all morning telling them to stay clear of the range as they are going to be doing practice runs later today.

Speaking of bombs, we are bombing along on a broad reach at over 7kts.  So, exactly where is that range?  I don’t want to be a target and Pandora isn’t nearly fast enough to outrun a jet.

It’s Monday morning and Pandora is making her way down the Chesapeake Bay on our way to Solomon’s Island, our probable stop for today.   Hampton is about 120 miles from Annapolis and we don’t have to be there till later this week so it’s not necessairy for us to cover a ton of ground each day.  Having said that, we may run into some headwinds later in the week so making time while the wind is favorable is a good idea.  As I write this we are under sail running wing and wing and making nearly 7kts through the water.  That’s good.

We returned to Annapolis and Pandora after spending the weekend with our son Rob and his girlfriend Kandice, at their home in Baltimore.  I was pretty glad to be off of Pandora for a few days given the fact that it had rained pretty much every day since my arrival the weekend before.  No, not exactly all of the time, but enough to make it feel like rain, rain and more rain.  Brenda joined me in Baltimore and we had a terrific time.  We had such a great time that we couldn’t even manage to leave with everything we arrived with.  How about leaving foul weather gear and a pair of Brenda’s sandals?   The gear will surely come in handy soon, if the last week’s weather is any indication?  And the sandals?  Well that’s a crisis as we are headed south and guess what the fashion of the day is there?  You guessed it.   What’s a girl to do?   Crisis averted, Rob is going to mail them to us in Hampton VA where we will be spending the coming weekend.

Prior to meeting Brenda at Rob and Kandice’s I had guests aboard from CT from Wednesday through Friday for the boat show.  It was fun having like minded folks on board to tour the show and they also kept me well fed and lubricated.  Actually, the lubrication was somewhat excessive but I have only myself to blame.  Having said that, I can’t say that they set a particularly good example.  It was fun, that’s for sure.

While Brenda hasn’t been in Annapolis since last Fall when we passed through here on our way to FL, we decided to head out today instead of touring the city to take advantage of favorable winds that are forecast for the next few days to make distance toward Hampton.

Last night was the first night that I really felt that we were back in “cruiser’s mode” as Brenda was aboard and we spent the evening with our good friends Bill and Maureen of Kalunamoo and their friends from NY.   We sailed with Kalunamoo off and on last fall and winter and really enjoyed their company.  Maureen, perhaps more than anyone, tries to keep me in line so I don’t push Brenda too much.  When I talked about taking Pandora to Turkey, her response was “down Bob, down Bob, one step at a time”.    OK, OK, point taken but I still want to go.

However, they are not without guilt as they did ask us if we’d like to do the Salty Dawg rally with them this fall.  In the interest of full disclosure, it was Maureen that first said, “we are going to the Caribbean, want to come too?” when they visited us in Essex a few months ago.  That run will take them from Hampton VA to Tortola in the BVI,  a trip that I’d love to take.   So there, it’s not just me Maureeen!!!

For now I am happy to have Brenda aboard, being underway and headed south.  Yahoo!!!

No post is complete without at least one photo and since there haven’t been any sunsets worth showing of late (recall day after day of rain?) I’ll put in a shot of the boat show as we passed out of the harbor. Oh yeah, and how about a shot of the Thomas Point light?  This is a “screw pile” lighthouse and certainly a form that speaks the loudest that you are indeed in the Chesapeake and headed south.  Indeed!!!