Sailing the Chesapeake

May 22, 2003

I left Pikeville on Thursday, May 22, 2003, at 9:30 a.m. I felt good about all the boat work I had done. I had decided that my recurring leak was happening because of a lack of support for the swing keel. When the keel is down and I have heavy weather, it puts tremendous sideways strain on the innards of the boat. So I braced the top of the keel slot and the bottom with 2X4s and fiberglass. Now I leave for the Chesapeake confident that the swing keel will not swing the wrong way. This should solve all my recurring problems with this boat. I have had to fix the same spot just in front of the keel slot FIVE TIMES ALREADY. Now I have 1/2 inch or more of fiberglass on that spot and have braced the keel enough that those problems should be over.

I am even more optimistic because I did not have any leaks last summer on my final trip down the Ohio River and the Mississippi River. That was a flawless trip, so I am hopeful for more of the same. Of course, I did NOT run into any bad weather on that trip and no big waves at all. So we'll see.

A month ago, Terry Trimble helped me replace the axle with a 3500 lb. new axle. I bought wheels and tires to fit so that I now have standard car sized wheels rather than the small boat trailer tires. That should make it ride much better. Terry helped me rework the wiring for the trailer lights and even helped me put heat shrink material on them. They should be permanently good! Then I ordered new fenders for the trailer and Terry welded them on. After a new paint job on the fenders, the trailer was like new.

I had been in a panic for several days before leaving because I was trying to get everything ready to leave. I completed some of the boat work at the last minute. I installed new running lights on the front and a new globe on the back running light. I replaced the teeth in the jam cleat for the main sheet. And I installed the new braking winch that Ralph gave me. It turned out to be a great help!

When I stopped at Wise and looked the boat over. I found the trailer light connector had come apart. The pigtail was too short so that when I made a hard left turn, it unplugged itself. So I cut the plastic tie that kept it tight to give a little more room.

On the way to Norfolk, I listened to Into Thin Air, my audio book. It was about a 1996 climbing trip to Mount Everest in which six people died. It was a fun read for the 9 1/2-hour drive.

I arrived at Newport News at 6:50 and checked in to a very nice Comfort Inn just off the freeway and right beside a nice mall. It was a good location. I intended to eat at the Cracker Barrel across the street but it was packed and there was no place to park my truck with trailer. So I went to the mall and ate at a Japanese place instead. I also did my daily walking there and purchased a Virginia Atlas and Gazetteer so that I would have a better road map of the back roads of Virginia.

I still needed to buy suntan lotion. And I still thought that Andy and I both may need rubber boots. But I didn't buy either of these.

Friday, May 23, 2003

I slept late until about 7:30, and had a light breakfast in the motel. Then I drove to Sarah Creek, the location just off York River that I had picked out as a probable launching site. I had picked Sarah Creek because it looked like a somewhat remote location that might be a good place to leave the truck and trailer while I was gone. And it was a plus that it was named "Sarah!"

I found Gloucester Point Marina with no problem. After I talked to the manager (with big black beard and a funny local accent), he said he would be glad to watch my truck and told me where to park. When I told him we were doing a week's cruise on the Chesapeake, he said, "Be sure to go a little way up North River off Mobjack Bay. It's beautiful there." His was a very low key operation, not like the big boys who charge you for everything because they really cater to the high-dollar boats. The location was perfect.

It was just barely sprinkling at the time, so I started preparing the boat for launch. I even put the mast up by myself using a garage door spring and the boat winch to provide extra lifting power. One of the great things about being a sailor is being self-sufficient. My mast at 30 feet is unusually tall for a boat 21 feet long, and usually requires at least two people to lift. But a self-sufficient sailor can't always depend on somebody else being at the boat ramp. So I devised this system using the garage door spring and the winch, which gives me at least 100 lbs of extra help in lifting the mast.

Andy called and said his flight was overbooked and American Airlines was offering $250 credit to take the next flight and wondered what to do. I said, "Go for it." He tried, but it turned out he got the last seat on the flight. He called me again in St. Louis and I told him how to volunteer this time, but the flight was not that full. So he was to arrive at 1:45 after all.

I packed the boat and got things generally ready to go by 11. Then I started driving toward Norfolk to get close to the airport at least. But the traffic was terrible. I was sure glad that I had left early because it took well over an hour to get there. I figured I would just settle in and read a book until Andy arrived.

I still needed to buy food, suntan lotion and boots, maybe. I couldn't decide how important the boots were.

I had been impressed with the weather thus far. There were supposed to be big winds on Friday night, but there had only been a light drizzle. As the day wore on the rain became much more steady. It turned into a steady downpour through the night.

Andy arrived right on time. He was really hungry since he left home early and didn't have a chance for lunch. So we stopped at a Pizza Hut just out from the airport and had lunch. Then we headed to the Gloucester Point Marina. But the traffic was terrible going this way too. There was a flashing sign that announced that the traffic wait before entering the I-64 tunnel was 30 minutes.

We stopped at Wal-mart on the way and purchased food and suntan lotion. But I decided not to go for the boots.

We launched the boat and climbed aboard for the night.

Andy settled in for the first night aboard.

Saturday, May 24, 2003

We slept real late. I let Andy get all the rest he could so we didn't get up until about 8. I took a shower in that really grubby shower in the bath house, but I didn't have my glasses on so I didn't notice just how bad it was.

Overnight, we discovered that I still had a small leak that aggravated the daylights out of me, but it was not trip-threatening.

Preparing to leave for the first day on the water.

We had a nice breakfast of pop tarts, bagels, bananas with Dr. Pepper for Andy and water for me. We had plenty of food.

We put the sails on the boat and tidied everything up in preparation for the trip.

We planned to go south to Poquosun and Back Rivers, and maybe anchor out behind Langley Air Force Base.

At 11:45, we were well out of Sarah Creek and into York River. We were still running pretty good, but the motor was not running just right. It seemed like it had bad gas. I switched to the other tank, but that didn't help. The motor ran well at low speeds, but when I gave it more gas it seemed to sputter and definitely didn't have the power it should have.

I had a really uneasy feeling about the motor, so we turned around and went back into the edge of Sarah Creek so I could clean up the spark plug. I was afraid to be out on the York River or the Bay and the motor completely stop. In cleaning the spark plug, I dropped the rubber boot that goes over it into the water. I reached for it, but missed. Oh, well, it was not an important part anyway.

I don't think I helped it any. But the motor was running steady, just not great. I finally decided it was Okay and we headed out again.

The first of many crab pot watermen.

At the beginning of each day's trip, we lowered the swing keel. The keel was necessary for sailing since its 360 lbs. hanging 4 1/2 feet down provided the righting power needed to keep the boat upright. And when we were just motoring, it stabilized the boat so that we didn't swing so much in the waves.

There were only light winds, maybe 5 mph. We soon had the sails up and the motor running.

We had a power bar for lunch, and it tasted awful.

About 12:15 we were at the Tuesday marshes, and the depth sounder started showing shallow water. Andy studied the charts and decided that we needed to be on the other side of the buoy ahead of us. And he was right! Things sure look different in real life. I was impressed that Andy showed such a quick grasp of the charts. He turned out to be an excellent navigator.

At 1:30, we had been under sail alone for about 30 minutes. The first real sailing of the trip.

We headed into Poquosun, and motored around looking at all the houses on the shore. We quickly spotted a marina and a restaurant on Bennett's Creek. The sun popped out briefly and some blue skies were visible. Everything was running pretty good, pretty good.

At 2:30, we stopped at Owens Marina and had a good lunch/supper. Andy had a fresh soft-shell crab dinner, and I had a crab cake dinner. It was the first time we had ever eaten soft-shell crab. You eat the whole thing! Legs and all. And my crab cake was wonderful.

Boats drydocked for work at Owens Marina.

At 3:30, we continued cruising around Bennett Creek and Chrisman Creek just looking around.

There were lots of osprey nests on top of the markers. One had chicks clearly visible.

We saw many duck blinds like this in several bay areas.

The water was flat calm so we had the sails down, motoring from Bennett Creek to Chrisman.

We anchored out for the night just behind this dock.

At 5:05, we quit for the day. We had anchored out in a little bay. There was another unoccupied sailboat anchored a quarter mile away. We saw a little boy fishing on his family deck. There was also an osprey nest on a buoy near the end of the deck. We enjoyed watching the osprey flying around all evening.

After we settled in, we started listening to my audio book Life of Pi. Andy ate one of the meals-ready-to-eat that we had purchased at G.I. Joe's near the airport. Neither one of us had ever eaten one, so that was a lot of fun. And Andy said it was good.

According to my GPS, we covered 28 miles, averaged 4.9 mph, with a moving time of 5 hrs 43 minutes.

Sunday, May 25

We left Chrisman Creek about 9:10 with plans to go toward Norfolk. It was a cloudy day, with a chance of showers forecast. I figured we would have no problems making the 30 mile run south to the city of Norfolk. I hoped that we could stay right at a marina downtown in all the action. We both looked forward to the shower and the bathrooms.

As we departed for the day, we lowered the swing keel and put in the retaining bolt at the top.

By the time we left the river and turned toward Norfolk, the wind had piped up and the waves were 3 and 4 foot coming at us from Norfolk. It was much too difficult trying to go south, so we decided to run with the wind and waves and go back north to Mobjack Bay instead! After turning off the wind, it was much more comfortable.

We had a very pleasant run downwind and turned into Severn River off Mobjack Bay because that seemed to be the most protected from the wind. After looking around a bit, we pulled in to Severn River Marina. It was one of those high-dollar marinas, but the owners were very friendly. The rate was 90 cents a foot and since my boat was small, my fee was small. One disappointment was that there was no restaurant nearby.

It seemed early at a little before 2 p.m. but the winds outside Mobjack were such that we were not too crazy about going out again.

Andy was really impressed with this monster "seatboat."

After looking at the map a bit, I decided that the truck was parked at Gloucester Point Marina only 3 miles away. We could hike over there and use the truck to go get a good meal.

Andy was game for the walk, so we headed out with much enthusiasm. But the walk to the truck turned out to be 5 1/2 miles instead of 3 miles. It took about an hour and forty minutes, but we agreed that we didn't have anything better to do.

Of course, I had to slow down for Andy. I thought he was getting tired. (Ha Ha) We drove back to the marina and took showers after our sweaty walk.

Then we drove to find a seafood restaurant. The lady at the marina had recommended Shuckers, but she thought the name had been changed. As we drove around trying to find Shuckers, we passed a movie theatre! Andy asked about the time for the next showing of Bruce Almighty, which was 7:10. Just perfect for us to get dinner and return. The lady at the movie theatre counter knew the directions to Shuckers too.

Andy had a Delmonico 16 oz steak. I had shrimp and scallop stir fry. Both were delicious. Then we went to see Bruce Almighty which we also enjoyed.

Then we drove to Wal-Mart and bought a few items including boots. I had quickly realized just how much we needed the rubber boots once we got underway. A hole opens in the floor of the cockpit so that I can winch the big keel up and down. Water steadily comes splashing through that hole. The boat is designed for a board to slip through the keel slot and fit under the bottom of the boat to prevent such splashing into the cockpit. But I have chosen to attach the cable permanently to the bottom of the keel so the cable prevents my being able to install that board, called a keel plug. I think I am going to have to go back to the designing board and figure a way to install a keel plug.

We came back to the boat, listened to some more of Life of Pi, and went to sleep until about 11:30.

For the day, we covered 22.3 miles, averaging 5.3 mph, with a moving time of 4 hrs 14 minutes.

Our little boat was dwarfed by the big and beautiful boats nearby.

Monday, May 26

During the night, it rained. I discovered that my boat window was leaking just a bit right over me. I wound up putting the bucket beside my head to catch the water. Also the halyards were slapping against the mast as the wind blew. Then one of the dock lines out front was run through the anchor flukes. As the boat moved, the anchor drug against the boat deck making weird noises. So I was up in the middle of the night rearranging the dock line. I did not get a very good night of sleep!

We didn't get up until about 8:30, but we woke up to terrible weather. Ugly thunderclouds were overhead, and a vicious wind was blowing through the marina. We discussed staying put for the day to avoid bad weather, but the marine radio said there should be good weather.

Before long at all, it began to clear up and boats were leaving the harbor, so we decided we should go too. But first we had to get the truck back the 5 1/2 miles to Gloucester Marina where the trailer was.

We drove to McDonalds for breakfast, then returned the truck. We walked a mile until we were on #641, the long three-mile stretch, and immediately began trying to hitchhike a ride back to Severn River Marina.

The second person who passed by stopped. Andy described him as a big ole boy with an American flag and a Gracie Jujitsu sticker in the back of his truck window. He was driving a well-used Ford Ranger and pulling a small fishing boat. I noticed that he also had a ring in his ear.

But he was a very personable man. And he took us all the way to the marina even though it was out of his way. He was going to a fishing site about half way up #641, but he carried us all the way.

I tidied up the boat a little better on this day. Lines were more carefully stowed, and I moved the extra gas cans and extra gear below so that we would have more room in the cockpit. The weather radio gave a prediction for the day of only one foot waves. That sounded good.

The sky had cleared during the morning, but by 11, it was cloudy again. It was still partly cloudy, but very pleasant beginning for the day.

We talked about going up North River as the marina manager at Gloucester Point suggested, but we were eager to get on up the Bay.

We lowered the swing keel and put in the bolt to hold it at the top. It turned out in the end that I shouldn't have used the bolt. It fits through a hole about an inch into the top of the swing keel. It assures you that you have lowered the keel to the proper position, and it provides a safety measure in case the pivot bolt were to break. I have read of cases where the keel was saved only by the securing bolt. The owner did not realize that the one inch pivot bolt had rusted in two. Had it not been for the small bolt in the top of the keel, it would have sunk to the bottom.

At 11:55 we were well out of Severn River. We put the sails up with a five mph wind, and no motor. All was well. We were headed for Deltaville 30 or so miles away.

Our new Wal-mart $12.95 rubber boots were deeply appreciated. It was a real plus to have dry feet, and there was always lots of water in the cockpit.

Crab pots were everywhere everywhere we went. We had to keep an eye out and be sure to avoid them.

One of hundreds, maybe thousands of crab pot markers we saw.

Soon the wind died to the point that I needed the motor to keep speed up. So we cranked the little Nissan. The motor was helping a little bit, but I was afraid to try to open it up. Every time I had given it full power, it sputtered and sounded like it was going to die. The motor problem still bothered me. We had a very pleasant couple of hours at the beginning of the day's sail.

New Point Comfort Lighthouse Click here for more info about it on the web

After we turned around New Point Comfort Lighthouse and headed north, we noticed that we were facing 2 to 3 foot waves coming from the north, but the wind was still coming light from the west. It was very puzzling.

But by the time we were half way to Wolftrap, the wind shifted and came from the north. And then over the next hour it steadily increased until we were facing 15 knot winds and 3 to 4 foot waves, sometimes higher. Wolftrap was a huge reddish brick lighthouse. I would have taken a picture, but we were a little more than busy! Here is one I found on the Internet.

So we tried our best to sail into the heavy north wind, but it was coming directly from Wolftrap. We sailed on one tack until we had made good one mile, then turned on the other tack. But the wind had shifted so that the eastward tack was pointing less toward Wolftrap. We were only clicking off a hundredth of a mile every 3 or 4 minutes. I knew at this rate it would take way too long to get there.

We were making such terrible headway by sailing into the wind that I decided to try to motor again. In a moment of inspiration, I decided to use the choke even though it was already warmed up. That seemed to be the trick. The motor picked right up.

We decided to drop all sails and charge right into the waves heading straight for Wolftrap. That meant that Andy had to point the boat right into the wind and right into the high waves while I went up front to wrestle down the sails. The boat was bouncing up and down through 6 or 8 feet while I was grabbing at sails and trying to hold on. There was no way to stand and do it, so I crawled around on all fours and lowered the jib. Finally I managed to get it tied down. Then I lowered the main. The wind blew the lowered main such that there was no way to fold it. I just rolled it up the best I could and tied it to the mast.

But now the motor was running well, at about 3/4 speed with normal power. We were crashing against those giant waves at 5+ mph. Finally, we were making our way toward Wolftrap.

The wind and waves had built so high that we were having to pay very close attention. The boat reared and smashed into the waves with a terrible bang. It wasn't raining, but the spray was coming over the boat so often that it felt like a full rain shower. But this was salt water hitting us full in the face and sometimes stinging the eyes. My glasses were so covered that I could hardly see anything forward. I kept my eyes on the compass and tried to keep it on 30 degrees.

We were having trouble spotting the crab pots so Andy moved to the mast with both arms around it. It was all he could do to hang on. Then he would yell for me to turn right or left to miss the next crab pot.

While he was up there we smashed into a particularly big wave. The BANG was so loud that I yelled at Andy, "Man, that sounded like we hit a stump!"

After we passed Woftrap, we checked my next GPS coordinate for Hole in the Wall and it showed it in the opposite direction. It was obviously wrong. I had entered one of the numbers wrong. I had entered the latitude as N 037.20 instead of N 037.28. Eight miles off. When I dialed it up on the GPS, it pointed due south of Wolftrap instead of north where it really was.

So I went below to look at the chart, but the boat was bouncing so I could hardly focus. I managed to find that the next marker was five miles from Wolftrap at 0 degrees. So we started in that direction and marked our progress by reverse distance from Wolftrap rather than distance to the next waypoint.

By going 0 degrees, we were running at more of an angle to the waves which made for less banging. We could ease up the front slope of the wave and down the back. But one really large wave hit us broadside. The wave was so high that it crashed completely over the boat drenching both of us. And the water hit the hatch so hard and from the side that much of it gushed below wetting everything, including the charts.

Andy went below and started bailing water. Our regular leak seemed to be worse during big waves, but as he bailed, he announced that he thought we had another leak. He wasn't making as much progress getting the water out as he usually did.

As we neared five miles from Wolftrap, Andy spotted the next marker. His eyes are incredible. He could see things long before I could. It was just amazing the difference.

We weren't really sure how much further we had to go, so I went below to look at the wet chart. But I couldn't make anything out below. So I brought the wet chart above so that we could compare what we saw with what the chart said. Because the paper was so wet, the wind starting curling the page up and ripping it from the chart.

While I was trying to figure out just where we were, Andy yelled that he saw a red and green marker to the west. It undoubtedly marked a channel into some harbor. He said he thought we should try it, so we headed in that direction while I programmed the next waypoint into the GPS. Soon I announced that we had to go at zero degrees for 7.8 more miles then we would turn into Deltaville channel.

Andy said, "What? Head into those waves some more? I don't think we can do it." Then he said he didn't think we could make it 7 more miles in those waves because the boat was leaking too fast. I had not personally seen how quickly the water was coming in as Andy had. I thought about his advice for just a moment and quickly agreed. So we turned back and headed toward the unknown channel.

I knew from the chart approximately where we were and I knew that there were shallow waters there. The cruising guide did not list that area as even a possibility for a night's stay. But we figured the channel had to be deep enough, so we tried it.

Since we were going in without knowing for sure where it was on the chart, we were going blind. We didn't know where to look for the next marker. Andy had to pick out the next marker as we passed one. Sometimes we had difficulty telling if the marker was red or green, which meant that we weren't sure which side of the marker to go.

One of our problems was that we were still using the large-scale chart instead of the smaller scale chart further over in the chart book. But I had assumed that the large scale chart would be the best for the run outside to Deltaville. We wouldn't need detailed information, just a broad picture of where we were. We should have thought to look for the small-scale chart of that entrance. Too much was happening too quickly.

We spotted the next red marker, but didn't see that there was a bend in the channel to the left and back to the right. So without knowing it we headed into very shallow water. The wind was still blowing hard so that we hardly had time to look at the depth meter. When I finally noticed it, it was too late. We ran aground with a thud. The swing keel had hit the shallowing bottom hard. The retaining bolt at the top of the keel held firm as we screeched to a halt. Fortunately the shallow water had dramatically diminished the size of the waves, so it seemed that we were not in danger of getting swamped.

I ran below only to see that the bolt at the top of the swing keel had bent. I had feared that was true. That meant that it would be impossible to get the bolt back out. It was bent at a 45 degree angle inside the keel slot! There was no way to remove it.

So then I began to wonder just how we were going to get off the ground. With the bolt bent and still through the keel, I feared we would not be able to winch it up! I put the motor in reverse, and Andy and I began to rock the boat hoping to pull back off. No luck.

Finally, I decided to winch anyway. My fear was that the bent bolt would rip it's way through the keel slot creating a new hole for water to come in. But after a few strong turns on the winch, I heard the bolt snap! I quickly winched the keel the rest of the way up, and we were free.

We headed toward the right marker, but now we only drew two feet so we were much less likely to run aground. I should have put the keel up before we entered the shallow waters, but too much was happening way too quickly.

I was pretty confident that we were entering Milford Haven which showed a back passage around Gwynn Island that lead to Deltaville. I had seen that there was a road bridge at the end and figured it was too low for sailboats. But this could turn out to be good if we could get under the bridge. We might be able to make Deltaville on time without having to face those huge waves. It would even be a shorter route if all worked well.

As we entered the bay following only the markers instead of the soaked large-scale chart, we unknowingly took the markers leading into dead-end Stutts Creek instead of the through passage in Milford Haven. Stutts Creek was two miles long, and we didn't discover our mistake until we had explored the very end with no place to go. So we went four miles out of the way! But we once again saw some beautiful homes and many with great boats parked out front.

We saw a man in his yard and motored over to ask if this creek didn't open up toward Deltaville. He said that we could get there, but we had to go back to "green one" and turn left. I asked if we could get under the bridge. He replied that it was a draw bridge, and I could radio the bridge tender on channel 13, and he would raise it. He said they were there all the time.

I decided it was time to use the GPS to find out exactly where we were. I plotted our position and discovered our error. We were in Stutts Creek instead of Milford Haven.

By then, it was almost 7 p.m. and the sun was quickly setting. The boat was still leaking fast. I was beginning to doubt whether we could make Deltaville before dark. I told Andy that what we really needed was to get the boat out of the water.

I looked carefully at all the homes hoping to find a boat ramp. If we could find a boat ramp, we could run the front of the boat as far ashore as we possible. Then Andy could bail as necessary while I hitchhiked back to York River to get the boat and trailer. Then we could eventually get the boat out of the water. I had had good luck hitchhiking on the only other time I ever tried (this morning), so I was optimistic about it.

I saw one home with a big powerboat hanging in a cradle that lifted the boat out of the water. I thought seriously about knocking on their door, asking them to lower their powerboat off the cradle and lift our sailboat out of the water!

About then I realized that I had the Virginia Atlas and Gazetteer aboard, and it showed the locations of boat ramps. I quickly ran below and brought it up. Careful examination revealed two boat ramps, just around the bend in Milford Haven right before the bridge. But I warned Andy about my experience with the Kentucky Atlas and Gazetteer on my Ohio River trip. Just because it says there is an boat ramp doesn't mean there really is one!

As we motored the six miles around to the bridge, we spotted an osprey flying by with a fish in his claws. We were still able to enjoy the sights. I asked Andy if he were ever going on a sailing trip with me again. He said he was never bothered by all this. He was still having a good time.

Andy went below every five minutes or so to bail water. He would get more than a bucketful every five minutes. It was not an immediately life-threatening problem, but there was no way we could keep the boat in the water overnight without constantly bailing it. Now THAT would be a hassle. Andy said what we really needed was a bilge pump. But even that would quickly run our battery down.

When we approached the bridge, Andy used the binoculars to try to spot a boat ramp. He saw none at the location nearest the bridge so we looked in the cove to the north. There were lots of boats there, but no ramp! The sun was rapidly setting, and I was beginning to worry. I was now sure we didn't have time to make Deltaville before dark, and I worried about trying to find a strange harbor in the dark. We were having enough trouble navigating in the daylight!

But just then Andy cried out that he thought he saw a boat ramp on the southern end of the bridge, just where the Virginia Atlas and Gazetteer said there was NOT one! As we crossed the bay, he was certain it was a boat ramp. I breathed a big sigh of relief. For the first time, I believed that the boat definitely would not sink.

Then Andy said, "Hey, Dad. I see a Coast Guard boat there. In fact, there are several. I think this is a Coast Guard station." Well, I didn't care if it was a private Coast Guard ramp, I was going to use it! So we headed in. There were two men fishing off the bank nearby. As we approached the launch ramp, they started over to help.

Without the keel down, the front end of the boat moved a lot in the least wind. As I slowed down, the current and the wind made me almost miss the ramp. Andy jumped in the water at the edge of the ramp and pulled the boat over. Then I jumped in just deep enough so that the water poured into my boots, and helped wrestle the boat. I saw a sandy area just the other side of the ramp, so we nosed the boat ashore there.

The men fishing turned out to belong to the Coast Guard. They walked over and asked what was going on. I said, "Well, our boat is taking on water fast, and we had to get it ashore. I am hoping that I can hitchhike or pay someone to take me to York River where I can get my truck and trailer and get this boat out of the water."

They discussed the matter quickly and one of them suggested that if we made a "case" out of it, then they could take me to get my truck. I said fine. They asked again, "Now you were taking on water." I said, "Yes, and it was an emergency matter that we get to land soon." They all agreed that it sounded like a "case."

One of the young men asked where we were from. I said, "Kentucky." He asked what part of Kentucky. I said, "Pikeville, in the far eastern corner. Almost in West Virginia." He said, "You're kidding! I'm from Phelps!" (Phelps is a city in our county!) Then he rolled up his shirt sleeve and showed us his tattoo of UK Wildcats!

Soon another Coast Guard guy was there with a clipboard asking questions. They agreed that Barney could take me to get the truck. Andy and I agreed that Barney was the low man on the totem pole. They asked a hundred questions, some several times. They also asked about life jackets aboard. And they asked if I had flares. I replied, "No. No flares." They said, "Well, since you are in Milford Haven, you don't really have to have flares here. But you do if you go out on the Bay." I didn't know that! But I avoided a citation because I was not currently in the Bay. In the end, our boat passed all their inspections, and I was Coast Guard case number 054-03.

It was fine with me to be a "case" so long as I got a free ride to my truck. And they said it would look good for them because it gave them another "case" that they had solved. So I guess it worked out well for both of us. In fact, it was pretty amazing that it worked out so well. It was even better than getting that free ride hitchhiking in the morning! Andy and I agreed that it couldn't have worked out any better. Except of course, if the boat hadn't leaked in the first place!

Our new Coast Guard friends.

(It would be great to have more pictures of this day, but we were too busy fighting for our lives to take pictures.)

So I boarded the boat to change into dry socks and shoes, and then young Barney and I were headed to get my truck. This time we were quite a way from the truck. It took a full 45 minutes to get there.

Barney, 19, was from North Carolina. He joined the Coast Guard because he felt he needed to do something to get away from home. He was afraid he would get himself in trouble if he stayed there. The only thing he regretted was being so far from his fiancée. They didn't have a date set for their marriage because his girlfriend wanted to complete her college education first. He said he wasn't really enjoying the Coast Guard. He didn't really like water activities. He chose this branch of the service because it wouldn't require him to be so far from his fiancée. Six hours away was better than half a world away. He talked a lot about how dangerous boating was. They see it all at the Coast Guard. He said he didn't even think he would pursue boating as a hobby when he got out. It's just too dangerous.

So it was 10:30 by the time I got back to the boat with the truck and trailer. Andy had spent the time removing the sails and folding them and tidying up the boat a bit. Then he spent the rest of the time in the Coast Guard station.

When we pulled the boat from the water, we looked underneath to see what the problem was. My fiberglass patch 1/2 inch thick had pulled slightly away from the bottom of the boat on one side. It appears that the big waves had so flexed the bottom of the boat at that spot that it caused delamination. It was immediately obvious that my problem at that spot has nothing to do with the keel swinging. That is the spot that takes the biggest beating in heavy waves. The boat rises high out of the water and bangs down on that place causing flexing of the bottom of the boat.

So now I have a new plan for repair. I will reinforce the inside of the boat with 2X4s and fiberglass then re-fiberglass the outside. This will be the SIXTH (and hopefully LAST) time for repairing this same spot.

But I was not up for repairs on this trip. I was too tired to think about it, so I quickly decided that we would spend the rest of the week sight-seeing on land!

It took more than an hour to get the mast down and all the gear loaded up. We pulled away about 11:30 p.m. ready to look for a motel.

Then I made two wrong turns in the dark trying to find my way out. The first wrong turn was just at the edge of the Coast Guard Station. I soon found myself in a housing area and knew I was wrong. So I turned around in a driveway, and we were off in the opposite direction. But then I somehow managed to take highway 14 the wrong way without knowing it. I told Andy I sure didn't remember the road looking this way just before we came to the dead-end sign! We had driven almost to New Point Comfort. This was not my best day of navigation!

Finally, we were on the right road going the right way. We spotted a Wendy's with the sign still on and drove though hoping for a bite to eat. We hadn't had much lunch and no supper. When we stopped at the speaker, the voice said coldly, "We're closed!" I looked at my watch and it was 12:03. They closed at midnight.

Andy noticed that there was a Comfort Inn right behind the Wendy's so we checked in for the night. We went to sleep about 1 p.m.

Distance covered 41.9 miles, average speed 5.1 mph, with a traveling time of 8 hrs 11 minutes.

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

We spent the entire day resting. After checking in at the motel at 1 p.m. we stayed there until almost noon, then drove to Newport News and checked in at the same Comfort Inn where I had stayed on Thursday night. I figured Andy would be able to enjoy the mall and other shopping areas while I continued to rest up. Tuesday night I slept 12 hours - from 9 pm Tuesday to 9 am Wednesday.

At the Comfort Inn, we noticed a sign on the back of the commode that said, "No Lifeguard on Duty!" We knew that the sign referred to the swimming pool, but it looked like they were having problems with people swimming in the commode.

Comfort Inn, Newport News

Wednesday, May 28, 2003

After finally getting enough rest, we began our land sight-seeing trip. First, we drove through Hampton along the shore looking at the beautiful houses and the ship building docks. We were looking for an advertised Harbor cruise, but when we found the place, we discovered they were out of business.

So we headed over to Norfolk with the intention of going downtown where another harbor cruise on a tall ship was advertised. But I took a wrong turn (again), and wound up close to the Naval Base. So we took the base tour and got a closer look at two aircraft carriers and the many other ships docked there.

Then we headed downtown with my boat and trailer in tow. I knew that parking would be a problem, and it was. After wandering around right downtown, I headed back out about a mile to the parking lot for their local transit system.

When I pulled in, we noticed that all the cars had decals. We asked the security guard about parking there, and he said that the meter maids quit checking the lot at 6. It was then 5, but he said he had never seen them come there after 5. So we took the chance and let the truck and boat and walked downtown.

We quickly found the American Rover ticket counter and booked our passage on the 6:30 cruise. Then we walked around the shopping area while we waited.

American Rover Click here for the American Rover web site

The harbor cruise was wonderful. The captain gave a running narration of all the things we saw along the shore. Winds were very light so we didn't do much sailing, but they did put the sails up and Andy and I both enjoyed watching them do that.

On touring the ship, Andy and I found a framed picture with this clever saying:

Why is a ship called a she?

As ship is called a she because there is always a great deal of bustle around her;
there is usually a gang of men about;
she has a waist and stays;
it takes a lot of paint to keep her good-looking;
it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep;
she can be all decked out;
it takes an experienced man to handle her correctly;
and without a man at the helm, she is absolutely uncontrollable.
She shows her topsides, hides her bottom;
and when coming into port always heads for the buoys.

I told Andy I should put this $15 million yatch on my trailer and take it home. Sarah said I should buy a new boat while I was on vacation!

A Navy ship drydocked for repairs.

(The tarp prevents sandblasting and paint from polluting the area.)

A container ship at the Portsmouth International Docks.

The coal dock where Kentucky and West Virginia coal is shipped overseas.

When we got to the Navy Base, there were now three aircraft carriers docked there. The latest arrival was the Ronald Reagan, a brand new carrier just built at Newport News. The captain said it was very rare to find even two aircraft carriers there at one time. The next day another carrier returned from the Iraq war and docked, making four carriers!

Three aircraft carriers - a rare sight.

The Eisenhower

Steve the troubadour

The ship turned around for the ride back after passing the Navy Base. That's when Steve started singing. As the sun set, Steve entertained with many of his songs coming from Jimmy Buffett. Andy knew all the words. It was a very pleasant evening and a fine ending to the day.

After the cruise, we stopped at an IHOP for supper, then started looking for a motel. We soon discovered that this might be a problem. Our first stop was a Comfort Inn near the Navy Base. The man there said that the returning navy men from the ships were filling up the motels. Well, I guess so! Each aircraft carrier can hold up to 5,000 men. With two active carriers docked, that meant 10,000 returning sailors and their families here to meet them.

So we drove to Portsmouth to try to find a spot for the night. We finally stayed at a cheap motel near a truck stop. We got the last room, the jacuzzi room, for which they charged an extra $15 per night. It was filthy! But we slept.

Thursday, May 28, 2003

This was our day to take the shore drive around Norfolk to Virginia Beach. We spotted a Ramada Inn early on, so I stopped to ask the price for a night and if they had a vacancy. They did and the price was right, so we booked a room. Then we left the boat and trailer out back while we continued our drive along the shore. We drove all the way through Virginia Beach before turning back.

On Willough Spit beside the Days Inn

The New Cape Henry Light House Click here for more info about it on the web

The Old Cape Henry Light House just across the street.

(The yellow ribbon was to welcome the troops home.)

We drove out to see the Cape Henry Lighthouse. It is on an Army base and I didn't expect to get on the base. When we stopped at the entrance, the guard asked where we were going. I said that we had hoped to see the light house. He said, "I just needed you to say that." Then he took my drivers license number and we were on!

When we stopped to take pictures, I absent-mindedly put my sunglasses on the top of the truck so I could see through the camera lens. Then, of course, I drove off with them on the car. I happened to see something flicker in the rear view mirror and realized it was my sunglasses. We drove back and forth several times before finding them in the middle of the street where I had run over them. But with a little bending they were still useable.

It was a day of thunderstorms. Every few hours a really nasty thunderstorm broke over us. We were both glad that we were not on the water that day.

We also observed that every beach town catering to tourists looked the same. Virginia Beach looks like Panama City Beach and like every other such tourist site.

At the end of the day, we had a good steak at Lone Star and went to another movie. We saw The In-Laws with Michael Douglas. Neither of us had heard anything about it, but it turned out to be a very enjoyable movie.

At the theatre at the mall, we noticed a lot of Minis', the new car built by Cooper. It's a remake of a sixties model mini-car. That car is featured in the new movie The Italian Job. They must have had a special preview showing for owners because there must have been 150 minis in the parking lot.

Friday, May 29, 2003

On Friday, we decided to drive south. We headed out of town and started down the beach road.

Grave Digger and Monster Mutt

On the drive down, we spotted a garage with two monster vehicles out front. One was the famous "Grave Digger."

Then we came to Kitty Hawk. There we toured the Wright Brothers Museum. We heard an excellent lecture about the Wright Brothers first flight. Then we walked the grounds reading the markers at the locations of the first four flights.

Wright Brothers Museum and Park

We continued south and found a West Marine store at Nags Head. We spent about an hour shopping there. I wanted everything they had.

Cape Hatteras Light House Click here for more info about it on the web

Finally, we wound up in Cape Hatteras. We had intended to keep driving south and take the ferry across to Morehead City. But I was tired and we spotted a Comfort Inn. So we stayed for the night.

We had a nice seafood meal, then walked the beach for over an hour.

Cape Hatteras Beach

We were impressed that fishermen carried the poles on the front of their vehicles.

Near Cape Hatteras we saw many, many kiteboarders.

Bodie Island Light House Click here for more info about it on the web.

Saturday, May 30, 2003

We headed back toward Norfolk. We had to be there for Andy's flight on Sunday afternoon.

FOUR aircraft carriers - a very rare sight

The day ended with a rainbow over the movie theatre