We left Norfolk the day after the Rendezvous. It was a little difficult getting out of our slip. They had boats packed in so tight that there was no way we could get out unless a few boats moved. SeaGlide got out first so we decided to follow them. We could go much faster than a lot of the boats want to go, but choose to follow them at the slower pace. That way we always have company and save a little on fuel.
Cindy’s Observations: Tight as a leotard on a fairy is more like it. Once you were docked in this spot, you might as well roll over and rest a spell. No way to get out of here except “up”. Guess that’s why they called it “COFFIN CORNER'’.
Our destination for today is the marina at Deltaville VA. They have arranged a little “after rendezvous” rendezvous. There are a few boats going to meet there, so we decided to spend a few days there before heading toward Washington DC.
The trip took us down the James River out into Chesapeake Bay, across the entrance to the York River and into the Rappahannock River a total of about 56 miles.
This poor little fellow was exhausted from his long flight. Barbara, from Blue Herron, helped me identify this feathered friend. He is a “male magnolia warbler”. This time of year they migrate over the bay. After a few moments resting on the seat back he went on his way.
The Bay was fairly calm and we had no problems with waves. A few large wakes from other faster boats, but as long as they don’t come too close you can maneuver to take them at an angle that doesn’t rock you too bad.
One of the lighthouses on shore. Chesapeake Bay has a plethora of them.
Wolf Trap Lighthouse, note the “outhouse” hanging over the side. No plumbing to worry about here!
We saw a couple of interesting Lighthouses along the way and witnessed a Nuclear Submarine being escorted into the Sub Base somewhere up the York River. The escorts keep you at a safe distance. They announce on channel 16 about staying clear of naval warships but never refer to the ship being escorted as a submarine. But we have pictures! They were taken at a considerable distance so may be hard to recognize the submarine. Don’t know which submarine it was.
Nuclear submarine and escortWe arrived in Deltaville with a considerable wind blowing away from the dock which always makes it interesting, but we managed to get tied up with the help of some of the boaters who got there before us.
Dozier’s Regatta Point Yachting Center. We will be docked on the wall.
Grace, Larry, Jeff, Craig, Vicki and Barbara. We took a ride to see what we could and to work off our breakfast.
The Chesapeake Bay has over 3,000 miles of shore line, 30 miles across at the widest point and over 200 miles long.
After we fueled up at Norwood Marina we came past Dozier Marina and waved bye to our fellow loopers.
That is when tragedy struck! We were leaving the harbor a Deltaville, which has a very narrow, shallow channel, when the boat struck something. We were going at idle speed, but before I could get the engines out of gear, we rode up on something and settled back down on top of it. The port engine died and every time I restarted it and put it into gear, it would die again. Something was jammed in the prop. I tried to use the starboard engine to move us off, but with no luck. After a few minutes of trying, I gave up. I told Cindy to get the anchor ready to drop to hold us in place while I called for a tow. I sent Cindy below to check the hatches to make sure we weren’t taking on water and we were not!!
We dropped the anchor and I made a call on the phone to TowBoat US. I have a policy with unlimited towing and un-grounding coverage that I had hoped to never use, but it looks like I need it for sure. After turning the remaining engine off, Cindy said that you could see something under the bow of the boat by the anchor.
The other boats that we had been with at the marina started filing by wanting to help but I told them to continue on that help was coming. SeaGlide mentioned that they had seen on a website, that there once was a sailboat that had broken apart in Hurricane Irene a few year earlier, somewhere in the area, but it was supposed to be marked with a buoy. I went forward to the bow and looked down and sure enough, you could see the bow section of a boat directly under us. The anchor had dropped very close to the side of the boats bow. Luckily it didn’t drop into the wreckage or we might have had a hard time getting it back up.
By the time the towboat arrived, we had drifted away from the wreck enough so the port engine would now go into gear without killing the engine. Since I could still see the wreck, I decided to let the towboat get us away from it before I started the engines again. The towboat pivoted us around away from the snag. He had a little concern about our anchor becoming fouled in the remains, but it pulled up clean.
I started both engines and they went into gear without a problem. Now we had to make a decision. Should we continue on since everything appeared to be working, or should we go back to a marina where they could pull the boat out of the water and take a look?
Cindy's Observations: You know they are out there…Lurking…waiting…watching…until…you have to utter those 4 little words: Hello, Tow Boat US. “I need a tow”. At least we are covered. As if it wasn’t bad enough, my day started out with praying to the “Porcelain Goddess”. My stomach was a mess for whatever reason. Standing on the bow doing anchor detail was not a good thing.
We opted for the safe choice and had the towboat tow us back to Zimmerman Marine in Deltaville. They had a large lift and the facilities to do any repairs if we needed them.
Cindy’s Observations: We planned on being home for my fathers back surgery in a week anyway. If the damage was minimal we would be back on the water heading north. If more severe, we would head for home sooner. At this point, being home sounded pretty nice. This will give me time to assess spring yard care and check for house maintenances.
We drove into the sling and they moved us close enough to the end of the lift that we could get off of the front, then they lifted us completely out of the water and moved us forward so that we could get under the boat. At first glance, the damage didn’t look too bad. The port prop was a little wrinkled on a couple of blades, but not as bad as when we hit something in the Tenn-Tom. The starboard one had very small damage to one blade. I’m sure that with a block of wood and a ball-peen hammer, I could have straightened it good enough.
Not as bad as I was imagining!
Doesn’t look too bad, I’ve seen a lot worse!!
Little “wrinkle” in the prop blade.
Prop zinc pushed back against the strut.
Pieces of Mahogany embedded in water intakes from the sunken sailboat.
It felt as though we were abandoning a loved one. They assured us she would be looked after.
When they rotated the Port shaft though, it wobbled quite a bit which would indicate that either the shaft or strut was bent out of alignment. The bottom paint was scraped off in a few places where we had rubbed the wreck. The covers for the generator and port engine water intakes were crushed in and the generator inlet had pieces of mahogany wedged in it.
We decided that we needed to report it to the insurance company and get everything repaired properly. The marina estimate was for; removing both props and having them sent out for straightening and tuning, removing both propeller shafts and having them sent out for straightening, replacing the strut if it was bent, repainting part of the hull that was scraped, and replacing the covers for the water intakes.
Don’t ever report anything to the insurance company if you are in a hurry!! The insurance company wanted to send an independent surveyor to verify the damage and to also determine if there was any other damage that may have happened. A good idea, but it took a couple of weeks for the surveyor to get there and then another week for his report to get to the insurance. Three weeks had gone by and not a bolt was turned on the boat! By this time we were home anyway, but this was going to put us way behind our schedule.
We decided to keep the rental car when we got back to Deltaville, and do our touring of the area by car instead of by boat. That way when the boat got back into the water it would speed up our trip.
We arrived back at the boat and still nothing had been done. I had given them the OK to start repairs but they had other boats in front of us that needed work also. I finally convinced them that if they would take the props and shafts out of the boat, that we could take them to Norfolk in their truck and speed things up. At least our parts would be being worked on while they were continuing work on their other clients and we were visiting Washington, Solomon's, Annapolis, and various Civil War sites.
Packed up and ready to hit the road.
Dad wanted to have a family breakfast before his surgery. Tom, Tristyn,Tim, Mom, Dad, Larry and little Preston.
My bowling/shopping/laughing/crying girl friends. Melody, Jeanie, Nadine, Linda, Pat, Jackie, Sharon and me. We enjoyed a birthday dinner for Melody. It was really nice to catch up with all of them.
After 2 weeks at home with granddaughter in tow we headed back to Deltaville, VA.
Machine shop that straightened our prop shafts in Norfolk.
We volunteered to drive the parts to Norfolk in order to save the men down time. Anything to speed the repair process we were willing to do. With another week of waiting in store, we opted for plan B.
Our side trip up the Potomac River has been changed to a road trip. This way we could still see the cities we would like to and also allow us to get back on a schedule to continue north. Plan was to be in Canada by July 1st.
Fredericksburg, VA
Fredericksburg, VA was a base point between Deltaville and DC. We booked a motel there which cut our travel time considerably and was certainly more affordable than Washington DC or Annapolis’ costs.
Civil War cannon on the battlefield at Fredericksburg VA.
For all you civil war buffs, this is the place for you! We followed the battlefield trails through Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness( which was described as “the beginning of the end” for the confederacy) and Spotsylvania. Ending at Jackson’s Shrine.
May 2, 1883, Lt. Gen C. S. A. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson fell mortally wounded at this site. Shot accidentally by one of his own men. We learned that “Stonewall” Jackson’s arm was buried in the Ellwood family cemetery. Six days later he died from pneumonia.
Solomons, Maryland
Drum Point Lighthouse and Calvert Marine museum were our next day trip.
Screw pile type lighthouse. Metal supports were screwed into the ground to support it.
View from the lighthouse
A set of weights below the floor ( like a grandfather clock) powered the mechanism for the fog bell. They needed to be “wound” every few hours and had to be attended to all night and day during the fog.
Fresnel lens for the lamp. The whole mechanism rotated.
Cove Point Lighthouse at the north end of Solomons
Light keepers house, lighthouse, and house for the fog horn.
The light keepers house is now a duplex and is rented out during tourist season.
Inside the lighthouse
Washington DC
From Franconia Metro station we rode the train to Arlington Cemetery where we watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown.
Arlington
Kennedy Graves
Tomb of the Unknown
From Arlington we walked across the Potomac river to the Lincoln Monument. Said hi, to Abe and continued to “The Wall”.
Lincoln Monument
“The Wall” Vietnam Memorial
It had become very warm at this point and we were starting to wear out.
WW II Memorial
The Washington Monument was undergoing repairs. No touchy feely for this monument this trip. It was roped off due to repairs. With all the scaffolding surrounding it, it appeared to be a giant atrium from a distance.
The Capitol Building
By this time we were almost beat. Too hot to walk the rest of the way to tour the capitol we ducked inside the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum for some cool air.
Air and Space Museum
Our day at DC was full and exhausting. Back to the train to recover before our drive back to the hotel.
Annapolis, MD
Another full day of walking, but at least we had shade. This town was so impressive with all the history of the time and beautiful historic buildings and townhouses. We strolled along the brick streets and walkways, marveling at all the preserved hand carved detailed gingerbread and brick brack details.
The Governors Mansion
Annapolis State House
Annapolis State House famous dome
Bagpipers marching by
Kunta Kinte came to the US at this port.
Story telling kept the history alive
Ego Alley
Boats parade from Annapolis harbor to the city dock and show off their maneuvering abilities in the narrow basin at the end, to the many on-lookers. The bigger the boat the bigger the ego. We did it in our dinghy!
Listed as one of the best college towns by southern Living, the Naval Academy and St. John’s College develop strong leaders and great thinkers.
Narrow alleys lined with charming clapboard homes connect the maze of streets. Some only 10 feet wide. We were invited into one such home and learned a few day to day activities of the 1700’s.
Modest furnishings
18th-century brick Georgian architecture in Annapolis has the highest concentration anywhere of the US
Our short introduction to the city left us with wanting to come back another time for a longer visit.
Returning to Deltaville we had one more activity on the list.
Paddle boarding on the Chesapeake Bay. Tristyn’s balance was a little better than mine so I relaxed and sat back to enjoy the ride. These boards were the largest size at 16 ft. Very light weight with graphite paddles. Fins at the rear like a surf board. We enjoyed our adventure for a couple of hours.
Zimmermann's had determined that the strut was bent (it wasn’t) and had contacted Cruisers Inc for a new one. They didn’t have any and neither did anyone else. They could have a new one cast and it would only take an additional 6 weeks! This is where I put my foot down and said that we were not replacing it. I wanted it taken down and realigned! They reluctantly agreed, but only if it wasn’t way off. I had a little information that they didn’t have (and didn’t seem to care about). When we had the transmission replaced on the starboard side a year ago, they said that it didn’t line up correctly when they started reinstalling it. They said that when the Diesel engines were put in, that the strut and engine alignment were not very good and was making the shaft bend and wobble a bit. I had them take the strut down and realign it as well as move the engine into alignment.
At the same time, I asked them to check the port engine alignment too. They said that it was “marginal” but OK. They had so much trouble with the starboard one that I think that they didn’t want to tackle aligning another one.
So, assuming that the port strut was out of alignment all along, it would go along with the indications that they were getting now and not caused by new damage. When they replaced the cutlass bearing in the strut, my suspicions were confirmed. It was wallowed out at both ends which means that the shaft had been out of alignment for a considerable time. They replaced the bearing, took down the strut and realigned it and the engine and everything lined up perfectly. I just saved $2000 and 6 weeks!! If I wasn’t so old, I would go into the marine repair business!! Maybe I should just consult!
With tuned props, straightened shafts (they weren’t that bad either), new bottom paint, new zincs, and new covers for the water intakes, (all paid for with insurance) we were ready to continue our journey. I also had them tighten the packing around the rudder posts because they were seeping a little water.
We left Deltaville on June 20. As we traversed the narrow channel, you could see the new marker on the wreck that we and one other boat had struck. Oh well, better late then never. At least it may save others the same fate.
37 days later (the sign should say Goodbye Regatta Point)
Yellow float tied to the remains of the sailboat
Cindy’s Observations: Another week passed after Larry picked up our parts. He was getting a bit anxious. He “had words” with the owner. Would you believe after 33 days on the hard, waiting painfully, they had us in the water 3 days later. THREE DAYS of labor took a total of 36 days to complete.
Seeing Captain Larry at the helm again, Priceless
The workmanship was great. We can not express enough how well the repairs were completed, once they started.
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