Oriental!

It is 1pm and we are within sight of Oriental! This will be the final update from the boat. A summary will be posted later...

Cheers!

Jason, Polly, Doug and Bill

Heading for Home!

Happy Mother's Day!!

We departed the slip in Dowry Creek just before 7am and are in route to Deaton's at Oriental. As of this posting we are about 3:30 hours out. Our tentative ETA in Cary will be 6pm!

Moonrise Over Dowry Creek

A wonderful red moon...

The Alligator-Pungo ICW Canal...
Why Wait? under way...
We knew that we were in North Carolina; carolina blue skies; a few puffy clouds; flat seas; brown water and Bubba burgers for lunch...

We had a fabulous dinner at Fishhook Cafe in downtown Bellhaven and then we stopped at Food Lion and Jason felt he was home in Salisbury. The marina even loaned us a car to get to dinner.

I set the route today on the GPS and then drove a good deal of it with only one issue. When I created the route, I accidentally flagged a red marker as a waypoint and the GPS did a wonderful job of driving us into it. Thankfully, I noticed and adjusted course...

Departing for Dowry Creek

We pulled away from Elizabeth City just before 7 with no injuries and we are heading to Dowry Creek Marina. This is a change of plans from Belhaven, since Bill believes this location to be much nicer. Both are on the Pungo River and only 5 miles apart. We have a long day with 73.4 nm ahead of us. We will be traversing the Alligator River/Pungo River Canal ICW late in the day.

Elizabeth City

Heading down the canal...

Welcome center dock...

We've just returned from perhaps the best dinner of the trip. Cypress Creek Grill, on Water St provided each of us with a delicious meal at a very reasonable price.......but that is the end of the day. It started off with an exceptional event. Bill getting to hang from the anchor by his scrotum! Don't even ask how. No really serious damage but perhaps the first time a guy has worn a sanitary napkin all day. Don't try this at home.

The Great Dismal Swamp was great but certainly not dismal, and we saw very little swamp. From the bow one could very often smell the honeysuckle along the banks as the driver kept us in deep water and avoided the overhanging branches. A great experience and one to be done again.

For Doug it was the first time he had visited a Visitors' Center ........by boat.

How do you select the right spices to marinate the chichen before grilling it for lunch? Doug's solution was to try a little of EVERYTHING we had except the orgreno, including adding some Don Julio tequilla. The result was superb and I think that we have now proved that the grill can do a wonderful job with the right guy using it.

-Bill

Welcome to North Carolina!

5 states later, we are in North Carolina!

Great Dismal Swamp - ICW

It is 7:15 and we are anchored and waiting at the first lock. All went well with both draw bridges. This is also the first time that we have anchored and the first time that the anchor has ever been used on this boat!

Downtown Norfolk

Aircraft carrier at dock...

Comfort hospital ship....
Container ship... It passed us and then a tug slowed it down and we passed it as it was docked.
View from our slip of the navy ship in dry dock being constructed...

This yacht is incredible. The white blob on the left is an SUV that can be lifted off along with the double outboard dingy.

The baby...if you look closely...you'll see a Hooters in the background.

We arrived around 2pm at Waterside Marina in downtown Norfolk. We stopped across the river first to refuel and have a pump out. We have been spoiled in terms of marinas. The marina area itself is nice but the facilities are lacking at best. Our dinner at Joe's Crab Shack was also a disappointment. The food was just ok and they over charged us for all of the entries and it took us over 30mins to pay with multiple tries at getting the correct prices. About two blocks from our marina is the U.S.S. Wisconsin battleship; who knew? Jane?

Tomorrow will be another early day because of the bridge and lock schedule. We have to make two bridges prior to 6:30 since they are down from 6:30-8:30. If we wait for the 8:30 bridge then we can't make the first Dismal Swamp Canal lock opening and it is four hours to the next.

Norfolk shipyards...

We just passed through the Norfolk shipyard area. Things got real exciting briefly as we had a container vessel about 200 yds on our starboard and the naval docks on our port and were forced outside the channel towards the naval area by passing tug traffic. We only got one visit from the security boat. There were about a dozen distroyers, the Comfort hospital ship, one aircraft carrier, lots of amphibious ships and three attack submarines. We will upload pictures later today....

Cheers...

Cruising to Norfolk

I'm pleased with the boat. We've been motoring < 3000 rpms and cruising along around 7 knots the whole trip. All with a nasty bottom. I'll be pleased to see how she does with sanding + bottom painting.

However, one unfortunate event occurred this morning - I let out some main to attempt to stabilize the boat while we were heading into the waves, and after a bit, I noticed a slight tear at the top of the patched section where the patch attaches to the seams. Good thing I have a new main coming in a couple of weeks.

It's 10am, and we're only 10nm from Thimble Shoal where we head west and head down Elizabeth River, then South to Portsmouth where we'll be staying at Waterside Marina. Looks like a fun and happening place, so it's nice to get there early. Besides, Admiral Polly is behind on her DNA - Daily Napping Allowance.

Polly's brother Bobby and wife Laura and nieces Sydney & Campbell live nearby and are hopefully going to swing by. It will be great to see them.

jt

Sunrise in Deltaville...

Good morning! We pulled away from the dock at 5:55am and we are making good progress towards Norfolk. We hope to be in by 4pm but we are heading into the 15 kt wind with 3 foot waves so it will be a long day.

Making breakfast this morning was quite challenging given the constantly moving stove. Only real excitement was just after pouring in the eggs into the pan we hit a monster wave which subsequently caused a wave in the frying pan. The eggs only burned briefly when they landed in the flame. Sorry Mike, again no pork pictures; I was too busy trying to stand up and not hurl.

Deltaville was a major bust after Solomon's; nothing but a cross-roads with a couple restaurants and a hardware store.

Here is the cool light house by popular demand that we forgot to post yesterday....

Deltaville Here We Come

Soft Crab w/lots of garlic anyone? The garlic was Bills suggestion for Doug's first experience. He seemed to like it as he even ate the cute little bug eyes, claws, and little legs of Sebastian The Crab. Poor Sebastian, he never had a chance!
Children, don't try this stunt at home. These are drunken sailors waiting for the restaurant shuttle.
Strawberries and Ameretto was a big hit with the WW Crew. Bojangles has nothing on this special sauce!

This is the Thomas Point Light House. Perhaps named after Jason's great great grandfather. He must have ship wrecked on this shoal, which explains Jason's marvelous sense of direction!
Jason, Jason, Jason;
The winch is suppose to go on top of the cabin top, not the cooler;-)

The day started at 9 leaving Solomon's Island. Great day on the water avoiding Gill Nets and completing many projects; cleaned and lubed winches, mast & boom tracks, labeling Seacocks, and the biggy was fixing the Galley Hella Fan.
Due to a long day to Norfolk, we are planning to leave the dock at 6AM. So we can have lots of time to play.

Evening at Solomon's Island

What a cool island. Although, I'm sure they had a lot of those Malibu drink thingies we had in order to call a peninsula an island. But hey...who cares...I'll go with Island.

Here's Chef Dougie trying to set my boat on fire using the new Magma grill.


Lucky for us, we had 4 bicycles available for us to challenge the whole concept of BWI - Bicycling While Intoxicated. CL - is that for real? Of course, WHO am I kidding...I've seen what happens when CL and bicycles mix. Love ya, CL.

We cycled around the island, and found the local watering hole - a tourist trap called the "Tiki Bar". Had some of the aforementioned Malibu drink thingies, and all was well. Afterwards, we had a nice dinner, saw a nice sunset, and then somehow found our way back to WW.




Did I mention this cruising thing is a tough life? I mean, you have to get up, eat some Dougie-Chef prepared breakfast (ask me about the blueberry pancakes - wow), then you have to motor/sail a little, then, do some chores, then, heck, it's time for lunch. Repeat, and heck, it's time for dinner and then you have to go to happy hour. Hopefully, you get the picture.

Hey - good news -we got to sail a bit today. We arrived early to Solomon's Island (current + motoring peaked at 9.3 knots), but wind was on our tail so apparent wasn't too much, so we did a reach across the bay and back (7 knots in 10 true). Jason was grinning from ear to ear, while Polly - you guessed it - free from engine noise - took a nap.

jt

We are SAILING!

We just hit 7knots! The sail patch is holding fine and Jason is like Owen at Christmas!

Departing Annapolis

Good afternoon! Sorry for the delayed
update but Blogger had some technical difficulties today. We departed Annapolis around 9am and as of 1pm we are about 2 hours out of Solomon's Island, MD.

It is a fantastic day to be on the water; Sunny and about 70 with 10knot winds. Our best speed to date is 9.7 knots relative to ground.

We passed a way cool light house that will be in the afternoon picture update along with pictures of Jason assembling the grill while underway. The grill was used for a Bubba Burger lunch and other than almost setting the bimini on fire, lunch was excellent.
This yacht that was anchored off Annapolis was incredible.


Jason and Polly as we were leaving the harbor...
U. S Naval Academy

Perspective from the bridge

I could dig this cruising lifestyle. Not a bad life at all.

Crew is awesome. Patron and Crown Reserve is great. And we're loving this new boat! Still keep looking at her and wondering if it's really ours.

Confirmed today we're getting a new mainsail...should be here in about a month. Repair of the "old" sail is holding up well. I say "old" - cause it was only 2 years old and looked brand new except for where the tear was. So now I'll have a new one and a decent backup.

Holy prop walk. This sucker backs up like a one-legged duck. Gonna take some practice til I can back her in like Fast Eddy.

Cheers...heading to Solomon's Island tomorrow. Hoping for a little more wind, but all in all, I can't complain. I mean, some of you are at work after all!

CL - I hate you weren't able to join us! Can't believe you'ld rather watch some little 70 foot yachts than sail on mighty Why Wait. :) Just teasing you - we miss ya and hope things go well on the home front. We'll save ya some Don Julio.

jt

Annapolis

Thanks for all your replies, it has been fun having you all along on our adventute. Bill & Doug have been fabulous crew members, couldn't have asked for better crew!

My big project for the day was scrubbing the head / bathroom metal work. The only area of the interior of the boat that didn't look brand new:-( We had planned to replace the sink & shower heads, but I wanted to see if I could avoid that expense & it was a success. Scrubbed & polished till everything looks age appropriate, whoooohoooooo!


We have made it to Annapolis, what a great historical city on the water. We arrived around 3:00, very challenging docking. I was amazed at how WW did a complete 360 in the tight marina! Walked around town. And Yes, we found the beer. The guys cracked open the Crown as we searched for the water source in the bilge, no luck with that. But, we all were feeling no pain when we headed to Phillips. Steph, it was a good as Baltimore.

Mom & Dad, I also bought some Old English and covered up a few scratches/nicks. Reminded me of the quick fix on the wooden frame of the couch.

And, yes this is Polly-Wolly @11:30 PM I have not been the first one to sleep the last two nights. Somebody would have lost some big money on me in Vegas. I am just toooo excited to sleep=)

Lunchtime update...

Heading into the worse weather...




If you trust me, then faintly in the picture is Baltimore...

The nicer weather behind us:

The waves have dropped some but the rain has started but we are making good time and should be in Annapolis early.

Chesapeake Bay, here we come...

We pulled away from the dock this morning in Chesapeake City about 7:15. We have now left the C&D Canal and have entered the upper Chesapeake.

Since the forecast was to get worse, we left as soon as we got up and made breakfast (blueberry pancakes and sausage) in route.

A small craft advisory has been posted with 20-30 knot winds and an 80% chance of rain, so we are probably in for a rough ride!

Chesapeake City

See below about the redneck problem. Here Bill and Polly serve .5 of their community service hours fetching a poor drunk guy's shoes out of the water. It was a team effort, with Polly & Jason manning lines, Bill manning the pole, and Doug getting it on film. I'll have what that dude's having please.


The WW crew enjoyed a nice walk about town, and here's a view from our slip. Chesapeake City is a neat little town with a redneck problem.

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Passage

We're off on the C&D Canal. Bill and Jason try to keep Otto the autopilot on a straight course, while Doug & Polly keep a sharp eye out for the floating logs in the river. "Thump" - what was that?


Err...the bowels of WW. Jason noticed the bilge had water at the out-of-water survey, and he and Bill spent some time trying to dry it out. The fact that fish were swimming around didn't concern us to much...we consider it an "extra". :) Just a little water and the freaking thing won't drain to lowest level so Mr. Bilge Pump can do what it's paid to do.

Doug ... assuming the position. No, not that position, manning the helm. He kept saying all weekend: "I gots to get me one of these."

PinP - Polly in Philly.

Philadelphia

Doug and Jason heading through Philly south on the Delaware River. Turned out to be a beautiful day and we later were able to shed the jackets.



View of the Philly skyline. I think I see Allen Iverson...he's the dude with the headband third building from the bridge.

Bill...who grew up near Philly, summed it up best. Chef Doug makes perhaps the best Philly Cheese Steak we've all ever had!! Wow...dude has mad skillz in the galley.

Polly checking out the big guns. We need to put a couple of these on WW. Wonder how far a water balloon would launch from one of these babies?

Whoa Betsy!

The bridge prior to Betsy was a draw and we cleared it by 10ft!


We just crossed under the Betsy Ross Bridge. Thankfully she was wearing her bloomers today! The Ben Franklin Bridge is next and downtown Philly!

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We are away!

At 8:05 we pulled away from the dock after our first cooked meal onboard. Sorry, no pictures of pork are allowed on this blog, Mike.

We are about to cross under our first bridge heading into Philadelphia. This is the only one of excitement since our clearance is only by 10 feet.

We will upload some picture this afternoon! (So, Owen check back later!!)

Sat evening update...

What a day! We got some lunch and hit Lowe's and then the grocery store for provisions. Bill and Jason departed to return the van at the airport and retrieve Bill's luggage. As of a few minutes ago, they had Bill's luggage in hand and were in a taxi headed back here.

Meanwhile, I got our 11 gallons of spare fuel filled and Polly continued to organize the cabin. We got the water tanks flushed and refillled and almost all of the cabins organized. We just powered on the boat with shore power and got the hot water heater on so that Polly could take a hot shower. Its about 8:00 and we will head out to dinner shortly.

Sail info: The main sail rolls into the mast and at the end of last season too much of the sail was left sticking out. The very end is treated for UV protection, but the extra part sticking out was not and it rotted in the off season and resulted in the tear. The sail maker agreed to fix it today even though he had a bad hangover and we have it reinstalled and ready to go. Bill and Jason also tuned the rigging. We think we are ready for an early morning departure!

It's a Girl!

The induction went as planned and Jason is a new father! He and the baby are doing well, with only a little bit of tearing. Nothing a few stiches/patches will not fix!

Details: The morning started early at the Sleep Inn; we headed to the marina about 7:45. Jason and Polly thew a few things on board and the inspector and agent showed up and they left for the final check-out and sea trial. I headed to Philly to get Bill at the airport.

To waste time I hit IKEA and picked up a few parts at WestMarine. WestMarine is when I got the first phone call about the delivery complications: Good news: all the mechnical stuff checked out fine! Bad news: The main sail suffered a tear. More news soon.




I continued on to the airport. Wireless worked out great and could check Bill's flight info. One wierd thing, I could not understand why the web was not giving me Actual instead of Estimated times. After a second call to USAir, I realized that the flight was PM, not AM. Uh, oh. I reached Bill's wife and he had already realized the mistake and was on standby in Charlotte. She had him paged and it turned out that he was already in Philly. I turned around and collected him, minus luggage so there will be one more trip back to the airport.

Meanwhile, Jason worked out a deal to get the current sail fixed and a new one shipped to him later so that issue is clear and they are proud boat owners!

Pictures of the tear to come later!