Corrotoman River

Monday October 1, 2012
37 42.744 N
76 27.385 W

Leaving "The Tides"

Leaving Bonnie & Jon

We pulled out of The Tides at about 10 AM. Our departure was not without drama - the starboard starter battery was dead and I needed to engage the "jump switch" to get it running. Obviously the battery did not like the 5 weeks of inactivity. 

We only had a modest day planned - a 5 mile trip across the Rappahanock to Urbanna. This town was founded in the 1600's and was an important tobacco port "back in the day". We intended to anchor in the town creek and then dinghy ashore for a walk around and maybe dinner.

But it was not to be - the anchorage was quite attractive but small and crowded with private moorings and crab floats. We decided to move on. Also, I wanted to give the the starter batteries time to recharge, so we headed back across the river to the Corrotoman River. We ended up a few miles upstream in a very protected and pretty anchorage.

When we stopped to anchor we discovered the windlass was jammed and so it was a struggle to get the anchor down. It seems the 5 weeks of inactivity has had a negative effect on some equipment. But all is well now and we are snug.

Tomorrow we are heading for Tangier Island - it is a bit out of the way but apparently a bit of a 'time capsule" because of its relative isolation.

The Tides - The Last 10 days

Saturday September 22, 2012

Jon called this AM to advise that they were delaying their arrival till Sunday because of bad weather on the Chesapeake. We are very sheltered in here, but we can tell its breezy "outside".

We were just advised that we are moving over to the hotel side in the morning to Slip 766. We will be on a modern floating dock, which is easier to manage (Although Deidre does not like how they tend to wobble) We have been on fixed docks over here, which is OK except for the effects of winds, wakes, currents and tides. One has to leave enough slack in the lines for the tide to go in and out, but not too much so that the boat "hits anything" as the wind, tidal currents and wakes come and go.

I made a close study of the issue before we left on Monday. When we arrived home yesterday I found the bow about 2" from the dock, so I shortened the appropriate spring line. This morning when I woke up to a strongish North wind (on our stern) I found the bow lines tight as violin strings and our nose down and the dock up. When I eased them, the dock structure dropped a few inches under my feet. Oops.

Since we have use of the car, we spend a good part of the day in Kilmarnock, and we will take ourselves out to dinner tonight.

Sunday September 23, 2012

Can you spot Tide Hiker?

Today is the big day - we have moved over to the hotel side and now we are slipped with the big guys. I am pleased to say I did a good job backing Tide Hiker into the slip, with a bit of a breeze!

I finally made a decision on a camera and made the purchase on line today. (This is one of my retirement/40th anniversary/new boat/65th. birthday presents I am buying for myself). Deidre's camera is now working again (with new memory and battery) but it does not have the capacity to take good quality zoom photos. It will arrive Wednesday.

Chatting with the neighbors

"Bon Voyage" arrived about 4 PM. After settling in to the dock and washing off the salt, Bonnie and Jon came over for drinks and to make dinner plans, and a good time was had by all.

The cool weather seems to be here to stay. The days have been sunny and breezy, but Sunday night it got down to about 50 degrees. Great sleeping weather, although I think we will need a little heater for the boat.




Monday September 24th, 2012

Afternoon tea

This weather is great for working on the boat. In the summer I broke out in a sweat just lifting a screwdriver. Today I worked on repairing a crack in one of the cap rails and Deidre sanded, cleaned and re-oiled the lazarette hatch cover. I have a list of 24 jobs. We would have got more done but for a 3 hour lunch over on Bon Voyage. This afternoon we rode into town and purchased a little heater. That night the heater earned its keep.

Tuesday September 25th. 2012

Another perfect day. Jon and Bonnie took us on a road trip around the Northern Neck, including lunch in Deltaville, a visit to the West Marine store (always fun!) and a shopping trip to the local fish market where Deidre bought a couple of pounds of large shrimp. We were back at the boat 3PM, just in time for afternoon tea. I was excited to discover that my new camera had arrived. So Deidre read a book and I "assembled" the camera.

Deidre had marinated the shrimp and we bar-be-qued them for dinner.

Wednesday September 26th, 2012

Another perfect day, maybe 75, a slight breeze, lots of sun. We are planning to resume our trip south on Monday, and I had jobs to do.

What a dork!

My last dive established that our running gear needed a clean and if we are going to leave on Monday, it needed to be done, so I decided to do it at the dock today. I was concerned that the visibility and the space under the boat would both be even less, but I could have Jon standing by "just in case", and that made me feel safer. All went well. This time I wore working gloves and a long sleeved "under armor" shirt (previously used for skiing) for protection. I also abandoned the weight belt and used the weight pockets on the buoyancy vest instead. I had my tools suspended off the swim platform so I could not lose them. Next time I will wear a hat to protect my head when I bump into "things".

I estimate the visibility was only about 6" plus my goggles were quite fogged (Deidre is disgusted when I spit on them, so I did not!) The keel was only a foot or so over the mud. I had booties and flippers, but still did not like slipping into the slime! Because I am so hopelessly right handed, it was hard to clean the left side of the rudders and the props without getting further under the boat. I am really looking forward to clean water in Florida. Overall it was "a good dive" and the props and rudders are way cleaner.

Bob Cousteau

Deidre and I also changed all the secondary fuel filters today. Its a fairly easy job except for the starboard engine where the filters are located between the engine and the hull. That gets a bit tight. Tonight we are going out with dock friends for bar-b-que, American style (ie pork), after drinks and snacks on Tide Hiker.

Friday September 28th, 2012

My toothache got the better of me last night so I found a local dentist who said he would do a root canal. I was a bit apprehensive when I saw his "country office" but the doctor turned out to be a good guy who spent an hour or so on the diagnosis before settling on a treatment. He found a cavity under the gum line that he repaired quickly. It is taking a while for the tooth to settle down, but I am now comfortable.

 Saturday September 29, 2012
This is our last weekend before we leave, so we are focused on provisioning and getting shipshape.We borrowed Jon & Bonnie's car and headed of to Super Walmart and Walgreens. We both worked on the boat till about 4 when the boat next door came on board for drinks.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Tide Hiker at night

Another prefect fall day. To celebrate our last day we took ourselves for a slap up breakfast at the hotel. We needed to eat early because some friends visiting the marina today to take us to lunch! All in all it was a very social day and evening.

Portsmouth MTOA

Monday September 17, 2012

Bonnie and Jon turned up on time (having driven from their home in Ames, Iowa) and we were on our way to the MTOA Rendezvous in Portsmouth, VA. I had fussed around Tide Hiker for hours that morning - checking every line and every electrical setting and every window etc - as we would be away four nights. This was going to be our longest separation since taking ownership.

From our hotel

 It was a 2 hour drive to the hotel. Portsmouth is one of the several cities that make up the "Hampton Roads" port complex. Our hotel is located right on the Elizabeth River in the heart of the US Navy build and repair facilities. The room is on the 12th floor and we have a great view of the river and surrounds. (We came along this river when we were heading North back in July.) We are across the river from two floating docks - one with an Aegis Cruiser getting a refit.

Tuesday September 18, 2012

Was a fun but wet day today. Between the two of us we went to "Short History of the Hampton Roads", "Ladies in the Engine Room" (guess who attended that and asked a great question?), "Varsity Anchorages on the ICW", and "The Down East Great Loop". We were also treated to a "Lunch on Board" because we were dive-ins. Dinner was a very wet and rowdy affair in the big tent. The rain was coming down in torrents, the "floor" of the tent was a river.Good fun though, we met some new people.

Wednesday September 19, 2012

More of the same. Instead of lunch in the tent (Hot dogs!) we arranged to meet a couple that we met on their boat in The Tides, and had a nice lunch in the hotel restaurant. Dinner was in the tent - bar-b-que pork and 'fixings. Wednesday night I went for a guided tour of Old Portsmouth.

Thursday September 20th, 2012

Deidre's back is bothering her so she spent the morning resting. This afternoon she had a practical class on handling a two engine boat - a brave boat owner took 1/2 dozen ladies out on his boat and had them practicing docking. The boys had "engine room" with Bob Smith. Tonight was the Awards Dinner and the food was quite good, like a wedding.

This MTOA Rendezvous has been a bit disappointing for us. The hotel and location were great, but the meeting was short on useful education and training. The best bit was looking out the hotel window at activity on the river.

Friday September 21st, 2012

(The day started poorly - Collingwood had lost.) We met Bonny and Jon in the foyer and loaded up the car. Had breakfast at Cracker Barrel on the way out of town so we could return our "Books on Tape". Took about 4 hours to get to the Solomons where we dropped them off at their boat. Then Deidre and I plodded back to The Tides. Tide Hiker was patiently waiting for us. It was nice to get home.

The River

Is called the Elizabeth River. It has been the center of American Naval shipbuilding since the 1700's. Lots of battles in this area in the Revolutionary and Civil wars. I have some more photos.

This is the Portsmouth light ship from the early 1900's. Some places the water was too deep to build light houses, and so they anchored a light ship. This light ship is now a museum located right under our window.

Its a bit hard to see in this photo, but the crane in the foreground is called a "hammerhead crane" and was used to lower gun turrets onto battleships under construction. The "Arizona" was built here. They would place the ship in the right place and lower the gun turret within a few inches and then let the tide do the rest.

There was all sorts of activity most of the day. This is another big crane on a barge. We saw a massive tug - 123 meters long. It looked like it could push the hotel over.

The Tides - She's back!

Tuesday September 4, 2012

The rental car company was scheduled to pick me up at 9:30 AM, they arrived at 10:00 AM. Then we drove 30 miles the wrong way to pick up the car, and picked up some other customers on the way. I was in the rental by 11:00 AM and on my way. Deidre's plane was due at 7:40 PM and the iPad told me that JFK was 380 miles so I figured I had plenty of time. The first 100 miles were pleasant. After that I was "skirting" Washington and then Baltimore and then Philadelphia and then a dash thru New Jersey and into NYC proper.

The tolls were constant. Each bridge and tunnel seemed to be $14 and by the time I had driven the Delaware and New Jersey toll roads I was out another $50! Amazing, and people chose to live here? The weather started of great but by the time I crossed the Verranzano Bridge it was pelting rain and the clouds were obscuring the tops of buildings. Maybe I am getting old but it was 7:00 PM by the time I got to JFK and I was beat.

Deidre's plane was right on time and I was in the right place. Bliss. I managed to re-find the car and get out of JFK and onto the right freeway. Deidre was starved so we looked for a place to eat - 100 miles later and after a couple of false starts we found an all night pizza joint and enjoyed a couple of slices and a beer. (For those innocents among you that have not driven in NY and NJ at night it might seem hard to imagine, but finding a decent place to eat from a toll road is really difficult.)

By then I was whipped. Deidre had been "traveling" about 30 hours so she was crashing. I through away the budget and drove into a Hilton and $150 later we had a bed (two beds actually).

Wednesday September 5, 2012

Deidre slept like a dead person. If I had not woken her at about 9:30 AM she may well still be sleeping. We checked out and found a really nice little town with the perfect breakfast joint and for $25 gave our gall bladders something to work on.

We stopped in Kilmarnock (the local town) to do a little shopping and ended up at the local Chinese for dinner. We got to the boat, unpacked and went to bed.

Thursday September 6, 2012

Since we still had the car this was our chance to do some shopping and re-provision the boat. I also needed oil and filters for the boat. This we achieved,  but when we arrived back at the boat the sky had opened and it rained solid for an hour. We waited it out in the car - at least there was plenty to eat!

Friday September 7, 2012

After the oil change

One of those perfect days from sunrise to sunset. We celebrated by taking the boat to the local pump-out and changing the oil on the main engines. This is the second time we have changed the oil, it is quite a process, but we seem to have it nailed.

After lunch we went to the pool and took it easy. Nice.





Saturday September 8, 2012

The dribble

Today's job was to remove the anchor plate. (I do not know if this is the right name, but it is the shield shaped piece of stainless steel located right under the anchor mount. It protects the hull from the swinging anchor when launching and recovering the anchor.) I had noticed some weeks ago that there was a steady dribble of rusty water originating under the plate and staining the bow.

The piece came of easily enough. When I removed the lower screws it released a "flood" of viscous rusty muck that must have been damned behind the plate. That felt really good! The paint behind had bubbled a bit, but cleaned up OK. The stainless was "stained" on the back but also polished up OK. I decided that the caulking had failed and was letting water in, but preventing it from draining out.

Later that afternoon we went for a walk on the golf course. I cold front came through at about dinner time, and we saw a bit of wind and rain.

Sunday September 9, 2012

When I design our next boat I will start in the anchor locker. The drain will be about 50mm in diameter (unlike Tide Hikers 10mm) and the door will be wide enough for my shoulders.

It was a perfect morning. Deidre made French Toast for breakfast. We took the 10 AM shuttle to town and I went to Ace to get some fasteners and caulk, and Deidre picked up a few veges. Back at the boat we re-attached the anchor plate. To do so we needed to empty the chain locker onto the dock so we could get at the back of all the fasteners. We had moved the boat up the slip so that the rode and chain would sit on the dock. The chain locker tends to be dirty and damp, so it was logical to clean it out while it was empty. This is a sweaty task.

The anchor plate went on OK. I had decided to caulk it across the top (to keep water out) and not across the bottom (to let it drain). All of the fasteners had to be caulked. Deidre was on the outside with the screwdriver, I was in the chain locker with the spanner (wrench). It all worked well but somehow Deidre managed to get a lot of caulk in her hair (maybe she was worried about water leaking into her brain?) This evening I cut most of the caulk out of her hair and attacked the balance with the acetone (I think she may be a blonde in the AM?)

This afternoon we are drinking beer and watching the US Open tennis. I also signed up and made our hotel reservations for the MTOA Rendezvous in Plymouth, September 18-20.





Monday September 10, 2012

Another relaxing fall day. We borrowed two free hotel bikes and rode into Irvington. Its a small place, but it has a coffee shop, so we had a coffee and shared a sandwich for lunch. Back at the boat I finished cleaning the chain locker and we reloaded the chain. Then we watched the tennis and went to bed. Another "blanket night!"

Tuesday September 11, 2012

Today we tried kayaking. Its hard to take a photo of both of us, so I climbed off to take this photo.

Wednesday September 12, 2012

Made an emergency run into Kilmarnock this morning, as we had run out of Taquilla. Plus Deidre said we needed milk and a few veges.

It was a nice calm day and I decided to try and dive on the boat and check out the running gear and zincs. So we disconnected the boat (this seems quite a process after a couple of weeks of inactivity) and headed out to a protected spot I had identified on the chart further up the Rappahonic, where we anchored.

This was only my second dive and this time I did not have Adam guiding me, and I was pretty nervous. After assembling and donning all the gear I eventually got into the water. Everything seemed to work OK but I felt quite out of balance (top heavy and tipping over backwards) and the visibility was less than 1 foot, maybe as little as 6". I was a bit spooked. But I made my way around the boat hanging onto a mooring line "just in case" and checked out the working parts. There seemed to be a lot of growth, and I cut my hands in several spots on the sharp edges. After about 30 minutes I had had enough and climbed back on board.

I was a bit concerned about the cuts. There is a bacteria in the Chesapeake called "Waterman's Infection". One of our boating acquaintances caught it and almost lost his arm, and is still not out of the woods. So I soaked my abrasions in Dettol and then applied some antiseptic cream. If you are interested, have a look at: http://cbf.typepad.com/bay_daily/2009/09/waterman-loses-leg-to-lifethreatening-bacteria.html

I have decided to hire a professional diver to clean the hull.

Thursday September 12, 2012

Friday September 13, 2012

Saturday September 14, 2012

Sunday September 15, 2012
We treated ourselves and took the taxi over to the main hotel for breakfast.