A crew and weather change

  Today was our last day at Severn Marina and a scheduled crew change. Walter and Bill will be driving home tomorrow in the vehicle Mo drove in. This was Uncle Walters first voyage with me and I hope not his last, he was a great crew hand (must be in the blood). Mo will be on board to New York City and possibly up the Hudson River. The weather is forecasted to be perfect for the next 6 days. That should be enough time for us to travel the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays plus up the Atlantic Ocean into NYC. Once we are in the New York Harbor we have protected water up the Hudson and across the Erie Canal to Buffalo.

  One small problem.......the Erie Canal is CLOSED !

  The canal is closed at Lock 12 for emergency repairs to lock 13 and is scheduled to open around October 8th. I plan to monitor the situation and (if necessary) will dock near Albany, NY just south of the entrance to the canal and wait for the repairs to be completed.

  We had Tuna noodle casserole with butter bread for dinner. The recipe included cream of mushroom and cream of asparagus soup, sweet peas, onions, red pepper, a full stick of butter, and 4 cans of light tuna.

Crew change tonight, Walter and Bill are leaving for home in the morning, Mo and I will be manning the ship.

 

Walter calling home (explaining last nights blog photos ?)

Our last sunset at Severn Marina in Hayes, Virginia.

Almost a full moon over the bay.

For the girls

A pleasant day at dock

    I was up this morning at 6:00 listening the NOAA (weather station). Todays forecast for the eastern area of the Chesapeake Bay (where we are docked) was partly to mostly BAD. 15 to 20 knot winds, gusting to 25 knots (almost 30 MPH) with 3 to 5 foot waves. We decided it was a great day to stay at dock and get a few chores done. In addition to general cleaning we fueled the boat up. While Bill and I were busy with the fuel, I noticed Walter was busy with the dock master (pictures at the end of this blog).

  There were small craft advisories for the Bay forecasted for today (and) it is supposed to get even worse tonight. A high pressure front will be settling in Monday night. My next crew is scheduled to arrive tomorrow night so it looks like Walter and Bill are done with their trip and will be departing for home Tuesday morning from the Severn River Marina.

  When I asked Walter for some tips on making new friends, he just smiled.

  Tonight's supper was barbequed  pork chops with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest 
estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers 64,299 square miles (166,534 km²) in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia^.  More than 150 rivers and streams drain into the bay.

^{The average depth is less than 30 feet and as such the Bay can whip up some very powerful waves quickly, especially on the eastern area where it is exposed to the Atlantic Ocean and at it's widest point.}

Walter made us eggs for breakfast.

Our neighbor.

Laura gave me the "Butter Bell" so we would have soft butter.

Two fisherman with very different styles.

One fisherman caught fish.

The other caught crabs.

A great evening to be docked while there are 5 foot waves and 25 knot winds on the Bay.

Walter makes friends really fast.  

Close friends !!!

For the girls

Smart sailors and brave sailors

 

  The forecast for the Chesapeake Bay called for two foot waves with 5 to 10 MPH winds. A front was blowing in late in the day so we decided to only sail 40 miles west of Norfolk to Horn Harbor Marina. Horn Harbor is located at the western end of Mobjack Bay on the south edge of the Chesapeake. After we were 20 miles west of Norfolk, and well into the Chesapeake, the front arrived with wind gusts of 20+ MPH out of the north and waves in the 3 to 5 foot range. The waves were hitting "Whatever It Takes" directly broadside.

  A brave sailor would fight the waves and try to dock at Horn Harbor (exposed to a vicious wind). A smart sailor would turn south into the Mobjack Bay and allow the following sea to soften the ride and speed the trip to a safe harbor.

  We turned south into Mobjack Bay and travelled 10 miles inland. We arrived safely at Severn River Marina at 3:00. When I spoke with Horn Harbor Marina to let them know we were not coming in to dock, the dock master said the local fisherman all came in from the Bay. To bad to be out there.

  The weather tomorrow may keep us in port here at Severn for the day, we will have to wait and see.

  Norfolk Harbor was fascinating with the Naval vessels (aircraft carriers, gun boats, stealth ships, etc) and loads of commercial vessels.

  Spaghetti tonight. Ragu sauce with two lbs of browned burger, grilled onions, olive oil, and pepper flakes. After dinner we played a game of Mexican Train Dominoes, Bill and Walter were good losers.

Civilization, right after we left "The Swamp".

 Norfolk waterfront

Paddlewheel sightseer in downtown Norfolk

Ready for action.

This is our ships radar screen, Our boat is the black spot docked on the south shore of the Chesapeake Bay. The storm is bearing down on us.

Just after we got docked.

For the girls

Something unique around each corner (NOT)

  Walter and I got to talking about his trip to Alaska and how they drove a large part of the trip though the big state. Walter explained;
 
"People tell me they got bored driving through Alaska because everything looks the same. I say if a person pays attention to details there is something unique and interesting around each bend"
 
After travelling five hours at 6 MPH on the Dismal Swamp I asked Walter if he saw something new and interesting around each bend.

 "No sir I sure didn't, I thought we would never get to the end of it".

  The Dismal Swamp is truly dismal in every sense of the word.

  We were 10 miles from Norfolk when we docked at the north lock of the Dismal Swamp Canal around 5:00. The lock only opens four times a day and 3:30 was the last opening. Tomorrow we will travel through Norfolk and 50 miles up the Chesapeake Bay.

  Dinner was grilled strip steak with baked beans and mashed potatoes.

Our last sunrise in the Carolina's.

The start of the "Dismal Swamp". It got progressively more dismal.

A couple of salty deck hands ready to lock up.

Note the water in the Dismal Swamp.

Leaving the Carolina's.

"Bobby" was really excited about the swamp. Looked like home.

Bill grilled the strip steaks while Walter and I got the rest of dinner ready (baked beans and mashed potatoes).

Home for the night at the north end of the Dismal Swamp.

For the girls

This is make believe

  We have had a really good connection to the internet with my 4-G throughout the trip. Today I signed onto Pandora radio and played music in the pilot house all day. I have 14 stations listed and  set it to shuffle (Petula Clark, Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson, Peter Paul and Mary, etc), you get the picture. Walter was in heaven! I had no idea this was his kind of music. Tonight I explained how Pandora radio works and suggested he use it at home. Walt hesitated then said: "Dick, this is make believe. When I get home it's back to the real world". That's one of the nicest comments any crewmember has ever made.

  Our original calendar had us arriving in Norfolk, VA today where Bill Skaryd was to join the trip. Bill arrived late yesterday by air in Norfolk and rented a car, drove a few hours south to Washington, NC and returned the car to the office there. Walter and I anticipated passing a marina in Belhaven (30 miles from Washington) around 1:00 so Bill got a ride from the rental car people and arrived at
the marina at the exact time we arrived. The total lost time to pick up a new crew hand was five minutes.

  We travelled 86 miles today and were fueled up and docked at Alligator River Marina by 6:00.

  Dinner was a beef roast, potatoes, and onions made in the crockpot (6 hours and tender) with homemade gravy and sweet corn.

Another perfect morning.

Bill and Walter.

The Alligator River bridge was built in 1960 and is 14,928 feet in length. The bridge is a swingbridge and opens an average of 500 times each month. We passed under the bridge and made an immediate portside (left) turn to the Alligator River Marina.

Topping off the fuel.

From the stern deck tonight.

For the girls.

For the girls

  Walter didn't understand todays voyage. We got up on time, topped off the fuel and water, left dock on time, never got lost, all the equipment performed, and we arrived at our nights destination on time.
I explained that sometimes it happens that way. Not often, but every once in a while things go right.

  Tonight's supper was served on the back deck with the evening sun streaming. A delicious meal consisting of sauerkraut, polish kielbasa, and butter bread. The ships cook made the entire meal in an electric fry pan. In fact every meal so far on this trip has been made on that fry pan.

  80 miles today and only 170 miles left to reach Norfolk and the Chesapeake Bay. Maybe two days, probably three.

  I had some complaints about my attire in past photos so tonight I included a picture for the girls. 

Good Morning, North Carolina fashion.

Shrimp boat on his way in.

Walter took over for Dave.

Looks a lot like Canada.

At dock tonight, lost in thought.

The office , restaurant of tonight's marina.
"River Dunes at Grace Harbor"  N.C.

Sunset

For the girls.