We spent an extra day
(25-27-Jul) at Coinjock mainly waiting on several packages and mail to
catch up with us. We used the down day
to relax and catch up on more administrative items, including reconfiguring
Rick’s spare phone (which had to be factory reset before Google services,
including Gmail, would function….great fun.)
And of course there are always things to do on or with the boat –
getting water stains off the stainless brightwork and recharging the water
softener took up much of the day (in 98 degree heat.)
 |
| ICW Between Coinjock and AYB |
Our final batch of packages finally arrived late on the 26th,
so after another quiet evening here, we pushed away from the dock at 0830 (with
the hope of avoiding the forecasted afternoon TRWs) on 27-Jul and made the
short 32 NM trek to the Atlantic Yacht Basin Marina (aka AYB). And while technically that’s located in the
city of Chesapeake, Va. (home to the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife
Refuge), it’s actually still about 15 miles south of the Chesapeake Bay, which
was our original destination of this season’s voyaging. So, after putting 1500 NM under the keel on
this trip, it represents progress. As hot as it is here, we’re still noodling
heading further north and coming back to the Chesapeake area when it cools down
a bit on our journey back south.
 |
| Chelle & Ghost Rider at AYB |
Other than the inconvenience of having to loiter for 30 minutes awaiting two bridge openings, the trip up the ICW to AYB was uneventful, and we docked up around 1400. The forecast TRWs
never materialized, but it was a freaking scorcher again. Thus, when we plugged into shore power at AYB
and discovered they only had 208V power (not enough smash for our 240V system,
including the A/C) we were not happy campers.
But they were able to loan us a boost transformer that got us to the
220-225V range, a voltage we’ve run on before with no equipment damage, so
hopefully our high-voltage appliances will hold up. The A/C is cooling well at this point….so far
so good.
 |
| Ghost Rider Tied Up at AYB |
We chose AYB as a stop not based on its reputation as just
an ‘OK’ marina (it, too, is in the middle of nowhere) but mainly because it is
a reputed boat repair yard, and yes, we needed work done. Our central maintenance
issue is a leaking steering ram – while very slight, that’s a critical piece of
equipment and a single point of failure, thus not to be ignored….the boat is
equipped with an emergency hand tiller, but that’s not a real-world experience
for which anyone yearns. We’ll have a
new ram installed, and have the old one rebuilt to keep as an onboard
spare. We also had an LPG failure (the propane
source for the gas cooking appliances, we’re hoping that’s simply a bad
solenoid) as well as that cranky water maker that may need attention.
 |
| Good Fuel Prices at AYB...We'll Tank Up Here |
Anyway, as soon as we were securely tied up, I gave James
Taylor, the yard’s service manager, a call and minutes later he was at the
boat, we reviewed the punch list, and we had a good service schedule worked out
for the next couple of days. And diesel fuel is only $1.85 a gallon here...I think we'll top off before heading further north.
 |
| N60 Blossom Stored at AYB |
Our Nordy friends Martin and Stephanie are storing their
N60, Blossom, here for the rest of
the year while they take a boating break back home in California. AYB is an excellent hurricane hole, with
massive covered boat barns in a mostly fresh water cove on the backside of the
marina….well protected from winds, with little to no tide or surge potential. We're
going to look into joining their hurricane club for this voyage, as it’s a
centrally located place to which we can boogie should a big blow head this way
during the current tropical storm season.
