Aug-Sep 2018: From Norfolk & Into Chesapeake Bay

We Enjoyed Some Evening Time on the Fly Bridge at Waterside Marina

We had stayed up a bit late enjoying the music and dancing the night before so on the morning of Sunday, 26-August we slept in, then had a lazy, relaxing morning on the boat.  Rick did mix in a little troubleshooting of the fly bridge thruster controls – they had been showing an annoying tendency to stick, which in close quarters could be a little stressful; after tightening some connectors and spraying a little CRC electrical cleaner around they seemed to be behaving better.

We grabbed an early lunch at the nearby Smokehouse restaurant and then walked along the riverfront over to the Nauticus maritime and naval museum.  (LINK.)  It is a fabulous place to learn about the rich nautical history not only of Norfolk, but also of Portsmouth and Hampton Roads, from the early settlement days all the way to today’s period, where it is now home to the world’s largest naval base.  In between it was a pivotal battleground and control point for naval activities during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and later grew to prominence for the U.S. Navy’s critical role during World Wars I and II.

The Nauticus Museum Complex in Norfolk, Virgina

We spent several hours in the museum complex and still didn’t see everything. One of the highlights is getting aboard the battleship USS Wisconsin, BB64, nicknamed Wisky, originally commissioned two years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, thence serving up through the first Gulf War in 1991.  At 887 feet long and a beam over 100 feet, it takes a while just to walk down its decks, which by the way are all teak.  Each of its nine 16 inch diameter guns could launch a 2700 pound projectile accurately to a target 23 nautical miles distant….which is like firing a Volkswagen Beetle from Dallas to Fort Worth.  It was the last of the dreadnoughts….in today's world nuclear powered aircraft carriers are now the Navy's  flagships roaming the world’s oceans.

Looking Aft From the Bow of the Wisconsin....She Has Some Serious
Ground Tackle on Her Foredeck

The Nauticus experience spurred us to further explore the naval yards the following day, Monday, 27-August, with a two hour trek onboard the tour ship Victory Rover.  The narrated cruise took us across and then up the Elizabeth River, passing numerous repair and depot boat yards, and about every kind of ship that the U.S. Navy has in its inventory.  That included close passes near carriers, guided missile cruisers, Arleigh Burke destroyers, several different types of supply and cargo vessels, and even the hospital ship, USS Comfort.  It was quite impressive and informative, and certainly well worth the time.

Passing Norfolk Naval Base and Several Arleigh Burke Class
Guided Missile Destroyers (aka DDGs)

On Tuesday, 28-August we got back underway just before 0900.  The tight pivot in the marina basin was uneventful as the thruster controls on the fly bridge were behaving themselves after Rick had cleaned and tightened some connections.  We headed Ghost Rider up the Elizabeth River past all the naval yards towards Chesapeake Bay.  The Navy was active this morning as a few Arleigh Burke class missile destroyers set sail just ahead of us, and then about an hour later an aircraft carrier did the same.  Their patrol boats were active on the VHF radio letting everyone know the lateral distance the security zones required.  One recreational boat wasn’t getting the message at first, but apparently the threat to open fire finally got the helmsman’s attention and the drama settled down.

Entering Indian Creek Near Kilmarnock, VA....One of Many Inlets
Along the Chesapeake Bay

As the river joined the bay we ran into a healthy incoming current and slowed to below six knots for a spell.  But by the time we turned north into the Chesapeake we had a following current and we cruised the rest of the day at 8+ knots at an easy 1400 RPM.  Both boat traffic and winds were light and it got hot, into the upper 90’s by mid-afternoon.  The bay waters, however, were quite smooth, so it was a pleasant ride up past the Rappahannock River and then WNW up Indian Creek and to the Chesapeake Boat Basin Marina.  Their facilities are a bit cramped there, but they had a deep entry channel and just enough room for our boat on the outside t-dock.

Billy & Becky's Kadey-Krogen 39, The Edge, Docked Next
To Us at the Chesapeake Boat Basin

We docked up there around 1640, and there to greet us was good friend Billy Edge, who had his Kadey-Krogen 39, The Edge, docked there as well.  After we got ourselves and Ghost Rider washed down, Billy escorted us to a first class dinner at the Tides Inn located on the upstream shores of the Rappahannock River.  The food, drinks and company kept were excellent.

The first half of the next day, Wednesday, 29-August, was dedicated to helping Billy with a project aboard The Edge.  He had a rain water leak in the vicinity of one of the salon windows and suspected some hardware attaching one of the mast’s guy wires to the boat deck above.  Like most boat projects it took us twice as long as estimated to remove, clean and re-bed the thing with 4200, but eventually we got it done. It was damned hot again, so the second half of the day was spent cleaning up, rehydrating, cooling off in the A/C, watching some baseball and updating the next blog entry.  Billy also gave us use of his car (a very nice Audi convertible), so Michelle took advantage of that to run a few errands in town.

A View of the CBB Marina From the Stern of the Fly Bridge

That evening Billy joined us aboard Ghost Rider for drinks and dinner, and then some fly bridge time with a few more drinks.  Billy brought a bottle of fine 2012 Chardonnay and a 15-year-old Macallan scotch, so it was destined to be a fine night.  It was a beautiful if somewhat warm sunset, with Venus and Saturn brightly evident in the darkening clear sky, and just the right amount of breeze, boat stories and alcohol.

Thursday, 30-August was another relaxed day on the boat at the Chesapeake Boat Basin Marina.  Our Wheelhouse maintenance software was reminding us that the semiannual task of cleaning and lubing all deck hatch weather-stripping and gaskets was due, so Rick spent a couple hours tending to that; it isn’t a difficult job, but there are a lot of them…coating them all periodically with SuperLube can save a lot of headaches later.  Chelle borrowed the marina’s courtesy car and headed into town to pick up some additional provisions, mostly fresh fruit, in anticipation of some extended anchorage time along the shores of the Chesapeake.

A View Off the Bow of the Fly Bridge....Peaceful & Quiet Here

The Chesapeake Bay is an enormous watershed, about 200 miles from end-to-end, and averaging 20 miles in width, but with over 11,000 miles of coastline when considering it numerous rivers and creeks feeding into the bay.  For a contrast, the state of Florida has approximately 8,400 miles of shoreline…not bad for a single state, but you get the idea.  Our general plan was to slowly make our way to Baltimore at the far northern end of the massive estuary by the last week of September.  There we would attend the next Trawler Fest for several days of technical training courses.  That meant we had a bit over three weeks to get there, plenty of time to relax and explore interesting places along the way.

Ghost Rider Tucked in Behind The Edge After We Moved. That's a Nice
KK55 (Galactic) Docked Behind Us Where We Had Been Parked.

So we had wanted to extend at least one more day at CBB, mostly so we could visit with Becky when she returned to The Edge from Richmond, where she had been caring for her twin sister. But the marina informed us another boat would be claiming our slip, so we made preparations for a Friday departure.  But on the morning of Friday, 31-August Billy and the marina staff came up with an idea to move his boat forward and create just enough room for Ghost Rider to tuck in directly behind him….so that’s what we did.  It was a bit snug and we lost some depth, but we still had just enough water at low tide.

This Sea Turtle Was Chelle's Favorite at the Art Gallery, and It Took a Third
Place Ribbon.  At $1400 Fortunately Chelle Did Not Buy It.

After that Chelle got some pool time in the afternoon while Rick messed around with some minor chores and admin tasks and also sneaked in a nap.  Later that evening we were treated to a visit with Billy and Becky’s family in nearby Kilmarnock, from where we also walked to nearby “Specials”, an excellent and reputed wine store.  After a generous wine tasting session (and of course some purchases there) we strolled a short distance to the town’s small art gallery.  We picked up a pizza and headed back to Ghost Rider for drinks and a late dinner with Billy and Becky to conclude a thoroughly enjoyable day.

The Kadey-Krogen 55, Galactic, Slid Into Our Previous Parking Space

We were so enjoying our visit here – and the TRW forecast for Saturday, 01-September wasn’t appealing – so we decided to stay yet another day.  Chelle and Becky did some more shopping in the morning, mostly at the local farmer’s market. 

Late in the afternoon our new neighbors on the Kadey-Krogen 55, Galactic, invited us over for a social over drinks and snacks.  Mike and Dyan Warren are well known cruisers in the KK community, and not surprisingly we have several mutual friends in the Nordy community as well.  We enjoyed drinks and snacks and they gave us a tour of their beautiful boat; the engine room and engineering spaces below are stunning – clean as a surgical operating theater and amazingly spacious even with twin John Deere diesels….two of Ghost Rider’s engine rooms would fit in there. 

The Party Aboard Galactic.  That's Mike on the Far Left & Wife Dyan
Third from the Left.

Billy came by to fetch us that evening so we could all celebrate Becky’s and Emily’s birthday at Emily’s house with a great dinner party.  Billy broke out another bottle of single malt scotch, and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Emily’s daughter Kelley and her husband Mike, along with their young son, Sam. 

The morning of Sunday, 02-September broke sunny, dry and warm.  We weren’t in any kind of hurry since the length of our planned route for the day was under 50 miles, so we didn’t start up until just before 1100.  Billy, Becky, Emily, Kelley and Sam all showed up to bid us bon voyage and they also helped us with the lines.  We had to thrust sideways quite a bit to escape the tight space and avoid the stern of Mike’s KK55, but we managed that and backed out into the deeper part of the basin without incident.

Billy, Rick & Becky Enjoying the Birthday Party

There was barely a hint of breeze and the bay and river waters were flat calm.  An initial high overcast gave way to clear, sunny skies, and temperatures had moderated quite a bit to the low and mid-80’s.  We bucked a mild tidal current the first half of the day, barely averaging 7 knots, but it was a very pleasant day for a slow cruise.

We headed north and then cut to the northwest to enter the wide mouth of the Potomac River, then made our way into the St. Mary’s River, turning north again towards the Horseshoe Bend anchorage.  After we dropped the anchor our first attempt at setting it resulted in some slow dragging, so we picked it up and motored a few hundred meters to the west, and on the second shot we got a good dig.  By 1730 we were fairly well settled.  The temps had edged into the low 90’s and the wind was still very light, so we cranked up the genset and got the A/C going.

At this point we are about half way up Chesapeake Bay, but detouring a bit to the west.  We’re going to hang out here for at least another day to launch and exercise the tender, and check out the nearby shorelines for potential areas of further exploring.  We will likely head further up the Potomac after that before returning to the bay and the journey north to Baltimore.

Some Minor Boat Business Updates:

➧ The new fuel sight gauge assembly required some tweaking....you don't really know for sure whether it will seep until you go several days, and some (very, very slight) tightening of upper and lower securing nuts is typically required; it appears we finally found that sweet spot.

➧ The new steering ram is doing its job; the upper (fly bridge) helm station feels a little stiff, but likely is just a tighter system now without that leak around the piston seal.

➧ Speaking of the new steering ram, remember that leftover mysterious / suspected hydraulic leak Rick was trying to find?  Well, when clearing out the laz to make room to work on the steering we found a gallon of motor oil and a gallon of ISO 68 hydraulic fluid leaking from bottom cracks in the plastic bottles....eventually it would run and pool up in other strange places beneath the lazarette floor hatches.

➧ We were actually able to get the old ST60 wind instrument working again. The Raymarine tech had told us the control head was bad & would require replacement after we verified the transducer voltages were good.  But Rick decided to also check the head's rear connectors and found some corrosion and one wire that came off in his hand; after cleaning and crimping in a new bayonet connector the thing came back to life.

➧ We still have a minor oil leak at the front of the main engine.  Rick dismantled all the belt and engine guards to take a closer look while we were underway and determined the source is likely the crankshaft front oil seal (and not the oil pan gasket this time.)  For now we're going to monitor & measure the rate of leak; at some point we'll engage a diesel mechanic to have that seal replaced.

Becky and Twin Sis Emily Opening Gifts, with Young Sam Looking On

Emily, Sam, Mike and Kelley

Our Track for this Posting, From Norfolk to Kimarnock, VA and then to St Marys City Up the Potomac River

August 2018: Service at AYB and on to Norfolk

We got a visit from our assigned AYB technician (Tim) the morning of Wednesday, 22-August and we went to work on the sight gauge and steering ram issues.

We managed to get the sight gauge upper shutoff valve completely closed with a mostly unreasonable amount of torque on its packing nut, and that allowed us to drain the sight tube glass into a small bucket.  Removal of that tube revealed a crack near the top along with a malformed o-ring, so Tim would be hunting for replacement parts.  Then, after we depressurized the steering system, Tim also removed the faulty steering ram, and then took all the parts with him back to the shop to see what they could match up, or determine what needed to be ordered and shipped.

Another Shot of Ghost Rider's Alongside Tie Up at AYB

The estimate to rebuild the steering ram came back at a week and an undetermined cost….whereas a new one could be here in a day or so at 1.5 boat units.  Rick opted for the latter – rebuilding a 16 year old ram just didn’t sound like a great idea, as even later model rebuilds tend to be a 50/50 proposition.  We still did not have an ETIC, but weren’t stressing about that; whether it was another day or a week did not matter much to us as long as we felt the key repairs were solid.

That evening we walked to the nearby restaurant, Vino Italian Bistro.  Our experience there a few years ago was excellent, and this time was no different – excellent drinks, food and service….their scallops, shrimp and even the salmon are first-rate-fresh, and the accompanying pasta seasonings are outstanding. We highly recommend it to anyone transiting the area.

On the morning of Thursday, 23-August the big news was the weather….in a very good way.  We felt like we had been transported to Fort Myers in February – air temps in the low 70’s, humidity in the 50’s, a bright cloudless sky and a slight cooling breeze.  We turned off the A/C and opened up the boat.  It felt wonderful.  Ironically enough this perfect summer weather greeted us at the very place where we and the boat would take refuge during any severe tropical weather. AYB’s location on the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal is about 16 miles inland from both the Virginia coastline and the Chesapeake Bay, and with the Great Bridge Lock immediately to the west it experiences little to no storm surge.  For obvious reasons it’s a popular hurricane hole and their priority dockage program is well worth the nominal reservation fee.

Chelle on Her E-bike with Golf Clubs

Taking advantage of the glorious weather, in the early afternoon Chelle grabbed her golf clubs and rode off on her e-bike to play golf at a nearby course…about 5 miles away. Everyone there thought she was nuts for biking that distance with clubs slung across her back, which, of course, was true enough.

Just after that Tim, our AYB tech, showed up with the new steering ram cylinder.  That was the good news.  The bad news was that the recommended replacement unit was a bit bigger (longer plus larger piston diameter) than what we were replacing.  That meant that just re-using the existing attaching bolt holes gave us full starboard rudder authority (30 degrees) but very limited port rudder (about 8 degrees.)  So we had to drill new mounting holes for the larger ram.  Since that meant punching through a ¼” stainless steel mounting plate, that took a while but we got it done.  We added some Seastar hydraulic fluid to replace what we lost with the cylinder swap-out, pumped up the reservoir pressure back to 28 PSI, and confirmed with both manual wheel movement and autopilot steering that we had full rudder authority in both directions. Of course we will need to sea trial all that on the next sortie.

Our Shiny New Steering Ram

By the morning of Friday, 24-August Tim had secured the parts needed to replace the port fuel tank sight gauge and we finally got that damned thing remediated.  It was bit of a puzzle when it came to figuring out how the multiple o-rings (two at each end of the tube) should be configured, but Tim persisted and got it solved.  

The weather was still fantastic, so Chelle decided to try out another nearby golf course while Rick went into cleanup mode: both in the lazarette to wipe up residual steering fluid, shop vac the drill shavings and laying down clean absorbents around and under the new ram and hose runs; and in the engine room around the new sight gauge, wiping up the diesel spills and disposing of those soaked absorbents pads.  Chelle also decided it was time to replace the Seagull fresh water filter in the galley, so Rick took care of that, too.

We had one more last relaxing evening at AYB, happy with the repair service, enjoyed another sunset, and began planning to make our way to Norfolk for our next stop.

Another Fine Sunset, This One at the AYB Docks

We had a broken cloud cover overhead on the morning of Saturday, 25-August but it was still pleasant enough, with temps in the low 80’s and reasonable humidity.  Since we only had a short jaunt to Norfolk’s Waterside Marina (maybe two hours even with having to negotiate one bridge and a lock), we were in no hurry to get underway.  We walked to the marina office to settle our bill, and 2 ½ boat units later we were done with that.  (We should note here that AYB did not charge us dockage fees for the days they were on the boat for service.)  Chelle took her bike to make one more run for a few grocery items, but just before 1300 we had Ghost Rider underway and waiting on the bridge, behind a tug pushing several hundred feet worth of barges.

Locking Through Great Bridge We Had Plenty of Company

Rick had radioed the tug on VHF channel 13 to find out where he wanted us to loiter as we waited for the bridge, so there was no confusion on that.  When we got to the Great Bridge lock there were two other small runabouts also waiting but the lock master gave them the red stop light and via radio directed the tug/barge and Ghost Rider into the lock.  It got a little snug in there, but everyone behaved themselves well enough.

The short 11 nautical mile ride to Norfolk and Waterside Marina was uneventful, and we had plenty of US Navy firepower to stare at along the way.  The 90 degree turn into Waterside’s basin was a little tight, especially with a decent sized Marlow parked at its entry dock, but we managed to poke our nose in there, pivot and get tied up without issues.  Coincidentally, we were also now at mile marker zero of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW), which, practically speaking, means very little since there are plenty of navigable and well-marked waterways between here and Maine.

This Part of the ICW Features Many Large Navy Warships

This place was going to be very different from AYB….besides a basin that’s a little on the snug side, it was also teeming with boats, boaters, pedestrians, and the docks and boardwalk were alive with music, both live and piped in.  Numerous restaurants, bars, bistros and hotels border the area. And the local ferry boats, which ran on a very regular 15 minute schedule, were hard to miss as they blasted a loud horn upon each departure….and that continued until 1145.  

Dockside at Waterside Marina....Lots Going On Here

We munched a light outdoor dinner at the adjacent Blue Moon Tap House; while their bar has a limited selection of scotch, the hot pretzels with crab dip almost made up for that.  Afterwards we took a seat in Waterside’s small outdoor amphitheater theater and listened to the lively classic rock of the Brass Wind band; with nine members (including two trombones and two trumpets) they were loud, but also very good.  It was like attending a live Chicago Transit Authority concert back in the '60's, and the weather for it was perfect.  It was a late night but we slept very well.

We’re going to spend a couple days here relaxing and touring, more on that in the next blog post.

We Passed Another Nordy on the Way to Norfolk, N46 Shrug. We Had a Nice Chat
on VHF Ch17.  They Were Headed to AYB.

Dining Outdoors at Waterside with Ghost Rider in the Background

The Brass Wind Band at Waterside Marina....They Had a Very Good Sound

Chelle Joins the Dance Floor....During an Instrumental Designed to Accomplish Just That

August 2018: Oriental to Atlantic Yacht Basin

Nice Homes Located on the River Dunes Property Overlooking the Marina

On Thursday, 16-August and Friday, 17-August we continued our very pleasant stay at River Dunes with relaxing mornings on the boat.  In the afternoon Chelle again commandeered the courtesy car for shopping errands in town, while Rick caught up with his Wheelhouse preventive maintenance list.  He also spent at least one OCD hour running and testing the hydraulic systems on the boat, attempting to verify there were no more line leaks at any point in the extensive plumbing runs.  (So far none found.)  And we dismantled the wing engine’s Racor fuel filter bowl to drain and clean it of some accumulated debris, and also replaced its filter element as a precaution.

Sunset Peeking Through The Pines

Unfortunately we also heard from Mike and Mari that their service down at Jarret Bay was taking longer than planned (sounds familiar, eh?) and wouldn’t make it back to River Dunes before we departed.  Perhaps we’ll be able to rendezvous with them on the return trip.

Friday evening we had dinner reservations at the marina’s Harbor Club (which is only open three nights a week) for dinner.  But after being seated for 30 minutes with no sign of a waitperson, we got up and went back to the boat.  To be fair there was a wedding event on the second floor and they appeared to be grossly understaffed.  And the next morning when we went to check out there was a note waiting for us from the dining room manager apologizing for the service issues, along with a nice bottle of wine.  At least they owned up and tried to make amends.

Even though the weather forecast wasn’t the best – calling for pretty good chances of afternoon thunderstorms – that wasn’t going to change any time soon, so on Saturday, 18-August we got back underway.  Chelle manned the helm and took us off the docks to continue the journey northward via the ICW, which on this leg included segments of the Neuse River, Bay River, Goose Creek, the Pamlico River, the Pungo River, and finally the Alligator River, where we planned to anchor for the evening. 

As you might guess from that laundry list, it was by no means a straight line course – we zigged and zagged our way through the North Carolina coastal plains.  The river waters here are mostly chocolate brown, and not particularly appealing to the eye….and there isn’t much to see along the way.  It was quite warm with temps in the low-to-mod 90’s, and the winds were stiff all day, blowing 15 to 20 knots from the WSW, which made for some chop in the few open / exposed areas, but otherwise was mostly a non-factor.

A Nordhavn 55, Chinatsu, Anchored Near Us in the Alligator River

We arrived at the Alligator River anchorage around 1800, dropped the hook and got it set on the first try.  It was a little rolly with one to two foot chop on the bow due to the stiff breeze at this wide bend in the river, but it was comfy enough and the anchor held with no issues.  Just a hundred or meters or so from our drop position was another Nordhavn, an N55 named Chinatsu; Rick hailed them on the VHF and we had a long chat with Richard, who was on his way south towards Georgia, with eventual plans to cruise down the island chain to Tobago once the tropical season settles down.

We had been lucky with the weather today, seeing no storm clouds of any kind, and during the early evening that dry spell continued, but the radar imagery to our west indicated that would change soon enough.  So we covered the fly bridge and closed up the boat, fired up the genset and enjoyed the cool air conditioning for the evening.  Around 2100 the storms moved in with a pretty good drenching (free washdown) and a good light show, and the rain continued intermittently throughout the night.

Threatening Skies at the Alligator River Anchorage

The morning of Sunday, 19-August arrived with a low grey overcast, but the rain had ceased and we were still within the boundaries of our anchor circle.  The winds had died to around 10 knots from the west so the rollers had diminished somewhat.  Chinatsu retrieved her ground tackle around 0800, and we did the same just after 0900 and headed Ghost Rider north towards Coinjock.

While this portion of the ICW is about as boring as it gets on the “inside”, the upside is that there are very few bridges, and most of those are tall enough that openings are not required for passage.  The Alligator River bridge is one notable exception at a height of 14 feet, although the bridge tender had the swing open and waiting on us when we got there, and we motored on.  Winds picked back up later in the day to the 15-20K range, but it was only noticeable in the open waters of Abermarle Sound, where the stabilizers actually had to work at it in the tightly spaced three foot rollers.

The weather forecast had called for afternoon storms once again but we saw none.  The overcast kept the air temperature in the low-to-mid 80’s most of the day until we got close to Coinjock, where the skies cleared a bit and the sun heated the air back up into the 90’s.  But we were docked up by 1530, washed down by 1630, and settled in with cocktails shortly after that.  The one thing Coinjock Marina is noted for – other than its convenient alongside docks right on the ICW – is their prime rib dinner; so we ordered up a 32 ounce slab of meat and split it between us, and it was indeed delicious.  Unfortunately we ended up eating it on the boat, as we had developed another sight gauge fuel leak on the port side main tank that required fairly consistent attention.  But we got it mostly under control (e.g., manageable for the night) and were hoping that once we got to Atlantic Yacht Basin (AYB) we could engineer a permanent fix.

Enroute to Coinjock....Not Much to See Along the Way

Overnight thunderstorms traversed the area and washed off any salt that we had missed with the hose.  But as of 0930 on the morning of Monday, 20-August we got a break in the action, so we departed Coinjock around 1000 and continued our trek to the north.  It was only a short jaunt to AYB and we were hoping to beat the next round of afternoon storms….which we luckily did.

The downside of this short part of the northbound ICW – apart from the narrow waterways and rather dull scenery – are three low bridges, which happen to be spaced such that we ended up waiting an average of 20 minutes for an opening at each of them. Fortunately the wind and current were nominal, so station keeping just short of each bridge was not particularly challenging.  The other noticeable change was the amount of vessel traffic between Coinjock and AYB, with an assortment of USCG cutters and barges heading mostly in the opposite direction.  Fortunately all were responsive to the radio and we had verbal agreement each time on how we would pass each other.

We Had to Wait on a Few Bridge Openings Enroute to AYB

The good news was that the water was nearly mirror like and flat calm, as opposed to the sea conditions on the outside, which were mostly four-to-six feet at short intervals.  So the trade-off on the inside was quite acceptable.

We pulled up to the AYB docks just before 1500.  We knew from previous experience that their dockside shore power was only 208V, so we had called ahead to reserve one of their boost transformers (which takes the 208V and jacks it up by a small percentage to around 220V, which would be good enough for Ghost Rider’s systems as long as we carefully managed the power draw.)  We docked up, hooked up and washed down in short order, and settled in for a mostly relaxing night with dinner onboard.  Rick had to change out the absorbents which were keeping the sight gauge fuel leak at bay, but that was the extent of our evening work.

Ghost Rider Tied Up Alongside at AYB.  Note the Portable
Boost Transformer at the Lower Left.

It rained again overnight – talk about an annoying pattern – but the morning of Tuesday, 21-August broke dry if overcast.  Showers were still forecast for the area, but the longer range outlook was definitely improving.  Our goal for the next few days was to repair two issues. 

First, the port side main fuel tank’s sight gauge had developed a nasty leak, this time at the top, which didn’t manifest itself until we had topped off the tanks and the fuel level rose above that point.  Unfortunately it was leaking both from the upper sight glass o-ring and at the upper shutoff valve, which is a bad combo.  That means we may have to pump fuel out of the tank until the level draws down below that point else we could have a fuel gusher in the engine room. And since we recently topped off all tanks we currently have no tank to which we could transfer.

Second, the hydraulic steering ram had also developed a leak at the piston seal; while not a dramatic one, those things only get worse, and it’s never a good idea to ignore a potential steering problem or even failure.  So that will need to be rebuilt or replaced with a new unit.

A Sick and "Bandaged" Fuel Sight Gauge (Wrapped with Oil
Absorbents).  We Tightened the Two Top Nuts to Reduce the Rate of
Leakage, but New Parts Are Required for a Real Fix.

The Leaky Steering Ram....Note the Brown Stain Underneath at the Piston End of the Unit.  Not Good.

So....we now sit at the docks at Atlantic Yacht Basin.  We are in their queue for the repair work, but currently don't have a time line estimate (and parts will be another crap shoot.)  But since we're not on a schedule, and it's forecast to rain for the next two days anyway, it's not like we're losing time.  We'll have updates on these issues in the next blog.

Our Track from Up the ICW to Atlantic Yacht Basin in Virginia

August 2018: Charleston to Oriental

Getting Ready to Depart Charleston....the Harbor is a Busy Place.

The morning of Sunday, 05-August dawned with clear skies and nearly calm winds, and while the forecast called for a chance of thunderstorms during the day, it was much less onerous than what we had been seeing the previous 10 days.  So just after 0915 we departed Charleston Harbor Marina at a nearly slack tide and steered Ghost Rider back out into the Atlantic.  Out there seas were smooth with two foot swells at generous intervals and little to no wind chop, so the ride was excellent.  During the course of the day we could see some cumulonimbus lines form just inland along the sea breeze boundary, but their movement paralleled our course and had died out by the time we turned into the channel for Winyah Bay and the Georgetown Light anchorage.

At Anchor Near Georgetown Light Just After Sunset.

Arriving at a mostly slack tide was fortuitous, but we still got frustrated trying to set the anchor in the river’s muddy bottom behind North Island.  After two failed attempts we gave up and moved about two miles further upriver just north of Cat Island where we finally got the hook to take a good grip in the muddy bottom.  We thoroughly tested the bite; the current here runs several knots at peak tides….to the point that the main engine’s propeller and shaft were actually windmilling while at anchor during most of the evening’s outgoing tide.

The flies here at this time of year are large and aggressive with a stinging bite, so we wasted no time in cranking up the genset, closing up the boat and getting the A/C going.  We had a peaceful night.

Aerial View of Bald Head Marina....Its Entry Channel is a Bit Tight
with Wind and Current on the Beam.

Monday, 06-August greeted us with sunny skies, a light breeze and the same ripping current. But the anchor had stayed right where we had dropped it.  The only other remarkable thing was the number of dead bugs on the boat decks – we were really glad we had closed up.  We got an early start (for us) since we had a lengthy run of nearly 80 nautical miles up to Cape Fear and the Bald Head Island Marina.  At 0745 we retrieved the hook and shortly thereafter found ourselves doing over 11 knots on the outgoing tide.  Sea conditions on the outside were once again quite pleasant with two foot swells at comfortable intervals and just a slight wind chop in the southeast breezes.

Bald Head Marina is a Picturesque Place.

Eventually we lost the benefit of the tailwind current and settled into an easy cruise speed of between 7.5 and 8.0 knots.  We arrived at the head of the Cape Fear River channel around 1700 and made our way to the narrow entrance of the Bald Head Marina by 1730.  A moderate sized thunderstorm had parked itself over the island earlier in the day, but by the time we arrived it had rained itself out.  It was after hours at the marina with no dock hands available, but – after waiting on the large ferry boat that did not seem to care about right-of-way rules – the tie-up on the assigned t-head was straightforward.  We got the boat and ourselves washed down, then settled in for a comfortable evening.

Ghost Rider Tucked in at Bald Head Marina.

On Tuesday, 07-August we slept in a bit and enjoyed a lazy morning at the BHI docks and tended to some standard Wheelhouse recurring maintenance items.  The marina is picturesque, with generous spaces and solid 240V/50A power at the floating docks, and is located within an enclosed and well protected basin.  It is a bit shallow, though – we saw less than a foot below the keel at low tide; anything bigger than a Nordhavn 47/50 probably couldn’t fit in here.

That afternoon we rented a golf cart and toured the accessible portions of the island, which can only reached by boat (the ferry runs at half hour intervals) and is a cart-only community, with less than 200 permanent year-round residents.  That population, however, blooms to around 10,000 during season.  Today this barrier island is noted for its beaches, prim cottages, vast marshlands, and as a beach sanctuary for nesting sea turtles. And while its notoriety does not rival Charleston’s in the history books, it still has some interesting stories to tell. 

Beach Cottages on Bald Head Island.

Like most of this part of the U.S. coastline, its original native inhabitants were chased away or victimized by imported diseases, beginning with the Spanish in the 1500’s.  We owe the Spaniards for “discovering” the nasty shoals that extend far into the Atlantic, where they managed to shipwreck numerous vessels.  By the time the Brits gained control a century later they apparently had not learned much from those previous sailing adventures, as they also lost their fair share of ships in the same (“Frying Pan”) shoals.  Indeed, in what’s known as the “Battle of the Sandbars” circa 1718, the British sailed a warship from Charleston to chase one of the many pirate ships plying these waters, and both went aground during the battle; suffice it to say the first one to float off at a higher tide (the Brits) beat the hell out of the other (pirate) ship and its captain was hanged here shortly thereafter. 

Beach on the East Side of Bald Head Island.

The area became a naval focus again during the U.S. Revolutionary and Civil Wars, if only briefly, and then again during World War II – it was always a key supply port, and the extensive offshore shallows caused many allied merchant ships to run much further off the coast where German U-Boats picked them off with ease in the early years of that conflict.  So it’s not a stretch to say the name “Cape Fear” has all sorts of relevance.

We spent several hours touring the south (inhabited) end of the island, stopping for lunch at a snack bar in one of the shopping squares along the way, and climbed the 108 steps to the top of the Old Baldy lighthouse for some excellent views of the local landscape.  We concluded the day with a late shrimp dinner on the patio deck of Mojo's, one of the three restaurants on the marina premises – the service and food were quite good, although we still make better rum drinks on Ghost Rider.

Rick Posing at the Foot of the Old Baldy Lighthouse Placard.

Chelle and the Old Baldy Lighthouse.

View of the Island's Marsh Country from the Lighthouse.

View of Cape Fear River Inlet from the Lighthouse

View of the Marina from the Lighthouse.  Ghost Rider is Roughly in the
Center of the Photo at the End of the First Long Dock.

We decided to stay another day since the weather forecast and tidal currents would be slightly in our favor with that approach, so Wednesday, 08-August was more relaxing downtime at BHM.  Chelle spent the morning cleaning fly bridge cushions and hanging her veggie net, while Rick attacked some more exterior fiberglass stains and topped off the water tanks.  Chelle wanted to rent a kayak in the afternoon but missed the timing a bit – turns out they only allow launching those here at certain tides.  After that we just relaxed and caught up on email and news, updated the latest blog notes, and got the boat preflighted for the planned departure the next morning.

On Thursday, 09-August we set an alarm so we could depart at a reasonably high tide and tolerable current flow, and just after 0800, after waiting for the two ferries to make their turn and exit through the narrow marina channel, we pushed away from the dock.  The winds were blowing at 20 knots out of the southwest with higher gusts and smashing into outgoing current – and that made the wide river basin a boiling, whitecapped mess.  We were soon taking spray up to the fly bridge.  The sea forecast had called for two to three feet, but we were seeing frequent five and six footers as Ghost Rider traversed the Cape Fear channel towards the open Atlantic.

Approaching the Masonboro / Wrightsville Beach Anchorage.

Unfortunately the river channel took us nearly due south, bashing into those head seas for nearly 15 miles, before we could clear Frying Pan Shoals and make our turn to the north.  After that turn the ride was considerably better, and after escaping the counter current an hour or so after that, the seas improved to the forecast heights.  The final three hours of the journey were relatively smooth and we saw no threatening storms the entire day.

We entered the Masonboro Inlet just before 1500 and made our way west and then north to tuck in behind Wrightsville Beach.  We dropped the hook in ten feet of water, although it took two attempts to get it set firmly.  But by 1600 we were secured with genset running and the air conditioning cooling us off nicely in the “feels like” 100F heat.

Another Shot of the Opposite Shoreline at the Masonboro / Wrightsville
Beach Anchorage.

We retrieved the anchor got back underway around 0845 the morning of Friday, 10-August, pointing Ghost Rider back out into the Atlantic for the leg to Cape Lookout.  We had clear skies, light winds and a relatively smooth ocean – initially just two-to-three foot rollers from the south at reasonable intervals.  All of that was right in line with the forecast.  Later in the afternoon the rollers grew to four-to-five feet, but at six second intervals and quartering off the stern, so the ride was still quite tolerable even if the autopilot occasionally struggled with a steady heading.

We covered the 73 nautical mile trek in less than 10 hours, and by 1830 we had maneuvered inside Cape Lookout’s well protected basin and had the anchor firmly set in 25 feet of water.  We enjoyed drinks and sunset on the fly bridge, followed by a scrumptious shrimp jambalaya dinner, then called it a day.

The Sunset at Our Anchorage at Cape Lookout.

We were in no particular hurry the morning of Saturday, 11-August, as we only had a 17 mile sortie to our next destination, Jarret Bay Marina, located on the ICW just north of Beaufort, NC.  It has a reputation as an excellent boatyard with a ride range of services and parts, as well as some of the best pricing on diesel fuel, so we wanted to check it out.  We pulled up the anchor just after high noon and headed Ghost Rider a few miles west towards the Beaufort Inlet….where the conditions turned out to be worse than boating in a washing machine. 

Winds had picked up from the SSW to around 20K with higher gusts, and when the resulting ocean swells collided into the swift outgoing current coming from the inlet, it created a confused, boiling mess.  The autopilot does a lousy job keeping the boat pointed in the right direction in those conditions, so Rick applied some extra RPMs and hand steered the beast until we got inside the breakers.  Then we joined the ICW and headed north in calmer waters.

Aerial View of Jarret Bay...The Marina Portion is Small but Well Kept; the Yard and Repair Facilities are
Highly Rated.  And They Have Several Parts Stores On Site.

Battling an outgoing current the entire way, we arrived at Jarret Bay just before 1500.  We wanted to stop first at the fuel dock to take on diesel, but a large Marlow was hogging the pumps, so we just headed to the alongside floating dock.  Chelle handled the helm duties today and did a fine job with the parallel parking.  Bruce, the dockmaster, was on hand to help Rick with the lines, and within a few minutes later we were securely tied.  Then we spent about two hours hosing off salt from every square inch of Ghost Rider’s exterior.  Bruce came back by a couple hours later to check on us, offer Rick a golf cart ride to the parts store in the morning, and to let Chelle know he had a courtesy car available for her as well.

Jarret Bay is by no means a picturesque place....it's in the middle of nearly nowhere and it is strictly a place you go for parts and/or service.  Even its lone floating dock is unprotected from the nearby ICW boat traffic.  But it's a good place to know and make contacts.

Jarret Bay's 440,000 Pound Travel Lift....This Bad Boy Can
Handle Some Seriously-Sized Yachts.

We heard thunder in the wee hours of the morning, but by sunrise on Sunday, 12-August the storms had passed, leaving a broken cloud cover and an abundance of humidity.  Light showers would move in and out through the day, but there was nothing severe that threatened.  In the morning we walked to the lone parts store that was open on Sunday and grabbed some minor hardware items, allowing Rick to replace a broken latching hook for the boat’s boarding door.  That afternoon Chelle took advantage of the courtesy car to do some shopping, while Rick attacked the service that had come due on the generator – cleaning its air filter, and changing the oil and oil filter, along with the on-engine secondary fuel filter.  By late afternoon all that was complete and Rick got to enjoy the final round of the PGA Championship on the big screen TV in the marina’s captain’s lounge.

Monday, 13-August featured some more early morning rain, along with a few but very intermittent light showers during the day, so in reality was mostly dry in spite of the stifling humidity.  Rick spent some time strolling the yard’s diesel parts stores that weren’t open over the weekend and was successful in locating a pencil zinc for the wing engine’s heat exchanger and a specialized 15 amp fuse assembly for the generator.

In the afternoon we had a visit from Keith, the yard’s service manager.  He was responding to our request for some service quotes – all future stuff on which we wanted to compare rates and fees; that included pricing for haul-out and bottom painting, as well as sanitary hose replacements and some potential cabinet doors to add to the galley’s pantry spaces.

Ghost Rider Docked at Jarret Bay's Floating Dock.

Rick also spent some time addressing two nuisance issues that we had recently encountered. The aforementioned 15 amp genset fuse had tripped a couple of times a few nights ago, and while we were able to reset it, we were pretty sure it was about to go south on us; that was a quick 5 minute replacement.  And our ST60 relative wind instrument had gone on the fritz, with its directional needle stuck at the 12 o’clock position and wind speed just showing dashes; Rick examined the wiring at the gauge and anemometer (the latter requiring some interesting mast-climbing gymnastics) and that all checked out; the only thing left was to try a factory reset of the gauge….which worked until the next day.  It's likely a failing head unit which can be dealt with later.

Our next planned stop for Tuesday, 14-August was River Dunes Marina in Oriental, NC; but first we wanted to top off the fuel tanks at Jarret Bay as their pricing was the best in the region.  Rick maneuvered Ghost Rider a short distance to the fuel dock around 0930.  It was fairly still and already hot outside.  Bruce, as usual, was there to lend a hand, and then we spent an hour taking on 968 gallons of diesel to bring all four fuel tanks to the brims.  Around 1045 we bid farewell to Bruce and headed north up the ICW, which at this point in North Carolina is an interconnected series of rivers and creeks – some narrow and some wide, and none particularly deep.  At one relatively narrow point Chelle sighted something swimming in the water….Rick was thinking “that’s a mighty big river otter” when Chelle proclaimed “it’s a dog.”

We Just Managed to Avoid Colliding with This Lab Swimming
Across the River.  He Was On a Mission.

The critter was making a beeline for the opposite shore and was on a certain collision course with Ghost Rider.  Rick backed own hard on the throttle (we had a swift pushing current) while Chelle scrambled down from the fly bridge to the pilot house to start the wing engine and hydraulics – in case we needed to thrust the boat sideways to keep the prop away from the dog and us off the shoreline.  It looked to be an adult Labrador Retriever….he crossed just in front of us,from port to starboard, and eventually made it to the eastern shore of the river.  We don’t think that one is covered in the right-of-way rules, but we were happy with our improvisation.

  

Shortly after that we spotted another Nordhavn cruising down river towards us; we had been expecting to see Mike and Mari aboard Mari Me, as they were bringing their N47 down to Jarret Bay (from River Dunes) for some service.  We exchanged greetings on the VHF and planned a get-together for later in the week when they would return to their home port.

At River Dunes Marina....Clubhouse, Restaurant & Cottages.

The remainder of the short cruise to River Dunes was pleasant and uneventful and we entered the marina’s narrow entrance channel just before 1400.  Chelle again handled the helm and docking duties, and did a perfect job of steering Ghost Rider in for a stern-in starboard side tie to our assigned slip at the spacious floating docks.  A couple of energetic, young dock hands helped us tie up and also retrieved our packages from the marina office (we had been shipping things here for about a week) and a short time later we had the boat and ourselves cleaned up.  A line of rather electric but fast moving storms moved through just after 1800, but we had already finished our chores and were settled comfortably in the salon for the evening.

The next day, Wednesday, 15-August we lounged around the boat and took care of a couple of minor boat chores (replacing the forward shower’s hose and the holding tank’s vent filter).  That afternoon we took the marina’s courtesy car into Oriental, about eight miles distant, to run a few errands.  Those included haircuts for both Chelle and Rick (he was getting shaggy, at least in his opinion) and grabbing a big burger for lunch at Toucan’s on the waterfront.  (By the way, for other cruisers, a shout out for the Studio 55 hair salon there; Diana was friendly, skilled and helpful in many ways, including taking time to give Chelle some instructions on how to cut Rick’s hair…should we decide to take that risk in the future J.)

Ghost Rider's Slip at River Dunes Marina

Following that Chelle used the car to do some shopping / provisioning, and then we had another relaxing evening at the docks and on the boat.

We're going to hang here for a couple more days to enjoy the marina, run some more errands, take care of some minor boat business (including a bottom cleaning), and visit with friends Mike & Mari when they return from Jarret Bay.  After that we'll continue the journey north towards the Chesapeake.

Our Track on This Segment of the Journey....From Charleston, SC to Oriental, NC, with Stops
at Georgetown Light, Cape Fear, Cape Lookout and Jarret Bay Along the Way.

More of the Grounds at River Dunes Marina in Oriental, NC.

Another View at River Dunes Marina in Oriental, NC.