My knee was much better today. Actually, it wasn't even sore. But, the storm predicted for today built in the afternoon with LOTS of rain and winds were really honkin' by evening. We found some new and old leaks in the boat and have identified two new portlights we need to change (like the two we did this summer).
Around noon the rain was coming down in buckets and I had the generator going for heat and charging the batteries. A little later, the generator sounded like it was out of gas (chugging and surging) then quit altogether. I knew it wasn't out of gas because I had just filled it about an hour ago. Oh oh. Time to fix the genny.
I pulled the generator into the cockpit so I could work on it out of the rain. First I took off the carburetor and sprayed choke cleaner through it to clean out any dirt that may be blocking fuel passages. It looked pretty good so I put it back together and it still wouldn't start. Next I changed the oil and spark plug - no joy. I finally let it sit for awhile so I could think of something else to try.
During the afternoon I started the main engine to charge batteries and give us hot water. I was thinking about the 1,000s of hours we had run the Honda generator in the 13 years we've had it on the boat. With a few exceptions (mostly from bad gas), it has been super reliable and quiet. Maybe it was time for a new one? After some research and looking at cheaper generators than the Honda, I ended up ordering a new Honda 2200 from Amazon to be delivered to friends in Mathews, VA we would be visiting this Thursday. I had a hard time getting Amazon to take their address and eventually had to start a chat session to get it added. I hope the generator makes it there!
Laura made chicken-chow-mien for dinner which helped to warm up the boat. We also dug out our portable propane heater and used it a few times during the evening to keep the boat warm.
Monday, October 21st (Day 25)
It was pretty calm at the anchorage and the winds on the bay were supposed to calm down today so we decided to keep moving south. No problems as we motored out of Solomon Island and turned east toward Chesapeake Bay. As we motored farther onto the bay, we felt more of the north winds and pulled out the mainsail to help calm the boat down and pick up speed.
We turned south at Cedar Point, rolled out the jib and configured the sheets for a broad reach. The wind was directly from behind us so we "jibe-tacked" for most of the morning. This is turning port or starboard so mainsail doesn't blanket the jib. The wind needs to be at 135-140 degrees off our bow for both big sails to work well so we were now running about 40 degrees from our actual course. It was a nice ride but not quite enough wind to turn off the engine and just sail.
During the morning, D (on Southern Cross) arranged for us to stay at a free private dock in Reedville, VA owned by a couple that were Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) members. That was around where we were planning to stay so we accepted. The winds gradually died during the day and we rolled in all the sails for motoring on a flat Chesapeake Bay.
The ride was so calm I decided to work on the generator. I didn't see any water in the gas I had drained from the carb yesterday but it was possible bad gas was the culprit. I drained all the gas from the tank and carburetor then refilled it from a different gas jug. Now, in this situation where I've drained all the fuel from the carburetor, it would typically take 10-20 pulls so new gas could get sucked from the tank. The generator started and ran on the first pull - probably from the choke cleaner I had sprayed into it yesterday. My current thinking is something got wet inside the generator because it was raining buckets when it quit. Letting it sit a day dried it all out. I'm still going to buy and use the new generator and sell this one. It has more than paid for itself. There is a good market in the sailing community for used Honda generators so I don't think it will take long to sell it.
Around 4pm we turned off the the Chesapeake into the Great Wicomico River than continued into Cockrell Creek. This was the first time we'd sailed into Reedville although we been by here many times. A short time later we were tied up at Mary and Walter's dock next to their beautiful home. It was a little weird to be visiting folks we had never met before and spending time with them but we quickly became friends at happy-hour after I showered and put on some clean clothes. One thing about cruising on a boat, you don't mind wearing the same clothes for several days as long as you don't sweat in them. Here is Second Wind tied up at Mary and Walter's dock.
Mary invited us to stay for dinner and we accepted. Mary and Walter were so gracious and friendly it was hard to believe we had just met but our sailing experiences tied it all together. Picture of all of us after dinner. Sorry about being washed out by the bright lights.
They asked what we were doing tomorrow and I said we'd just move a bit and anchor in the creek since there were storms coming with south winds preventing us from moving farther south. They invited us to stay another night at the dock which was awesome. They also let us use their washer and dryer for laundry and offered us their car for grocery shopping. Wow!
I texted D and found they were planning on being here tomorrow. We made plans for them to dock right next to us and we would make dinner for everyone tomorrow night. Sounds like a party!
Tuesday, October 22nd (Day 26)
I didn't sleep well last night (too much red wine?) but caught up a little in the morning by not getting up until 9:30am. Laura made a quick breakfast then brought a load of laundry up to the house. I worked on moving Second Wind a little to make room for Southern Cross and put on a few extra "storm lines" since rain and winds were coming again this afternoon.
Laura finished the laundry and we headed out to grocery shopping. I also had a few other items on my list including maybe stopping at a Medical office to check out a growth on my back that wasn't going away. I put off the doctor visit as long as I could so, after finishing up at the grocery store, I stopped at a family practice just down the road.
The Heathsville Family Practice was able to get me in after I explained we were traveling by sailboat and wouldn't be able to make an appointment for another day. Without details, 2 1/2 hours later the abscess on my back was cleaned out, I had picked up antibiotics at the local pharmacy and we were heading back to the boat. I'm so glad I stopped and got it taken care of. The doctor who saw me said it would have just gotten worse if I hadn't come in.
Back at the boat we had another reunion with D and Don who had come to the dock while we were out. Another OCC boat had anchored in the creek and we were all getting together for dinner at Mary and Walter's. Now we were cooking dinner for 9. Seems like one of our dinner charters!
Second Wind and Southern Cross were docked together again!
Dinner was a little crazy with 9 of us. D made an excellent Rum Cake and Second Sally brought a nice salad. I wasn't feeling too well after my minor back surgery so left shortly after dinner and hit the sack early.
Wednesday, October 23rd (Day 27)
Another beautiful day on Chesapeake Bay so we decided to get underway and head south once more. After sad good-byes and a big THANK YOU to Mary and Walter, we followed Southern Cross off the dock and out the river onto the bay. There was a little swell from the north winds last night which gradually calmed during the day. There was never enough wind for sailing but we did get a little help from the jib and main.
A few hours later, I mentioned to Laura about maybe stripping and re-staining the teak on our cockpit combing. This has been on our list for quite a while and she decided to jump right in with stripping the old varnish. Some of it came off in sheets with a scraper and some she had to use varnish remover (nasty stuff). As she progressed with the varnish removal, I turned on the inverter and broke out the sanders. A short time later we were making a huge mess of the back of the boat as she was driving herself down the bay. I did keep track of boats around us but our course was pretty clear.
Top picture is Laura stripping off the old varnish. Look how bad the teak looks under her leg. Once stripped, I started sanding the 80 grit and worked my way up to 220.
We tried to not make a huge mess (notice the vacuum in the picture) but we eventually had the whole back of the boat covered in sawdust.
I decided to anchor in Fishing Bay (near Deltaville) so we took a break from sanding to find room away from the 12 other boats already anchored. We did anchor 1/4 mile away from all the other boats so our sander noise wouldn't bother people. But, all the bay eventually filled in and there were 26 boats anchored around us. This was a big bay and the weather was settled so it wasn't even very full. We finally quit around 5pm and we were both pretty tired. It took us about 1/2 hour to clean up the boat and I even used our fresh water to wash down the back of the boat. After a cocktail and some munchies, we had leftovers (and Ibuprofen) for dinner, watched a couple shows on the computer and I went to bed at 9:30pm.
Dean and Sue on Autumn Borne came in just before sunset and I got this beautiful picture of them.
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