June 1st- Coinjock to Great Bridge VA
We woke to another breezy, grey, day. Sporadic bursts of rain punctuated the day. At some point, on Currituck Sound, Evergreen’s deisel engine started to run rough again. We slowed down a bit and were able to continue on. Once out of the sound and back in the canals the water calmed down and we didn’t need to “push” the deisel engine as hard.
Rhiannon and Autumn Bourne waiting for a cantankerous bridge operator to open his bridge.
The bridge.
Calm waters.
We ended our day at a free dock by Great Bridge. We will coordinate our morning departure to go through the lock which is right after the dock. I spent my evening trying to trouble shoot our engine and spent much time on the phone trouble shooting with mechanically minded friends. Weather and engine problems are a drag on our spirits but we know the weather will improve and I’ll get this damn engine fixed soon.
Our fleet tied up at Great Bridge dock.
There is a Veteran’s Hall near the dock.
June 2nd- Great Bridge to Old Point Comfort/ Hampton VA
We locked through with around a dozen other boats. At some point in the day the sun made an appearance. Hopefully this is the beginning of a positive weather trend.
The Great Bridge Lock. We tied to the wall and rose up a few feet.
Norfolk Navy Base.
Regata on Hampton Roads.
We anchored Evergreen for the night at Old Point Comfort in Hampton Virginia. Since the sun was shining and it was early in the day we dinghied over to shore and spent the afternoon wandering around Fort Monroe.
Some scenes from Fort Monroe, Hampton VA.
Sunset.
June 3rd- Old Point Comfort to Taylor Creek/ Deltaville VA
Dense fog. We spent some time thinking about what to do as there are a lot of ships going in and out of Hampton Roads. We made the decision to move on. Autumn Bourne materialized out of the fog and we very cautiously entered Hampton Roads to exit into Chesapeake Bay. Both boats had radar running. Ours started acting up of course. At one point we could hear a big fog horn getting louder and louder. A ship emerged from the fog! The ship was in the channel and we were hugging the very edge so our paths weren’t close. It was still a little spooky.
Ollie and I returning to Evergreen after our morning commando raid.
Eventually we were out of the shipping channel and later in the morning the fog broke. The wind increased enough that we could motor sail to Deltaville and could run the engine at low RPMs. Our plan is to have the engine looked at in Deltaville.
June 4th- Taylor Creek/ Deltaville VA
High winds were forecast for today so all three boats stayed in harbor. This allowed us to go out for dinner twice at the Deltaville Tap & Raw Bar. There isn’t much to do in Deltaville but the restaurant is right at the marina and the food is good. I had an exceptional Ruben sandwich.
The Deltaville Boatyard was busy and hadn’t committed to a date for looking at Evergreen’s engine. We don’t want to sit here for long so Lynne called all of the other yards in the area. Broad Creek Marina and Boatworks can see us tomorrow. We are not in Broad Creek but we will be tomorrow!
Some scenes from Deltaville.
Autumn Bourne at anchor.
The Admiral getting creative with tall pines.
Evergreen anchored in Deltaville.
June 5th- Taylor Creek to Broad Creek/ Deltaville VA
Deltaville sits on a peninsula between the Piankatank and Rappahannock rivers. Today was only a short trip out Taylor Creek, down the Piankatank River, up the Rappahannock River, and up Broad Creek, to a dock, where Carl and Matt helped us tie up at Broad Creek Marina and Boatworks.
Carl thoroughly interrogated me with questions about our Yanmar deisel engine. He has repaired and installed many. He seems very knowledgeable. This is exactly what we were hoping for when searching for a mechanic. The engine was checked out. Samples of fuel were taken from our tank and filters. Our newly installed fuel filter already had a lot of junk in it. The samples from the deisel tank also held a lot of debris. It looks like we bought bad fuel somewhere. Plan A was to have a fuel polishing service filter the fuel and clean the tank. They could schedule us in 4 weeks. I want to be home in 4 weeks! Plan B.
Plan B was to borrow fuel cans from Carl. Drain all the deisel from the tank with a suction pump. They have a heater that burns waste oil so I gave him the deisel. He then loaned me his pickup truck so I could drive up to the Exxon station for more fuel. We filtered this and other deisel we had stored on deck. New fuel filters and new deisel. Hopefully all of this works. They allowed us to stay on the dock for the night and use the shower facilities. I needed the shower after fooling around with deisel fuel all day.
Some scenes from Broad Creek/ Deltaville.
Evergreen tied to the dock at Broad Creek Marina.
June 6th through 8th- Deltaville VA to Solomons Island MD
The trip to Solomons was our engine test. It ran well. Perhaps it wasn’t a thorough test since we sailed most of the day. The sailing was great! The best since the Bahamas. Eventually I had to reef the mains’l as Evergreen charged ahead at flank speed
Our flotilla had split up the day before. Both companion boats had gone on to Solomons but have since moved on. Rhiannon is on their way up to Baltimore. They will store their boat at a marina and drive the rest of the way to New Hampshire. Autumn Bourne is visiting with friends in Annapolis. We hope to join up with them again in a few days.
We finished our day at Solomons Island and tied to a mooring at Zahnisers Marina. We’re here for a couple of days to stock up and prepare for the next part of the trip. Zahnisers has good showers, laundry, pool, shuttle service, and we are able to use them as a mailing address. I have a half dozen fuel filters being shipped along with other essential items. Their parts department also provided me with on engine filters.
Yesterday (the 7th) we shuttled Ollie over to a veterinarian. He has a wound on his nose that just won’t heal properly. Afterwards we went over to Captain Smith’s Seafood for shrimp, red snapper, and some of the best crab cakes we’ve had . We rounded out our day with a raid on the liquor store before bringing our haul back to Evergreen. Today’s projects are groceries (Lynne), and getting deisel fuel (Brian). I’d also like to clean the hull as there appears to be seaweed growing up the side.
It has started to rain again so maybe hull cleaning will have to wait. I hope the rain clears out some of the smoke from the Canadian wild fires. Better yet, I hope they get rain. We move from here on Friday for points north on the Chesapeake Bay.
Some scenes from Solomons Island MD.
Today’s weather = Canadian smoke haze.
Travel Lift (for hauling boats) tire.
Evergreen moored on Back Creek at Solomons Island.
