Captain's Log Week 2

11/18/10 To Oriental 
6:40-1:30
Speed: motor sail 6 knots
Fished with hand lines (no luck)
Motor time 5 hours
We also needn't replace the starboard side "cold" fresh water pump. We thought we had already fixed it but, apparently only temporarily. :(

We found our favorite marina! $42.50 for dockage, power, and pump out!  Not to mention perks like hot tub, laundry, steam showers, and courtesy car.  All of which we used.

Very pleasant day.  However, when we were just about to Oriental we got an email from the rigger who we had inspect our standing rigging before we set off on our trip.  Unfortunately, he found some things that we need to have fixed right away.
After some time at the marina, we met up with family friends Larry and Roberta Jones, who live near Oriental.  We had a lovely dinner and picked their brains for sailing tips in the Bahamas.  (They have a catamaran which they sailed to the Bahamas last winter.) Roberta also sent us back to the boat with some really delicious smoked turkey!  I think we are going to save it for Thanksgiving. 

11/19/10 Oriental dock yard
7:00-8:30
Motor 1.5h
We started the day at 7:10 by moving Whisper 6 miles to a boat yard in Oriental proper. 
The yard re-bedded both port and starboard chainplates (these hold the shrouds to the hull and the shrouds in turn hold the mast up).  Additionally we added whisker stays that run from the front of the diamond spreader strut back to the spreaders.  This compensates for the lateral forces exerted on the diamond spreader when the jib hits it while tacking.  The yard was fantastic it's often the case that a yard will not move you to the front of the line just because you are on your way somewhere. We're glad they were willing to do this for us.  In the end the repairs took about 24 hours. 

11/20/10 Dock Yard to Beaufort
11:00-2:30
4.5hours motor time.
Nice trip, nothing remarkable.
Ended up docking next to Escapod who we met in Norfolk last week
Also met Calvin.  This guy bought a $1200 sailboat (last week) and decided to head south solo.  Did I mention he has absolutely no sailing experience at all what so ever.....  We like him already.

11/21/10 Beaufort to Wrightsville beach.
6:00-5:30.
11:5 motor hours 
This was our first "outside" trip.  The weather was perfect and the seas calm.  Despite fishing with 9 lures all day we caught nada.

11/22/10 Wrightsville Beach to Southport marina
8:30-11:00
3 hour motor
the Starboard engine is still having the same problems with operating at high RPMs.  When under a load she will bog down and loose power.  We decided to stop in Southport for a  quick fix.  Both Yamaha and the boat yard in Deltaville have assured me that it is likely just a clog in the fuel line.  unfortunately it looks like it is actually a bad lift pump (fuel pump).  The part has to be ordered and will not be in until the morning.  =(
The repair crew are really professional and very helpful.  The fact that they are master yamaha mechanics is helping to put my mind as ease.  
    
11/23/10 Southport 
Sadly, the new lift motor did not fix the problem.  The crew was working on the boat until well after quitting time.  I like these guys, they enjoy the diagnosis.  Despite their best efforts, we are here for another night.  Laura isn't to worried however as now she can go down the road and watch the Virginia basketball game.  
I used the day to get caught up on some boat cleaning and waxing.

11/24/10 Southport
Started the day by finishing the waxing on the topside of the hull.  The mechanics showed up about 10:30 and are still trying to figure out whats wrong.  I can tell you that the problem is not a clog in the fuel line, a leak in the fuel line, bad gas, water in the gas, the fuel pump, or a carburetor clog, it is also not a bad priming bulb, fuel filter, fuel filter housing assembly, or vacuum leak....  Starting to get a little frustrated.
In the end. The decision was made to haul the boat out of the water and have a look at the lower unit oil.  They took one look at the oil and decided we needed a new motor. Fortunately this should be a warranty replacement as the motors are new this year.

Once We Were Docked, We had a Great Day

Today, for the first time we really struggled with just one motor. Currents in Charleston Harbor are really strong, so we timed our docking for slack water at 12:40, but with the wind we still had a lot of trouble. I can't really explain it, other than we narrowly avoided disaster. Ben had a little bit of an opportunity to play around with the wind and currents because we didn't time the "Ben Sawyer" bridge opening very well, and had to wait in 3 knot currents, without being able to turn to port (left) between 11:35 and noon when the bridge finally opened. We might have been ok except for the crab pots, the boat which decided to pull some of those crab pots, and the sailing vessel which passed us, and then turned around back towards us to furl their head sail, forcing us to avoid them (without turning to the left). 

When we got to the Charleston Maritime Center we did a few drive byes to check out where exactly they wanted us to pull into. We saw the dock master waving, but  wisely waited in the channel until Ben had formulated  a plan to pull into the marina. I think I'll wait for Ben's captain's report to give the rest of the details, but after we were secured to the fuel dock, and everyone's blood pressure started to drop, we all agreed we would stay at the fuel dock for the night.  (Wind, waves, current, and a packed fairly exposed marina make parking a boat tricky.  Especially on a cat with one motor!) 

After that our day got much better. It was less than a mile walk to the Apple store, and when I showed up magically my computer turned on. Not sure how he did it, but thanks genius bar man! I went ahead and bought an official apple battery (which they surprisingly had in stock) even though I'm pretty sure that was not why my computer would not turn on the other day (really it turned on, the screen was just blue...). Oh well, it's working now, and after returning to the boat I promptly backed everything up on a hard drive which will be accessible during the trip (I had been worried that if the computer was dead I wouldn't be able to access any of my data until we get back to Charlottesville in March).

We really enjoyed the walk to the Apple Store -- Charleston is beautiful. I'm not exactly sure how much of the city is this old, but the part we were walking through had several houses built in the 1600's! I was looking up the driveways and thinking, this was built for horse drawn carriages, because it's been here before there were cars. There were parts that reminded us both of New York City, but then we saw a car pull a u-turn in front of several other cars, and no one honked! It's like a NYC, but people are nice to each other.

We are also docked only 1/8 of a mile (according to the guide book) from a Harris Teeter,  so we did a major shopping trip. It was probably very green of us to bring two backpacks, a tote bag, and a wine carrier, but it was also very useful - all were full and I was carrying the paper towels and the bottle of pom juice loose (we have one more tote bag which somehow didn't make it to the store, we need to track that down). Our carton of eggs were precariously stuffed in the outside of Ben's backpack, but all 12 made it safely back to the boat.

The best part of our evening, however, was dinner at McCrady's. It was highly recommended by Ben's business partner Lori (Ben's Editors Note - she insisted we go and asked repeatedly if we had been yet). It was amazing. Outside of meals in NYC and Joule (in Seattle), one of the best meals we've ever had. I can't even begin to describe the octopus (and fennel) starter or the grouper (and beets) main dish. Both were amazing. Ben even loved the desserts! One of the desserts was a 10 sorbet tasting course - all the sorbets tasted exactly like what they were supposed to be. It got a little old looking at each other and saying, oh my god, this really tastes like beets! (ok, maybe not old, it was pretty cool.)

Now that my computer is back up and running, expect more pictures! Later I will have to post some of Woodstock and Escapod and from our Thanksgiving dinner. 

Two Days in the Ditch and the nicest couple we've met so far

Myrtle Beach, SC to Georgetown, SC - We had a little trouble leaving the dock in Myrtle Beach with only one motor. We kept getting pushed back into the dock, but once Ben put Whisper's remaining motor into reverse, we were able to back out of the fuel dock which we were docked along side. We spent a little time cleaning the boat, I took a shower, and we got gas, filled up the water tanks, and pumped out (the head holding tank), so we didn't get off the dock until 9 am.

We thought we saw Calvin on Woodstock and Chris and Amber on Escapod behind us, but we weren't sure until we heard them on the radio later in the afternoon. We first ran into Escapod a few weeks ago when we docked next to Escapod in Norfolk. We all left Norfolk the same day, but they took the Dismal Swamp and we took the Virginia Cut route, so we didn't see them again until Beaufort and by that time they had picked up Calvin on his 26 ft hunter, Woodstock. Calvin is a pilot but decided sailing sounded fun, so he went to Annapolis, bought Woodstock and headed south. We really admire what Calvin is doing, but whenever we think we're a little crazy for heading off on this adventure, we remind ourselves - we had actually been sailing before we started the trip.

We got to Georgetown after dark, walked around town and stopped to have a drink (and ended up having dinner) at the Rice Paddy bar. It was a little of a surprise in North Carolina to see the signs prohibiting smoking (by order of North Carolina Session Law 2009-27), but it was more of a surprise when for the first time since Virginia banned smoking last year, everyone at the bar lit up. Ben and I both appreciate it when people are obviously regulars, and so it was fun to see a guy walk in, and the bartender ask if he wanted a beer, and then bring him his preferred brand.

Georgetown, SC to Bobby Kennedy's Dock, North of Charleston - It was another day in the ditch. The last few days of "sailing" have really been motoring down a narrow channel, staying between the markers, and occasionally passing or being passed by faster or slower vessels. It's not very remarkable, and it's not even close to the romantic picture of "sailing to the Bahamas." It is what it is.  Two of the slower vessels we passed this morning were Woodstock and Escapod and this time we were able to hail them on the radio and see what they were up to.

We were hoping to make Charleston today, but about 2:00 it became obvious it would be just out of reach, and we didn't want to be in the busy Charleston Harbor when it got dark, so we looked at the guide book and saw there was a marina about 10 miles before Charleston Harbor. We called and they had space for us at their fuel dock, but not until 5:30. (Because Whisper is 18 feet wide, a lot of times she doesn't fit in slips designed for narrower monohulls.) We decided to slowly meander to that marina since otherwise we'd be there before they were ready for us. It paid off because as we slowed down we ended up seeing several dolphins, including one that followed us for a few minutes. We also realized how friendly people are in this area. Because we were moving pretty slow, a ferry hailed us and asked if we were looking for an anchorage and was ready to provide us with a few local spots. It's supposed to be 35 degrees tonight so we said thanks, but we were headed to a marina so we could plug in and run our electric heaters.

A few minutes later Ben spotted a man standing on his dock waving us down. He had space for us to dock, electricity, and water. Free dock! We'll take it. He helped us dock across from his own sailboat, and introduced himself - Bobby Kennedy. He and his wife, Jan, have taken their Hinckley Bermuda 41 down to the Bahamas and up to the Chesapeake, Jan is from Virginia and their daughter went to UVA. They offered to let us stay as long as we'd like and said they would be driving into Charleston tomorrow if we needed a ride. What nice people!

Thanksgiving - Southport to Myrtle Beach

We were having fun in Southport, but we were happy to leave yesterday morning at about 7:15. We motored (on one engine) to Barefoot Marina near Myrtle Beach which took about 8 1/2 hours. There were times we were going over 7 knots, but then, we'd pass the inlet and the current would switch directions and we'd slow to about 4 knots. We are excited to have made it to South Carolina.

We enjoyed a wonderful non-traditional Thanksgiving feast of grilled North Carolina white shrimp, pumpkin and bulgur and collard greens. We decided to save the sweet potatoes for later this week, but we had plenty to eat, and in Thanksgiving tradition we will have plenty of leftovers of the pumpkin bulgur and collard greens. 

We are really getting the hang of the pressure cooker. So far the pressure cooker has resulted in one really good risotto, one that was a little over cooked, steamed (fresh) crabs and last night's bulgur and pumpkin dish. It is amazing how much less cooking time is needed, which on the boat not only means less time spent in the galley and more time enjoying our surroundings, but also means we use a lot less propane. Propane is not very expensive - it was $8 to fill up our tank before we left Deltaville - but it can be a pain to find a place to get it filled. Because the tank is stainless steel and contains extra points where it can be bolted down, we actually need  the tank re-filled and can't just trade it in at the corner grocery.

We now know a lot of things that aren't wrong with that motor

And finally, about 4:50 the day before Thanksgiving, as the sun was setting, with Junior and Steve waiting around to put the boat back in the water, Eddie and Joe were able to determine the problem. Something in the lower unit has gone wrong. It was diagnosed via a compression test - head one had 0 lbs, and head 2 had 169. On a new motor, both should have over 200. I may have gotten that totally wrong. Bottom line - it looks like it's under warranty. Bad news is that Yamaha needs to know exactly which piece is cracked before they are willing to ship the replacement motor. That would mean we'd be waiting until at least Monday for the guys at Gregory Poole to disassemble the motor, and then another 5 - 6 days for the motor to ship. We instead had the guys pull the motor, will continue on with only one, and once the new one comes in they will ship it to us and we will find someone else to install it. Until then, Ben will look a little less glamorous docking, and our top speed will be considerably decreased.

We cannot say enough about the guys at Gregory Poole in Southport. They have been extremely helpful and have stayed after dark two nights in a row, right before a holiday. They are true professionals and knowledgable in what they do. In fact, we've been lucky on that front both times we've had to stop to have work done during this trip, (unlucky though since we have had to stop twice).

Another Day in Southport, NC

The engine was not fixed yesterday, and we were stuck in Southport another night. All wasn't lost though - I was able to watch Virginia beat Oklahoma in basketball on ESPN2 at Fishy Fishy. The bad news is it's starting to look like we might need a new motor, and there is not another high thrust, long shaft Yamaha 9.9 in the area.

This morning I also ran some errands around town. I picked up collard greens and yams from a produce stand, and some hand soap, baking soda (to clean the solar shower) and canned lima beans at a gas station market. The big find was the Potter's Seafood, selling fresh, local seafood right off the docks. I picked up 6 blue crabs and  a pound and a half of head on shrimp. It was hard to resist buying more, but my backpack was filling up, I only have two hands and it was a little bit of a walk back to the marina.

Potter's Seafood, Southport, NC 

Still in Southport

Turns out Eddie the mechanic in Southport, and my dad both diagnosed the engine as having an issue with the fuel pump, so here we are again waiting for something to be fixed. Luckily Eddie was able to have the pump overnighted and it should be here by 2 pm.

We spent this morning cleaning the boat and doing laundry. We didn't really need to do laundry, but it was available, so I figured we might as well do the sheets. Then we discovered that some of our dish towels were getting wet, so I did a load of towels as well. I was able to scrounge together enough quarters, but next time we're near a bank I need to get a roll of quarters.

Also, happy birthday to Luna, she is 7 today! We miss her a lot, but we keep reminding ourselves how hard it would be - on both us and her. She really deserves time and space to play fetch everyday and she wouldn't have that here.