November 14, 2014

Tuesday we finished the last part of Chesapeake Bay under washing machine conditions, 2 to 3 foot swells on our stern and a nagging misting rain.  To  save a little fuel we put up the jib, since the wind was to our stern it did not hold wind well so we put up the main and did a broad reach shut down the engine and achieved 4.0 to 4.5 knots.  Later in day as we were coming into Hampton Virginia to anchor for the night, we used a handy cruisers guide and we found free public mooring across from the Hampton Maritime Center.  They were most helpful and we thank them for the $1.00 showers and laundry facilities.  Met some fellow cruisers, Michael and Diane, they have a big Hunter and have been sailing up and down the ICW for 11 years from New Jersey to Miami.  We stayed in Hampton for the day and enjoyed the beautiful weather we had at 68 degrees here so we hung out with the other cruisers, ran into Balia again too, they all gave us a lot of cruising tips.  We went to the IMAX at the Virginia Air and Space Museum and watched Interstellar with them on Wednesday evening. Said good bye to Hampton on Thursday morning.   Cloudy skies wind on our stern again blowing about 20 knots, engine started overheating 2 hours out so we shut her down and had two parts broke joe tried to fix them but we ended up calling a tow boat and had them bring us to the Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth, Virginia.   They were waiting for us at the dock when we were towed in and Ralph the maintenance chief here showed up about 1/2 hour later. Some rum and Irish whiskey were consumed as a result of our day.  Here we sit waiting, Ralph already replaced one part today and we are waiting for the other one he ordered to show up.   Tidewater Marina is an absolutely immaculate well run marina they have taken very good care of us.  Breaking news a huge yacht, 52 foot triple decker, "Princess T" , "T" for TONS of money, just pulled into next slip.  Oh My!!! What a pretty boat.
Will we ever get to the ICW????