Virginia Beach – Getting here and a mechanical update

It is a beautiful morning in Virginia Beach. The sun is coming up in a clear blue sky over the eastern horizon about to meet a solid grey bank of clouds representing a big weather system with storms stretching all the way back to our home in Ohio.

It is odd to think of weather systems in that “meta” kind of manner but we spend a lot of our time now watching the sky. Not only does the weather influence how we dress, shorts or jeans, rain gear or sun screen, but it impacts whether we can or should travel today.

We have been camping out here in Virginia Beach since October 12. Today is October 30. We are putting down roots here at Cavalier Yacht Club. Not a bad place to wait for November 1 when magically the insurance companies give the “ok” that hurricane season is over and we can move south past Norfolk VA on our journey to Florida for the winter.

Getting to VAB was eventful. Three days running on the outside: New York City to Atlantic City, then across Delaware Bay to Ocean City where we waited for two days for the wind to turn from south to north so we could travel over 110 miles from Ocean City to Virginia Beach. Three travel days plus two wait days means we traveled 250 miles in three days. That is a big deal.

It was a windy, bumpy day to travel. We left very early, around 7am. The sun was just starting to come up (remember it is late fall – sunrise is very late). We left the wide inlet and turned south (right) traveling 20 to 22 miles per hour because we had to cover a lot of ground. There is almost no safe harbor once you leave Ocean City so we were committed. Actually we found an inlet at Chincoteague Island but no one considered that a pleasant alternative so once we started we had to finish. It was a long day.

Kermit got the GPS and autopilot to work when we traveled between Atlantic City and Ocean City which took a lot of pressure off the captain. This time we had a different problem. The GPS

This time we hugged the shore and Just BilEve traveled what seems like about 8 to 10 miles off shore, where we usually travel. On the loop when we traveled with another boat we stayed together in case something happened but we often lost sight of Just BilEve. Not a problem, just interesting. 

Maryland’s eastern shore curves inward towards the west so Kermit figured that if we hug the shore and travel in a straight line south we would have a direct route to the Lynnhaven Inlet, our target. This worked perfectly for us; not so much for the idea of traveling inland with Just BilEve.

We got there first. “Just BilEve, Just BilEve, where are you?” “We are east of the freighters lined up to enter the Chesapeake” – about 10 miles east. At 20 mph they were half an hour away. Not hugging the shore like he usually did. More like where we usually travel. Quite the role reversal! So we waited. But waiting at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay is a little like waiting in the Moseley Channel by Cedar Point in Lake Erie on a Saturday afternoon. Lots of bouncing around in boat chop coming at you from all angles. We turned around and headed out to the freighter line so we could keep moving since standing in one place with those tall square waves was definitely not fun. The pilot boat looked at us like we were crazy. I am not complaining. Bill and Eve waited for us before. Sometimes it happens like that.

Finally we met Just BilEve and proceeded through the entrance to the  Chesapeake Bay to the Lynnhave Inlet at Wolfsnare Creek. As we entered the inlet we waved at Hattie Hetchkopf standing on her balcony waving a red towel at us. We couldn’t see her very well (the boat was bouncing a lot) but she could see us!

It was a relief to enter the inlet, tur

n to the east and travel on an inland waterway after three days traveling in the ocean. AHHHHhhhh… the water was flat, the skies cleared up, little angels played calm music in the sky. You know the drill! That moment when you are off the big water slipping into safe water.

It took almost another hour to travel the six miles to Cavalier Golf and Yacht Club. You can look it up on Google Maps. Most of the way is no-wake passing beautiful homes and boats fortunate enough to live in such a beautiful place. Honestly I could live here year round.

Michael and Judy Hechtkopf grabbed our lines when we arrived. So nice to see them again after several years of texting. Hugs all around, we changed clothes and headed to for dinner at the Hechtkopf house with Mike and Judy, their son Matthew, daughter in law Stephanie, Hattie Hechtkopf who is now 101 years old, and Jay and Sandy Tischler. We had a wonderful time, laughing and catching up. The fried chicken dinner was amazing.

Sadly, Mike and Judy left the next day for a cruise in France. They have been gone the entire time. We will see them one day before we leave VAB on Monday. Oh well. Maybe they will join us in the winter in Florida for a few days.

The last 18 days have been lovely. We have become a fixture at Cavalier. I returned to Ohio for a few days to give some speeches and do some work during the teens of October so I drove the truck back to VAB. Now we have wheels and can go and do whatever we want. We like that flexibility.

While I work most days Kermit has been very busy with boat maintenance. This is the part for the boat guys.

Oil Change: He changed the oil on both engines and the generator. FYI it costs a lot more and is more complicated to do an oil change on a diesel boat than a gas boat because there is just more to maintain. The boat comes equipped with an oil changing system so that part is easier – just press a few buttons – but there is a lot more involved. For example it takes two 5 gallon drums of Rotella 15W40 oil, 2 oil filters per engine, 2 crank case breathers per engine, and every other oil change you have to change 3 fuel filters per engine. It took one morning to complete but it took a week’s worth of ordering to get all the parts assembled in one place.

Preventive maintenance with the engine belts

Problems with the starboard engines: We had another big problem with the GPS in the Atlantic as we approached the Chesapeake Bay. The rollers kept getting bigger. The boat slows as it heads up a roller and surfs (goes a lot faster) as the boat heads down a roller into a trough. The idea is to time the boat speed to stay at the top of the roller if possible just because you can go faster when the waves are pushing you with the wind from the north or northeast while we are going south. With waves about 3 or 5 feet in height, we are not talking about anything huge or scary. When we rode the waves down Kermit noticed that the autopilot disengaged sometimes and the boat would start veering to the starboard (right side). Not good. The starboard engine sounded funny too. This complicated the experience of waiting for Just BilEve in the choppy mouth of the Bay. We hoped we were not losing an engine. We did not relish the idea of hanging out in the Bay with one engine.

The diesel mechanic came on board and discovered a few problems that resolved starboard engine problems as well as the question of why we were getting so much diesel soot on the rear starboard quarter. The starboard engine was losing power causing the GPS and autopilot to go goofy. A couple of issues actually

• We had a clogged fuel line on the starboard engine. They ran the boat up to 2300 rpms and saw bubbles go through the fuel filter. They figured out that there was a pin hole in the fuel line! It is fixed now.

• There was some sort of goop on the starboard engine around one of the filters. Turns out this was dead bugs - bacteria that gets into the diesel fuel. The mechanic had to saw a small chunk of wood under the stairs to access this filter so he could open that section, clean out the goop and change the filter.

Kermit also waxed the boat, washed the salon floor covers and finally got the stains out, and power cleaned the back deck and isinglass. He has been a very busy guy.

We have one more problem that needs to be addressed before we leave. We have to get the turbo mount gaskets replaced so it doesn't leak any more.  Kermit will get on that right away. 

Next: How we are keeping busy

Kermit's Corner 10-8-2015

Kermit here with more technical details for your more technical guys.

Fuel Prices have ranged from 3.49/gallon at Wilson Boat Yards in Oswego just off Lake Ontario. We paid 2.61 at Sylvan Beach on the east end of Lake Oneida on the Erie Canal. We paid 2.96 yesterday in NYC. It just supports the idea that diesel is more expensive on the Great Lakes.

So far we have used 570 gallons to get to Ocean City MD, about 875 miles, about 1.5 miles per gallon. This takes into consideration running the genny, spending time in locks and going fast on a few occasions.

The engines have not used a drop of oil since we left. We have put 110 hours on the engines by the end of the day. We plan to change the oil in Virginia Beach.

You laughed at my Leatherman but it came in handy when Katherine pulled that boner at Lock 6. By the time I got my knife out that line really popped.

We put a few nicks into the boat so far. We got stung while docking again at that marina on the south end of the Welland Canal. The worst one was getting t-boned by a Cris Craft at Schenectady, probably a cousin of Tim Toth’s. We are not sure the extent of the damage. On the surface all you can see if a scratch about ¼ inch deep and about 6 inches long. But we all heard a cracking noise when he hit so we are not taking any chances. The guy filed an insurance claim and we will have someone take a better look at it when we get to Florida or maybe in VA Beach.

The biggest problem was with the autopilot. Around Utica it just stopped working. No reason. Just stopped. It is not such a big deal in the locks because the rivers move and turn pretty regularly but now that we are in a straight away on the ocean it is a HUGE deal. I was on the phone with Garmin at least 4 or 5 times. We downloaded updated software but that did nothing. We did sea trials with the Wizard at least three or four times but no good. It was doing a hard right, going it circles no matter what we did. Finally yesterday on the ocean I called again. This time the guy said maybe you have an air bubble in the lines. He told me to “bleed the hydraulic line” yesterday. That meant I loosened the cap at the steering column and turning the wheel all the way hard over to one side then back to the other 20 times. It required a full cocktail and half a cigar but I did that last night. Then you retighten the cap and it seals the system again.

This morning I was afraid to turn it on but I tried it anyway and IT WORKED! Now we have auto pilot. As we write this we are 40 miles into a 70 mile run and it is performing perfectly. I can walk around, go to the bathroom, and generally enjoy the trip instead of steering for every minute of every day. What a relief.

The bow thruster has not worked since we owned the boat. Paul Bates insisted it needed to be fixed. He ordered a control panel from England and had it shipped to Oswego NY. Paul and Tony installed it. Mr. Electrician had to install more wires, go figure. For two days I refused to use it just to torture Paul. But lo and behold IT WORKS! Now we have a bow thruster. I even used it once in a lock just to make that funny noise.

It has been wonderful to have such a great crew. It made life so much easier for the captain!

Here is the upcoming work that must be done:

·         Wash the boat!

·         Laundry and interior clean

·         Oil change for both engines and the genny

·         Install the high def tv antennae

·         Put the clean bikes in their storage bags for the next leg of travel

Until next time!

Waterford NY to Atlantic City NJ

Let’s get up to date on our travel, friends.

Katherine at a lock

This is a peek over the side at
the dam next to the lock

When last I wrote, we were in Schenectady on the Erie Canal waiting out Hurricane Juaquin watching the Buckeyes beat Indiana on October 3. The weather was cold and kind of ugly. We checked the weather constantly so we figured out on that cold Saturday that the storm was blowing out to sea. Relief might be in sight! So on Sunday October 4 we decided to head for Waterford and poke our noses in the Hudson River.

Sunset at Schenectady NY Yacht Club

I almost felt like sticking my finger in the dyke!

We left early in the morning, still gray and cold. We passed through Locks 7 and 6 then the flight of locks right in a row: 5, 4, 3, and finally 2. All these locks are about 30 foot drops in the space of about 55 nautical miles. At Lock 6 near the start of our day we had an adventure!! Not the good kind but the kind that Marissa Burik dreads so much.

The bitter end of that lock line
after Kermit cut it!

I was manning the back station and Tony was on the bow. He grabbed one of the lines hooked to the top concrete lock wall and hung on. I grabbed one of the lines close to the back. As I had been doing, I hooked the dirty grimy line around one of the cleats just to get leverage. I didn’t secure it. I know better than that. But I used the cleat to keep us close. Everything was just fine until we neared the bottom. The line was much shorter than the water. As quick as a bunny the bottom of the line encased on a metal sleeve got stuck in the cleat! OH NO!! This is very bad. The water was still going down but now the boat was not. I yelled for Kermit. He leaped into action, pulled his Leatherman out and with three thrusts he cut the line that was attached to the wall, the boat settled back into position and we were saved!! There are so many ways this was a very bad thing for me to do and a very good fast reaction from Kermit to get me out of this mess.

The remainder of the locks went smoothly albeit a bit gingerly. Whew, that was close! We only have a picture of the bottom of the rope. No pics of Kermit in action. No time for that!

The further we progressed towards Waterford the warmer and sunnier it got. Finally released from Lock 2 we entered a new world of sun and warmth. The moss started to recede from the shady side of the boat.

We tied up around noon, just as the Sunday Farmers Market along the wall was finishing up. We bought some buns, peppers and best of all some really delicious fresh sweet corn. We should have bought two dozen but we only got 6 ears.

Tony taking in the fog as we left Waterford on the Hudson

We had a huge lunch at McGreevy’s, a Waterford institution with a farm to table mentality. Oh, so good. I had a great open faced sandwich with ham, sliced apples and Vermont cheddar cheese on raisin toast. Yum. Unfortunately my judgement was still impaired because I dropped the doggy bag into the canal while climbing into the boat. Too bad. It would have made a great omelet. 

Cool bridge in Albany

Monday morning with good weather reports all around we left Waterford for parts south. We were delayed a bit by fog on the Hudson River but we still got to the Federal Lock in Troy NY, just a few miles down the river, by 7:30am. We thought we were so clever but several other boats that did not leave so promptly called the lockmaster saying they were close and would he wait. He believed them so he waited for four more boats that were way far behind. By 8:30am we were through this last lock and on our way.

We are well behind schedule right now (never travel with a schedule – it only makes you crazy) so we traveled most of the day to Kingston NY. We never stopped here the last time. Along the way we pointed to plenty of sites along the way.

Shirley caught us a new fender!!

Cool house along the Hudson

There is a lawn to mow

Kingston is a very old town with a bit of life still in it. We saw a wooden boat shop attached to the Maritime Museum where they are using traditional techniques to restore an old boat – large slabs of lumber with the bark still on it and big old chain lifts to haul the lumber in place. Lots of old tools applied lovingly to the wood.

The light was amazing

The river front at Kingston

A quick walk along the river front brought us to Old Savannah, a southern style smoked meat restaurant that just opened in May. Wow, what an experience. Tony and Shirley don’t get BBQ in New Zealand so they opt for BBQ (and pizza) whenever they can get it. Kermit had the fried chicken and ribs combo. I had pulled pork with mac and cheese. OMG, to die for. We also ordered pulled pork egg rolls, a wonderful concoction that uses pulled pork, coleslaw and a little cheese to tie it together. As you can imagine we took home lots of doggie bags and have been eating smoked meat for days since. All of those leftovers made it safely to the boats. No butter fingers that day. 

Shirley capturing the bridge by Hyde Park NY

Tuesday 10/6 was another beautiful day. Aside from the crap in the water, you would never know there had been storms. By mid-day we all put on shorts and t-shirts and sunned on the front sunpads while watching the scenery go by. 

Bannerman's Castle

West Point

Ramparts at Bannerman's Castle

Hyde Park, West Point, the Vanderbilt Mansion, Bannerman’s Castle, Newburgh, Tarrytown. Finally the Tappen Zee Bridge and we are in New York. We watched the city get busier and the ferry’s start to appear. Traffic was not bad at all even though we were passing NYC during rush hour.

The Tappen Zee Bridge

The George Washington Bridge

Tony and Shirley enjoy the sunshine as we approach NYC

72nd street yacht basin

Jack is one happy cat

Signaling the entrance to Liberty Landing

Liberty Landing was full so Shirley found us space in the marina across the way, Liberty Harbor. This marina is tucked behind some apartment buildings and is home to the only RV park within miles of NYC / Jersey City. Isn’t that cool? Now you RV folks know that there is a nice RV park right by a ferry to NYC.

Leaving Liberty Landing early in the morning

Tony and the luggage

Finishing chores before heaving off

It was fun!

On their last night with us, Shirley made pad thai and we had a big party!! It was almost as good as Maeo Bate’s pad thai. Nothing is that good.

Shirley, Tony, Bill, Eve and Katherine saying goodbye

Tony and Shirley had to leave us in NYC. They pulled their luggage out of our boat and the suitcases and golf clubs out of Just BilEve. On Wednesday morning 10/7 we left them standing on the dock. We will miss them.

From NYC we went out into the big Atlantic Ocean!! Swells were gentle, about 3 feet which left a queasy stomach if you did much reading. A few hours into the day, after turning the corner past Sandy Hook, the captains decided to pick up the pace so we burned some gas at about 18 mph to get to Atlantic City. Traveling like this there is not much to talk about. We just hung on and looked at water. Fortunately the sun came out after lunch.

We couldn’t find dockage anywhere in Atlantic City so we grasped opportunity by the horns and chose a spot to anchor out. We were well ahead of Just BilEve so we negotiated the entrance to a waterway across the river from the casino state park. It was 6 foot in the low spots and 12 to 15 feet in the anchorage area. There was only one sailboat there when we arrived. Originally we intended to raft with Just BilEve but the anchorage was muddy and Kermit felt that we didn’t catch well enough to hold two boats so Just BilEve anchored a short way away. By nightfall the anchorage was full with about 10 boats on the hook. It was so much better than being in that marina. I hope we anchor out a lot more.

Just BilEve anchored out in Atlantic City

Atlantic City from the water

Dinner was smoked meat and salads on Just BilEve because it was easier for us to take our dinghy out than it was for them. Kermit discovered a new technique for dropping the dinghy. We don’t need no stinking crane. All we need to do is just kick the dinghy out of its cradle and SPLASH it is in the water! We set a world speed record for putting the dinghy back in place. It took 10 minutes to get it back in the cradle and another 10 minutes of farting around with the cover. But the orange fender balls are now tucked into the dinghy and the bike covers are now on the back deck waiting till we can wash the boat and the bikes to get the salt off and secure the bikes in waterproof bags.

By the way, we are now in salt water. Everything on the outside of the boat is crusted with a thin layer of salt. Very salty salt!

The last phase of travel for a while takes place today 10/8 and Friday 10/9. We plan to skip the Chesapeake for now. We can visit in the coming weeks but for now we just need to get to Virginia Beach. Our target today is to travel on the outside in the ocean from Atlantic City about 80 miles south to Ocean City MD. So far the water is perfect, flat with tiny rollers of 1 foot or less, sun sparkling off the little waves. We are traveling slowly at about 10mph because why not. Tomorrow we plan a long day from Ocean City to VA Beach, about 95 miles. Later tomorrow we see thunderstorm threats so we plan to run on plane at about 18mph. It should take us about 5 or 6 hours to get there at that pace. If we leave at 6:30am or 7am around sunrise we should be in VA Beach by mid-afternoon or so. More about that later.

Stuck in the Erie Canal

I’ve never been through a hurricane before. That bad storm this summer at Put-in-Bay was one of the worst we’ve been through with sustained winds over 60 mph but that is not a hurricane.

The impact of hurricanes can be unpredictable. While the Hurricane Center uses sophisticated equipment to model various options, the power and force of hurricanes on water craft can be devastating. Look at that 800+ foot long commercial vessel currently missing off the coast of the Bahamas. I am sure they have weathered many storms but this one hit them the wrong way.

Several big storm systems are at work in the US. In our home base of Sandusky OH a huge storm system is whipping up huge waves and cold weather. Lake Erie looks evil. I am glad we are not there. Similarly, storms are whipping up in the Chesapeake, probably part of the Hurricane Juaquin situation, not sure. But we know for sure that even if the hurricane moves north out to see, there will be impact on the Mid-Atlantic and Carolinas. So we are moving VERY slowly through the much protected Erie Canal.

The weather here is in the 30s-40s in the morning, increasing to the 50s sometimes 60s in the afternoon. We are wearing lots of layers. Currently as I write this on Saturday morning I am wearing jeans, heavy socks, a cami, a long sleeved shirt, a sweater and a coat. It is chilly. Plus we are moving through locks. That means I zip up tight because I am outside on the swim platform hanging on to wet lines while the water in the lock goes down. It is chilly to say the least.

The first few days I was back on the boat I went on the front deck which was my typical station in the past. The wind whips so much that I had lots of trouble holding on. So now Tony takes the front position, I take the back position, Kermit is at the helm. This works better. Shirley goes on Just BilEve with Bill and Eve and takes the rear station for them while Eve is on the front and Bill is at the helm. We find it works best to have three people manning the locks on each boat. Occasionally you will hear one of the boats giving a big raspberry as the captains us the bow thruster to move the bow closer to the wall. Yes you heard me. Even Kermit uses the bow thruster sometimes. The wind whips up through the canal sometimes so hard that the boats move in unpredictable ways that require a little nudge now and again.

Old houses in Little Falls -
That is a hardy version of
hydrangea

Yesterday we had a fun experience in the lock 10 near Amsterdam. We traversed about 5 locks yesterday. On the Erie Canal the locks are about 10 miles apart, give or take about 5 miles. Since entering the lock system the fenders and lines have been on the starboard (right) side of the boat. It just makes it easier if you can do the same thing every time. The last two locks of the day required that we move the fenders and lines to the port (left) side of the boat – quite a fire drill anyway. They told us this was because the Amsterdam lock had the water valves to go up and down on the port side so it was easier for the vessels to control their movements if the boats hung on to the left port side of the lock. Ok, no problem. Except in the last one it WAS a problem. We got ourselves all catawampus. We were almost crosswise in the lock. That means our bow went to the starboard (right) side and the stern went to the port (left side) so we blocked the entire thing!! It was crazy and dangerous and scary all at one time!! Unfortunately we do on have any photos, or maybe it is all for the best. The lockmaster thought we were a bunch of amateurs, although in the moment HOW we look is so much less important than fixing the mess and being safe! No fiberglass damage, no people damage, just a bruised ego because Kermit knows he can do it better that that!

A lift lock near Little Falls NY

We are way behind our pre-trip schedule. According to the schedule by today, October 3, we should be in NYC preparing to head into the ocean for a two or three day trip to Cape May, positioning ourselves for the Chesapeake. No way. We do not want to be anywhere near the ocean until the hurricane moves away.  As you can tell, weather is a really big deal. So we are going very, very slowly.

Little Falls NY

Tony on the front during a lock - a photo moment

Today we left Amsterdam NY at about 10am for a scorching 3 hours of travel including 3 locks. Our destination is Schenectady NY, just to the west of Albany. We will go through locks 10, 9, and 8. That leaves the last lock 7 and 6 and a flight of four locks right next to each other, 5,4,3 and 2 before the Erie Canal is over at Waterford. We will save that last section for another day.

We heard that Waterford is full of people avoiding the Hudson. Our idea is to stay at the Schenectady Yacht Club for a few days, rent a car and visit the sites along the Hudson that we weren’t planning to visit. Since we have the time while waiting out the storm, we want to see the Culinary Institute and maybe some of those historical mansions like the Roosevelts and Vanderbilts and maybe West Point. The furthest down we want to be under any circumstances until the hurricane is gone is Poughkeepsie, halfway to NYC but I suspect we will stay in Schenectady.

Yesterday I scratched my itch to cook. Kermit turned on the generator and I made a chicken pot pie that we will eat tonight. I even made the crust! I will let you know how it turns out. I also made a one bowl apple cake that we are enjoying for “tea” while traveling. Yum!! Shirley makes egg sandwiches for breakfast that are yummy too. We are trying not to eat in restaurants too often but sometimes it is fun to get off the boat!

Little Falls NY - see the old mill
along the river? 

On Thursday we stopped at Little Falls NY, an old mill town on the river. We walked around and saw almost everything - the City Hall, some really cool old homes, and finally the Canal Place where we got some decent ice cream. The interesting observation was that the river is really beautiful but all the development to restore the town does not take advantage of the river vistage. Interesting.

Ron Feldner told Eve that this town has secret tunnels under the town used by mobsters during Prohibition. We could find no evidence of this fact so we asked the owner of the pizza shop where we ate lunch. He said the entire town is built on streams. The original founders just laid the town right over the streams which created natural tunnels in which water runs to this day. Old people tell stories about pulling the hood ornament off cars then disappearing down a man hole only to reappear blocks away without notice. The tunnels flooded a few years ago when a tree got stuck in the tunnels. The pizza shop had all its ovens and fryers fall into the stream below the floor - a big mess! So much for mobsters. If that part of the story is true, then no one we found is talking about it!

UPDATE: We stopped at the Schenectady Yacht Club for the evening. This is a very old club. The clubhouse dates from the late 1800s when it was the lodging place for folks working on the Erie Canal, the drivers and their mules. It is a pretty setting with the meandering river, right by a fixed bridge. The docks are pretty new because they washed away in the last hurricane. We were sitting on the back of the boat having a sandwich and a beer when suddenly an old Chris Craft came quickly into view while the dock master hung on the boat trying to keep it away from Good Karma! BANG! He hit us. There is a 6 inch gash in the side of the boat, above the rail. Darn. The owner was embarrassed. He lost control of the boat; he thinks he has a problem with his transmission or something but we have a crack. Insurance cards have been exchanged. Kermit is not happy.