We’ve had a really pleasant journey south through the Chesapeake. The first two nights we anchored out along the western shore of the Bay.
Gorgeous
Sunset outside Solomon’s Island (anchored with another Nordy!)
On day 3, Martin noticed some water in the bilge and a quick
search found the pump which cools the hydraulic system was leaking. It wasn’t a
terrible leak but we’re planning on being off shore for a while so anything to
do with stabilizers is a priority! A quick call to ABT (the stabilizer folks)
and we had a pump overnighted to AYB where we were planning to stop for the
night. What great service!
We got docked at AYB, took on 700 gallons of diesel, pumped out,
and then settled in. AYB was pretty busy – the northward migration in is full
swing. We’ve seen dozens of folks headed
north but no one else is heading south. Salmon swimming downstream as it were…
A few
boats waiting for the bridge – all northbound
That night we had dinner at Vino, a great Italian restaurant
across the street from AYB. We got back
to the boat just in time as a beautiful storm came through. Look at those
clouds!
Pretty stormy sky, I couldn't stop taking photos
The rain was welcome as the pollen is insane around here. We hoped
the rain would rinse the yellow haze off of Blossom and knock it a bit out of
the trees. I’m sneezing noticeably less today so I think it helped.
In the morning I road my bike to the store to do a little more
provisioning. The pump came early so Martin and Jim installed it and we were
all done with our chores by noon. And so…off we went. It was a quiet day down
to Coinjock. Martin was even wearing his shirt when we arrived! Have you ever
heard of Coinjock?
Not many
people have 😊
Boats at Coinjock
Coinjock is best known for cheap diesel and excellent prime rib. Our
tanks were full but Martin enjoyed the prime rib.
Osprey on their nest
Beautiful views
Saturday morning we were up before dawn and off the dock at 6am.
It was a long day for the guys driving through the swamps. We picked up some
deadly looking insects that beat against the screens trying to get in. The
horse flies here look like they could chomp off a big toe. One got into the
boat, took 5 electric shocks with the fly zapper and lived to tell about it. Yikes!
The view
along the Pungo Alligator Canal
After another long day, we anchored just off Pamlico Bay. We enjoyed
the view and discussed our next move…
A beautiful
evening at anchor!
The reason we’ve been moving right along and not stopping to
smelling the roses is that we’ve been watching the weather, hoping we could
catch a window to Charleston. We’ve decided we can as long as we push on and
get out of Beaufort early afternoon today. The seas aren’t my favorite (just call
me Sea Sick Steph) but I put a patch on and have my fingers crossed. The system
coming in is going to lock us in for a few days and we’d rather be “stuck” in
Charleston, one our favorite cities. We’ll also be a bit further down the coast
where we’ll have a better chance of sneaking out more quickly once the front has
passed through.
This morning was spent prepping Blossom for the passage. It’s been
so long since we’ve been off shore! We tied down our fender boards, cleared the
decks and stowed the deck furniture. I have curtain rods set in the fridge and coozies
on my glass bottles… Here we go!
See you in Charleston…
Boat Business:
- Pump leak. The pump which cools the hydraulic system began leaking en route to AYB. ABT had a new one to within 18 hours. Pretty slick! We’ll rebuild the old one and keep it as a spare.
- Transformer issue. The boost function of our isolation boost transformer failed (meaning we couldn’t hook up our 2nd 50amp cord at the dock to get AC). Martin was able to bypass it so it wasn’t a big deal. We’ll add that to the “to-do” list for when we get to St Pete.
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