Southing again - Annapolis to Beaufort, North Carolina

We left Annapolis on a beautifully sunny day, with our friends on Neverland beating us out of the harbor.  As always, it is fun to see friends on the water and hear a familiar voice on the VHF radio.  Though the weather was sunny, there was very light wind, so we motored down the Chesapeake.  After an overnight stop in Solomon's Island, then another off the Great Wicomico River (south of the Potomac), both in Mill Creeks (we're now wondering how many Mill Creeks exist), we decided to take a side jaunt up the York River and visit Colonial Williamsburg.  Sharon lived there many moons ago and Greg had never been.  We found a quiet marina just south of Yorktown, called Wormley Creek Marina.  An Uber ride took us to the 18th Century where we spent the day gobbling up history.

The English Provincial Governor's Entry Foyer displaying his weapons

Beautiful details

Our guide

Woodwork in the Governor's Palace

The Palace

A protest over taxation decisions being made by Parliament

Sharon being punished....this happens all the time on the boat!

The Wren Building, William and Mary College

Continuing down the Bay, we made an overnight stop in Hampton City Marina (using a free coupon from the Annapolis Boat Show) and moved into the Intracoastal Waterway the next day.  Within the first hour, we noticed that the red "No Charge" light was illuminated at the ignition panel.  This means that the batteries are not charging.  Motoring is great for charging the batteries and heating the water.  Given that all the instruments are engaged and the frig continues to cycle on and off, we knew we needed to find the cause of this charging problem rather quickly.  So Greg sets to the task of trouble-shooting.  This means he checks all the stuff he already knows (loose or broken connections, loose belts) and when nothing indicates a problem, he hits the computer and walks step by step through the troubleshooting guide.  This can take a long time and someone needs to be at the helm constantly on the ICW.  Plus, it is impossible to check all trouble shooting items when the engine is running.  So, after we passed through Great Lock at mile 12, we pulled off and tied up to a dock so that Greg could continue his investigation.  Finally, it was determined that the alternator (only a year old and heavier duty than the old one) was at fault.  Fortunately, we kept the old one as a spare. We knew the batteries were powered up for the day ahead.  So, we took off from the lock and went to find an anchorage that would let us be still for the night so that Greg could swap the alternators.

But - before we found an anchorage, after just passing through the last opening bridge for the day's travel, we noticed a 38 foot sailboat on the side of the waterway where he shouldn't have been.  When queried, he told us he was stuck.  Being good cruisers we offered assistance.  We motored to the front of his boat, he tossed us a line, we cleated it to our stern and tried to pull him off.  Of course, we couldn't budge him and ended up getting stuck ourselves!  After several attempts to move, both of us just kept spinning on our keels.  Then, we thought, why don't we try to attach the halyard to his dingy and see if he could get Dream Catcher to heel and lift the keel enough to move off.  No dice.  Then, the idea was to attach both halyards to a line and crank them tight, allowing both boats to heel and potentially lift the keels.  As Sharon said - it's always a good idea until it becomes a bad idea.  No budging of either boat and now the halyards were stuck in a groove at the top of the mast, not able to ease and detach from one another.  Finally, a call was made to TowBoatUS.  By this time, it was 5pm.  Sunset is at 6:30pm and we find that the TowBoat will be here in about an hour and fifteen.  So, Greg went up the mast to see if he can dislodge the halyard before the TowBoat arrived, or cut it if necessary.  Fortunately, we have this cool mast climber rig that makes this task reasonably easy.  And all it took was a tug on the halyard from the top to dislodge it and allow us to bring it down and detach from the other boat.  Whew!

At about 6:15pm TowBoat shows up, easily pulls the other boat off with his 225 horsepower motor, switches his line to us and does the same.  Also fortunately, just a month or so ago, Greg called and upped our coverage with TowBoatUS to unlimited towing coverage.  It could have cost nearly $1000! Another Whew!

Finally, off we go in the dusk light, spotlight in Sharon's hand as she stands on the bow and helps to spot the occassional unlit daymarks and checks for logs floating in the water.  We traveled over an hour in the dark in very close surroundings. But, the navigation equipment, several lighted buoys and markers, and a careful lookout got us to our anchorage unharmed. We had the hook down by 8pm and all was well.  Another waterway adventure!

Hauling Higher Porpoise off the bottom

Eddie from Tow Boat US - our savior!

After a good night's sleep, Greg swapped the alternator for the good one, we were charging again and off we go down the waterway.  The folks from Higher Porpoise, the boat we tried to help, passed us the following morning while we were still at anchor and said they had a restful night as well.  The next few days would be long days, motoring along in the warm sunshine and 80 degree temps, sweet and quiet anchorages along the way and finally reaching Beaufort, North Carolina by Friday afternoon.

This stump came up with our anchor
in the Alligator River

We love this sweet town with its boardwalk right along the docks, fun shops and good restaurants.  Since the weather turned cold we ended up staying three days, enjoying the luxury of a heated cabin which we only have while plugged into shore power.  Beaufort is a popular stop along the east coast - for those doing the waterway and those going offshore.  In the three days we've been here we have seen boats from Nantucket, Jamestown, Rhode Island, London, North Palm Beach and Annapolis.  We all compare stories and share thoughts about our destinations.  It is a fun life.  Thanks for sharing it with us!

'Til next time -