We had to be towed in on Memorial Day and we ended up at Dowry Creek Marina. What good luck we have! This place was the best marina we have ever stayed in. There was a lovely pool, big captain’s quarters with books and games and a big TV, free laundry, a courtesy car, nice selection in the ships store and people so wonderful that we think of them as family now.
We spent six weeks at the dock unable to move. The transmission that went out was too old to be rebuilt because they no longer make parts for them. That took about the first 2-3 weeks to figure that out. Then we decided to put in a new transmission so we had to wait on parts to be shipped in to Belhaven. Darrell and Ann were the mechanics that did the majority of the work. We had some help here and there but mostly it was us. We put the new transmission on but the new one required different brackets to attach it to the motor mounts. These had to be fabricated from scratch and Darrell was the designer. Thanks to connections at the marina, they were fabricated in a week or two. Reinstall the coupling on the shaft ends and realign motor to shaft and we’re back in business.
Well, Belhaven puts on a big deal for July 4th so we had to stay close for that. We left the marina for a few days of shakedown cruise to be sure all mechanics were okay. While we were out and about, we spun the hub on our dinghy prop. (Possibly weakened when we pushed the big boat with the dinghy.). Anyway, no problem. There was a place in Washington that said if you ordered it by 3PM it would be here by 9AM next day. After nearly two weeks this place couldn’t order the right prop to fit our motor - we said ENOUGH!! We can idle around in the dinghy - just no fast speeds. It was time to leave North Carolina.
We motorsailed up the ICW for a few days to Norfolk, VA. Our first time this far north in the sailboat. The shipping lanes and boat traffic were amazing. Big navy ships in the yards being maintained. We anchored near the Naval Hospital and began exploring. Boy is there a lot to see around there!! We still need a dinghy propeller and now, we don’t have a nautical chart (paper) for places we are about to explore. We have waited, thinking we could purchase a used one but we couldn’t find any consignment stores there.
We spent a half day at Nauticus where there were many marine and historical displays. We walked the decks and below of the USS Wisconsin - a WWII battleship. We spent a half day in Portsmouth and found a nautical antique store that was really cool. As you see, many of our excursions are half day because of the unrelenting heat wave that was plaguing the east coast at that time. We had to be careful because heat indices were in the 110+ degree range.
Darrell and Ann could spend a lot of time in the Portsmouth and Norfolk area exploring. Like the “excursion” to go purchase a chart of the Chesapeake. It was a half day of walking (4.5 miles walking) and bus rides to get to a West Marine store. It’s fun to experience different locales this way. Anyway, chart in hand plus a few other purchases and we are ready to move on.
So we moved a little north to a creek across from Yorktown. The weather forecasters said it would be 10-15 knots from the SW. Well it was 15-20+ out of the SW and after we turned the corner, guess what.... On.The.Nose! We are becoming more and more respectful of these inland rivers. We chose a good anchorage for some thunderstorms coming the next day. Great choice!
We called West Marine and by telephone ordered a new propeller for the dinghy. They said it would take two days and just as promised, they called on the second day and it was THE RIGHT ONE!! I’ve had my ups and downs with WM but this time, they came through!!
During the down time (waiting on a part) we have relaxed and made a few improvements to the sun shade we made this year. We would not have been able to survive the heat without it. Remember, we don’t have air conditioning. That is one of the reasons we prefer to anchor out over staying at marinas. We get a cool breeze and we’re always facing into the wind.
“How do they get all those boats to face the same direction?”
