FAIRWINDS FOR FLUKE

August 11, 2009

We just passed Atlantic City, New Jersey, about 28 hours since we left Great Bridge, VA. In between swatting flies, I'm trying to write this section of the blog. Now backing up a bit:

The WE Marine Maintenance Team did all they could on the auto pilot repair, including a dockside test. We needed to get out in open waters to see if it really was fixed. We decided to catch the 0800 Great Bridge lock opening so we could time the bridge openings through Norfolk and Portsmouth harbors and get out into the waters of Chesapeake Bay.

One large section of the Norfolk waterfront is devoted to the scrap industry. It is fascinating to see the scrap heaps and all the activities associated with processing the scrap and moving it to and from the yards. Remember the barges we passed going through the bridges as we approached Great Bridge? Gigantic ships, commercial and military, some still whole, others in half or pieces, waiting to be picked clean and chopped up into movable sections, sit by the waterway.

Recycling America

The commercial shipping piers are numerous, we always see freighters coming in, going out, getting loaded or unloaded. This colorful Maersk freighter caught my attention because it had just come in from sea and was getting ready to be pushed into the dock by the two tug boats. We were marveling over how many containers were on board. The stern area picture shows one stack of 134 shipping containers. Look how many are on the rest of the ship, and think of how many are below decks that you can't see. I imagine a ship packed like this out in the open ocean in rough seas and bad weather with the waves smashing up on those containers, and am not surprised about the stories we've read where containers get loose and fall into the ocean, broken apart and cargo floating away. All that stuff can become hazards for other vessels.

Goods For a Recessed Economy

UPS Will Be Waiting Nearby

We were gathering weather information as we were underway, with two options in mind. If the weather and seas in the coastal Atlantic waters were forecast to be good for the next couple of days, we would go offshore again. If not, we would have to travel up the Chesapeake, go through the C & D canal, and then back down the Delaware River to get to the Atlantic. That would add several days and many more miles to our journey.

When we heard a favorable forecast we made the decision to head to sea again. Right before we crossed over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel for our off-shore travel this odd-looking Navy vessel went thundering by. It was like a gigantic, high speed airboat.

Getting There Quickly

We turned northward with the idea to travel offshore along what is called the DelMarVa peninsula, short for Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Our initial plan was to continue on all night until we reached the mouth of the Delaware River and see if we needed to find a secure place to anchor because of weather, fatigue, or boat problems.

Once we got out of the 3 mile limit area, we put out our trolling lines. I told you we had stopped at the bait and tackle store, only with the intention of picking up $2 worth of swivels, but we left the store with $42 worth of other tackle to try (we call that stimulating the local economy). We were hoping to be able to get some striper action. Eddie is holding the lure contraption the guy told us people were using with good results. I had my doubts, but put it in the water behind FLUKE. The thing weighed so much I was afraid we would have our fuel efficiency reduced. It almost broke my arm to have to haul it in while we were underway. Two of the lures were lost without even any fish activity. I will disassemble it and use the parts for other fishing activities.

Trolling Trash

Calm seas throughout the daylight hours made for a comfortable passage for everyone. I made gourmet brownies, another first for the FLUKE crew, we grilled burgers while fully underway. Even AP has done the proper job keeping us on course, so I guess we can chalk up another victory for the WEMMT!

The Happy Grill Master

We reached the southern mouth of the Delaware River at sunrise, and with fair winds and good seas still in our favor we made the decision to keep going all the way to Barnegat Inlet, NJ where we would anchor for the night. That will be 38 hours of straight passage making.

Now I will have to talk about the flies. Every time we have traveled along the New Jersey coastline, we have been inundated with hoards of fat, biting, house flies (maybe they are really sea flies!). There is no land closer than 3 miles away, we aren't dragging a dead animal, and the wind doesn't appear to be a factor. Yet, swarms of these flies land on the boat and then work their way inside. Closing our doors and screens just makes it unbearably hot so we end up swatting flies for hours. I will have to vacuum up all the dead flies when we anchor the boat so they don't get ground into the floors.

Well, we made it to the “anchorage” at Barnegat Inlet. There are more permanently moored boats here now than when we were here 2 years ago. There isn't much space for us to anchor; the area is restricted by depth, some nearby docks, mooring balls, and channel markers. We set the hook, but broke several of our standard anchoring rules: we only have out a 100' of line, about 1/3 to ½ of what we would usually have out, we're very close to a little moored sailboat, we're close to a dock, and we're practically on top of a channel marker. We are in a reversing current area, so the lesser of all the evils will be to brush the channel marker and hope not to get hung up on it. If we get a blow in the night we will be up with the engine going for sure.

August 12, 2009

Well it was a calm night, since the t-storms stayed to the west, and we are underway to New York City as this entry is posted. We are a couple of miles off shore and are connected to the internet via ATT cellular.

It is a little foggy and we just spotted a couple of humpback whales.

CANAL CRUISING

August 9, 2009

After a peaceful night at the anchorage in Wrightsville Beach, we exited the inlet to make the 8 hr. run to Beaufort, NC. We decided to go back to sea rather than take the inland Intracoastal Waterway route because the ICW through that stretch of the waterway is plagued with shoaling, low bridges we would have to wait for, narrow, and lots of traffic. The seas were borderline comfortable, but no one got sick. It was the first day we didn't sweat from the heat since we left Florida,and that was a relief!

We entered the inlet with the winds behind us and outgoing tide which always is a formula for more turbulence than cruisers would like to have. Fortunately the Beaufort inlet is a Class A inlet with a deep channel, wide, and well-marked.

Rough Ride Through the Inlet

We headed toward the ICW after we exited the inlet area and planned to stay on the ICW for a couple of days until we would stop at Great Bridge, VA. Our other alternative would have been to continue traveling out in the Atlantic, but we would have had to round Cape Hatteras (a long way out) with the weather deteriorating, and the next section of the ICW is mostly pleasant and easy to travel on.

Before we could even get on the ICW we needed to go through the bridge in the photo that was being blocked by the shrimp trawler, the Capt. Allison Milliken. We didn't mind waiting though, because we had the opportunity to watch a really skilled captain in action.

Raising the Outriggers

In order for the captain to get his boat under the bridge, he had to lower his outriggers, but he had to be careful not to lower them too much because they would hit the bridge supports. Once through the bridge he had to stop the boat before he reached the railroad bridge that was right next to the bridge he just went under so that he could get the outriggers back to their upright position so he could pass by the railroad bridge (seen vertical in the photo). To do this, he needed to be able to lay up on the bridge fenders where he could stop the boat to raise the outriggers. Just getting a big boat like that up against those fenders with an the outgoing tide pushing him and such limited space would have been a feat in itself. He got assistance in getting pushed over to the side with the little yellow towboat in the photo.

Laying Up Against the Bridge Fender

When the bridge area was clear, we moved onward. We would be traveling on a part of the ICW that originated from natural waterways connected by man-made canals, most of which are narrow, and go through back country land and swamps. I like smelling the pine fragrance in the sections bordered by the pine forests and looking for wildlife,of which we usually see a variety.

After a quiet night anchored in South River, across from Oriental, NC, we had the hook up and were underway by 0600. A cold front had passed through, and we were “chilly” most of the morning. It felt so good not to be sweltering. We made calls to a couple of people in Florida to tell them we were cold!It was such a clear, beautiful morning, and there were a lot of blue crab fisherman checking their traps in the shallow backwaters.

Fishing For North Carolina Blue Crabs

One of the most significant stretches of this section is the 21 mile long Alligator Pungo canal, so named because it connects the Alligator River with the Pungo River. The canal traverses some farm lands and a large portion of natural swampland. A lot of boaters find the canal an annoyance, mostly because it is very straight and narrow bordered by an enormous number of stumps, as well as dead and decaying trees that become dead heads, dangerous, mostly submerged floating logs. You have to keep a sharp eye out at all times so you don't run one over. One of those things could put a hole through the hull of the boat, bend the prop, or break a rudder. I only get nervous with the stumps when we have to pass a barge that is taking up most of the canal, forcing us over to one side. For all the stumps we can see, I just know there are many times that which we can't see.

Dangerous Stumps

The canal usually has some wildlife to see, the most being present early or late in the day. Since we were traveling through in late afternoon there wasn't a lot of excitement. I did see two bald eagles, one adult and one juvenile and a pair of quails, any of which I haven't seen in the wild in over 20 years.

We had to pass a sailboat named ROCINANTE. The first challenge was deciding how to pronounce the name correctly to call on the VHF. I am always amazed why someone chooses to name their boat something that the majority of the boating population cannot say or spell correctly. The captain was excited I said the name correctly and became very chatty. The name was taken after the mule of Don Quixote, a trusty steed that would take him any where he wanted to go. That is a glamorous name compared to the Sea Ray that also passed us named A LOT OF NUTS AND SCREWS. I could devote the rest of the blog to my theories about that name, especially being a Sea Ray, but I will only let you speculate on your own. Plus my Mom gets a copy of this and gets upset when I use foul language.

Alligator River Single Pivot Swing Bridge

You can see in the photo that this is a very long (about 2 mi.) low, bridge. The bridge tender actually drives his car out to the keeper's house, where a designated car park area was constructed. We think this is the only bridge we have seen where this has been done. While the bridge opens on demand, if the winds exceed 34 KTS it will not open. It has a huge tooth and gear mechanism that supports the moving span, but the span is so wide it must not be stable enough to sustain high winds. Once passing through the bridge we anchored for the night near the mouth of East Lake, just a remote, wooded area with gobs of crab traps in the water.

Most of the next day was rather uneventful as far as natural scenery goes. Since it was Saturday, all kinds, mostly crazy, of weekend boaters were out in full force as we transversed Currituck Sound. It appears that the latest rage on the water is being towed by anything from a slalom ski, requiring some level of skill and dexterity, to a gigantic 4-person rubber couch like thing that you just sit on, hardly getting wet, until it capsizes. That undoubtedly must be the toy of future couch potatoes.

Shortly over the VA border we were coming up to the North Landing bridge, trying to time our approach for the hour or half hour opening, when we heard the bridge tender talking to an approaching tug. He asked the tug to lay back a bit because he was having trouble with one of the bridge spans and needed to “put some water on it” in hopes of getting it to open properly.

North Landing Double Pivot Swing Bridge

When it was our turn to go through the bridge, the tender called us to ask us to pass through with only the left span (look at the photo) open because he was having trouble with the right one. We didn't think we could fit through the opening, so Wayne called the tender to ask him how wide it was. The full width, with both spans open, was 40', and we have a 18.5' wide beam, so it was going to be an unpleasant squeeze. The tender said he would open the right span a bit, which gave us room enough to pass through without scraping the fiberglass.

5 miles later we had to pass through the Centerville Turnpike bridge. It too, is a low bridge with a vertical clearance of only 4' so it has to open for even the smallest of boats. Over 16,000 cars/day use the bridge, yet for some reason, it opens on demand on the weekends for boating traffic. Two barges, us, another big motoryacht and a couple of small boats all wanted to get through, so the tender waited until we were all piled up together to minimize the time the road traffic would have to wait. The wait forced us into having to pass the first tug in a “skinny” area of the waterway, where we had to move over with less than 2' of water under us.

Passing Two Scrap Barges Very Closely

We were on the working channel for the bridge, which is the same channel the barges use and overhead an interesting conversation between the two scrap tugs. Tug 2 called tug 1 to ask him how fast he was moving so tug 2 could gauge his speed to keep up with tug 1 to make the bridge openings together. Tug 2 said his company had restricted him to using 60 gals. of fuel/hr. to reduce operating costs. Tug 1 said his company had done the same thing with him. Tug 2 said at the current rate he had been traveling to keep up with Tug 1, he was burning 70 gals/hr., but he would justify the overage by having to make the bridges. As a comparison, we have been burning about 3 gal./hr.

Speaking of diesel fuel, just after we passed through the Centerville bridge we pulled into Atlantic Yacht, adjacent to the Great Bridge in Chesapeake, VA, to top off our fuel tanks. We still had 700 gals, but we added another 300 in hopes of not having to purchase fuel again until we are in this area for the return trip. We only paid $1.97/gal., and the prices of fuel are always much higher in the northeast. Plus, we topped off our water tanks, including filling the washing machine, so I did a load of laundry.

So here I write, docked at the free dock at Great Bridge Park, one of our favorite stops on the whole east coast. The WE Marine Maintenance Team are dissecting the hydraulic oil pump for the auto pilot in hopes of trying to figure out why AP is not doing his job properly. It may be a few days before I can give you the results of that operation since we will have to hand steer once leave here anyway, and AP won't get the full test until we are in some wide open waters.

The Twin Bascule Great Bridge Bridge

Great Bridge Park is comprised of the area between the Great Bridge lock and the Great Bridge bridge, maybe about ¼ mile apart, and that portion of the ICW in between. There is a small strip of land on either side of the waterway that is mowed and landscaped. Near the lock end is a well-treed park with playground, boat ramp, picnic tables, etc. You can watch boats, recreational and commercial, lock through the lock and then watch them go through the Great Bridge bridge, one of the most beautiful bridges we have seen. The shore is so close you can easily talk to the people on the boats. A lot of people fish and crab (the couple right across the waterway from my window have gotten at least 10 blue crabs in the last 30 minutes-I could get into doing that!) along the bulkheaded area between the two structures. Other people just sit and watch the waterway traffic pass by; the lock and bridge open on the hour and there is always some activity, especially when barges have to pass each other.

This is a great stop for cruising boats, not just because we can dock on the bulkhead for free, but also because all kinds of stores and restaurants are within easy walking distance. We stop here, if for nothing else, but just to go to Dairy Queen, every cruisers dream.

The FLUKE Crew At DQ

Today, August 9, it's 100º, and is supposed to be the same tomorrow. Our DQ treats were melting quickly. It was a hot walk to the closest mailbox and bait and tackle shop. We detoured through a residential area to be able to walk in the shade of the huge pine trees. Despite the extreme temperatures, these people have the Fall spirit already. Tomorrow we'll be moving northward, hopefully to cooler waters.

Bountiful Yard Art

FLUKE AT SEA

August 5, 2009

I'm off to a good start, or at least my intentions are headed in that direction. I'm getting this prepared to post later today, assuming we can safely get to our presently planned destination and make a connection.

I know it's the 5th, but only because the helm GPS tells me that it is. We have been underway since we left an anchorage north of the Eau Gallie causeway bridge early on August 3. Going 24 hrs/day makes it easy to lose track of the days. Now backing up at few days:

When we finally got all our chores done around the house and the boat it was 3:00 pm on Sunday, Aug. 2. We decided to leave and run until sundown to knock off a few miles anyway. Then we had to wait even longer to get off the dock because our neighbors were bringing their boat in, and the water was so low we didn't want to have our maneuverability reduced.

We passed through a shower (no lightning) that brought a beautiful rainbow and helped cool things off a bit. It had been stinking hot all day, as usual. There were huge jellyfish in the water, with bells as big as 12-15” across; I wouldn't want to be swimming with them! We were all glad we had finally gotten underway. Things went smoothly getting the anchor set by 8:15 p.m., and then early to bed so we could get an early start the next day.

Our first “failure” of the cruise occurred right off the bat on Aug. 3 when it was time to haul up the anchor. We need the generator to power the washdown pump that cleans off the anchor (the river bottom is a mud/shell mixture and is usually a stinky mess), and the generator wouldn't start because its battery was totally dead. It had been operating without incident the entire time we were in the Bahamas. So, the WE Marine Maintenance Team jumped off the house battery and the generator started. Of course we still don't know what its real problem is, so more trouble probably lies ahead.

With a calm Atlantic Ocean in the forecast we decided to go to sea via the Canaveral Barge Canal. Getting through that canal involves having to go through 2 bridges and a lock. The bridges aren't just opened on demand so some timing is involved if you don't want to have to wait around. In fact, we missed the first bridge opening by a couple of minutes and had to wait another 30 minutes for the next opening.

The next stop was the lock itself. A westbound gigantic pontoon barge was locking through when we called the lock operator to ask when we could lock through for eastbound passage. He told us we would have to wait not only for the pontoon barge, but also for a fuel barge that was also westbound. Waiting is no fun; it can be difficult to keep FLUKE in the same position when the wind and current are pushing us around in tight quarters with other boating traffic.

When the pontoon barge came out of the lock it turned north towards the Space Center. It had covered cargo, so maybe it was carrying some secret parts or materials. Even though we bought a new camera we hadn't taken it out of the box yet, so I lamented that I couldn't get a picture of it since it was an interesting sight.

While we were waiting for the fuel barge to lock through, another westbound barge called the lock operator for entry, so we figured that we would have to wait for him too since he was a commercial vessel and they usually get priority. I called the lock operator to ask if we were going in when the fuel barge cleared, and he said yes, but he wanted us to hurry. When the fuel barge cleared the lock gates he called us and told us to get in the channel beside him, rather than wait for him to pass, so we could get into the lock and not hold up the other barge.

We pulled alongside the lock walls and got cleated off fairly easily. We were only going to get dropped down about 4'. Since I was holding the stern line tight I was close to the water and could see all kinds of fish around the lock pilings. I also spotted a manatee right outside the lock gate just as it was closing.

Transiting through the port was interesting. The cruise ship Monarch of the Seas was docked, and we always like to look at them to see their pretty colors and architectural details. The recreational marina facilities were all clean, neat, and orderly, as were all the docking areas, including the commercial ones.

We had an extra treat when a submarine was being brought out of the Trident facility. We were able to pass ahead of the sub and heard on the VHF that it was going out to sea to practice man overboard drills.

Carol Checks the Helm Instruments

Once we were out to sea, we settled into keeping busy: boat chores, helm duty, sitting in front of the fan, napping, trolling for fish, waiting for the next meal to be served, and keeping abreast of any changes in the seas or weather. We passed through a terrible thunderstorm with lots of lightning, fortunately during the daylight hours. No one has been seasick. We have been entertained throughout the day with pods of dolphins riding on our bow wake. They leap out of the water, turn on their sides and roll completely over. They are so difficult to photograph since the boat is moving and so are they! We have seen a lot of loggerhead turtles, one of which had a transmitter on her back. Yesterday, during daylight hours, we never saw another boat! We've also had the chance to put batteries in the new camera and start figuring out what it can do. The FLUKE crew has a new record for us with our two nights at sea; we've always just done one night and two days before. Those nights are so long!

Our Dolphin Escort

We have passed by several tower structures that sit high out of the water. We got close enough to one of them to see a sign on it that said “U.S. Navy Property Keep Off”. They are all in good shape with nice yellow paint jobs and hold a bunch of solar panels and what appears to be domed electronic equipment.

The Yellow Ocean Platform

We have fished our way by four states now with a lot of activity, but nothing to be cooked yet. We've caught and released: king mackerel, spanish mackerel, tunny tuna, and enough barracuda to last the rest of the trip. We've lost two dolphins, the species we want to put on the table, but not because of anything we did wrong. They just threw the hook before we got them close enough to the boat to make our own mistakes.

Well, as I've been writing this, our autopilot has failed. We are having to steer manually, and the boat moves a lot more than when the AP is steering the boat. We hope it is just an overheating problem, but we will have to wait until we can drop the hook somewhere to correctly diagnose it. It is a bit too bumpy to try to figure out the problem while we are underway in our current sea conditions.

We made it to Wrightsville Beach, NC, traveling for 61 hours straight, about 450 miles. There was some doubt as to whether or not we could get into the inlet here and find a suitable place to anchor late in the day, about 7:00 p.m. Sea and weather conditions were in our favor, and we are comfortably settled for the night. It feels good to not hear the engine running and not have to think about sitting at the helm for another night shift. Bear Claw ice cream with whipped cream for dessert; a yummy for the tummy reward after our new travel record. The full moon has just risen and there is a cool breeze blowing through FLUKE. Almost time for nighty night, and hopefully, a good rest. Early start tomorrow to head back out to sea for the trip to Cape Lookout, NC.

Full Moon over Wrightsville Beach

P.S.: The generator started again, but will take further investigating. The autopilot started keeping the course again, and we are assuming that it was overheated from having to work so hard in the following seas that we had for most of the day today.