A Definite Turn South

We stayed a couple of extra days in Deltaville 'cause our batteries got so low the boat would only start in the middle of the day when the sun was straight on the solar panels.  Somehow the batteries would not stay charged overnight.  So we started worrying, had the two-year old batteries worth about $1,000 gone bad. An electronics guy came on board and said, yes, they probably were, and was all set to get us some new different ones.   We took up the offer of our new friend to tie up at his dock so we could fully charge the batteries to see what they'd do.  It didn't take too much testing to discover that the charge was not getting to the batteries.  Tom discovered a wire behind the instrument  panel that wasn't connected to anything.  When that wire got reconnected, electricity was going everywhere, even to the batteries!   So they rejuvenated and we got to get back on track towards the south.

The picture below shows the view from the lovely bench swing that I sat in at Bob's house, looking out toward our boat while it was still anchored.



We motored and sailed to Cape Charles where we docked at the city marina.   There we fixed one problem, almost too stinky to tell about, and caused another one.  We discovered that our boat has a filter on the air vent to our waste tank and that it had been clogged because a previous pump out station apparently didn't pump out completely and the waste tank got too full.   After researching a bit, we decided that rather than replace the filter, we could remove it and reestablish the vent line straight so the tank could always vent freely.  You can bet that was a messy stinky job, but one we were so pleased to have finished. 

But while there, we motored over to take on fuel and get the tank pumped.  We have a very large inflatable dinghy and motor that hangs several feet each side of the stern.    When leaving that fuel dock, the dinghy got caught on piling after piling and finally a 2 inch slit opened on it, immediately deflating the dinghy.   

Tom has put a large patch on the slit and it holds for a while, but then the dinghy deflates, so now we are deciding whether to have it repaired or whether to buy a smaller dinghy and motor.   We often thought we'd like that better anyway, because of lightness and shortness.  Stay tuned for what we come up with this newest concern.

In the meantime, we've been enjoying some new places.  Cape Charles is on the inside of eastern bank of Chesapeake Bay, down near the southern end.   It was a very early planned community.  A whole town was planned to accommodate  workers and riders at a railroad terminal here where railcars were ferried over to Norfolk area.  One man designed all the houses and his company built about half of them.   They are cute, neat two-story houses set close together with small front and back yards.  Now they are mostly summer rentals.   

This goofy guy put a wing over an inflatable dinghy !!!!! and was landing and taking off and buzzing the marina the first day we stayed there.

We had lunch at an old fashioned drug store that had a counter and ice cream.

This hardware store had anything and everything and was also a local hang out.  Much fun to be patrons of. 

From Cape Charles we sailed about five miles down the to an anchorage we heard about that has the clearest water in the Chesapeake.  It is behind a band of about a dozen metal Liberty ships that were grounded there to provide a barrier to the beach and the state park behind them.

It was so calm the next day that we motored with the foresail up over to Norfolk.  As we passed Mile 0 of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway there, we noticed that many boats were anchored there across from downtown Norfolk.  So we did, too. 

We enjoyed watching boat traffic coming by, including this obvious tourist boat that upon which apparently as wedding was taking place.

Internet was so good there, that we enjoyed city life by streaming a movie and occasionally looking out at the bright lights.

We had planned to come back down via the "real" intracoastal waterway rather than the Dismal Swamp.  But when we remembered how pretty and peaceful it is, the proximity to groceries and the free docks at Elizabeth City at the end, we turned west instead of east and came back down the Dismal.

Did you know that the Army Corps of Engineers has a sense of humor?  Who would have guessed?

This time, instead of being the only boat along the way, there were many others.  We spent one night rafted up with about 12 other boats at the North Carolina Visitors Center in the canal and got to know many of the other boaters.   We can see already that this trip down is going to be much more social than the one up.  

The prettiest part of the trip is a few miles below the last lock of the canal.   The leaves look more "fally" than they did last time.

Now we're docked in Elizabeth City, where the city had us last evening to a wine and cheese party and gave us each roses - a tradition they've continued since 1978 for times when there are seven or more boats in their docks.
It's cloudy and windy so many of us are hanging here for a couple of days.  Now there's talk of a potluck tonight.

You can see us at the city docks on the web cam link below.  If you want me to come out and wave at you at a particular time in the next day or two, just call, text or email and we'll set up a time. That'd be fun for us - we're missing our home folks.

http://www.midatlanticengineeringservice.com/harborcam.html