Notes and Pics from the Captain

Lapidus - Close to time to depart for passage from Turks and Caicos to Annapolis


With no chartplotter from the second day on, we navigated with paper charts and our two handheld VHF's.  We came all the way in like this without any trouble. We came into the Chesapeake at 3 in the morning and no moon. It sure beats dead reckoning.

On the third morning we were motoring and there was a loud growling sound. I slowed the engine and checked everything, but found nothing wrong. I started motoring again and within 15 to 20 minutes same sound. I shut the engine off for the next two and a half days and watched the windex on top of the mast spin around and around. After two and a half days I started the engine and ran it at 1500 rpms for a while and then up to 2200, with no problems and no more unusual noises. We ran the engine sparingly to be sure we had enough diesel to enter the marina, which we did, but not much extra. 

Six different pods of dolphins joined us during our voyage.
They came to play, and we were glad to see them.



I was only able to understand Chris Parker two days while we were in the middle of our voyage, but it was a big help. He gave us a couple of good waypoints that helped us out on some eddies and gave us some wind part of a day. The eddies lasted until we got to the gulfstream. We basically sailed north on longitude 72 and then curved in west to Cape Hatteras, then into the Chesapeake.

It was really hot out there. There were two or three days where we did not see a ship, plane or a bird. Again, we were always glad when a pod of dolphins decided to hang out with us for a while.  Unusal cloud formations also added interest.  One cloud with a hole in the middle?
 

South Side Marina

The new bar and restaurant has been started and will be a welcome addition to the south side of Provo.

Annapolis Arrival

Larry and Robert left the Turks & Caicos Sunday afternoon, August 1, and pulled into a slip in Holiday Hill Marina Wednesday afternoon, August 11.  The forecast was for a sailing wind, though moderate; instead, there was not enough wind and they were becalmed for several days, which added a couple of days to the length of the trip.

While the weather was too uneventful, they did have challenges.  The Furuno Chart Plotter and Radar decided to take a vacation starting the second morning.  No data was on the screen.  Though Larry was able to get some old waypoints back, none of the charts would come up, nor was anything visible on the radar.  They had all the needed paper charts to chart their route, so that's what they did.  Taking regular Lat and Long readings with our handheld Standard Horizon and keeping a good log kept them occupied and on their route.

Also, on a calm day early in the trip, the engine made an unusual noise, though it continued to run.  After the second time it made the noise, Larry thought it might be the cutlass bearing and decided to not run it, not wanting to cause more serious damage.  After a few days of averaging little more than two knots, they again turned on the engine, but ran it only at low RPM's and only ran it when there was no wind. It made no more noises and they were able to use it to come into the marina.

Kenya and I had a fast, fun road trip.  We left OKC Sunday afternoon, made a detour to Ponca City, then stopped in Memphis for the night and arrived in Wilmington, NC Monday night, after 1,400 miles.  Though not exactly on the logical road to Annapolis, Wilmington is a lovely coastal city and we wanted to check it out; we're so glad we did.  Then Wednesday morning, we drove the 390 miles to Annapolis and met up with Larry!

I'm loving being back on the boat, trying to find a location for all the extras I brought on board, mostly clothes I bought because I did not take much with me when I left.  We're getting the boat in order, which will take a while.  We'll take the Furuno Chart Plotter to the dealer to have the software reloaded, and hope that's all that needs to be done.  Also, we have the engine to take care off.

Larry plans to write more info about the trip.  Plus, we'll be sharing what's happening here and what plans we make.

Underway to Annapolis

Larry and his crew member Robert began their passage Sunday afternoon at high tide.  The sandy-bottom shallow route from Southside Marina to Sapodilla Bay is only possible at high tide and takes about two hours.  From the Bay, they followed the Sand Bore Channel still needing as much water under them as possible, as much for random coral heads as for depth.

Out of the Channel late in the afternoon, they turned north and will be underway until they reach Annapolis.  We don't have a satellite phone, so I won't talk to Larry until he has a phone antenna somewhere on the east coast, probably in the Chesapeake.  We do have a Single Side Bank, so he can talk to Chris Parker (weather forecaster) as well as make other connections if needed.