Shaw Bay

Yesterday we anchored in Shaw Bay, just a short run from St. Michael's. It was a gray day, but completely peaceful.

Wedding

Our friends Missy and Scott were married this weekend and as we left the dock they gave us one of the table arrangements of flowers. It looks great aboard.

St. Michaels

One of the many wooden boats undergoing repairs at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. 

St. Michaels

Sunset

Sunset aboard tonight. We're heading to St. Michael's tomorrow for a wedding…

Shelf

I just installed a shelf in the engine room for spare parts and supplies. There was a great space above the driveshaft, laying across the stringers.

Sensei in the Bahamas

Here's a short video of some of the anchorages we found in the Bahamas...

https://youtu.be/mRieYCCclw0

Generator Starting Battery

A quick update on the generator battery: I pulled the battery out of the boat, which is no small feat since it's installed behind the starboard engine. When I took it to Battery Warehouse, they tested it and said it's good. I was surprised, and they told me that they would love to sell me a battery, but not today. So, I re-installed the battery, and cleaned up the connections at the battery post. I tried starting the generator and it fired right up. I could still have a problem with the starter motor on the generator, so I'll keep an eye on how it starts the next few times, but it could be that the connections were the entire issue. New lesson: it's worth checking the connections closely before assuming that the battery is bad. I could have saved myself some muscle work if I hadn't jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Home

We made the run from Norfolk to Annapolis today in about 7 hours. Sensei is in her summer slip for the season.

Norfolk

Navy ships undergoing maintenance.

Norfolk

We're docked in Norfolk for the night. This is our last stop before we get home tomorrow!

Great Bridge Lock

We made friends with the crew of our sister ship, "Bira" in Coinjock. We had a long wait at Great Bridge Lock, so we rafted up for a gam.

Tugs

We haven't seen much tug traffic on the ICW this season, but here's one we saw today.

Coinjock

We arrived in Coinjock this afternoon, looking forward to dinner at the restaurant.

Generator

Good morning, from the Pungo River. It's beautiful here.

This morning's challenge is that the generator won't start, so we have no heat. Yes, it's chilly here, something we haven't experienced in a while. The battery seems like it's weak, so we'll need a new one. I considered replacing it when we replaced all of the other batteries, but it was working fine back then.

Fortunately, we will be able to charge the batteries as we run the engine today. So, no worries, just another project for when we get home.

Goodnight, Upper Pungo

Today’s Run

Aside from the damage to our pulpit rail, everything is working well on Sensei today. It's good to be on the move again.

Pungo

We arrived at our anchorage for the night near the top of the Pungo River.

Crash Update

The injured crew member went to the hospital and was found to have two broken arms, one simple, one will require surgery. Something as simple as just leaving a dock can go so wrong. For us, we're just dealing with an insurance claim and we're able to continue with our trip.

We're hoping for a good recovery for the other boat's crew.

Crash

We were startled this morning by a lurch onboard as another boat hit us at the dock. The boat in the background was swept down on us by the current as they left their slip. We sustained damage to the rail of the pulpit which was bent by the collision. Unfortunately, the other boat had an injury as one of the crew tried to fend off and got her hand caught between the boats. She has been taken to the hospital with perhaps a broken wrist and a crushing injury. We hope she will be ok. The other boat also had a window broken out as our anchor went through it, and lots of fiberglass damage around the area. We're shaken up a bit, but we plan to head out later this morning.

Well, One More Day Again

The forecast is still tough for this afternoon, but it looks like things will begin to settle down tomorrow. So, we're staying one more day, with plans to depart mid-morning tomorrow. If everything goes to plan, we'll make Annapolis by Sunday.

One More Day

It's a beautiful day, but still very windy. We're going to stay one more day in Beaufort, and try for a departure tomorrow.

Uugh!

I'm so done with this wind! It's still blowing hard in the harbor and even harder outside. The forecast for tomorrow says more of the same. 

Wind

The forecast is for a couple of more windy days. It's still blowing 25 knots at Cape Lookout which is close by. We'll stay put for another day here in Beaufort and reevaluate tomorrow. 

Fortunately, Beaufort is a nice town, with things to do, so it's not the worst place to be stuck. Yesterday I went to the local maritime museum, where they have an exhibit with artifacts from Blackbeard's ship, "Queen Anne's Revenge". Blackbeard operated up and down the east coast and into the Bahamas and Caribbean, but he met his demise here in North Carolina waters in hand to hand combat during an encounter with another ship. The authorities put his head on a pike at the entrance to Hampton Roads as a warning to others.