Distance: 51 nm/Time: 9 hours
In planning my trip back down south, the next obvious stop would be Norfolk again. The Hospital Point anchorage was large, easy, and convenient. I had already provisioned in Deltaville, so I had no need of a marina. My plan was simply to spend a day there testing the hookah rig and giving the bottom a quick cleaning, then continue further south.1 However, I have now been sitting here for eight days!
The 51-mile trip was very dynamic, involving motoring, motor sailing, and pure sailing (including reefing), and switching back and forth between them all multiple times to react to the wind changes. I saw speeds from 3 knots to 8+. But, it was fun exercising the sails and reef points, getting more and more comfortable sailing Serendipity. The only bad point was loosing my only floating winch handle overboard. Yes, it floated, but I had to watch it drift away off the stern because I knew that by the time I figured out how to turn the boat around with three sails up, I’d never find it again anyway.
The autopilot was initially giving me some problems again, even though I’ve started troubleshooting it. In researching the symptoms, one of the causes can be metal too close to the remove magnetic compass which the autopilot uses to hold a heading. Mine was located in the galley, behind the pullout drawers which hold all my kitchen utensils. I had recently installed some brackets on the backside of the bulkhead in question to help secure things to my cabin floor. (The far side of this bulkhead is between the sink and the cabin table.) Thinking that perhaps these metal brackets were causing issues, I had removed them while in Deltaville, planning to see if that made any difference. (It did not.)
However, I did have an exciting autopilot moment when I was almost to my anchorage in Norfolk. I like to always check the anchor locker to make sure that 1) that the pathway to it is clear in case I need to quickly untangle the chain when anchoring, and 2) that the chain has a free run before I start deploying the anchor. In the Elizabeth River Channel, about a mile north of my anchorage and with the autopilot engaged, I went below, all the way forward to the V-berth, and noticed that my new hookah backpack was right in the way to the anchor locker. I would need to move it. So I grabbed it, walked back into the cabin, and decided to place it on the cabin floor between the galley bulkhead and the cabin table where it wouldn’t fall over. (You can probably see where this is going.) Then I walked back to the V-berth to check on the anchor.
Just as I was climbing up into the V-berth, I was thrown against the wall and could feel the boat moving sideways. I glanced out the nearest portlight and could see that we were turning rapidly, already approaching 90 degrees to the channel! I ran as fast I as could back up to the cockpit and noticed the helm wheel spinning rapidly as the boat was heeling quite a bit with the drastic turn. I quickly disengaged the autopilot and turned the boat back almost 120 degrees to get us on course again. Holy cow! If the channel had been smaller or there had been another boat passing me, it could have been very bad!
I wondered what had gotten into the autopilot! Other than the typical initial 2 hours of erratic behavior it had worked final all day until now. What had changed?
There was a saying in aviation that if you throw a switch and something bad happens, move the switch back! (We pilots are quite brilliant, you know!)
So, I reviewed my recent actions…the only thing I had done recently was….ah, yes. The hookah with its compressor and electric motor. I had inadvertently put it right next to the autopilot’s remote compass! Duh. I moved it back to the V-berth and re-engaged the autopilot without any further issues.
After arriving in Norfolk, I realized that I was actually quite tired. All the activity and long hours at Zimmermans, the very dynamic sailing day, the lack of sleep due to the biting gnats, walking and biking all over Deltaville–all were catching up with my 60-year-old body, and I was going to need some rest.
I did end up using the hookah rig to clean the bottom a couple of days later, but the water was so cold that I could only stay in it for 20-30 minutes at a time, and so it took 2 days (and three dives) to get it thoroughly clean (mainly because I was learning how to use the hookah and cleaning techniques on the boat). It was so cold during the dives that after 30 minutes I had to sit under my electric blanket for three hours to bring my core body temperature back to where I was willing to go back in the water to continue cleaning!
The diving and cold therefore took a further toll on my strength, and I realized I was going to have to just relax for a couple of days and recuperate. I took advantage of my dinghy still being in the water by running to shore a few times to walk, do yoga, shower, and laundry, and even stock up on some supplies that I had forgotten to get in Deltaville. (Thanks again, Instacart!)
But, by the time a few days later when I was finally ready to continue south, the weather had changed, with strong winds out of the north caused by an offshore low pressure system, a cold front, and a few other things. I’m once again finding myself faced with the dilemma that I had coming north through this same stretch of water between Norfolk and Coinjock, that is the dearth of adequate anchorages. This is what delayed me for a couple of weeks from getting to Norfolk in the first place.
The problem is that the distance between Norfolk and the next well-protected anchorage along my route (Deep Cut) is almost 90 miles. The most I can do in one day in the ICW (i.e., in daylight) is about 50 miles, but I prefer to limit myself to 40 miles because it is fatiguing to be at the helm for so long. So, I have to stop somewhere about halfway in between Norfolk and Deep Cut.
There are only three possibilities: a very unprotected anchorage in Currituck Sound where I got stuck in high winds on my way north2, Coinjock Marina (at a cost of $120/night), or Buck Island (which is not only not very well protected from north winds, but as I discovered on my way north, is infested with midges, an experience I do not wish to re-live). Buck Island is also three hours further south of Currituck, making it doubtful whether I’d be able to make there before sundown or not, even if I wanted to chance the bugs again. (I had a lock and four drawbridges to contend with along this route, and it is hard to judge how much of a delay they will cause.)
Therefore, of these three, Currituck Sound is my first choice as it is free both of cost and bugs. But, the winds have to be below 10 knots or it is a very uncomfortable (and possibly dangerous) anchorage. And, <10 knots hasn’t been in the forecast for the last five days! So I wait.
In the meantime, the stay here in Norfolk hasn’t been totally uninteresting. There was a cruise ship tied up across the way which I got to see depart the night I arrived (shortly after this beautiful sunset).
And I met a very nice family who anchored next to me in a 50′ catamaran. Victoria and Caleb Morey and their four kids, Sawyer, Liam, Cory, and Morgan, were nice enough to invite me over for dinner one night and even bring me delicious leftovers on another. They had departed from the Tampa area in March and had made it all the way to Maine but were heading back south again. Perhaps I’ll see them in the Bahamas.
The forecast is calling for the winds to finally die down around Saturday and stay low for awhile at the same time that the temperature is supposed to go back up into the 70’s during the day. This 50’s in the day and 40’s at night (with no heater in the boat) hasn’t been a lot of fun. Just a reminder that I need to get south sooner rather than later. I may depart tomorrow, with the goal of getting just to a free dock near Great Bridge Bridge where I can get some produce and refill my propane. That would cut two hours off the following day’s trip. Haven’t decided yet whether I want to try to pull up to a dock all on my own, yet, or not. It would be a first.