Hurricane Matthew The End of The Road For Now

Saturday October 8, 2016
Atlantic Yacht Basin

We were glued to watching Hurricane Matthew batter Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Somehow we were not too worried about our location since the storm was suppose to track to the east fairly quickly. Unfortunately we underestimated the size of the storm. We experienced solid torrential rain from Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning. The winds did pick up but being in the shed we did not have much effect from it. Unfortunately the rain pounding onto the corrugated metal roof over us was deafening. We ended up being awake most of the time overnight checking lines and the water level. By morning we had risen 4-5' in our fixed dock space. We were fine but all the docks were underwater. At 6am a marina worker was wading through the water checking on lines and boat conditions. Sunday was a day to catch up on lost sleep, texting friends, and watching Amazon video and shows through our cell phone. It has been a godsend to have 10 G data each but also the ability to stream shows under the T mobile Binge On feature.....it doesn't count against your data! Thank goodness we have a strong signal here.  By 4 pm the rain eventually stopped, the sun came out. and the water level dropped about a foot so we decided to put our boots on and try to get to the canal front to see what it looked like. The dock worker told us it was all under water. We got about half way and had to turn around because the water was too close to the top of our boots. We did not want this water to pour into them!!

The blue pin is our location
in Chesapeake, VA

Water up to his knees on the fixed doc

No dock visible!

Trying to get off the boat!

Smiling but it really was not funny!

Monday morning we woke and saw a dock! So ashore we went to see what had happened. This was the highest flooding the marina had experienced. The water had flooded all the buildings. By the time we got up to them it had receded but left a lot of damage. The marine store lost inventory, the machine shop tools and machines were flooded, the bathrooms were closed off for cleaning. One boat had to row their dinghy across the flooded area to get some ground for their dog to relieve itself!!
We started checking cruising sites like Waterway Guide and Salty Southeast Cruisers guide and found some bad news. The 2 lift bridges east of us were closed due to high water and no electricity, The NC coast guard closed the Virginia-Albermarle canal at the NC line. They said it would be up to 2 weeks to check debris and navigational markers for it to be safe for boaters. The Dismal Swamp Canal is also closed. So our pathway to get south was closed off and we faced staying here for at least 2 more weeks. North Carolina did not get hit quite as hard as South Carolina and Georgia so our concerns for severe shoaling along the way as well as floating and sunken debris and navigation markers being destroyed or moved were well founded. The difficult decision was made to leave our boat here in indoor storage for the winter. We will come back in April and bring Kinvara II back to Rhode Island.
It is not worth the stress, time, and potential damage to continue for us. We have started packing and have a car rented so we will leave here Friday morning and drive 12-13 hours back to our home in Florida. Hopefully we don't find any damage there from the hurricane! Our neighbors said the outside was fine....now we need to check the inside.

The dock appears!!

Debris left over

High water mark 2 feet above the fixed dock

The packing has begun

Our Hurricane Hole

Monday, October 3, 2016
Atlantic Yacht Basin  Chesapeake, VA

We were planning to have some work done on the boat so peter called the marina Monday morning to check. We were thinking ahead to Hurricane matthew and wanted a place to stay through the weekend if need be. We were told they would find a place for us to stay since we were having work done....otherwise they were fully booked for hurricane storage. So we scurried to get off the dock and make it 2.5 miles to the Great Bridge Lock for 8:30am  and Great Bridge bridge opening for 9:00am.

This was an easy lock to go through since we were only dropping a foot. This area had 15" of rain a few weeks ago and water levels remained very high. As soon as you pass through the lock you wait for the lift bridge on the other side. We called Atlantic Yacht Basin and were escorted around the back into a shed. The first one was about 1' too short to accomodate our 26' high mast. The second shed we went into for 2 days was the machine shop area. Then we were moved again further in to shed #1. This shed houses lots of boats in storage so it is very quite but also a little lonely! On our second night here we met with about 5 other couples for "docktails". They are also staying for the storm.

Tucked in tight

Safe and sound

Docktails!

So we have had to have more work done to keep our boat in good working order. The failure of the starboard engine starting was a dead battery. The was an easy fix with a new battery installed. The trip tabs which keep our bow down in the water when travelling at about 10K had not worked since we left Maine. They found the hydraulic fluid tank was empty so we thought there was a leak. After filling it and manipulating the trim tabs (which now work) there was no leak so we figure the fluid was never filled upon commissioning. Our windshield washers were not working either. The helm wiper motor stopped working the second day we owned the boat and the other two wipers were not making contact with the window to clean them. We have been navigating from the fly bridge because of this so it was time to have this fixed also. The port and starboard wiper motors were replaced as well as 3 new arms. The blades the marina supplied did not clean the window well so we had them returned and we bought 3 new ones at auto zone. They are not stainless steel but inexpensive enough we can change them out often.

Hopefully there are no more repairs that have to be done because of something failing again!

We took our bikes to auto zone

Watching this baby churning
Our house is the red pin on the map

Watching hurricane coverage on Peter's tablet!!

ICW Mile 0

Sunday October 2, 2016

Today was the weather window to leave Chrisfield and travel directly Southwest to Norfolk. We are keeping an eye on the approaching hurricane and trying to plan ahead. Since September 21 in Cape May our starboard engine has not started on its own. Peter has used a combination of jump starting with both engine starting batteries, hammer tapping, and starting with the generator running. We know our time is running out for this to continue and we will need some type of repair. So Peter arranged work to be done at Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake, VA, on the ICW waterway about mile 6 and also the best hurricane hole in the area. Our day on the Chesapeake happened to be the best conditions we have had and our crossing was uneventful.......until Jane noticed water in the aft bilge. So she went up top to navigate so Peter could investigate below. The bilge pump fuse blew and Peter changed it 3 times, each one also failing. He finally got one fuse to work if he turned the bilge pump on and off. Another repair to be done. The water came under control and we suspect from the location that it is a leak in the fresh water tank or the drain scuppers near the aft lazarette. Our repair list is ever increasing.

Always a nice sight to see the buoy marking the harbor entrance

Passing through Norfolk once again gives us pause at the power of the US Navy. Incredibly these ships were deployed a few days later to be prepared to deal with Hurricane Matthew.

Kinvara II from the restaurant

Our trip through Norfolk Harbor to the Elizabeth River was smooth. We ended our day at Top Rack marina near the beginning of the Intra coastel Waterway. The price for diesel was $1.99 including tax so we put in 300 gallons and docked for the night. The deal for docking is dock and dine; if you eat in the restaurant your dock is free. Of course the dining was more than the docking fee would have been but it was incredibly delicious!

appetizer

Jane's entree

Peter's entree

dessert....yum!!

MTOA Chrisfield, MD

Marine Trawler Owners Accociation
Somers Cove Marina Chrisfield, MD
Monday-Friday September 26-30

We left our anchorage in Duck Point Cove as soon as we had enough light to see. There was not much sleep rolling side to side all night but underway we had a good angle to the wind and waves so we made short work of the 34 mile trip to this rendezvous. Chrisfield is a small Maryland town suffering from economic depression we think due to the decline in crab industry. It is a pretty little town but lots of closed businesses. The marina is lovely and they are going out of their way to make this a good experience. We checked in, bought shirts, received a nice embroidered bag and attended a pot luck supper Monday night. On Tuesday we took a 3 block walk to the waterfront and had lunch at the Waterfront Cafe after visiting the local museum. The main industry here was oysters through the civil war until the early 1900. After that the industry turned to blue crabs. It was fascinating to see the evolution of boats used by the watermen to collect oysters and crabs. It is shallow waters here and the boats can not draw much since they crab in 2-3' of water.

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On Main St

The MTOA group plans group talks each day we can attend with lots of good information. Some of the topics are AC-DC systems, batteries, new  gadgets, shutterfly, women's ideas on food and clothing storage aboard. The fee provides food each day. 

First nights dinner

Cute centerpiece

Italian night

Wednesday night we went to the Waterside Cafe 50's lounge for a choice of burgers or philly cheese steak with drinks, sides, and dessert. We arrived at 6:16 and left at 9:00. It was a long wait.....clearly the little cafe was overwhelmed by apx 80 people at once. A picture is worth a thousand words!! LOL

 Tuesday someone organized crab races. Ours was #36 and was third out of the gate going strong until nearing the bottom then it just stopped and sat there. We came in last!!

Chrisfield's mayor introducing
each crab.

Preparing the ramp

Peter pointing to our crab
It is the first one near the bottom

Number 36......stopped just before victory!!

Another fun time

Friday's weather was not great so we opted to stay in Chrisfield until Sunday. Friday evening we had dinner aboard m/v Next Dance, Mark and Pauline along with 4 others. Everyone brought something to offer and it was delicious. Peter brought along his after dinner drinks and a very good time was had by all!! Saturday evening 6 of us went to the Chrisfield Inn, a local but very nice restaurant. It's owners trained at Johnson and Wales, Providence RI in the 80's. It was also delicious.

Delicious salmon

Rock Hall, MD, Dunn Cove anchorage, Duck Point anchorage

Haven Harbor Marina
Friday- Sunday, September 23-25, 2016

After 8 days of anchoring we decided to go into a marina with friends on The Good Life. This particular marina is highly rated on Active Captain and it deserves this. The dock staff was excellent. We fueled up with 300 gallons at an incredible price of $1.91. We are now in the territory of slips with pilings and fixed docks as opposed to our floating docks in NE. They are more difficult to manage but the dock staff helped a great deal to get us secured. That evening we ate on the rooftop tiki bar and had a lovely meal. The next day we called a local trolley to bring us to a small grocery store then left by 11:00 am.

Our friends on The Good Life 

Haven Harbor Marina

Kent Island Narrows bridges

Saturday's trip was fairly rough due to the angle of the waves so we altered course with The Good Life to go through the Kent Island Narrows and lift bridge. It was much calmer and also more shallow! We draw 4.5 foot which is easier than our sailboat so we have to get used to the shallow depths......like traveling through depths reading 6'. Our anchorage in Dunn Cove was beautiful surrounded by large houses, quiet, and secluded.

Quiet anchorage in Dunn Cove

We left our nice anchorage in Dunn Cove on Sunday to travel 47 miles to our next destination. It was windy and somewhat rough but we made the trip in good time. This anchorage on the Eastern side of the Chesapeake was more exposed than others we have been in but easy to get to and set the anchor in 6.9' of water. Unfortunately the night winds out of the NNW made us rock and roll. We woke about 3 am thinking a boat had passed us since we were rolling side to side. When it didn't stop we discovered the wind had shifted ESE and between the waves and tidal current we were sitting broadside to the waves. No one slept after that. We were anchored with The Good Life and another boat, Second Dance.

Peter navigating from the inside.

Dunn Cove on Tighman Island

Duck Point Cove near Hooper Islands

Jane knew she would find a use for the beach chair umbrella!!

Beautiful place to anchor but not very protected from wind