We got up at 7 but there was thick fog on the Severn
river so we didn't get underway till about 0900. Sam steered out of the
river and into MobJack Bay. It's a beautiful area and we took lots of
pictures of the estates along the bay. As we exited the Bay into the larger
Chesapeak the rain and mist started and more fog rolled in. So we motored
away into the fog and rain. at about noon it cleared up and stopped
raining. We ate Candy Corn for lunch and tried to do some planning for where to get fuel and
where to anchor for the night in the vacinity of Norfolk. We decided to go
into Salt Pond marina just to the north of the entrance to Norfolk. It's a
very narrow approach but we had 9-11 feet all the way to the dock where we
met a couple in an old British coast guard vessel from the 1960's. It was
an amazing looking vessel. They are staying the winter in VA with her.
After filling up we headed on into Norfolk. There were lots of helicopters,
big ships both civilian and Naval as well as two hovercraft that looked like
they were coming into Norfolk but turned around about 3 miles out. When we
arrived at Hospital point which is mile zero of the ICW south we anchored
and the Generator cut off. We couldn't get it started again and for the
third time we couldn't start the engine without the generator running.
Something is terrible wrong. In the midst of all this a male and female pair
of mallards came to visit. It was a bright spot in what was going to be a
long evening. Hannah gave them our last heel of bread and they went on their
way to visit each of the other boats in the anchorage. AS to the electrical
issues I think it's more than just a dead battery. But we couldn't get the generator to run long enough to even start the
engine. After some diagnostics we found that it was shutting off because it
was overheating. The raw water was not clogged and as it turned out we had
to replace an impeller that ate it's self up from the inside. Luckly we had
a spare. It was a shame because this was a new impeller. After we got the
new impeller in, the generator starts and runs fine. I also found a fuse in
the battery box that goes to (I think) the balmar voltage regulator which
had blown. It is a 1 amp fuse but we didn't have a spare so we replaced it
with a 5amp fuse for the time being. (not the best idea) I did find a loose
ground on the house batteries as well and tightened it up.
At the moment we have lights and water and we hope the battery will start us
up in the AM. We need to get to NC so we can work on her in safety. Just a
few more days to hold her together. I remembered the approach to the ICW
from 20 years ago it was fun. We passed by the old fort where we anchored
with the kids 20 years ago and thought about stopping and having a look with
Sam but it was getting late so we continued on to Hospital point. Just like
before all the huge naval ships are amazing. Oh... a little catamaran with
blue flashing lights came out for a look as we were passing the Aircraft
carriers but after we passed he went back into the military area again.
All is put to bed and tomorrow will be a new day.
