Doubletree Club Norfolk Airport

... s two crew members from Norfolk airport as the airport was much closer to our location than Hampton. He drove them out to Hampton along with picking up the fishing tackle that our crewmember (and fishing expert) Paul had prepared for Bob.

That evening our temporary crew moved aboard at Willoughby. The B&G electronics component arrived that same evening in the nick of time! Unfortunately, we had no time to install it ...

... Florida. More details on that later. I will be busy working throughout this weekend and through next week, looking for competitions, and events we can go see related to skateboarding.

The first competition? "Bleah" we want a do over. It didn't go well, but then again, there's more to come, and the initial stage fright will go away. Heeeeerrreeeeeeee we goooooOOOOooooo!!!!!!!

... three of which had popped out again during our brisk sail the final day down the Bay. We spent a day shopping for odds and ends and final groceries. Dave finished the lifeline project. We replaced the propane supply hose and the water maker feed pump cooling fan. Dave unclogged the starboard vanity drain line. We refilled our dinghy gas container. Donna worked on final stowing for our journey and has been working on SSB weather reporting.

Norfolk, Virginia, United States pas_de_deux

WARNING Rough Draft Copy. Editing will come throughout the week.


Ahhh... it's the 29th of October, and I've slowly started to pack up all our things we have accumulated over the last 29 days staying here at First Landing State Park. I've washed all the dishes, and locked down most of our belongings in our cabinets and closets. Laundry has been done, and there are only a few things left for me to do to get ready ...

... checkup performed and had filter dryers installed in the refrigeration lines for both the freezer and refrigerator. We would be setting the larger unit to act as our freezer which we wanted for more capacity.

During the summer, we noticed that the satellite phone wouldn’t turn on. Donna placed a phone call to a representative in Norfolk who identified the problem as a dead internal battery. Unfortunately, the batteries (which have a 6-7 year ...

Finally—back to sailing! We've spent Labor Day week out cruising with Alize. We left Norfolk September 5 sailing on pleasant, sunny N NE 10-15 kt winds to the Severn River on Mobjack Bay. This was the first upwind "test" of our new main sail and rudders. We took a long tack across the Bay then headed for Mobjack. Caught only a couple small bluefish on the clark spoon – no keepers. The next day we headed to ...

... had lunch on the ocean front watching beach cruising bicycle riders, walkers, runners, and other colorful characters. It was nice to kick back and catch up, and visit, and unwind. Mind you…we have been on the go non-stop since we left, so this refuge was well welcomed. Enjoy some of the few shots I took today as the Dispatch photographic department was on hiatus.

Evening fell quickly as we crossed the causeway back into Newport. Deep amber ...

... assisting them in sailing it from the Severn River off Mobjack Bay to what would be its new home at a Portsmouth VA marina. They would be selling their Catalina Sutra and naming their new sailing vessel Alize. The port engine failed to start this weekend. Dave felt it was likely a starter or solenoid issue. We'd have to find a solution quickly since we would not sail without two fully functioning engines.

... sail, a roller furling 150% genoa, a symmetrical spinnaker, and a storm jib. Under sail, in winds of 20 kts, sustained boat speeds of 12-15 kts are typical. The previous owner reported a top speed of 26 kts surfing down a wave. Deck Hardware: Eight Harken winches, including one electric powered main winch. Two winches also serve to raise and lower the daggerboards. The two mainsheet winches are also used to raise and lower the ...

... and measured for future replacement the raw water inlet nipple and got help from David H. to fix the reverse polarity on the A/C shore power inlet. He raised the sail and allowed it to dry, draining water from the sail bag, and adjusting the lazy jacks on the sail bag. Donna worked on general interior cleaning of heads and shelves, installing a curtain in the master head to conceal the upper storage area. We ...