Triangle Loop – Week 3

May 11th to May 17th

Day 14 – Sunday, May 11th, 2025 – To: Hampstead, NC
Harbor Village Marina

We delayed our departure yesterday due to the high winds. The marina we were going to stay at last night didn’t have space for us because of the weather. So, we planned to travel about 100 miles to Beaufort, NC, today. Because of the long trip and the expected bad weather, we left early at 7:00 am. Just as we pulled out, it started to rain. We did make good time going up the Cape Fear River. The waves today were only 1-2 feet, whereas yesterday they were 3-4 feet.

When we got to Carolina Beach, the heavy rain really started. It was torrential! Visibility was only a couple of hundred feet, so we slowed way down and crept along at around 4 mph. There were a few boats ahead of us, one of which pulled over to wait out the rain. We had pre-plotted the route, so we could keep moving by going slowly.

The heavy rain lasted about 90 minutes and let up about the time we reached Wrightsville Beach, where we had our first drawbridge. Because we had to go so slowly, we messed up our timing and ended up having to wait 40 minutes for the next bridge opening, which is on the hour.

We got through the bridge on the 10:00 opening and were able to pick up a bit of speed. Our chartplotter was telling us that our arrival time in Beaufort was going to be about 7:00 pm. Just after we passed the bridge, we got a call from the marina in Beaufort asking us our expected arrival time. The National Weather Service had issued a severe weather warning for the area with heavy thunderstorms containing gusts in excess of 57 mph! They said not to come into the marina if the weather was bad. We checked the radar, and the storm was ahead of us and moving faster than we were, so we didn’t think it would affect us much. Still, we were going to get in close to dark, given the heavy cloud cover. A very long day, almost 12 hours. Just after we hung up with the marina in Beaufort, Harbor Village marina (which is about 1/2 way to Beaufort) called and said that one of the boats that was scheduled had canceled, and they had room for us after all. Woo Hoo! We were about 25 miles away, so that would mean just another 2 hours. We called the next two marinas on our reservation list and pushed our reservations out a day.

We went through the Figure 8 Island Bridge at the 10:30 opening and pulled into Harbor Village in Hampstead, NC (near Topsail Beach) just before noon. We’ve stayed here a few times, and it’s a nice marina; however, there is nothing near it. The closest eateries are a Jersey Mike’s and a Taco Bell on the highway, about 4 miles away.

The rest of the day it rained off and on, so we spent it on the boat. I worked on the blog and some articles, and Brenda wrote postcards. Dinner was Mac & Cheese with Kielbasa on the boat.

_{(Click gallery images to enlarge. Touch/Mouse over for captions.)}

Day 15 – Monday, May 12th, 2025 – To: Beaufort, NC
Homer Smith Docks & Marina

Our route today would take us through the Camp Lejeune Marine Base. They are rebuilding the bridge across the ICW that they use to reach their beach landing practice grounds, and during the week, they only open three times a day. 7:00 am, Noon, and 6:00 pm. We timed our departure from Hampstead so that we would get there around 11:30 and limit how long we had to wait in the narrow channel. I decided to call to make sure that they were opening at noon (sometimes they cancel the mid-day opening if they have equipment on the bridge), and was told that due to the weather, they were opening on their regular hourly schedule. Great News! We adjusted our speed to get there for the 11:00 opening.

The rain started coming down hard, and the fog got thicker. At times, we had less than a few hundred feet of visibility, so we slowed way down and crept along again, speeding up when the rain let up a bit.

We started hearing chatter on the radio that a boat ahead had gotten the anchor line from a sailboat wrapped around their propeller, and the two of them were stuck in the middle of the channel. We saw them loom up out of the fog and slowed. They were advising boats to pass on the right side at least 30 feet off. Unfortunately, that put us out of the channel in extremely shallow water. We crept past, and our depth finder was reading -1.3 feet (Yes, negative!) We have our depth finder set to about 6 inches below our propellers to give a margin of error, so that still meant that we were in the mud and could feel the resistance as we pushed through. Fortunately, that area was just soft mud, and we quickly pulled back into deeper water.

As we passed the boats, we saw the anchor line stretched tight across the main channel. We’ll never know what the sailboat was doing anchored in the channel. We radioed to the boats behind us that we had run out of water and to be careful. We heard the next boat behind us on the radio that they had run aground.

We got to Camp Lejeune just before 11:00 and were able to go through with three other boats. One of the boats was a larger, fast boat with delivery captains, so they moved to the front and took off. We were last in line and went past the other two boats, which were slow boats.

Once we cleared the bridge, we sped up to 20 mph, but had to drop back down to 10 mph within just a few minutes when the rain and fog started again. A few minutes after we slowed, a sailboat appeared in front of us out of the fog, going the opposite direction. Like us, they were in the middle of the channel, and we both made a quick turn to the right to pass safely. I’m glad we slowed down. We had not heard anything from the fast boat in front of us, so we didn’t know they were there.

Once we got out of the Camp Lejeune channel and past Swansboro, NC, the rain and fog started to lift, and when we got to Bogue Sound, we were able to speed back up to 20 mph. Bogue Sound is a fairly wide body of water about 20 miles long and very shallow. There is just a narrow dredged channel going through it. When the wind is out of the East, the waves can build quickly. We’ve had a few rough crossings. For most of the sound, we were seeing 1-2 foot waves pretty close together. When we are running fast, we tend to just skip across the tops, and the ride isn’t too bad. As we approached the east end of the sound approaching Beaufort, the waves started to build, and we were seeing 2-3 footers, so we had to slow down. Fortunately, we went behind an island that acted as a wind break, and the last few miles were relatively calm.

We pulled into Homer Smith Docks just before 2:00. There was a break in the rain just as we arrived, so docking went without any issues. May 12th is the anniversary of my 39th birthday (that’s the last one that I acknowledge), and Brenda wanted to take me into downtown Beaufort for dinner. Around 3:00, we decided to go into town early to walk around a bit and see the sights. It’s only about a mile, but the radar showed rain on the way, so we checked on an Uber, but no cars were available. The marina has a courtesy car. However, that was already in use. So, we put on our rain coats, grabbed umbrellas, and walked the 1/2 mile. The rain was light, and the streets were lined with beautifully maintained older homes from the 1700s and 1800s. Many of them have plaques listing who built the house and the year it was constructed. It was a very enjoyable walk.

When we got to downtown, we walked along Front Street, the main drag and checked out the shops and boutiques. We passed the downtown marina and walked along the docks to see which Loopers were in port. There were a few boats, but we didn’t see anyone out and about.

At 4:30, we went to “Ribeye” for an excellent steak dinner and a glass of The Macallan Scotch for dessert (Brenda just had cheesecake). After dinner, we walked back to the boat. About halfway back, it started to pour, so we went up onto the porch of the old Masonic Lodge to wait out the worst of it. It only lasted about 10 minutes, giving us a chance to peek into the windows and check out the local ghosts.

When we returned to the boat, I called it an early evening. Just after dark, Brenda heard some squawking behind the boat and saw a Night Heron perched on the boat next to us.

_{(Click gallery images to enlarge. Touch/Mouse over for captions.)}

Day 16 – Tuesday, May 13th, 2025 – In Beaufort, NC

Overnight and into Tuesday morning, it continued to rain heavily. We got over 3 inches of rain overnight. The winds were up as well, with gusts reaching 35 mph this morning. We had already planned an extra day here in Beaufort and were happy we were not traveling. I spent most of the morning working on the blog, and Brenda wrote postcards. By 11:00, the rain had pretty much stopped. It was still quite windy with gusts to 20 mph.

Homer Smith Docks & Marina used to be a large fish-packing warehouse. When we stopped here on our first Loop in 2019, it was pretty rough, with old docks and bathrooms in an old fish-packing warehouse. In 2021, they completely demolished and rebuilt the marina with beautiful floating docks, a first-class marina office with showers, a boaters lounge, and free laundry! They are building a hotel with a Margaritaville Restaurant next door. It’s quite a transformation. We took advantage of the facilities, and Brenda did a couple of loads of laundry. By noon, the weather had cleared, and the sun was out!

We borrowed the courtesy car and took a ride to Moorehead City and went to Walmart. We really didn’t need anything major, but we wanted to get out and see some of the area. We found a good deal on Brenda’s A&W Root Beer and my La Croix Soda, so we stocked up. When we got back, we put our stuff away, and I polished the windshield with Rain-X treatment. I figure that if I make an effort to apply it, we won’t get any more rain.

We walked back into town to check out the marina to see if anyone new had come in. We had dinner at The Dock House, a burger joint at the marina, then stopped at the Beaufort Creamery for dessert before heading back to the boat.

We were sitting in the boat when we heard a loud boat engine just behind us. We looked out, and an ancient tug boat that had been aground across the channel was being moved. The tug was running, and three other boats were pushing and pulling on it. Control seemed to be a major issue. We watched as it came closer to marker #9, hit it, and ran over it. Oops! It kept coming closer, and it looked like they would either hit marker #7 or the boat next to us on the outside of the dock. With a lot of scrambling and pulling, they managed to miss both the marker and the boat. I wonder if the tug is being restored or scrapped.

_{(Click gallery images to enlarge. Touch/Mouse over for captions.)}

Day 17 – Wednesday, May 14th, 2025 – To: Belhaven, NC
Dowry Creek Marina

We woke to a wonderful morning for our trip to Dowry Creek. The route has three open water sections connected by two slow zones through some creeks. The boat was running great, and we tried to run fast to give the engines a workout. Diesels like to run under load, so we ran at about 75% throttle whenever we could. There was a lot of traffic, especially through the slow zones where we either had to cruise at sailboat speed (6 mph) or radio and arrange for passing over and over.

On the last 5 miles to the marina, we were in open water, so I decided to open it up to really burn out the carbon from the turbos. I brought the engines up to 3100 RPM (3200 is max), and we were zipping along at 26 mph. All of a sudden, the port side of the boat dipped. The bracket holding one of our new struts had snapped. I think that the plastic was old, and the process of tightening it down stressed it. It was not a huge issue. We just lifted the starboard tab, and the boat leveled out.

We pulled into Dowry Creek Marina at 1:00. They have an excellent fuel price, and we needed a pump out, so we radioed in expecting to go to the fuel dock. They told us to go directly to our slip, and they would take care of both there! Excellent.

We backed into the slip and got settled in. A couple of boats arrived just after us, so it took a bit for them to stop by, but we got fuel and a pump-out and then went to the office to settle up. Dowry Creek is at the end of a side road off a side road, so there’s pretty much nothing in the area. However, they do have a nice little restaurant on site, so we went in for my docking beer and a snack.

We had just sat down when we heard rain pelting the roof. The afternoon rain shower was passing, but that was the only rain we saw. With the rain, however, the wind kicked up. The marina does not have protection from the open water, and the waves were causing the boat to rock quite a bit. The marina also has a nice boaters’ lounge, so we walked up to the lounge, and Brenda practiced mahjong while I took a nap.

At dinner time, we went back to the restaurant for burgers and shrimp. After dark, the wind died down, and we had a quiet night.

_{(Click gallery images to enlarge. Touch/Mouse over for captions.)}

Day 18 – Thursday, May 15th, 2025 – To: Camden, NC (Elizabeth City, NC)
Lamb’s Marina

Thursday morning was overcast, but the weather reports said we wouldn’t get any rain and the clouds would clear by noon. I dug through my spare parts and found an extra trim tab bracket, so I decided to try to put it on. This needs to be done in the water, so I put on my swimsuit and jumped into the water. Our depth finder said the water temperature was 73°, but it felt a bit colder! I messed with it for about 15 minutes, but I needed two hands and had to hold onto the boat with one, so I couldn’t put the new bracket on. I managed to tie wrap the actuator unit to the swim platform so we didn’t lose it. I’ll have to get a diver to put the new one on. After 15 minutes in the water, I was cold. I pulled out my reboarding ladder and tried climbing back onto the boat. However, I discovered it was designed to be used against the side of a boat, not in open water like under the swim platform. I ended up climbing up using one of our dock lines instead. I’ll need to go back to the drawing board for the swim ladder!

I took a shower to get the salt water off and warm up a bit, and then we got underway. While we were untying the boat, we saw that there were a number of jellyfish floating around it. I’m glad I didn’t run into them while I was swimming around!

The route today started with the Alligator River Pungo Canal. This fairly narrow dug canal goes perfectly straight for 12 miles, makes a slight dog leg, and then goes straight for another 9 miles before reaching the main portion of the Alligator River, where it widens out. About halfway through the first section, the boats ahead of us saw a bear swim across the waterway. Brenda caught sight of it just as it climbed out and ran off into the woods.

Once it widens out, it’s a 20-mile run to the Alligator River Swing bridge. This is in the process of being replaced by a tall arch bridge. However, this is only the first year of construction, and we still have to have the bridge opened to get through. Fortunately, several boats were with us, and they opened right up.

Once through the bridge, you enter the Albemarle Sound, a wide sound that is either very smooth or rough. We’ve crossed it a number of times, and there seems to be no in between. Fortunately, today was one of the smooth days! The ICW routes to Norfolk, VA, split here. The most popular route follows the barrier islands past Coinjock, NC (A famous Looper stop for Prime Rib). The second route is the Dismal Swamp route, past Elizabeth City, NC, and then into the Dismal Swamp Canal, a route originally engineered by George Washington!

We had decided to take the Dismal Swamp route, so we turned north in the Albemarle Sound and toward Elizabeth City. As we made our turn, we passed the boat Lie Lo. Doug and Melissa are from our neighborhood at home in Palm Coast (Doug was our mosquito control person from the city). They have just bought their boat and are beginning their Great Loop adventure. We waved and chatted on the radio. They are a slower boat, but we hope that they will catch up to us tomorrow in the Dismal Swamp.

We went past the Naval Air Station Weeksville, where the Navy keeps its Derigible fleet, then the Coast Guard Air Base before arriving in Elizabeth City. There is a draw bridge that we had to have opened, and then it was just two miles to our marina for the night, Lambs.

Traffic was heavy all day! We passed 23 boats today and counted at least 15 more in front and behind us on Nebo and AIS.

When we checked in at the marina, the dock master told us about a local favorite eatery, “Topside Catering,” just down the street, famous for their fried chicken, fried shrimp, chicken pot pies, and desserts! They only sell food to go. We haven’t had good fried chicken in a long while, so we walked there to pick up dinner. There was a line out the door! We got an eight-piece chicken dinner (pretty much a whole chicken), baked beans, and potato salad. $24! We walked back to the boat and had dinner. It was excellent! Some of the best fried chicken we’ve had! Crispy, Juicy, not oily. Fantastic!

After dinner, I replaced a gasket on one of our water pumps that had been dripping. Then, we were treated to a sunset in the west and a lightning show in the east! We got just a few drops of rain, but it did help to cool off the heat from the day.

_{(Click gallery images to enlarge. Touch/Mouse over for captions.)}

Day 19 – Friday, May 16th, 2025 – To: South Mills, NC
Dismal Swamp Welcome Center

Today, we entered the Dismal Swamp! There are two locks on the dismal swamp canal. They operate at 8:30 am, 11:00 am, 1:30 pm, and 3:30 pm. If you want to go all the way through, you need to make the 8:30 am or 11:00 am openings. About halfway through the canal is the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center. They have a 150′ dock that is first-come, first-served. Bathrooms are available, but no other services such as power or water.

We stopped at the Welcome Center on our first Great Loop Trip, and wanted to stop again. We left Lamb’s Marina at 8:30 to make the 11:00 locking. As we exited, we met up with two other boats headed to the lock, Camelot and Decompressing. The route to the canal is narrow and very windy, and we had 2 hours to get there, so we just cruised along at around six mph.

The route is beautiful, through swamp land thick with trees, bushes, and swamp grass. Aside from the occasional bird and a few camps, there is nothing out there. We arrived at the lock just before 11:00 and were able to cruise right in. The three of us were joined by a small sailboat. The lock raises you 4 feet, then as you exit the lock, the lock keeper drives about a half mile ahead and raises a lift bridge in the town of South Mills. The canal between the locks is bordered by NC Highway 17, so you can see cars through the trees on one side, and the other is just miles of swamp land. So this was our first lock on this trip! It was our first lock ever when we did our first Great Loop trip.

The Dismal Swamp Canal was originally surveyed when the border between North Carolina and Virginia was defined. George Washington (yes, that George) formed a company to drain the swamp and surveyed the original route. From 1793 to 1805, the 22-mile-long canal was dug by hand, primarily with hired slave labor. Seeing the density of the forests and the width and length of the canal, it was a monumental effort!

We arrived at the Welcome Center at 12:30. There were no boats there, so all three of us were able to tie up to the dock. The sailboat continued on to get to the second lock by 3:30. We all tied up and introduced ourselves, then checked in at the Welcome Center. Today was the hottest day on our trip so far. By 2:00, the temperature had reached 88°, with a “Feels Like” of 96° due to the humidity in the swamp.

We kept the generator running for most of the afternoon so that we could run the boat’s air conditioner and stay cool. Around 3:00, I walked down to the floating bridge to take a few photos and saw that there was a sailboat approaching. They must have gone through on the 1:30 lockage. The face dock was full, so we went out and let them raft up to us. For those who don’t know, Rafting is when one boat ties off to another. Sometimes you do this when anchoring, and other times when there is no available dock space. This was the same location where we had our first-ever rafting experience on our first Loop Trip.

The sailboat that tied up to us, Champagne @ Sunset, was on its way to Connecticut. The owner, Rafi, had removed the Yanmar diesel engine and replaced it with an electric motor and lithium batteries. So, he saves on diesel, but has to run a gasoline generator to charge the batteries. Hummm….

At 4:30, all the boaters got together for Docktails (our first of the trip!) We had Charlie and Heather from Camelot, Steve and Loraine from Decompressing, and Rafi and Joe on Champagne @ Sunset.

_{(Click gallery images to enlarge. Touch/Mouse over for captions.)}

Day 20 – Saturday, May 17th, 2025 – To: Hampton, VA
The Docks at Hampton

We had a good night in the Dismal Swamp. After our Docktails, we returned to the boat and ran the generator for a while to keep the boat cool. Around 8:30, a thunderstorm came through. We got some heavy rain and a bit of wind, but were protected by the trees. Just south of us in Elizabeth City, they got very heavy rains and wind. The Potato Festival was still happening, and our phones went off with an emergency alert for everyone to evacuate and seek shelter. Our friends on Lie Lo, who were docked there, said that it toppled tents and damaged some of the carnival rides.

We cast off at 8:00 for the 18-mile trip to Deep Creek Lock, planning to make the 11:00 opening. Camelot in the lead, followed by Decompressing, and then us. The sailboat would follow behind as they are much slower and planned on making the 1:30 opening.

The Dismal Swamp Canal runs straight for 6 miles, makes a slight dogleg, and runs another 12 miles to the bridge and lock. The Dismal Swamp Trail borders the entire route on the east bank. This is a paved hiking and biking trail with occasional homes and parks. You can see the highway through the trees and the farmland created when they drained part of the swamp with the canal. The western bank is undeveloped and is the Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. At 8:32, we crossed into Virginia, our 5th state!

Like yesterday, the depths were only about 6 to 8 feet, and we only saw 5 feet in a few places. We felt the occasional bump on the bottom of the boat as we passed over submerged logs, 9 in total, with one loud enough to startle us. We got lucky (we thought) that none of them hit the propellers, just the hull.

We reached the Deep Creek Drawbridge around 10:30. We planned to tie up to the wall just before the bridge. However, the bridge is being replaced with a new one, and most of the wall is now gone. There was just enough room for Camelot to tie up, and Decompressing rafted to them. We had heard from the lockkeeper that there was a southbound boat coming through, so we couldn’t raft as it would block the channel. After the other two boats got settled, we saw there was still about 20 feet of wall open behind Camelot, just enough for us to sneak in and get a bow line tied off. With help from the other crews, we got tied off to the wall with our bow line and tied to a small tree with our stern line to keep us from swinging. Not pretty, but effective!

With the southbound boat coming through, we didn’t get going until just after 11:30. They told us to get ready, so we untied and backed up the waterway a bit. The bridge opened, and a small boat came through, then we took the lead and headed down to the lock. The lock is only 1/2 mile from the bridge, and it’s the same operator for both, so we had to wait for him to close the bridge, drive to the lock, and open the gates for us to come in. The locking was 15 feet down and took about 20 minutes. Once through the lock, you are in Deep Creek, and the water depth improves quite a bit. Deep Creek is just 2.5 miles long, and then you rejoin the main ICW channel just below Norfolk, VA.

Our first major obstacle came a mile after we turned onto the ICW. The Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge #7. This railroad bridge is infamous for being closed for hours at a time. We’ve been stuck here for 4 hours in the past. There were so many complaints from boats that the Coast Guard took legal action against the railroad to enforce the rules. When the bridge came in sight, we were happy to see it was open! Our elation quickly vanished when we saw the red light start flashing, and the bridge began closing. Crap! The wind was gusting over 20 mph, and some barges and tug boats were working just before the bridge, which made it hard to hold position.

A few minutes after the bridge closed, we heard a train whistle, and a freight train crossed the bridge. The new rules say that they can only keep the bridge closed for 10 minutes after a train passes, so we thought our wait was going to be short. As we waited for the bridge to open, several other boats joined us, including a large yacht. We waited about 20 minutes, then radioed the bridge. They told us another train was coming, and they would open as soon as it crossed. 10 minutes later, an Amtrak passenger train crossed, and as promised, the bridge opened shortly after. There were now 12 boats, and it was a mad scramble to get through the bridge and a jumble of wakes as everyone sped up to get to Norfolk.

There are two other railroad bridges between #7 and Norfolk, but fortunately, both were open. As you come into the port of Norfolk, it becomes a no-wake zone, and we slowed down and followed a tug boat past the shipyards and marinas. When we reached the two major marinas in Norfolk, we said goodbye to our new friends on Camelot and Decompressing. They were going to marinas on opposite sides of the harbor, and we were continuing another 10 miles up the harbor to Hampton, VA. Once we cleared the no-wake zone in the harbor, we opened up the engines to make some time and to confirm that we didn’t have any vibrations from damage to our props going through the Swamp, and we were happy that everything seemed to be working fine.

When we got to the area where the harbor opens up to about 8 miles wide, the water got very rough. The wind was a steady 25 mph with 35 mph gusts. This was kicking up waves around 2-3 feet. We ran up on plane at about 20 mph to smooth out the ride a bit, still it was a bit of a nailbiter for the last 8 miles to Hampton. When we turned up the Hampton Channel, we were sideways to the waves, which occasionally reached 4 feet. That portion was only about a half-mile, and once we got into the Hampton River, where the marinas are, it calmed right down.

When we backed into our slip, the winds were still blowing at 15 mph from the side of the boat, but with the help of the two great dock-gals from the marina and the generous application of both bow and stern thrusters, we got safely into the slip and tied off just before 3:00.

We were looking forward to decompressing at the brewery just behind the dock and were bringing our cushions down from the flybridge when we heard a loud alarm. At first, I thought it was from the building behind us, but Brenda called up that it was the bilge alarm. Oh, Crap!

I had installed the bilge alarm after our boat almost sank when our rudder post failed, and I knew that if it was going off, things were not good. I jumped down into the engine room and saw that we had a lot of water in the bilge—way too much. Also, in reaction to our almost sinking, I had purchased a couple of portable pumps, just in case, and this was the case!

I grabbed two of them and started pumping. After about 10 minutes, I got things to where I could see the water dropping, so I knew that we were making positive progress and would not sink. My first thought was that the water pump that I repaired had failed. I took a minute to check it, and it wasn’t that. I noted that the stringers (hollow supports that the engine sits on) were full of water, and once we were pumping, I could see that the source of the water was from inside the stringers. I checked the back of the boat, where the rudder posts and generator are, to see if the water was coming from there, but they were all dry. We kept pumping for about another 30 minutes and got most of the water out. I could hear water running in the starboard stringer by turning off all the pumps and listening for a minute. It appears that one of those “bumps” in the Dismal Swamp had put a hole in the hull.

By this time, it was after 5:00, and especially since it was Saturday, all the boat yards were closed. There is a boat yard with a travel lift that can take the boat out of the water just down the channel from us. However, I won’t be able to call them until Monday. I spent the next hour rigging up a pump in the stringer to turn on automatically when the water level increased. Between that and our regular bilge pumps, we could stay ahead of the water. The pumps turn on about twice a minute but only run for about 15-20 seconds, so I was comfortable that we were staying ahead of the water, and we had two pumps in case one had an issue. I’m guessing we are taking on about 5 gallons a minute.

I was soaked with sweat from working in the hot engine room, and from the stress, so I took a shower and we went up to the brewery for dinner and a calming beverage (or two). When we returned to the boat, everything was still working fine, and I turned in for the night. I woke up about every two hours and checked on the pumps. Everything worked well through the night. Tomorrow, I will see if I can get a diver to come and check under the boat and put a temporary patch on whatever it is until we can get the boat hauled out of the water.

I’ll publish a special update as soon as we know what is happening, so you don’t have to wait until next week’s blog to find out if we have sunk.

_{(Click gallery images to enlarge. Touch/Mouse over for captions.)}

---

Recap of the week

Aside from the hole in our boat, we had another good week. We traveled 326 miles this week, for a total of 827 miles so far. We traveled 6 of the 7 days this week.

Our plan was to spend 2 days here in Hampton and then start our trip up the Chesapeake Bay. Until we figure out our leak and get it repaired, we will be here, so I expect that, in the best case, we will be in Hampton for the week.

I get questioning glances and comments when I talk about having multiple spares on board. Having a spare portable bilge pump saved us. We would have had to call for Sea Tow or Tow Boat to come and stabilize the boat if I hadn’t been able to and didn’t have the equipment on board to take care of the problem. Salvage, as they call it, is not covered by a towing policy. It would have cost at least a couple of thousand dollars. That is far more than the price of a couple of bilge pumps and some hose!