So, I retrieved my broken rudder from the shop yesterday and left Portsmouth, I'm sure much to the consternation of my friends, family and good people of Portsmouth. Peter and Mike had found a metal shop in Norfolk which would repair my rudder. The shop is owned by a guy named Howdy, and was full of cool tools and pictures of work he had done, including lots of pictures of sailboats with metal hulls. If anyone could fabricate new rudder housings for my boat, it is this guy. Unfortunately, the estimate of time and money that he gave me to fix the rudders exceeded my budget. Mostly my time budget. The estimate was a week and a half. And the way things work around here (and the South in general), I feared a week and a half could be a lot longer.
The dream is to spend the Winter in the Bahamas. I am not spending Thanksgiving (or God forbid, Christmas) in Portsmouth.
If my rudder did not get fixed in Portsmouth, I blame no one but myself. Perhaps I wasn't honest with myself and others about my limits of patience. Anyway, I bought some fiberglass at West Marine yesterday, and will attempt a half-assed and butt ugly repair of the rudder housing. It only has to last a month and a half, and help me as I hobble down the icw under motor. I promise you that before I do any sailing, or take the boat out into any weather, I will get the rudders fixed properly. If the NWS calls for any weather, I'll just spend the day at anchor in a creek. And when I'm at a marina in Florida in January for a month, I will replace the rudders.
I spent last night at anchor, and already feel much more relaxed. I like people, but unfortunately, by nature, I'm just not a people person. I'm much more comfortable in a creek enjoying a beautiful sunset and the occasional bird call, than I am at a marina with all the socializing. I've already done a "duct tape and baling twine" repair to the steering, and it feels a lot tighter and is responding better. Even if I had no rudders, I can still steer with the engine.
I love redundancy.
The picture is of the boat at the High Street Landing. Friday night all the shops were open late to start the Christmas shopping season. Most shop owners served cider and such. There was a bell chior at the landing to greet passengers from the ferry, and city hall was decorated with lights and Christmas scenes.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
On the Road Again
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2 comments:
Thanks for the call this morning. With a bit of luck you'll have warm weather for a while and will be able to do your fiberglass repairs to fix both rudders. It takes a couple days for epoxy to reach final hardness so don't stress the parts too soon.
Since you will have to negotiate about 5 bridge lifts and one lock I suspect your progress between Portsmouth and the N.C. line will be fairly slow. Pungo Ferry is a good stopping point and there is a good place to eat there. The next natural stopping place is Coinjock where there are two restaurants and a small 'marina' but not much else. The next day will take you across the Albemarle Sound. This will be a really long day and there really is no good place to stop and get out of the weather until you get to the Alligator River. I'd stop at the Alligator River Bridge where there is a restaurant, fuel dock, and showers. This is a no frills place and not expensive. It's in the middle of nowhere on a main highway and is not much more than a large gas station. The Alligator river can get mighty rough if it starts to blow much so you have a chance to weigh your options before taking on the next leg. South from the marina you end up in the Alligaotor River cut, 18 miles of a ditch. Don't think about trying to anchor along the cut because it's only about 100' wide and there will be barge traffic and large yachts transiting all night long. There is no place to anchor until you get south of the cut, where there is a very nice anchorage on the west side. We always stay at the anchorage or go to Belle Haven where there is a marina and fuel dock, about 5 miles south of the anchorage. Rest up because the next leg is across the Pamlico Sound. It's a long day with little or no shelter so pick a good weather window. Both of the sounds are shallow and thus get very rough in a blow. The waves are steep and close together, much like the Chesapeake. My final recommendation is to stop in Oriental after crossing the Pamlico Sound. It's a nice small town with one of the best marine hardware stores you will see on your trip. The store is about 50 yards from the town dock.
Once again, good luck on your trip.
Peter Y.
Thanks so much Peter for your help in Portsmouth, and for advice on my next few days journey. I had some adventures today, but that is a post for tomorrow.
Maybe I'll see you again in Portsmouth next year! I'd love to see the progress on your tugboat, and hopefully even take a ride in it.
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