Lyn's Log, 19th May 2007
The IntraCoastal Waterway

Norfolk Virginia.
N36º51', W76º18'
14,435 miles.

We left Heidi in Naples (pic) and departed Vero Beach on 10th April to continue north. A gale and thunderstorm stopped us in New Smyrna. In the town, hundreds of classic cars were filling up the main street on some kind of rally for the day. It was a wonderful sight, though it reminded us of all the cars in Cuba. That evening we went out for a meal with a guy in the next berth, well known Dutch yachtsman Geert van der Kolk. We had my birthday on the 17th in St. Augustine which is the oldest town in the USA, founded by the Spanish in 1565. An educational visit to the magnificent Spanish fort was followed by an excellent dinner in a Mexican restaurant.

Thereafter we went out into the Atlantic. We completely missed the state of Georgia, where the ICW has become too shallow for us now that the US Army Engineers no longer regularly maintain it. We dropped in for a couple of days to the historic city of Charleston in South Carolina, and then re-entered the ICW at the pretty little town of Beaufort, North Carolina. Our next stop was at Belhaven marina, where we had stocked up for the Atlantic crossing on our previous visit. When we arrived the wind was blowing a gale straight into the marina and Andrew was not happy about entering. It would have been OK except that the pontoon piles had lost their protective strips of wood, and a large steel nut and a nail gouged into the side of our hull as we came alongside. The fenders on the yacht were useless to prevent it. The dockmaster was virtually useless as well. The manager arranged for the gashes to be filled for us but not until Monday, and this was Friday.

But this was not to be the end of our stay in Belhaven. Monday afternoon we sailed several miles up river and anchored for the night. The next morning whilst motoring up the canal, the engine overheated having lost all its fresh water. We refilled it a couple of times but it still overheated and we could not find out what was wrong. So we had to return to Belhaven, being the only place within a hundred miles that had any kind of marine engineer. After three abortive attempts to leave, renting a car four times and driving many miles for parts and to have the cylinder head tested for cracks, we eventually solved the problem. The cylinder head did have a minute crack and we replaced it with a reconditioned one, but the real cause of the trouble was a broken thermostat. We had suspected this from the outset, but the engineer had looked at it and told us it was good. In the end I put it in boiling water with another old one we had on board, and I could immediately see that only the spare one opened properly. The one from the engine did not work at all. When we took it to a shop to buy a new one, they laughed at its condition. So a problem that a competent mechanic could have easily sorted in a day took nearly three weeks. It had not helped that the manager had kept making completely fatuous suggestions as to what was wrong. We realised he was trying to sell us an old engine he had. "The marina from Hell" another visitor called it, and we were thankful to leave.

However, we had one last scare: after a couple of hours the engine again overheated. But we were determined not to return even if we had to sail through the canal, and then I spotted the problem. With all the things that had to be removed and replaced when taking off the cylinder head, the corner of one hex nut stopped the heat exchanger seating down properly, allowing the cooling water to spray out. This time taking off the heat exchanger, bracket and pipes, turning the hex nut a bit and then refitting it all, took us just an hour and a half. Practice makes perfect! To our relief we have had no further problems.

North of Belhaven we entered the Alligator River. On our previous visit it had been perfectly still, sunny and blue, and we had anchored all day and explored in the dinghy. This time it was grey, windy and wet, and we went through quickly. At the end of the river, where it enters the Albermarle Sound, a sandbank has grown across the channel. Someone had mentioned this to us earlier, and we picked our way around one side. Others, blindly following their chart plotters, were not so lucky. The yacht we were next to in the next harbour had got stuck, it had cost $3,000 for a pull off and inspection, and the rudder still needed to be repaired. He accused the local boatyard of profiteering. Apparently four or five yachts daily have to be pulled off. We met others further along the ICW.

The ICW ends at Norfolk, Virginia, where we anchored on 19th May. Norfolk is a major naval port with literally dozens of warships, though my impression was there were far fewer than when we passed through before. Perhaps they are all in Iraq.