Kookaburra Wings & Humble Pie

The day finally came to leave Deltaville. Ship shape and rearing to go, we set off for Hampton Flats and a quaint little overnight anchorage near Fort Monroe.  After refuelling and topping up our water, we headed off out into the wild blue yonder.  It all started so well….

Not too long after midnight and 60 nautical miles off the coast, a beefy electrical storm headed by a squall overtook us with amazing speed.  BW noted wind speeds of 40kts while he and the Cap’n adjusted sails and worried about fierce lightning jabbing all around us. GS didn’t see much from her refuge in the loo.  We had, as the Cap’n later explained over a beer in a quiet bar, been boxed around the ears a little harshly on our first night out.  You see, the storm itself was not too bad (really?).  It was the broken steering wheel shaft that made us turn back for Norfolk.  None of us could imagine steering the boat 24/7 for 3 solid weeks without the autopilot.  Who knows where we would have ended up? 



GS comes up with another bright idea!

So here we sit in the Outback Steakhouse over a plate of Kookaburra Wings (won’t the American’s eat just about anything?) and a few pints waiting for Edson to send a replacement and for the old weld to be redone as a spare.  BW reckons we’ll have at least 5 boats towing behind WJ3 soon, all full of spares.

GS’s computer has been on strike too; a sort of a go slow moratorium. Shopping for a replacement did the trick though – and a bit of tinkering by BW.  So hopefully blogging and tracking will get back to normal in the next few days but few hopes are held for photo inclusions.

Not to be outdone, the inverter decided to pack it in (technical details to follow in the H460 blog) so that threatened 3 weeks of fresh food sitting in the fridge. Whatever the inverter didn’t kill, the heat in Norfolk has.  Our woes continue as we wait. And wait.

     

From:	Jackson Creek Deltaville	To:	Mill Creek off Hampton Flats
Lat/Long:	37:32.85N 76:19.78W	Lat/Long:	37:00.52N  76:19.11W
Date/Time:	2/7/11: 1250	Date/Time:	2/7/11: 1835
Time Taken:	40nm (7hrs)
Distance:	307nm ( 55.5hrs) (this year)	Dist Total	5679nm (since 2008)
Weather:	S; 5-10kts; 1’ seas; showers & tstms
Fastest Speed:	Motor sailing 6kts