Anchored, Carter Creek, near Tides Inn
Irvington, Va

May 30, 2002

The three mile walk to Deltaville was pleasant.  The ride back was incredible.

Chichi and I must exude charisma.  No other explanations work.  We walk down a street, and a stranger drives by, and says "do you want a ride?"  This has happened to one or both of us at least six times, starting in Jekyll Island, GA.  Southern hospitality?  Probably.

Our "angel" this time was a 65 to 70 year old lady, who routinely (she says) picks up people in town, to know them, and to share a moment or two.  She has a son-anthropologist-sailor in Haiti, a husband home with cancer and a new hip, and a sense of adventure.  Nuts, I cannot now remember all her stories, and we did not even get her name, but this encounter was the highlight of our visit to Deltaville.  We sailed there from Gloucester Point, spent a day, then left early today for Irvington, where we expect to share dinner with an old friend.  This afternoon, we stopped at the Irvington Library, which doubles as the city hall, in a space about the size of three moderate size family rooms.  The "librarian" kept us standing a good thirty minutes, telling us that she is 89 years old, hard of hearing, but loves working, because it keeps her busy and out of her children's hair.  Next door, we met Sybill, the local artist, who was working at the cooperative called The Old Post Office Art Gallery.  The works displayed were first class, and her conversation was captivating.  After that, a strawberry daiquiri for Chichi, a frozen margarita for John, and bed.
 

37-15.449N
076-28.579W

York River Yacht Haven Marina

May 27, 2002
Memorial Day

What is the longest running movie in U.S. history?  Hints:  Jack Lord (Hawaii Five O) was the star, and the movie is about American History.

Where will you be in May, 2007?  Jamestown settlement ?  If so, why?

To whom did The British surrender at Yorktown?

Chichi and I enjoyed learning the answers to these questions during trips to The Yorktown Victory Center, The Yorktown Battlefield, Williamsburg, and Jamestown settlement.  These historic locations are joined by The Colonial Parkway, a road built along the York and James Rivers, like an extended park, and without a single commercial establishment, such as a gas station or restaurant.  While walks through history can be tiring, and we felt the strain, we nevertheless enjoyed and learned.  National Park Service personnel, plus volunteers and personnel of private foundations, are friendly and knowledgeable; they make the experience.  In each location, 20-30 minute movies (including "The Story of a Patriot" at Williamsburg, the longest running movie in U.S. History) give perspective on the locations, and motivate to explore. The visit also caused us to think about returning to Jamestown in 2007, the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the first English colony in North America, the birthplace of The United States, the first North American home of representative government, and the place where English common law first was applied on our soil.

Recalling these short visits while remembering the tens of thousands that have fought and died for us make today, Memorial Day, very special for us.
We will be lazy today, at anchor, about 200 yards from the marina, in Sarah Creek.  We plan to leave tomorrow for either Deltaville or Irvington, approximately 40 sailing miles north.
 

37-15.449N
076-28.579W

York River Yacht Haven Marina

May 21, 2002

Repairs and maintenance dominated our week in Portsmouth:  new varnish on the grab rails and decorative strip, engine fluid changes, repairing the luff of our sail, and remounting the alternator that came loose during our trip from Cape Fear.

For fun, we visited The Battleship Wisconsin at the naval museum in Norfolk, and we saw performances by The Dance Theatre of Harlem and by Penn & Teller.  A special delight was a one-nun show called "Late Night Catechism."  If this show is anywhere near you, go see it. In addition, we saw two films at The Commodore in Portsmouth, a restored 1940s style movie theater that serves food before and during the movie.  The building is the finest of its type, even featuring the double curtain that opens just as the film starts.  The movies were "Murder by Numbers" and "Changing Lanes," both worth seeing, and doubly enjoyable in The Commodore.

Our experience in Portsmouth was somewhat dulled by the expectation that we would have a wonderful time with our daughter Laura and her boyfriend Travis.
To make this happen, we sailed May 15 to Yorktown, anchoring the first night, and docking the second.  Laura and Travis arrived about 7 p.m. on the 16th, and we went on to have a GREAT time.  We visited The Watermen's museum, a tribute to the watermen of The Chesapeake who bring home the shrimp and the crabs and the other foods we love.  Next, we stopped by The Victory Center that explains and celebrates Washington's victory over Cornwallis, the last major battle of The Revolutionary War. We spent Saturday at Colonial Williamsburg, visiting the sites, enjoying food of The Cheese Factory and  The Kings Arms Tavern, as well attending an 18th century farce that gave us many laughs.  On Sunday, we vegetated, but we could not resist going to the movie house a couple of miles away to see "Star Wars, Attack of The Clones."

While these happenings were fun, the best part was walking, eating and laughing with Laura and Travis.  We appreciated the effort they made to visit us, and we enjoyed their company.  Since I lack the words to explain, all I can say is that this was one of the best three days we have had on Pachamama. Their departure was very painful for us.  We hope that they can come again before too long.  That night, we were fortunate to enjoy the company of Colin Thakker and his girl friend Laurie.  Colin has been son Alexander's best friend since pre school.  After attending Dennison, he entered law school at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.  There, he met Laurie, who is from Jacksonville, Fl.  Colin will work in the public defender's office in Indianapolis this summer, while Laurie travels in Spain and Mexico.  Colin will return to law school next fall, and Laurie will teach and work toward her Ph.D in Boston.
 

36-50.769N
076-18.915W

Portsmouth Boating Center
Portsmouth, Virginia

May 4, 2002

We had our most challenging sail to date.  Experienced sailors will appreciate our experience, because experienced sailors would have handled the situation differently.  They will smile with recognition of the challenges we face, and the education we acquired.

A problem in telling this story, and other stories sure to come, is that we might inadvertently convey an impression of danger.  At no time were we in danger,  because we always knew our position, and Pachamama is a heavy, stable boat, that rides waves with ease, and keeps her head, even during brief moments when we lose ours.

We left Cape Fears Tuesday noon, planning for a 20 hour sail north to Beaufort.  The weather was calm, even boring, requiring continuous motoring.  On Wednesday morning, the predictions of  north winds and high seas around Cape Hatteras changed to predictions of orderly, south to southwest winds.  During the change of watches about 5 a.m., we decided to change course, to go directly to Norfolk instead of making a stop at Beaufort.  In so doing, we saved ten hours of additional total sailing time to Norfolk, either by way of the Intra Coastal Waterway, or around the outside in the ocean.  On the other hand, we lengthened the present trip from 20 hours to over two nights and three days.  We felt that conditions were right, that we were getting enough food and rest, and that all would be well.  All was well around the notorious areas of Cape Hatteras and Diamond Shoal.  The challenge was yet to come.

After John took the watch about 2 a.m. Thursday morning, with less than 12 hours to go to Norfolk, thunderstorms appeared to the west.  Since they did not appear on radar, I concluded that all was well.  (Radar was set at 12 miles.)  Fifteen minutes later, the storms appeared on radar.  I then decided to reef the main.  My mistake was that I tried to reef down wind, because the wind appeared light.  Also, I tried to do it by myself, without waking Chichi.  After working about 15 minutes, I could not reef the main, and the storm was on top of us.  Winds picked up to 20-25 knots, and I decided to continue.  Note the mistakes:  deciding to reef too late, trying to do it alone, and trying to do it downwind.  Fortunately, the storms dissipated, and we continued under full main until Chichi's watch, around 5 a.m.  I then went to bed.  Less than an hour later, the boat felt different, more erratic, and I went upstairs to find 5 foot waves and 25 knot winds off the stern.  Chichi and I tried to put Pachamama into the wind, to facilitate reefing.  Turning the boat required full power, and we could not keep it steady as waves pushed the boat left and right.  I could not get the sail down even a foot, and gave up. With the pressure of wind on a full main, we still needed full power to return to our northerly course, with the wind slightly off our starboard stern.  We were left with constant anxiety that if the wind increased to 30-40 knots, we might not be able to control the boat, or the main would rip.  I kept going in this condition, believing that we would find protection from the southwest wind on turning into The Chesapeake  Bay.  On learning that the wind shifted to west during this period, I quietly uttered my favorite expletive.  Nevertheless, we did find maneuvering room to lower the main, and we continued under three reefs.

The costs of this experience were anxiety, and a damaged main.  On docking in Portsmouth, we found that three batten caps were loose, three battens were  broken, and all of one batten was gone. The culprits are an incomplete installation of batten caps (one screw was missing in each cap, and lock tite was not used on other screws), and a potentially under engineered velcro holding system. Sooner or later the battens were destined to come loose.  We are glad it happened now.