Time to Head South

Friday was our third and final day on Chesapeake Bay and we covered 47 nautical miles in about 7 hours.  Winds were calm two days in a row and day three on the Chesapeake was just as calm and smooth as the 2nd day was.   Unlike the southern part of the bay, the northern part has sections that are much deeper.  We saw depth readings of over 150' as compared to the more typical 30' - 50' we had seen on day one and two.  Such a difference from GA, SC and NC with depths regularly under 10'.

Also unlike the southern part of the Chesapeake, we didn't spend the third and final day dodging crab pots like we did the first two days.  For those of you not familiar, crab pots are laid out in lines, typically 10 or so pots in a line.  A crab pot has a small colored buoy floating on the surface of the water which is tied to a line that goes down to the crab trap.  These are to be avoided as running into one can wind the line up around your prop, or worse yet, if the line cutters don't work as they should, the metal crab trap can get wound up into your running gear.  Even on a calm day crab pots can be difficult to spot until they are right in your path, especially buoys that are blue, green or black.  Yellow, orange and red buoys are a lot easier to spot sooner and avoid.   When there are waves or when the sun is in your eyes, like first thing in the morning if you are driving east out of an anchorage, they are even harder to spot.  This was the situation our captain was in as we started out on day two from our anchorage, we had to head east for about 30 minutes before we could turn north and the captain had the sun in his eyes making it very hard to see the crab trap buoys.

Both the Captain and the Admiral spent two days on high alert
looking for crab traps on Chesapeake Bay. 
Manual steering to avoid them was frequent.

Much of Chesapeake Bay was littered with crab traps.

Stock Image of a Crab Trap.
Not something you want to get tangled in your running gear.
The metal trap is approximately 2' x 2'.

At the top of Chesapeake Bay, there is a short 14 mile man made canal called the C&D canal that runs east/west and connects Chesapeake Bay to Delaware Bay.  We secured dockage Friday night on the free city dock in downtown Chesapeake City at the beginning of the C&D canal.  Chesapeake City is a quaint summer resort town with a population under 1,000.  After successfully completing Chesapeake Bay we relaxed a bit and treated ourselves to a Friday afternoon happy hour at the tiki and enjoyed a live country band.  We also met a really fun couple from PA that we visited with for a few hours.  Very nice folks and hopefully our paths will cross again someday.  We also very much enjoyed the Friday afternoon boat activity coming to the tiki.  The weather was mid 80's and based on the number of patrons at the tiki, best guess is many folks took Friday afternoon off to bring their boats out and enjoy the nice weather.

We think we read that the C&D canal is the third busiest canal in the United States and very large vessels pass through it.  Saturday morning, this 5,000 car hauler from Seoul went by in the canal, just yards from where we were tucked away on the free city dock.  It was bigger than a cruise ship!  It passed us a couple days ago and quite possibly it could have stopped to unload cars in Annapolis or Baltimore and was heading through the canal and then up to Philadelphia.

We moved Make Me Smile the short 14 miles to the east end of the C&D canal Saturday to Delaware City as the free city dock in Chesapeake City allows just a 24 hour stay.   We also crossed another state line and said goodbye to Maryland and hello to Delaware, making our seventh state so far (FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, DE).  

While we were touring Delaware City on Saturday afternoon, the park had a booth set up advertising the inaugural "Charge the Fort - 4 Miler".  It is a 4 mile run with proceeds benefiting Fort Delaware State Park.  Hilary registered on the spot and ran the 4 mile race on Sunday morning, April 27th, with about 62 other participants for the inaugural event.  Registration also included a free admission to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island.  

This afternoon we packed a picnic and rode the ferry over the 1/2 mile from Delaware City to the fort in 20mph sustained winds and 40mph gusts. So thankful we interpreted the weather report correctly and knew of high winds and small craft advisories today and chose to not move Make Me Smile today.  

For the history buffs, Fort Delaware was built in 1859 and served as a Civil War prison which held roughly 33,000 Confederate prisoners of war.  The fort has costumed interpreters that tell stories of what life was like on the island at the fort in 1864.

After traversing the C&D canal yesterday we are back in twice a day 6' tides with strong currents after having less than 1-2' tides for the last several weeks.  It's a strange sensation to look out the windows and see a dirt bank at low tide and a few hours later look out the windows and see streets and houses at high tide.

Low Tide
(note the proximity to the street light)

 

High Tide
(note the proximity to the street light)

The wind looks cooperative for tomorrow and our intent is to travel all of Delaware Bay which is about 55 miles south and arrive in Cape May, NJ (state #8).  Cape May is the jumping off point to run outside in the Atlantic Ocean up to New York Harbor, which will also require very careful weather planning and we estimate will be three travel days.   

To speak briefly on the name of this post, Time to head South, like life, following the water isn't a straight line, thus a full day of traveling south for us, just to turn 180 degrees and start back north for New York at the next weather opportunity.

Chesapeake Bay: 185 miles in 3 days

After an extended stop in Hampton, VA, we are rejuvenated, re-provisioned and ready to tackle the bigger bodies of water we'll encounter over the next couple weeks to get to New York.  We enjoyed our time during the Easter Holiday with friends and family in MI very much.  Upon our return to Hampton we got a surprise visit with dear friends from FL that were visiting their family in Virginia Beach for Easter.   Who knew you had to be 1,000 miles away from home to see friends that used to be right in your back yard?!?!?!

During our visit, we did get to go over to the carousel I mentioned in my previous post.   After lunch we also toured the grounds, including the cemetery, of St. John's Church in downtown Hampton.  St. John's Church is the oldest Anglican parish in continuous existence in America, established in 1610.  The church itself was erected in 1728 in the shape of a Latin cross, with 2' thick walls.  When all of Hampton was burned down, this church survived.  Some of the headstones from the 1700's are nearly worn smooth from time and weather.

Hilary on the Hampton Carousel

Over the past couple days, we've completed about 140 miles of Chesapeake Bay and plan to finish the last 45 miles today.  As much as we study wind, current, etc. we still get surprised.  Our first day on Chesapeake Bay we covered 55 nautical miles in just under 8 hours and it was not a pleasant ride for us.  In the morning we were taking 2-4' waves on the bow, which wasn't terrible, but enough to cover Make Me Smile in salt and required pretty regular use of the windshield wipers.  Mid-day the wind changed and so did the waves.  All afternoon was 1-3' beam seas.  About 1:00pm, our Captain pushed the throttles up by 2,000 rpm to move us along a little faster.  No lunch for us that day as it was too rough to move about the cabin safely to prepare it.  Just snacks while we held on, literally, held on, for the afternoon ride.  We chose to anchor at the end of the day and found a safe and protected spot about 4 miles off the bay.  The location was just south of the mouth of the Potomac River.  We read that crossing the mouth of the Potomac River where it meets Chesapeake Bay (11 miles across) can be unpleasant from confused seas and we wanted to cover that stretch early in the morning when the water is typically the calmest.

04-23-2025:  Hampton, VA to just south of VA/MD state line

On thing that is critical when anchoring is to make sure you have good holding, especially for an overnight stay.  One of the tools to help us sleep better at night is the use of a drag anchor alarm.  Each of us has an app on our phone.  Basically when you drop the hook, you "set anchor" on the app and then set an acceptable swing radius from the anchor for the amount of chain you've let out.  If the app detects a distance greater than allowed, a police siren sounds alerting you that your anchor is dragging.  We run these apps all night while sleeping to ensure we maintain good holding if/when wind, current, tide change in the night.  It is not uncommon to go to sleep with Make Me Smile facing one direction and and wake up with her facing 180 degrees in the opposite direction.  

A bit of anchoring education on how much chain to let out.  A typical ratio is 7:1 meaning 7' of chain for every 1' of depth.  In the case below we were in about 8' of water plus 5' from water line to bow pulpit requiring a minimum of 91' of chain (13x7).  We let out another 20' to be safe.

Screenshot of Hilary's anchor alarm.
Current status was 113.3' from where we dropped the anchor. 
If the anchor were to drag by a little more than 15' the alarm would sound.

Our second day on Chesapeake Bay was quite pleasant.  We had planned to do only about 40 miles but once we got started we changed plans and pushed hard and covered a new record of 78 nautical miles over 10 hours.  A very long day.  

04-24-2025:  90 statute miles in one day.  A new record for us!
We chose a marina at the base of the Bay Bridge on Kent Island.

View of a very calm and flat Chesapeake Bay.
A rare sight.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, we plan to finish Chesapeake Bay today.  We will either be in Chesapeake City or Delaware City tonight.  

How many Loopers "Cross their Wake" each year?

We arrived in Hampton, VA on Monday and are enjoying a couple days of rest mixed in with completion of several small boat projects and a bit of sight seeing all combined.  Today our Captain is touring the Virginia Air & Space Science Center.  Back in Portsmouth, we toured the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum together.  A ride on the Hampton Carousel is also planned while we are here.  The carousel was built in 1920 and has been completely restored to its original glory.  It is one of only 170 antique wooden merry-go-rounds that still exist in the United States.

Hampton Carousel - Built in 1920
Fully Restored

As we crossed from Portsmouth to Hampton we continued to see many massive military ships (aircraft carriers, submarines, etc.), cargo ships, shrimping boats, one cruise ship, etc.  To try to explain how large the Norfolk Harbor and associated military presence is would be most difficult.  Suffice to say there is a lot of naval history here in this port.  Pictures don't do it justice.  Additionally, to capture in pictures the waterway inlet from the Atlantic Ocean and the massive ships that pass through would be difficult as well.  We felt very, very small as we crossed the inlet from Portsmouth to Hampton.

Our short ride from Portsmouth, VA to Hampton, VA

 

Sampling of some of the dozens of military ships we saw in Norfolk

Air Craft carrier coming in from sea that we passed.

No idea what this is, but it was really big!

This vessel passed us as it was heading out to the Atlantic Ocean

A trail of seagulls were following behind.
It's common for seagulls to follow commercial fishing vessels.

Make Me Smile will remain in Hampton until mid-week next week while we take a road trip to Michigan for the Easter holiday.  Then, weather permitting, we'll do a big push to complete the "big water" segment of the trip:  Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay and a stint in the Atlantic Ocean up to New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty.

In talking with friends, one question came up, which is how many boats complete the Great Loop annually?  We knew it was a small number of boats that "cross their wake", but we weren't exactly sure so we looked it up.  Here is a summary for the last several years.  Upon completion of our 6,000 mile journey, we will be among a small but what we would consider to be an elite and adventuresome group of boaters.  We have a 400 Mainship so we are 40' long, about 45' if you count the dingy.

2024:  270 completions; Most popular boat:  Mainship;  Average size 40.8'

2023:  249 completions; Most popular boat:  Mainship;  Average size 40.3'

2022:  227 completions; Most popular boat:  Mainship;  Average size 41.1'

2021:  130 completions; Most popular boat:  Mainship;  Average size 40.5'

2020:   No stats available

2019:  192 completions - this was the record year until 2022

Virginia Cut Completion

After awakening to a delightful sunrise at our anchorage on Friday we crossed Albemarle Sound without issue (minimal wind and no rain) and started up the Virginia Cut.

Sunrise on the Alligator River

As we continue to move north, the temperature is dropping and our days traveling are spent inside at the lower helm.  It is far too cold for our Florida blood to be up on the bridge.  The temperatures have been in the 40s this week.  Each morning the water hose and electrical cord are harder and harder to roll up as they are stiffening from the cold just like our bodies are.  

After a relatively short day of travel on Friday, covering 30 nautical miles, we arrived at CoinJock just about 11:30am, ahead of the forecasted rain which started just as we pulled in and tied up.  The light rain lasted a couple hours before the sun finally came out to warm things up a bit.   It was the perfect day for grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch on the boat, with the heat on.

After checking in at the office we walked around to see the property, including the restaurant.  Sort of like a reconnaissance mission.  When we popped into the restaurant, we were encouraged to pre-order their famous 32oz prime rib if that was what we were planning for dinner as they always run out, especially on Friday.  We did as instructed and reserved a Captains Cut for 6:00pm.

Bert spent the afternoon at CoinJock doing a second engine alignment on the port side and is satisfied.  Hilary took advantage of the afternoon to finalize travel plans for the upcoming days and to plan out travel through Easter.  The rain precluded any walking/running or other outdoor activities.

A multitude of sources are used to plan each travel day.

All week, we were so looking forward to CoinJock and all of our expectations were met.  We made small talk with some of the locals and our meal was just exquisite.  We usually eat a bit later so we had them box the entire meal up for us rather than serve it.  The prime rib was, and still is, outstanding.

CoinJock's famous Captains Cut - a 32oz prime rib!
Complete with salad, sides and rolls.  
It was outstanding!

Our journey on Saturday, April 12, 2025 which included crossing into Virginia.

As we complete the Virginia Cut today and enter the southern part of Chesapeake Bay, there is a series of low bridges that open on a fixed schedule as well as one lock.  Additionally there is a series of no-wake, 6mph and 3mph zones.  Suffice to say a bit more in the logistics department to get the timing right.  We will complete the last 12 miles of the ICW this morning, starting with the Great Bridge and the Great Lock and will spend one night in Portsmouth, VA.   Our dockage last night was right at the Great Bridge and we plan to go through at the 10:00am opening.  

We will move to Hampton, VA on Monday.   Make Me Smile will remain in Hampton for nine days, allowing us time to rent a car and travel to MI for Easter and also do a bit of sightseeing and re-provisioning for the next month.

After a second engine alignment on the port side, our Captain gave Make Me Smile a speed test yesterday.  She did very, very well.  The number in the upper corner is the mph.  We hit 19mph!  The best we ever saw was 20.5mph two years ago when we bought her BEFORE she was full of fuel, water and all of our stuff.

We have been boating for five straight days with two more to go. We have covered 176 nautical miles since leaving Morehead City.  We have just 12 miles today and an estimated 15 miles tomorrow.  It has been a long seven days traveling.  We are ready for an extended break.

Since leaving Merritt Island, Florida just a little less than a month ago, we have covered 1,000 miles to get to Chesapeake Bay.  The Erie Canal does not open for the 2025 season until Friday, May 16th and it is an estimated 600-700 miles from where we are now.  We will slow down a bit over the next month and not travel quite as rigorously through the northeastern states as we did through Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Ready to cross Albemarle Sound

Today was a good day of boating and our captain found us a perfect anchorage for the evening at the north end of the Allegator River.  The weather looks good for morning and we are ready to make the roughly 14 mile crossing across Albemarle Sound and begin our journey up the Virginia Cut.  We are still in North Carolina, but we are just a couple days from Virginia.  While we were sitting in Morehead for three days, we planned five straight days of travel and today was day three.  Our big motivation for the week is to dock at CoinJock tomorrow.  For Loopers, CoinJock is somewhat of a famous, must stop, if you choose the Virginia Cut.  If all goes well, we will be dining off the boat tomorrow night at CoinJock.   

To back up a bit, there are two route choices for the next leg of the trip.  The Dismal Swamp or the Virginia Cut.  The decision is easy as the Dismal Swamp is closed for several more weeks.  The Army Corps of Engineers is doing work on one of the locks so our only choice is the Virginia Cut.  We likely would have chosen Virginia Cut regardless as we've heard nothing but horror stories of boaters traversing the Dismal Swamp.  It seems nobody makes it through without bumping something under the surface and after already experiencing one "flat tire" just south of Snow's Cut, we aren't in the mood for anymore surprises lurking under the surface of the water.  The guidebook description is equally unsettling for the Dismal Swamp route.  We have agreed it is best to do the Dismal Swamp someday in the dingy, but not with Make Me Smile.

The most interesting thing today was a couple of Navy patrol boats that hailed us on the VHF radio notifying us of a pending passing and wow!, did they fly by!.   And they were silent.  It was really pretty cool to see.  The wake from the first one was horrendous because we couldn't turn the bow into it due to the 2nd one coming.  We turned bow into the second wake and that was much more tolerable.  

Our captain researched them once we got anchored this evening.  Combatant Craft Medium, Mark 1, (CCM) , US Navy patrol boats.  They are 60' long, draft 3', travel at 60mph and carry 19 troops.  These were serious vessels!

We were happy to have a rather mundane day of boating today with only the Navy patrol boats for excitement after the day we had yesterday.  

Yesterday morning was one of those very serious discussions of "go or no-go" based on weather conditions (wind, again).  The decision was made to "go".  HOWEVER, the multiple weather forecasts reviewed to make the decision were not accurate.  Shortly after we departed the marina, we found ourselves in 5' - 7' seas for about 90 minutes on the Neuse River.  It was unsettling to say the least.  We've never put Make Me Smile through such a rigorous outing since we've owned her.  She performed well and kept us safe, but boy she creaked as we've never heard before.   And she took many, many waves over the bow.  Glad the windshield wipers work.

The 90 minute adventure included an emergency tear down of one side of our canvas enclosure to be brought in all salty and wet onto the salon floor.  It also included an emergency lashing of two 55 pound Bow flex adjustable dumbbells that started pitching around on the bridge.  The two 55 pound dumbbells were rather creatively lashed to the post of the captains chair with a spare line by the admiral.  Mind you our captain was driving from the inside helm and the bridge cover was on so this activity was completed by the admiral in the dark, under the bridge cover, on hands and knees in pitching 5' - 7' seas.  Think top of a pendulum.  

The events also included an unloading of several cabinets, removal of all drawers, take down of cookbooks/shelving, etc.   And that was just in the main salon.  Below is a picture of how we ended up towards the end.

The Neuse River was hard on Make Me Smile and on her passengers.

Once we were docked we got everything put back together.  The marina had a courtesy car which we happily took advantage of to reprovision libations.  Libations are heavy and harder to bring home on the bike and scooter.  Once back to the marina, the decision was made to wash the salt off the canvas enclosure, let it dry and then stow it permanently for the remainder of the trip.  This washing activity was completed in 55 degree weather.  The good news is that after a few hours of work the canvas is clean, dry and safely stowed away until we complete our journey.  And as a side benefit, Hilary was barefoot and the activity did a good job of removing almost all of the staining from the paint incident in the boat yard back in Carolina Beach.

One other little discovery last night was the impact of 208 voltage vs. 240 voltage.  This will get a little technical for a minute.  Power should be 240 volts, but some marina's are industrial at 208 voltage.   We know that this messes with our A/C from when we were in Florida and don't run A/C when we are at a marina with 208 voltage.  As soon as we plug in at a new place, we check the volts.

After dinner last night we wanted popcorn.  Well, come to find out the air-pop popcorn maker is impacted by 208 vs. 240 just like the A/C is.  The kernels never popped!  The heating element in the popcorn maker didn't get hot enough to pop the kernels.  Just another little example of things you'd never think about until you experience it.

 

Windy, Windy Morehead City (did we mention it was windy?)

We had a peaceful night for our first anchorage of the trip near Camp Lejeune and enjoyed a nice sunset.  By dusk, six other boats were anchored with us, all preparing for the Onslow bridge.  Happily on the weekend, the work stops and the bridge opens every hour.  We passed through on the 9am opening without issue.

Sunset on the hook.

Onslow Beach Swing bridge in the closed position.

Onslow Beach Swing bridge opening for us

Onslow Beach Swing bridge fully opening, clear for our passage.

As we continued past the bridge, we were passing through the Camp Lejeune military reservation and there was no shortage of signs along the way prohibiting landing.  The areas are strictly off limits due to highly sensitive unexploded ordnance in the area.  Recreational boaters like us are permitted to pass through during periods of non-military use.    The guide book we are using as one of our many navigational aids said this section of the ICW is occasionally closed for artillery, small-weapons firing and beach-landing exercises.  We saw the signs at each end of the range area.

Warning sign as we passed through the Camp Lejeune range area.

We saw many, many practice bombing targets such as this one.

More warning signs.  They were plentiful and prominent.

Sign at each end of the Camp Lejeune military exercise range area.

We passed through the entire area on a Saturday and there were no military exercises that we saw.

Once we were through this area, we traveled the length of Bogue Sound on our way to Morehead City.  The wind was picking up and there was a TON of shoaling.  At one point, there was a vessel coming towards us and the red/green markers marking shoaling were so tight, we had a quick conversation on the marine radio and then held back until that vessel passed through and then we went through.  No room for two boats to pass, single file only.  The tide was going with them so they got priority.  

After a 35 nautical mile day traveling mostly east/west, we arrived on Saturday afternoon at the relatively unprotected city docks in Morehead City where we stayed three nights in unrelenting winds and rocking and rolling.  Docking was a challenge, but as always, our Captain did an incredible job getting us in the slip while navigating tide, high winds and lots of Saturday afternoon small recreational boats out for their weekend fun.  

During our time in Morehead City, we made sure we spent time off the boat each day to get a break from the uncomfortable conditions.  Hilary was able to pick up a new set of flip-flops to replace the ones that were sacrificed in the boat yard in Carolina Beach.  Bert was able to do an engine alignment on the port engine after our strut/prop work.  Kudos to Bert being able to work down in the engine room for nearly six hours with all the rocking and rolling from the wind.  We also took a lengthy ebike/escooter ride to re-provision (Harbor Freight, West Marine, Wal-Greens, Food Lion, Ace Hardware, etc.)

04-05-2025 Camp Lejeune to Morehead City.
A day of east/west travel with much along Bogue Sound.

Our wheels when we provision. 
We covered about 15 miles one day in Morehead City.

Morehead City has an annual Big Rock Blue Marlin fishing tournament annually.
Each marble tile in the fountain wall is for the tournament winner each year. 
The tile has the year, the vessel name, the port it hails from and weight of the Blue Marlin.

Bert working on the engine alignment.
It's better, but he's not quite satisfied yet.

Our final night in Morehead City culminated in a massive thunderstorm, with winds in excess of 50mph, torrential rain, and forecasted hail.  We got all of it except for the hail between 11:00pm and midnight.  On the bright side, it did wash the salt spray off of Make Me Smile.  This morning the three days of wind was finally passed and after a quick stop at the fuel dock we were back underway today.

We had an uneventful 31 nautical mile journey today and are in a 100% protected basin in a resort type community called River Dunes Marina at Grace Harbor in Oriental, NC.  As we continue north, we are in a section of the country with less tide.  Now our tides are 2' vs. the 8'-10' we were experiencing in Georgia and South Carolina.  Soon we should be through the heaviest shoaling areas as well.  Good news on both counts.  

We got off the boat this afternoon for a run/skateboard ride to see the massive property.  It is 2 miles to the front entry gate.  And best of all, there is no wind.  Hooray!  We will have a very peaceful evening here and will be on the move tomorrow.  We have a good weather window and will move the boat every day this week.  

When the Dock Master helped us tie up, he said he had seven boats held up here for the last few days due to the wind.  They all moved on this morning and we are the only transients here this evening.

Back Underway

We are happy to report that we are repaired and back underway.  The AMAZING team at Carolina Beach Boat yard took great care of us and got us back in the water in just one day!   Three men, two giant  3' wrenches, a sledge hammer and an acetylene torch got our strut straightened right out.  The repaired prop went back on and we were right back in the water.  

Heating up the strut to bend it back in place

3' long wrenches for leverage on the strut

Repaired propeller.   Good as new!

Make Me Smile back in the water where she belongs.

While we were in the yard, we each worked on small projects that are easier to tackle in a boat yard.  Hilary sanded and repainted the cover for the outboard motor and Bert worked on some modifications to the pieces he machined for the permanent dingy davit installation.  

Bert's temporary machine shop

Today we traveled 45 nautical miles (52 statute miles) from Carolina Beach to our first anchorage since we started this final segment of the trip.  Actually this is our first overnight anchorage since we purchased Make Me Smile two years ago.  Another milestone for us.  We are in Mile Hammock Bay - Camp Lejeune for the night.  The reason we stopped here is because about 5 miles ahead is the Onslow Beach Bridge which is being replaced and has restricted opening times.  The reported opening times are before 8am, between 12-1pm and after 5pm.  In the picture below, the red dot shows our anchorage and the yellow circle is the Onslow Beach Bridge.  Later this evening a call will be placed to the bridge tender to confirm openings for tomorrow.  We hope to be through before 8am.

The red dot is where we are anchored. 
The yellow circle is the Onslow Beach bridge with a limited opening schedule.

Other boats anchored with us in Mile Hammock Bay - Camp Lejeune

Once we successfully pass through the Onslow Beach bridge tomorrow we will be on our way to Morehead City where we plan to stay through Monday. 

On the Hard

After hitting the submerged obstacle on April Fools' Day, we are on the hard, but overall have all good news to report.  We were able to arrange for a haul out mid-day yesterday right here at Carolina Beach.  As expected, we have a bent prop blade.  The prop is already at the prop shop for repair and we are optimistic we'll have it back today.   What was not expected is the port side strut is also bent.  The good news is the yard believes they can heat it and bend it back without removing the shaft and strut.  Bert will likely need to re-align the port engine after this work is complete.

Make Me Smile - on the hard

Bent prop blade on the port side

Prop removal so it can be sent out for repair

There wasn't much we could do while the boat was being blocked in the yard so we took advantage of the time to go for a run / skateboard tour of the area.  We routed a trip over to the ocean at Carolina Beach.  Carolina Beach is a very nice area and we are fortunate to be on the hard here.  Lots of things for tourists to do.  After we complete the Great Loop, this is a place for us to return to in the future, maybe with an RV.  The area of the beach near what used to be Carolina Beach Pier is closed, but there is a park farther up where the beach is open.

What's left of the Closed Carolina Beach Pier

Carolina Beach Pier area
Lots of huge boulders have been brought in to provide a barrier.

Farther up Carolina Beach is open
4 wheel drive vehicles are allowed park on the beach.

After spending some time seeing the area, we came back to the boat to start boat projects.  As long as we are on the hard, we decided to make full use of the time we are here and the remaining daylight.  Hilary started by buffing out the cosmetic paint scrapes after our collision in Jacksonville.  We have color matched automotive paint for the hull that requires a mixing ratio of 8:1.  The painting went very well and the damage is repaired but it turns out a red solo cup is not a suitable mixing vessel for automotive paint.  Who knew that 9 teaspoons of paint could make such a mess!!!!!

The bottom fell out of the red solo cup, along with 9 teaspoons of blue hull paint.

The ladder didn't clean up too well, but rubbing alcohol and about 20 minutes of scrubbing got Hilary cleaned up.  Glad to not have a blue foot all summer.

Hilary is in need of a new pair of flip flops as there was no saving this one.

Before Repair

Before Repair

After Repair - Good as New!

Bert was able to put more caulk on the new thru-hull fitting we installed right before we started the trip as it had a very small leak.  Today we have more projects planned in combination with getting out to see the area some more and enjoy our time in Carolina Beach.  

The marina and boat yard both knew of the submerged obstruction we hit and encouraged us to file a report with the North Carolina sector of the US Coast Guard which we have completed.  Our understanding is the more reports the USCG receives, this increases the likelihood of them marking and/or removing the obstruction so other boater's don't sustain damage.