Voyage 2006-2007: Chapter 2

16 Oct 2006, Waking up to the fog and other bad things , 38 43.529 N/ 076 32.599 W

Alarms were set for 0600 on Monday in anticipation of a 0700 departure. Sadly, we could not see the lights on either shore as they fog was laying heavy on Mill Creek. The fog was slow in lifting but by 0800 Jule III and Moony had their anchor up heading out to the Bay. The wind was out of the East (which is good) but it was veering to the SE much earlier than expected. Bob put up the main while Ann was at the helm. She said ....

"I have no helm!" We had lost wheel steering. We had just had a bunch of work on the rudder, autopilot, and packing gland so we suspected that something had happened as a result of the work. We then tried the autopilot to see if it could steer the boat. It worked! We were in 30 feet of water with bad weather forecast within 18 hours so our best option was to head back to Herring Bay. We told Moony to continue South and we would catch up. Moony said "No! We will follow you". So we slowly pointed Jule III North with the aid of our Simrad autopilot. HHN was not very receptive (actually down right uncooperative) in providing dockage for the repairs. So we headed for a nearby marina, Herrington Harbor South where they could accommodate two boats. We arrived at Herring Bay "1" at 1400 and were picked up by Conlyn Tow Boat US. He skillfully picked up the tow brought us into the marina's basin, turned us around, and parked us. Perfect! Later that day, Steve came by to fix the problem. He was shocked to discover that the quadrant bolts were so loose that it fell below the shaft key...hence no steering. He worked several hours to triple check everything including the new autopilot. By 1800, the steering was certified to be operating properly. Perfect!

Today the promised storm materialized. Rain, wind, (and just plain nastiness) was the order of the day. It was a lazy day for the crews of Jule III and Moony. We managed to turn Moony around to facilitate our Wednesday departure; Ann baked cookies on her new oven; Bob found the problem with one of the depth sounders; we did some real work for our customers; and watched some TV. Weather still looks good for a Wednesday departure.

18 Oct 2006, Day 4: Heading South again, 38 07.034 N/ 076 23.990 W

We pulled out of Herrington Harbour at 0715 and headed for Smith Creek, a tributary off the Potomac River. Weather was settled with a light NW wind, mild temperatures, and a renewed spirit. We motorsailed when we could but the winds were too light much of the time. We passed Solomon's at 1300. We noted where the steering died two days ago. The Navy began a bombing sortie at their test range right below Solomons. Fortunately, we passed the range before bombing began. Otherwise, we would have been diverted to the eastern side of the Bay. We arrived at our anchorage at 1715. Ann made her killer hamburgers on her new stove. Life is good.