Lazy W has left the dock!

Fourteen years ago today we left Kinsale, VA aboard our 37-foot Mainship, Sea Venture, to start our Great Loop adventure.  Today we leave aboard our 43-foot Ocean Alexander, Lazy W, from Ocean Yacht Marina in Portsmouth, VA for who knows where! We really don’t care – it was just so good to see the sun after such a chilly, wet and dreary May.  But seriously, did we have to see temperatures soar into the 80’s just as we departed? 

 

Leaving Ocean Yacht Marina

 Prior to our departure, the captain spent many, many long hours in his floating man cave prepping Lazy W for this new adventure.  The biggest headache he had to contend with was replacing the starboard transmission.  Lazy W is a 30-year old boat and transmission replacement parts were no longer available, nor was a perfect replacement transmission.  An entirely “new” rebuilt transmission had to be purchased and installed.  After many discussions on the pitfalls of removal and replacement with anyone who would listen (regardless of their expertise in the matter), Frank decided he was up to the challenge of replacement.  A big thank you to all who listened patiently to his rants!

Enumerable calculations determined that for this new transmission to work on Lazy W her starboard engine needed to be lowered 1.49”.  (Don’t ask how I so fondly remember this number.) One hundred and fifty pounds of unwieldy metal transmission had to be carefully lifted out of the engine room hole, gingerly carried across the teak salon floor, and hefted off the boat.  (Thanks go out to Tracey, the dock hand who so willingly helped out with this task.)  Old engine mounts had to painstakingly be ground out; new mounts fabricated and welded into place.

Finally, the transmission arrived and with lots of groaning and lots of angst the new transmission was wrestled into place.  Oh no!  It had a leaky seal!  Pull it out, haul it up to Kilmarnock for repair and reinstall it days later.  The captain was not a happy camper during this time period!  But he seems to be happy with the end result – our shakedown cruise to Smithfield Station went smoothly. Thank you Alan and Patti for being so willing to come aboard for that cruise!  Oh wait, we might not have told you it was our shakedown cruise…

Skip this next part unless you really care about all the man cave chores the captain worked on. Other smaller but still important tasks that were tackled included: 

• Replacing cracked salon windows, sometimes more than once, oops!
• Installing new galley lights
• Reworking the props to match the new transmission
• Repairing heat exchangers
• Replacing coolers and hoses
• Replacing lower helm seal for steering fluid
• Remarking the anchoring chain
• Sending depth gauge off for repairs. Hope to see you again SOON!
• Replacing water pump on dinghy motor
• Replacing water pressure regulator
• Replacing the shower sump pump

 

Our landlubber days were not all trials and tribulations.  We attended the Michigan vs Maryland football game in College Park with Brian and Cameron.  (GO BLUE!) We flew to Italy to rendezvous with Jon and Nancy and Ashley. We shared a great Thanksgiving feast with the Wolaks. We rented an oceanfront condo in Virginia Beach for the winter. We celebrated Mom’s 91^st birthday in New Windsor.  We started collecting social security and we cursed Obama care.  We hosted a fun-filled spring break week when our grandson, Cameron, came to visit us.  We celebrated our 41^st anniversary. Our friends Stu and Carol, Jim and Arlene, and Patti and Alan shared good times with us at the beach.  We had a great time reconnecting with siblings, nephews and Lori at my sister Marian and Jim’s wedding in Wallkill.  Tammie, Cameron’s mom, and Brooks welcomed Ella into their family.  Brian turned 35 and Jon turned 38.  Ashley turned 4 and Cameron turned 13.  We started planning a fall rendezvous in Australia with Jon, Nancy and Ashley.  We attended the SUNY Maritime alumni party aboard the TSES VI while she was docked at Lambert Point in Norfolk.  We had dinner with returning 3X Loopers, Bonnie and Charlie. But amid all these good times, our biggest heartbreak – losing our awesome friend Greg to cancer in July.

 

Leaving Ocean Yacht Marina and the tall ship Kalmar Nyckel behind!

 

 After saying our goodbyes to the staff at Ocean Yacht Marina we headed north.  After a quick stop to top off the fuel tanks on Scotts Creek we were on our way.  Lazy W ran well as we cruised the Elizabeth River and it wasn’t long before we passed the USNS Comfort, the largest hospital ship in the world.  It is always an awe-inspiring experience to cruise on by Naval Station Norfolk where the aircraft carrier Eisenhower happened to be docked amid other massive navy vessels.

 

USNS Comfort

 

IKE

 

  After two days on the hook in Mobjack Bay it was time to move to the Rappahannock River.  The VHF radio was abuzz on the morning of Thursday, May 26 with news that two F/A-18 fighter jets based at Oceana had crashed off North Carolina’s Oregon Inlet.  We listened as the Coast Guard led the rescue plans for plucking the four airmen safely out of the water.  Luckily, a recreational fishing vessel was nearby, rescuing two of them while the Coast Guard handled the others.  And luckier still, the airmen suffered only minor injuries. 

Next up on the VHF was a notice to mariners that a whale had been sighted at the mouth of the Potomac River!?!?

Lazy W at anchor near Hills Creek

We made it safely and uneventfully to the Rappahannock River and into the Corrotoman River to an anchorage just off Hills Creek.  Now we were just a short dinghy ride up the creek to the Sutton’s cabin where partying was planned for Memorial Day weekend.  Alan had a big 65^th birthday coming up, so why not celebrate that all weekend?  And we did along with his mom and dad, brother, nieces and nephews, and neighbors and friends.  A small group of the party goers came by car with Patti and Alan to Windmill Point Marina Sunday,  joining us for an early happy hour at the tiki bar there.  And then came the rain from Tropical Storm Bonnie...

Happy Birthday, Alan!