October 25, 2011
Weigh anchor at 0824 and depart Fishing Bay for Norfolk (45 nm). The Valiant has a wash down pump at the bow which allows us to wash down the anchor chain as it comes in. This keeps most of the mud and debris off the deck. Our windlass is manual so I have to crank it up using a lever. Not difficult and I don't mind it at all. At first I thought I wouldn't like it very much and considered an electric windlass but I have become fond of the older method; besides, it doesn't need a battery.
Today produced a fresh North wind and we were able to set the genoa and motor. Since we were heading due South, I didn't want to raise the mainsail and put out preventers. Running with the wind - wing and wing- requires a poled out "jenny" on one side and the mainsail on the other side. Extra precaution has to be taken so that the wind doesn't catch the mainsail from behind and propel it to the other side in what is called a "jibe all standing". This could cause damage to the boom and rigging. So, we used the "jenny" and motored with an ebb tide to boot. We were averaging 7.5 kts.
We found a "free dock" in Portsmouth, Va and @1730 hrs tied up for the night. We have a new problem that needs fixing. It appears that we have a leak in out hot water heater. This is located under our bunk on the port side. I can fix this myself and will have a look at it in the near future. That future is very near as we have to take showers to continue to live together and meet others. In the meantime, from all the marinas we have stayed at, it is very easy to go over to one of them and shower or do laundry. That is what we will do tomorrow since I will be busy changing out the Racor and fuel filters on the engine.
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