The hole where one of our stabilizers is supposed to go
Closer view( that is a big hole and there is one on the other side also).
Stabilizer finally back on
We got back into the water on Tuesday afternoon June 18th around 4 PM. They still had a few things to do on board, but these could be done with us in the water. This was nice since we could stay on the boat and not have to be back in a hotel room. The weather has been very hot and humid with temps around 95, and the boat was also very hot once it went back in the water Tuesday.
We hooked up to shore power from our stern and started the air conditioner and some fans. After several hours the inside temperature had come down from 91 to about 82, but was still uncomfortable and pretty hot in our master cabin. As it was a bit cooler up in the salon than the stateroom, Keith was going to sack out on the couch. I thought I might try laying on the bed, so around 10:00 PM I went downstairs to brush my teeth and give it a try. As I did this, the air conditioner stopped running in our cabin. I went upstairs to ask Keith if he had done something to it. He was already laying on the couch and said no, he hadn't touched the A/C. He thought there might be a problem at the power pedestal when he noticed the amps on our fuse panel jumping around. He turned off the air conditioner and went out to check the power pedestal. Suddenly he shouted back into the boat in a very loud and excited tone for me to grab a fire extinguisher. Whaaaaaaaaatttttttt!!!!!!!!!
I grabbed the fire extinguisher from the kitchen and ran it out to him. As I turned the corner of the boat, all I see is the power pedestal in FLAMES. I handed the extinguisher to Keith. He immediately emptied our little extinguisher onto the pedestal but it was not enough. He started to run down the dock to get the dock master (luckily there is someone in the office 24 hours). I ran back inside to get a second extinguisher. About the time I got back outside, Keith was coming down the dock with a larger fire extinguisher from the fuel dock followed by the dock master who also was carrying one. The larger extinguisher did the job, but "Holy Smokes" (no pun intended).
The stern power cord to our air conditioning was completely melted as was the power pedestal. Luckily the other power cord (we use 2, 50 amp cords) to all the rest of the power in the boat was okay, so we switched that cord to another pedestal. We decided out of an abundance of concern not to plug in the air conditioner from our bow cord to a new pedestal and instead ran the generator all night for the AC. It did cool the boat down, but I certainly did not sleep. There was no way I was going downstairs. I spent the night on the kitchen bench seat and Keith stayed on the couch. I consider myself a reasonable boat wife, but I had reached my limit this night. I was beside myself.
The next morning with little sleep, we had the guys continuing the stabilizer work. We made arrangements to have an electrician come on board to check all our systems after the fire incident and an A/C guy to go over our units to make sure there was no damage. Both were to come on Thursday. We felt like the bad luck vortex of Atlantic Yacht Basin had just sucked us in and was never going to let us go.
The offending power pedestal, the next morning
Melted AC power cord
Pengi says, "you're gonna need a bigger fire extinguisher for the future".
By now, we are looking for a priest, witch doctor, or any palm reader to perform an exorcism. Whatever it takes... chicken bones, cow blood, a virgin, anything. HELP!
On Wednesday afternoon, our good friends Rich and Maggie Selo arrived. These are boater friends we have known for some time, and it was wonderful to see friendly faces. All four of us had cocktails on their boat before dinner, went to dinner and had cocktails, and came back from dinner and had cocktails. Keith and I really needed this break.
Thursday the AC guy came and we got the unit checked and a few minor things fixed. The electrician, his nick name is "Sparky" (not sure if that is a good sign or bad) came and fixed our melted AC cord and made sure everything else on the boat was OK. The guys also finished with the stabilizers and we did a short sea trial. All seemed to be in order as best as could be determined. But, we have been here before.
We debated starting north again in the afternoon just going the 3 hours and 26 miles up to Hampton, VA. We needed to get away. There was predicted to be strong storms in the area late afternoon, and with our luck lately I said to Keith I was glad to drive to Hampton and meet him. I was not excited about getting caught in an electrical storm if we could not get into Hampton by 4 PM. You know we are prime candidates for a lightening strike at this point.
Then the decision got made for us. Just before 1:00 PM we found out that a barge with a crane had hit a power line going across the Intracoastal Waterway just north of us. The power line had fallen into and across the ICW. The Coast Guard had closed the waterway to all boat traffic until further notice. So we were not going anywhere Thursday, storms or not. Worst of all we don't know how long the ICW will be closed and even if we can get out of Atlantic Yacht Basin. God help us!
This swallow landed on our bow rail Thursday morning.
Hello little friend. I hope you bring some good luck with you.
So we rode out the crazy storms and very strong winds Thursday late afternoon. It did finally clear up just before sunset. Thankfully we had a quiet night and a good night's sleep.
Keith called the Hampton Roads Coast Guard Station at 6:00 AM to find out the status of the ICW. Would it be open or closed another day?? Hooray!!!! They had the Intracoastal Waterway open Friday morning June 21st, and we were on our way again; passing through Great Bridge and into the lock with friends Rich and Maggie on their boat, "Prime Meridian". We finally got out of Atlantic Yacht Basin and made it to Hampton, VA. Hoping to head up the Chesapeake Bay Saturday.
By the way, we had the best she crab soup "EVER" at Surf Rider in Hampton, VA tonight.
Passing through Great Bridge. Rich and Maggie right behind us
Prime Meridian in Great Bridge Lock
Passing the navy ships in Norfolk, VA
Our new flag. Hopefully this will help our luck (take no prisoners)
Fingers crossed that the rest of our trip goes MUCH smoother. We have had enough bad luck to last us for years. You have all heard the expression: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". Well this series of events almost killed us. Onward!
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