SV-Baila: Historic Virginia

Hi all,

Brad: We sit here at an ancient splintered picnic table next to the marina laundry, the girls doing school while we process laundry and take advantage of WiFi to plunk away on the laptop amidst cans of Pringles and half-consumed Capri Suns. Our table looks like the aftermath of an elementary school frat party. Three Canadian boats just arrived, so add some background throaty french and you've got a good mental image of our current situation.

Hold on- Anna has just stopped math and appears to being doing some form of antiquated calisthenics. She notes with rolled eyes that this is gym class. Duh, dad. And then there's recess. And lunch.

We are in Yorktown, Virginia. Anchored near a marina on the north shore of the vast York River, we have been here for five days soaking in American history. After sailing from Solomons to the Wicomico River last week, we enjoyed several nice anchorages and on two separate occasions we were greeted by friendly pods of porpoises. The sail here started early last week as we wanted to beat some potentially heavy weather later in the day. Despite thermal layers it was still cold at 5am. We eagerly awaited sunrise. And what a treat that was: a massive orange dome rising to our east bathed us in its warmth and lit the world around us. The day did warm up but not before a blanket of fog enveloped us for one hour. It was amazing to watch the fog bank roll towards us and within seconds diminishing visibility to less than 100 yards. Taking advantage of a chance to practice with the radar, Lynn and I kept tabs on surrounding boats' headings, speeds and trajectories, etc.

After arriving here we rented a car and have tried to digest as much of Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg as we can in just a few days. In no hurry to jump into the still-swollen ICW waters, we figured a few days to immerse ourselves in the history of this area would be time well spent. And it has been for sure. We have been most taken with the historic settlement of Jamestowne. This is the active archeologic site where they are continuing to uncover this original settlement. The girls got to stand in the exact spot where Pocahontas married John Rolfe in 1614!

Back to the present, I had a personal first this morning. I gave myself a haircut in the marina bathroom. Prepared to do the job on the boat, I was re-directed by Lynn hoping to avoid a hairy boat mess. On shore, standing amidst clumps of my shorn hair with my razor gently humming, I felt somewhat awkward as men entering the bathroom simply hoping to perform their morning ritual were clearly confused and annoyed by me. I was tempted to make a Larry Craig reference to this one particularly ornery old fella', but I figured that perhaps southern Virginia is no place to joke with men in public bathrooms.

Avery (transcribed by Brad, written in capitals because Avery is loud): WELL, YEAH, I LIKED DOING THE JUNIOR RANGER THING AT THE MUSEUM (the Jamestown Settlement archaeology site). AND I LIKED THE DOLPHINS. OH AND THE ROCKET LAUNCH LAST NIGHT. I MISS WALTER AND ALL OF MY FRIENDS. And she's gone- ran off yelling about something.

Anna's Random thought of the day: Sometimes my ears hurt from Avery- she is that loud.

The rocket launch was pretty fun. I guess I expected more from all of the rocket launches Mr. Mac showed us: fire coming from the bottom, a long trail of smoke leaving the scent of barbecue (mmm, barbecue), and a loud boom! I don't really know about the sound part though. All I heard was "DADDY IS THAT A ROCKET? DOES IT HAVE PEOPLE ON IT? CAN WE HAVE ICE CREAM? I BET THAT ROCKET SHIP HAD ICE CREAM... " You get the idea.

Izzy: finally! We've gotten into more of a routine! School this week was really going to museums and seeing stuff even though most of the information went in one ear and out the other! I really loved the Jamestown Settlement and the actors were awesome too. The rocket launch last night was amazing! It was pretty much just a ball of fire, but knowing it was going off into space was the coolest part. I expected to see the actual rocket, and I'm glad it didn't explode!

Lynn - I'm not in the mood to write now because Anna just flung liquid eyeliner all over me (by accident) after I had showered - she is practicing for Halloween and SHMS next year. I agree with the above accounts. It has been a great week in Yorktown and we are ready to sail on tomorrow. Our tentative plan is to anchor off Hospital Point in Portsmouth, VA and enter the ICW the following morning. We are still debating the Virginia Cut route vs. the Dismal Swamp. The Dismal Swamp just opened after having been closed for several weeks before and after Hurricane Matthew due to flooding. Anna is now playing Hot Cross Buns on her tin whistle, Izzy is twirling Avery around some poles supporting a large awning and Brad has disappeared to chat with some fellow boaters. SOS!

Ok- photos:

I love their expressions. Kidding- but the sunsets are beautiful.

Izzy learning how to determine the bearing of another vessel

School

Yelling "dolphins!" causes a signal in our pre-teens' midbrains to transmit to their dominate hand and grasp cellphone. It's incredible- phones are up before the dolphins finish taking their breath. You can just make out a fin in the distance. Hopefully we'll have some better shots soon.

Yep this was fun. Remember the above- mentioned 5am cold departure? Hilariously that's when the engine decided not to start. It was apparent that it was just a loose wire and simply the act of removing this panel cover juiced up the ignition and everything started (don't worry- it's easy to 'jump' start the engine if that hadn't worked!). So later that day at the dock I had to figure out what was loose. Ironically this was made more difficult by the fact that everything was functioning at that point. After an hour of checking voltages and jiggling things starting at the battery and making my way up the problem was apparent: a loose terminal on a battery wire at a terminal strip just prior to the ignition. I'm learning that diagnosis is much more laborious and difficult that treatment with boats!

School today

Leaving the Wicomico River at sunrise

Izzy with the Jamestowne Settlement Church in the background

The girls really enjoyed the actors!

Yorktown artillery demonstration

Anna getting the chance to get involved with the artillery demonstration

This is gross: fruit flies! We started noticing these guys a few days after leaving Annapolis. Turns out they just love us and have had lots of kids. Lynn learned from a fellow cruiser that a concoction of vinegar, sugar and dish-soap traps and kills them.