Of course our arrival in Norfolk at Mile 0 brought an end to our travels on the ICW. To date we have covered 1192 miles since leaving Ft. Myers.
We spent Friday and Saturday strolling around Norfolk. There is plenty to do in the area and Pam and I have seen a lot of it in the past while we were here visiting Pam's daughter when she was in the Navy. My Dad was stationed here also for awhile during WWII. Back then he said that the homeowners had signs in their yards that said " Sailors and dogs keep off the lawn". Of course the landscape was different then with homes and bars sharing the same streets.
One of the Saturday events was the Virginia Beer Fest going on in Waterside Park right next to the marina.
On our way out of Norfolk on Sunday we passed the Navy base with several ships in port. Of particular interest to us was LHD 1. The USS Wasp amphibious assault ship. Rebecca's former ship and the one that Pam & I road on from Camp LeJune to Norfolk a few years ago.
Our journey took us past Old Point Comfort Naval hospital to Thimble Shoal Lighthouse where we made our turn to head up the Chesapeake. Destination, Deltaville, Va. to have our transducer checked at Zimmerman Marine. Yep. That's right. It's still leaking!
I had checked with Tom Hale at Zimmerman a few days ago and explained what I thought was taking place. He seemed confident that they could remedy the problem and have us on our way. Further more he told me to call him when we arrived in Deltaville on Sunday and he would come over and assess the situation which he did. We spent the night at Doziers' Regatta Point Marina (the publishers of the Skipper Bob Guides and The Waterway Guides). We had time to spare before Tom showed up so we used the loaner car to go for groceries and booze. Hmmm, Sunday. No liquor! Maybe tomorrow.
One of the sad things we saw on the drive to the store was the destruction caused by the recent tornado that ripped through Deltaville. 90 buildings were either destroyed or damaged in this town of 850 people.
Monday 5/16/11 8am and Tom Hale is knocking on the door (he called first) ready to take us to the travellift for another haulout. Up on the hard the staff went to work. Since we were stranded Tom loaned us his car to run into town and kill some time. With 2 West Marine stores that wasn't a problem! With only 850 residents you can imagine there isn't a lot going on other than marine related businesses. By the time we got back they had the transducer out and were working on the hole in the hull to make it so the transducer would fit flush on both the bottom and the top. Additionally Tom noticed that the transducer that they removed was for a 20 degree angle. Of course Tourist has a flat spot where it mounts so the depth readings we were getting were inaccurate! I can't make this crap up! After checking with the manufacturer he confirmed that it shouldn't be used on our boat. Bring in the next transducer which they had within an hour!.
Again reinstall the transducer and once again spend the night in the slings of the travellift while the goop cures. Unlike our previous night in the slings, this time we had Tom's car to take to dinner.
Tuesday 6/17/11 Up early and into the water we go. Tom went along as we did a 7 mile test run on plane in 3 to 4 footers. While we were out he climbed into the engine compartment 3 times to check for leaks. None found. Back at the facility we decided to spend the day at Zimmerman's dock since the conditions weren't that great for travelling. Oh. The price was right too for the dockage! Only problem. No TV reception. Break out the chick flicks!
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