Another Season!

Can it be that time of year again??? Where has the time flown? The summer was fun and busy, busy, busy - so much so it was a bit of a blur. Nonetheless, we are back and ready for season four aboard the 'Breezer.'

Every season has had its surprises. One evening over cocktails, before our departure, I remarked to friends Brian and Yvonne from Options III that we knew there would be surprises - we just didn't know what - hence the surprise. Well the first surprise would make itself known within 5 minutes of leaving the dock. No right steerage. We floated along, scratching our heads, brainstorming what the issue could be when the Captain headed down into the engine compartments to gather intelligence. The issue was quickly identified and resolved. A sewage vent hose had come unclamped from the engine room ceiling and was lying on the rudder mechanism. This limited the turning radius of the rudder. Once moved and put back in its place, the rudders turned freely. Thank heavens! But then two minutes later we discovered the VHF radio remote handset at the helm was not working and the handheld VHF radio was not working properly. So much for a smooth start...

So off we went. Down the Chesapeake and into, what is usually a very busy, Hampton Roads. Today, however, the place was virtually deserted. Sure there were some recreational boats mulling about, but no Navy ships were on the move nor a single freighter enroute. Very unusual. We continued passed the Navy pier and towards downtown Norfolk. Here we saw a first for us. The Carnival Glory was in port at its downtown pier and just behind it sat the battleship the USS Wisconsin, a part of the Norfolk Maritime Museum. From land, this probably didn't look unusual in the least, but from our seaside vantage point, the enormity of the cruise ship over the US warship was evident - and those old warships aren't exactly tiny in their own right. It was quite a sight.

Still onward we went serpentining the river until we passed under the Gillmerton Bridge. Once passed the bridge we opted to tie up to the free dock at the Chesapeake Boat Yard for the evening. Here we found another interesting site. A military post had been set up on the boat yard property. It looked like a small invasion was planned - 4-6 large tents, trucks and plenty of what I can only assume were ammunition boxes were visible. At the dock sat 4 camouflage speed boats with multiple machine guns and rocket launchers mounted on deck. It appeared the Dismal Swamp was well protected and any pirates didn't stand a chance! Aaargh!

The Admiral