Reflections on Still Waters

Great Bridge to Coinjock |  5.3 Hours  |  33 Miles 

We departed Great Bridge at 8:00. Both the air and water were still and the temperature was chilly. Although I was down one layer from the day before, we still enjoyed the warmth of the pilothouse. We did the math correctly and arrived at the Centerville Bridge just as it was opening at 8:30. The sun was out and the gray sky was turning blue.

Oftentimes the reflections in the water were so perfect that it was difficult to tell which end was up. The photo on the right is of me on the bow as reflected in the water. The small ripple from our bow wave created the only disturbance.

Miles passed without a sound. It seemed like we were in the middle of nowhere. In reality, the bustle of Tidewater Virginia lay just a few miles beyond the tree line. F/A-18 Hornets out of NAS Oceana zipped by. I felt lucky to capture the blurry black spot on my iPhone. The only boat traffic we encountered was a tug pushing a 300 foot barge. From previous trips I knew that once we passed Marker 63, we had entered North Carolina.

A bald eagle kept lookout as we entered the canal and the home stretch to Coinjock Marina. We arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon which gave us time to take care of some maintenance issues. The first was to check on our leaky fuel injection pump. Yep, still leaking. We found evidence of this problem last night in Great Bridge. Barry contacted a diesel mechanic while underway and he agreed to meet us in Coinjock at 3:00. The day had warmed up nicely and it was actually warm in the sunshine for about 27 minutes. I took to cleaning the windshield, outside ...

... and inside. Brian, the diesel specialist, arrived and diagnosed our malady as a faulty high-pressure line. Being in the geographical oddity of Coinjock, the new line is two hours away. Therefore, we will be here tomorrow waiting on a fix. The sun set over the far bank of the canal. Checking one more project off the list, we got our stern light working. 

We joined the crew of My Cat -- Don, Linda, and Trisha -- for dinner at the marina restaurant. This spot is well-known for its prime rib and four of the five opted for the house special. The fifth, me, elected to have the grilled shrimp. It was a great evening filled with a lot of laughs. Tomorrow we will still be here, being still, while reflecting on an eventful first week on the water.