Sunrise on Wednesday, July 9, 2025:

Eric’s morning chore was to grease the windlass. We’d replaced our windlass last year before we left San Diego with an updated version of the same model. Eric was pleased to find that the updated model was easier to service than the last one. It was easy to take apart — just one screw and 2-bolts. This model also doesn’t need the oil changed; our old one did. 

In the afternoon, we went to Virginia Beach to visit Miss Roxy. On the way, we stopped at West Marine to pick up some more parts. West Marine didn’t take as long as we’d anticipated, so we had some extra time to kill. We decided to visit the famous Oceanfront boardwalk. We parked at a public parking garage that Karen had told us was the cheapest parking garage/lot in the area.

Conveniently enough, it was across the street from Neptune Park, which was one of the sites listed on the “Top 10 Things To See in Virginia Beach.” This was the park. It was closed as they were preparing for a special event there that was scheduled for later in the evening.

The giant Neptune statute was on the boardwalk near the park.

It was your standard beach boardwalk: sand/ocean on one side of the walkway and what appeared to be a long line of tall buildings on the other side.

The jet fighters were practicing overhead. Between the boardwalk that felt kind of like Pacific Beach and the jet fighters, we almost felt like we were in San Diego on an unusually hot and humid day.

After the beach, we drove over to Miss Roxy’s, then walked over to a restaurant on the boardwalk called Waterman’s for happy hour. 

Waterman’s was established in 1981 and was one of the few low buildings left on the boardwalk. It was apparently famous for originating an alcoholic drink called the Orange Crush, which had fresh squeezed orange juice, Sprite and orange vodka. Eric and Christi both tried one. This was the view.

On our way back home, we stopped at Karen’s to visit with her and her family. The full moon was rising just as we returned to the marina.

Eric had ordered a Ryobi fan that was a hybrid, so it could run off AC power or battery power. It used the same battery pack as our other Ryobi tools did. It had arrived on Wednesday. On Thursday, he tried it out in the engine room via battery power. Having the fan in the engine room made a huge difference in his comfort level. He was mad at himself for not buying one sooner.

The first chore he did on Thursday was to finish the transfer pump project. He added a second screw to better secure the pump. In order to do so, he had to drill a shallow hole. He’d already added a split loom (a covering for the wires), and he re-adjusted and secured the split loom, which required drilling a couple more holes. The anti-chaffe rubber washer didn’t fit, so he replaced it with tape. He transferred some fuel to make sure it wasn’t leaking, and all looked good. He’s proud of the install — it almost looks like it was made specifically for that spot (the hoses are a little tight in the space).

It rained on and off all afternoon, and at some points, the rain was very hard with lightning and booming thunder. The rain was warm, and the outside temperatures were pleasant. It was a nice change from blazing hot. 

In the afternoon, Eric and Keith went to Portsmouth to see the family that we’d met a couple of weeks ago, Bigger Boat. Eric helped them find the source of a mechanical issue they were having and Keith played games with the kids. Christ was not eager to venture out in the rain, so she stayed onboard Kosmos. During a break in the rain, they saw a nice rainbow

We had a quiet evening aboard.