More Exploring Deltaville, Virginia, USA

Dawn on Wednesday

On the passage, Eric had noticed an issue with the newly fixed radio: it was working fine, but it was complaining about low voltage. He spent Wednesday morning on the phone with the company who’d done the repair to troubleshoot the problem. Eric eventually figured out that there was a knob to adjust voltage on the power supply unit (which was behind the panel), and that knob was in a spot where it could have been easily bumped when the converter box was installed. In the course of the troubleshooting, the “expert” gave Eric some incorrect information, which really bothered Eric.

In between phone calls, Eric changed the generator oil and filter, drained the engine oil, and replaced the O ring in the oil drain hose for the main engine. We also went to the boat yard next door to say goodbye to the family that had been hauled out yesterday. They were a really nice family and we hope to see them again when they return.

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Exploring Deltaville, Virginia, USA

Tuesday, June 24, 2025 – We felt draggy and off-kilter all day. Even though we had a lot of chores to do, we wound up accomplishing very little.

One of the perks of the marina was that it had a courtesy car that tenants could use between 0900 and 1600. We couldn’t go farther than the grocery store, and we were only supposed to be out for an hour, though they’d allow for more time as long as no one else wanted to use the car. They said they’d call if they needed us to return it right away.

We took the car and had lunch at a restaurant called The Galley. At the Galley, we realized we had no cell coverage, which made us anxious about the marina not being able to contact us should they need the car back right away.

The decor was nautical themed and cheerful. As the name implied, it was primarily a seafood restaurant, serving traditional Chesapeake dishes. However, the menu was big and they had lots of non-seafood choices, as well. Eric ordered a crab and lobster bisque, which was great. Keith ordered a barbecued chicken sandwich, which was served with hush puppies. Hush puppies are deep fried balls of cornmeal. Keith had never tried them before and did not care for them.

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Welcome to Deltaville, Virginia, USA

Monday, June 23 — By midnight, we could see the lights of Virginia Beach. It was definitely a big city! We’d also exited the Gulf Stream, so our speeds were back to normal — 6-knots at 1650 RPM.

We entered the mouth of the Chesapeake in the wee hours of the morning. Once inside, we hit an adverse current and had to increase RPMs to 1900 to maintain a speed of 6-knots.

We ran on the edge of, but not inside the shipping lane, hoping that would keep us safe from both big ships and fishing traps. One of the scary things about going through an area know for traps at night was that we wouldn’t be able to see the markers on the traps. There was a steady conga line of shipping containers. We also passed a military vessel while it was still dark. Since the vessel looked huge on radar and tiny as we passed it, we believe it was a submarine. Fortunately, with the long days, we weren’t in the dark for long.

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Keith’s Perspective on Our Trip to San Diego and Last Few Days in Florida/Le point de vue de Keith sur notre voyage à San Diego et nos derniers jours en Floride

On Saturday, May 24th we flew to San Diego for three weeks. While we were there, we saw a bunch of friends and family, finished a bunch of science projects that were hard to do on the boat, and I also went to a D&D camp. 

Samedi 24 Mai nous avons volé à San Diego pour trois semaines. Pendant que j’y étais, j’ai vu beaucoup d’amis et de familles, j’ai fini beaucoup de projets de sciences qui étaient difficile à faire sur le bateau, et je suis aussi allé à un camp de donjons et dragons. 

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The Beginning of the Passage From North Palm Beach, FL to Deltaville, VA

On Thursday, June 19, 2025, we spent the morning getting ready to go to sea. Johnny came to Kosmos to say goodbye and pick up his car. We untied at about noon and headed south.

Given that it was a Thursday, the ICW was surprisingly busy, especially around Peanut Island, and the ride was a bit rocky from all the wakes. The current was about 1.5 knots against us, which made the autopilot sometimes struggle to stay on course. Making the trek through the ICW a little stressful in the tight quarters.

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