Sentry Charger Settings

We repaired the bad capacitor in the Sentry battery charger a few months ago. But it never turned itself off at the high voltage setting and we were concerned about overcharging the AGM batteries. The charger has set points for turning on (a low voltage) and turning off (a high voltage). The high voltage setting was over 14 volts. We noticed that when anything was pulling much current the charger would never turn off. This could result in cooking (overcharging) the batteries.

So we decided to set the high cutoff threshold at 13.6 v, which corresponds to the float voltage for AGMs. This voltage doesn't get the batteries quite to full charge but is safer than setting a higher voltage. We turned on lights and fans to drain the batteries down to the point where the charger came on, then turned off the fans and lights to let it charge the batteries back up. This allowed us to set both the low and high points. There didn't seem to be much battery capacity between 13.6 and 14.3v, so the 13.6 setting seems like a good value for us. A small video camera was used to record the voltmeter reading when the switch-on and switch-off occurred, just in case we were looking at something else when it happened. We set the switch-on low voltage threshold to 12.6 v, which provides a reasonable amount of power between the switch-on and switch-off points.

This will allow the Sentry to continue to work for us until we eventually replace it with a combination charger/inverter.

A Cuban What!!???

A Cuban Yo-Yo. It is another name for a hand-line reel. We wanted one to take on our trip from Tortola to the Chesapeake to try our hand at catching fish. We had some surgical tubing handy and created an elastic shock absorber for it. Some of the rigs we saw had a line run through the center of the yo-yo, which made it impossible to reel the line back onto the reel without disconnecting it from the boat. So we drilled a small hole in the center and ran the 1/8-inch nylon backing line through it where we tied a loop. We can now easily snap a small ring onto the loop to keep it attached to the boat.

Here's the setup. The surgical tubing is tied into a loop using a water knot. It is attached to the aft cleat. A small snap shackle attaches the tubing to the yo-yo nylon backing cord, so there's no strain on the yo-yo itself. There is a figure-8 knot in the nylon backing line on the lure side of the yo-yo to keep it from deploying itself down the line and into the water. A second line with snap shackle creates an end stop to (hopefully) keep it aboard if something big and solid hits the lure. We wanted the monofillament to break if that were to happen, instead of losing our yo-yo. There is about 50 ft of 1/8 nylon braid tied to 50 ft of 100 lb test monofilament using an Albright knot. A Fisherman's knot is used to tie a ball-bearing swivel snap to the end of the monofilament for attaching the lure. There's no need for a weight.

With this setup, we can wind the line back onto the yo-yo without disconnecting it from the boat. We won't lose the rig due to fumble fingers or a big fish grabbing the lure while we're pulling it in.

We caught two fish on our trip. A pretty big mahi took the hook while going from Tortola to Turks and Caicos. We had it up to the back steps twice and the second time, it threw the hook and escaped. All we have are memories and pictures.

The second fish was a nice tuna, about 8 pounds. It produced some nice tuna steaks that fed us for three meals.

We read another cruising blog that said that it is better to troll two lines, so we bought another yo-yo at Sailor's Exchange in St. Augustine. (You should stop by Sailor's Exchange if you're in St. Augustine and are looking for some boat parts and don't mind buying some used or excess stock parts.)

The best lure was something called Dolphin Candy, which you can buy at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Boone-Dolphin-Candy-Kit/dp/B004RDOFSE
Gee's brother says that the blue lure works best.

Additional Tips

Over time we've learned a few key tips that increased our ability to catch fish.

1. Deploy more than one fishing line (mentioned briefly above). One of the fishing blogs we read suggested that there's something about having multiple lures in the water that increases the number of bites. Sure enough, when we started deploying two lines, our successes increased.

2. Four lures on two lines. If adding another lure helps, go with four lures. Our rig includes a swivel snap at the end of the monofilament where we connect the leader to the lure. We added a small (3/8 to 3/4 ounce) bucktail jig to that snap. The fish see a small fish (the bucktail) being chased by a slightly larger squid-like thing (the dolphin candy).

3. Stagger the lines. It seems to help that the two rigs we have are slightly different lengths: roughly 100ft and 150ft. Our impression of whether this really helps is very subjective. We have no evidence to back it up.

4. It's ok that the lures run right at the surface. We can look back and occasionally see the lures breaking the surface. This doesn't seem to hurt our success rate and is validated by other blogs we've read on the subject.

5. Bring the fish in quickly. We've experienced the most losses when we wind the line back onto the reel as we bring in the fish. We're fishing for food, not for sport. Gloves are essential (seen in the photo above) and we retrieve hand-over-hand, dropping the line onto the deck. So far we've not had it tangle. If you have limited space, drop the line into a bucket as it's retrieved. Keep your feet out of the way just in case a bigger fish takes a liking to your hooked fish. We've found that it helps to bring the catch to the surface as quickly as possible. With its head above water, it will quickly become calm and it can't get its tail to bite in the water to fight. The result is that the load on the line and hook is reduced. If it's a big fish and still seems to have fight, just drag it on the surface for a few minutes until it settles down. This also gives you time to get your gaff and towel ready. We bring the fish aboard on the stern scoops without using a gaff.

6. Drop a towel over the fish's head once it is aboard. The seems to help more with some species than others. It also gives you something to hold onto the fish. A small amount of vodka poured in the gills is a non-messy solution for the final dispatch.

7. Remove the hook and redeploy the line overboard to prepare for retrieval on the yo-yo. The line is on deck or in the bucket in reverse of the order that it needs to go on the reel. So just drop the lure back in the water and pay out the line. It will (in our experience) deploy without tangling. You can then continue to fish or wind it on the yo-yo.

A note about fishing rods, since most boats we've seen use them. They are great for sport. It's a thrill to reel one in. But if you're fishing for food, there are a few downsides. They are more challenging to store. Our two yo-yos fit in plastic shoe box that's easy to store, including spare lures and gloves. Rods position the line higher. Our rig is right on the stern, about 5 ft above the water. Less line out is less to retrieve and still get the lures near the surface. Rods add several more feet of height that requires more line out to prevent the lures from continuously skimming the surface (some skimming seems to be ok). An alternative is to use a heavier bucktail. With more line out rods take longer to retrieve.

On the rod side of the equation, we've had three strikes in which we lost the lures and the snap swivel in each case was completely destroyed. These were big fish that might have been caught if we used a rod.

Getting Juiced at the Dock

LUX has one of the original Sentry FR1240/3X (12v, 40A, 3 bank) chargers made by Dometic. When we rescued LUX from the Nanny Cay boat yard, the house bank was at or just below 10 volts. That's the level that's a fully discharged battery. We put the charger on and it slowly came up to 12 volts over three days. The charger just didn't seem to be performing the way a 40A charger should. We knew that something was amiss when we couldn't get a good charge in marinas and the engines would start off with high charge loads. We were back home, so it was easy to remove it, examine the guts, and decide what action to take.

The case was somewhat rusty. It looked like someone spilled salt water on the unit. Some parts of the case are aluminum and some are steel - both had corrosion. Upon removing the case, we found that the main capacitor leads were also corroded and charred (the pictures are after we repaired the wire). The capacitor is highlighted with a red circle in the first picture.

The capacitor is the same as a motor run capacitor, available at any HVAC shop. I had one handy and connected it to the charger. The charger worked! (Drat; now we have to put off buying the Victron Inverter/Charger.) We fixed up the case and reinstalled it on LUX.

The Sentry charger is a ferro-resonant charger and therefore acts much like a 2-stage charger. It is basically a constant voltage charger, with current limit. As the battery voltage increases, the current decreases. It has a cut-off and cut-in circuit that stops charging when the battery voltage reaches the cut-off point and will restart charging when the voltage drops to the cut-in voltage. The manual recommends 12.8v for the cut-in voltage and 13.9v for the cut-out voltage. We have AGM batteries, which can take higher voltage.

There's a nice table on the BD Batteries web site (http://www.bdbatteries.com/mcharging_procedures.php) about Lifeline batteries that says a 2-stage charger should charge at 14.2-14.4 volts for the bulk phase and 13.2-13.3 for the float phase. So increasing the set points on the Sentry to 13.0v on the lower set point and 14.2 v for the upper set point would emulate the 2-stage charger. The West Marine advisor page "Selecting a Battery Charger", shows 14.6v and 13.4v, respectively for accept and float phases (http://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Selecting-a-Battery-Charger).

The end result is that we now have a good charger. Perhaps someday we'll get the Victron so that we have a really good inverter/charger.

Who Are Those Bimbos?

We mentioned Bimbos in several prior posts. No, they are not the hired models that frequent trade shows and who know nothing about the products that they are pitching. These are cookies! They are rather like Oreos, but have less filling. Of course, we couldn't pass up having Bimbos on board! It was quite the conversation piece.

bimbo Duplex Cookies - The Value Pack

One pack of bimbo cookies

The Thunderstorm!

Gee wrote about our weather adventures in Weather Adventures. It was the most powerful storm I have ever experienced on the water. Peggy and I had previously been hit in a Chesapeake Thunderstorm many years ago in which we couldn't see the instruments. I estimated that storm to be about 50 kn winds, because the rain felt like riding a motorcycle in the rain at about that speed. The rain has a bit of sting to it at that speed.

In our encounter in LUX, we could see it coming, so we battened down everything. Mike was driving. We put on foul weather gear (well, except Mike, who doesn't mind heat and cold so much). Mike should have put on his PFD and we should have all clipped into the jack lines. We were never at risk, but you never know what is going to happen that might slew the boat around, causing a broach that throws you across the boat.

I told Mike that we would continue on our course and that if things became dicy, we'd run with the storm. Running with a storm means that you're in the storm longer, but the apparent wind is less and riding down the face of the waves is easier on the boat than plowing into them. It didn't take long before the wind started lifting the dinghy on the bow. Our dinghy was tied down aft of the tramp, so wind had to work a bit harder to get under it. But it did and after it lifted the third time, I told Mike to turn and run with it. The waves were only about three feet at the time, so LUX did great in the turn. We had both motors going and were able to execute the turn quickly.

The wind came up to about 35-40 kn and seemed to stabilize and even reduced. I thought that perhaps we were through the worst. But then the wind suddenly picked up substantially. Visibility was down to about 50 yards. Interesting, since there were several shrimpers around the area. We weren't headed for any of them at the last time we could see, so we kept our fingers crossed and a good lookout ahead.

Since LUX has a nice hardtop bimini, Mike was able to watch the instruments and saw 65 kn on the anemometer. We were doing about 7.5 kn down the waves at that point, so we came up with 72 kn as the wind speed in the burst. Here's what it looked like out of the salon doors after the wind abated to about 35 kn.

After the Storm

Calibrating the Fuel Tank Sensor

Fuel Sensor Unit

On our trip, we had occasion to remove the fuel tank sensor to inspect the tank for muck or foreign objects that may be obstructing the fuel pickup. While we were doing this, we decided to calibrate the tank sending unit. It is based on a float that adjusts a small rheostat (variable resistor) that drives the gauge at the helm.

We checked that the gauge registered properly at both extremes and at the middle of the range by laying the sender on its side, as shown in the photo to the right, then moving the float all the way up (gauge reads full), the middle (gauge reads 1/2), and all the way down (shown here and the gauge reads empty).

We then loosened the keeper screw that holds the wire to the float. Slide the wire in the holder, holding the sender unit next to the tank until the float is near the bottom of the tank while the sender is held next to the tank. This sets the Empty position.

Adjust Float Wire for Empty

Verify that the gauge reads Full when the float is near the top of the tank.

Verify Gauge with Float at Full

It may be necessary to bend the wire a little so that you get full range from Empty with the float near the bottom of the tank, to Full near the top of the tank. When you're happy with the travel range and the reading on the helm gauge, tighten the keeper screw on the wire.

We had several inches of the float wire above the adjusting screw, so we bent the wire so that it would fit into the tank through the mounting hole. Cutting it off will work too, just put a bend in the end so that if the keeper screw ever loosens, the float won't fall off in the tank.

When working on the sensors, we found that the sensor unit screws are not drilled in a symmetric pattern. It is a good idea to scribe a mark on the sensor top and on the tank to indicate its orientation prior to removing it. Otherwise, you get to play an alignment game to determine the position in which all screws will fit into their holes.

Our fuel gauges now read accurately and we can use them to tell when the tanks are full when refilling. More importantly, we know when the tank is near empty!

Home Again

We did leave Dun Cove by 5:30. As Mike piloted, Carol, Peggy and I packed. And by 9:35 AM, we were on the dock. Sam, Howard, Denise, Lars, and Rich were at the dock to greet us with champagne. Not only that, they stayed to help carry our luggage up the hill to Terry and Peggy's house. We talked, laughed, and had celebratory drinks. Then, Mike, Carol & Rich took LUX to her new berth in Annapolis. She goes out in charter tomorrow. Howard has offered to meet them at the dock and bring them back. Peggy and I are dog sitting with Emmy Lou and Maggie. It was a great adventure. For Peggy, it would be great to be home if the air conditioner worked. At least it is cool in here on the porch. Hope that lasts! And, now we must take the time to go through all the pictures, fix things up, and plan to annoy friends and strangers with our tales of 41 days on the water.

Back in Maryland

We have now officially been on the boat longer than Noah. We are up to 41 days. We are back in Maryland, and it truly is like being home in the summer. Up until now, we had on a long sleeve shirt most mornings. It has been pleasant and cool. So, what happens when we get home. It turns hot and humid. No wind. The haze today was so bad that you could only see out 2 nautical miles. Mike spent most of the day in the head, and not because he was sick. He was trying to get to the source of our head problems. Eureka! He found something in the starboard holding tank. I'm sure, dear reader, that you guessed what it was. Yes, it was a dish towel. How it got there is anybody's guess, but it was doing a great job of blocking progress. Works like a charm now! Mike also took apart the holding tank alarms - red lights that let you know it is full. The one on the starboard side needs to be replaced. The one on the port side now works. Mike also epoxyed a hole in the anchor locker. He also took care of some other little maintenance things. On another note, today in Maryland it appeared to be dragonfly day! They were all over the boat. None of us had ever seen that many at one time in one place. There had to have been 29 to 30 just sitting around on the back of the boat. We are now anchored in Dun Cove. I came up with a great new drink recipe for the evening. The blender came out. Fresh peaches and canned apricots went in with ice and wine! I then poured club soda in a glass and topped it with our fruit slushy! It was a delicious end to a long hot day on the water. Tomorrow is our last day. We plan to be up by 5. We will go through Knapp's Narrows, and we will be home by noon, hopefully.

June 20 - Early start again

June 20 Crack of Dawn is beginning to feel like the right time to get up. That is not a good thing for retired people. Luckily, Jacob is not retired, so he doesn't get up with us. This morning, it was a great day for bathing the anchor. Yes, Mill Creek is a very muddy stop. It was a beautiful place to anchor. It actually wasn't too buggy. Fish were jumping. Herons were flying by. A whiny seagull stopped by. Jacob wanted to feed him. I was surprised when he said that Terry and Peggy had never warned him about the consequences of feeding that first seagull. We all know that is a lure! Feed one. He calls the troops. You get tons of seagull poop. Needless to say, Jacob did not get to feed the seagulls. Coming out of Mill Creek this morning was exciting. Today's dance was the dance of the crab pot avoidance. Yes, the way in and out of Mill Creek is tricky because of all those pesky crab pots. But, we made our escape and we are doing over seven knots. For those interested in boat details: The engines are doing great. Mike did an oil check last night. He did have to add oil. He got the oil in e engine and on his foot. A flurry of stern washing ensued using environmentally safe products! Always pays to travel with an ASPS Education Officer.

Leaving Norfolk

Wednesday, June 19 C.O.D. Again!! We left Norfolk just before 6. It was drizzling a little. The harbor was very busy, so we fed Carol and Mike lots of tea. The good news is that, within an hour, the sky had cleared and the sun was shining. We even had enough wind to put up the sail. It was a good day. We even went over seven knots. The only excitement for the day was ship sightings. Mike saw a tall ship way in the distance. We all saw lots of navy ships heading down the bay. I believe they were leaving Baltimore's Sailabration. For lunch, we had a great fish and shrimp salad. I mixed up dinner leftovers - Peggy's Mahi Mahi, my whitefish, and Carol's shrimp. Add some mayonnaise, celery and carrots and you get a really tasty fish salad! Good use of restaurant leftovers, too! We ended up dropping the hook in Mill Creek in Virginia. We were early enough to set up the blender. Jacob had a mango apricot slushy. We had the adult version-yes, that would be with rum. Not much though- we finally ran out of rum. Time to go back ti the islands. Since it was still sunny, Jacob decided he would go swimming. He put his feet in. Peggy put her feet in. It was COLD! Feet came out. Time passed. Jacob decided to go swimming. He got in this time. He came right back out. Yes, the water is still pretty cold. Carol and I put out feet in for a while as well. It was cold, but it felt good!  For dinner Mike made beef stroganoff from a complete mix by Betty Crocker. It was pretty good for a mix.

June 18 - The Die Is Cast

Well, we have decided to make the run for home. We are hoping to be back in Annpolis on Thursday. Carol is busy reading the chart books. Mike is busy washing down the boat. We went to dinner at Eat at Joe's. The food was good, but not as good as some we had further south from here. Seafood just isn't as fresh as it used to be. At present, our plan is to just move along as fast as we can. At present, though, it is interesting to be in Norfolk. On our way in, we heard Navy warships on the radio warning boaters to stay out of the way as the warships were on the move. At this dock, we can look across the harbor to the repair yard for navy ships. The saddest part is that Norfolk has a place just like the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. It's where our marina is. The place is half empty. And that includes the marina. It is very sad because the place is actually very nice. This afternoon, we went to Nauticus, the marine museum that houses the U.S.S. Wisconsin. Mike, Jacob and Peggy did the tour of the U.S.S. Wisconsin. Peggy learned that she does not want to be in the Navy. The bunks are too short. Jacob learned that it got hit at a 155 mm shell. They repaired the boat, and now it is a museum. Carol and I toured the regular museum. We learned that even Moray eels can live long enough to get cataracts. We all went to check out the exhibit of the Chris Craft boats. The museum had done a great job of exhibiting the boats in an open area in the building also used as a port of departure for the cruise ships. This trip has been quite the experience of a lifetime. But, it is time to get home. There are no more bimbos on the boat, and Tom and Linda don't have any to send us! Not only that, but we are no longer playing the Alphabet Game because Tom never sent the collection of q and z words that he promised us in order to make the game more fun.

One Lock, Five Boats and a Bear

It is 8 AM, and we are at the lock. That is a good thing since you have to be here for the 8:30 opening. The temperature has risen to 61 degrees. We are still shocked that we started the morning at 54 degrees in the middle of June. But, as I keep saying, better to be cold with no bugs than sweltering with lots of black flies. It's a good day on the water! One downside of buying a boat in the BVIs, BTW, is that the blankets are a lovely light cotton. However, they are not very efficient in 58 degree weather. Jacob is trying to get others to give him their blankets, but no such luck for him. Peggy's solution is that he should just supplement with a beach towel. In retrospect, I really must say that, for the most part, we have had nice weather. The worst weather was centered around the time that Sam and Howard were with us. But, they had warned us that they brought bad weather with them.  Okay, more excitement in the lock. We are now in position with FIVE boats going northbound. Even the lock tender thinks it is going to be a little tight. Meanwhile, there is a lot of chatter amongst the radios. Seems a bear ran across the lock! Right toward the truck used by the bridge/lock tender. Lucky for the tender, the bear kept right on going. So, the lock tender proceeded to fit us all in- three on port and two or starboard. The boat in front of us was very entertaining. First they were creeping into the lock - even thought the lock tender had said we needed to get a move on in order to make the next drawbridge. Then they had trouble getting next to the lock wall. Then, to Carol's dismay, they killed their engines. Thank goodness that they started them back up. I thought Carol might be thinking about paying them a personal visit. The tender was a fun guy! He told us to be sure to have everything ready because, in his own words, "You are going down!!!" We kept complaining that the phrase sounded too much like a bad police movie, and we didn't want to go down in that sense. But we did - go down, that is. At least in the lock sense. As soon as he could, he shepherded us out of the lock and on our way. He told us that we had just navigated one of the oldest locks in the United States, and he wished us Godspeed and a safe journey. It is now 9:15 AM, and we are part of the boat parade heading for the drawbridge. We are following closely because the lock tender said we had to do 6 knots to make it. At present, we are following at 5.6. Those boats need to speed up! And now we are at the bridge. It claims to be 65 feet. Once again, Mike does the bridge dance. Peggy thinks she heard the antennae scrape a little. Jacob and I could only hear the roar of the cars and trucks going over the bridge. Busy morning here in the Norfolk area! And the excitement just kept coming. The next thing was that we got a radio message saying that the railroad bridge ahead was going to close momentarily for a few minutes. We got there in time to watch it close with four of our boat friends from the lock. Then, we had the opportunity to watch a truck drive over the railroad. Ridge. Then three guys walked across. Then, the bridge went back up. As soon as we cleared it, it went back down.

Monday, June 18

We spent an interesting evening at the Welcome Center on the Dismal Ditch Canal. It was a cool evening - meaning few bugs. That is always a good thing on the Dismal Ditch. We arrived after a cabin cruiser, so there were two of us at the small dock. And then a large cabin cruiser showed up, and the dock was full - after we moved us and the cabin cruiser up a bit. Then a sailboat showed up. They wanted to raft up with us. We assured them that was fine - as long as they realized that we intended to leave no later than 5 AM. Then, another sailboat showed up. They rafted up with the large cabin cruiser. Luckily, that was the end of the parade for the day. The Welcome Center said that the record is 23 boats rafted up there. I would not like to have tried to work our way out of the center of 23 boats. And, yes, we would have been at the center of the 23 boats.  So, it is now 6 AM, and we are on our way. Yes, the sailboat rafted up to us woke up as well, and they are now following us to the first lock of the day. There was no excitement this morning. The engines started right up. There was no wind, so we were not pushed against the dock. The only downside was that there wasn't a gas station to make us egg biscuits. But, we have our own Peggy. She is busy warming up the last of our cinnamon bread. For someone who has been awake since 4 AM, she is doing a great job. Oh, wait a minute! Excitement on the canal. Mike had to slow down to avoid ducks swimming. Yes, they were true bird brains. One kept swimming straight ahead in front of us. Now one is flying in front of us. Finally, he has flown off. No ducks will be harmed in this voyage! And it is a beautiful morning. The sun is shining. There is a mist on the water. Peggy, Carol and I are dressed in long pants and jackets here inside the cabin. Jacob would be in long pants, but he doesn't have any! Mike is outside at the wheel in thin shorts and a tee shirt. It does, indeed, take all kinds. It is 8 AM, and we are at the lock. That is a good thing since you have to be hear for the 8:30 opening. The temperature has risen to 61 degrees. We are still shocked that we started the morning at 58 degrees in the middle of June. But, as I keep saying, better to be cold with no bugs than sweltering with lots of black flies. It's a good day on the water! One downside of buying a boat in the BVIs is that the blankets are a lovely light cotton. However, they are not very efficient in 58 degree weather. In retrospect, I really must say that, for the most part, we have had nice weather. The worst weather was centered around the time that Sam and Howard were with us. But, they had warned us that they brought bad weather with them. So, we were duly warned. Okay, more excitement in the lock. We are now in position with FIVE boats going northbound. Even the lock tender thinks it is going to be a little tight.

June 17 - C. O. D. Once Again

Once again, Mike got us up at 5:30 for an early start. I took advantage of the routine to run back to our favorite gas station/grill to buy some breakfast for us. Nothing better than eggs on homemade biscuits. And, for dessert, we had blueberry muffins fresh from the oven. Actually, the truth is that Jacob did not get a blueberry muffin. They only had four. So, not enough for everyone. And, I am getting better at staying up and working! I made two pots of hot water- one for right away and one for the thermos. I also thought ahead to put all the food in the large stew pot with the lid on to keep everything hot longer- an old trick of my mom's. As Mike promised, the Albemarle Sound was calmer today. We had just about one hour of bouncy bouncy, then it smoothed out. And, now the jib is up and we Re moving right Lang. The goal for the day is to first stop in Elizabeth City. Then, we will move up closer to the start of the Dismal Ditch Canal so that we can make the locks on time. Our plan is to try to do the Dismal Ditch Canal all in one day. That is possible - as long as we stay right on schedule. So, we'll see how that goes. At 10:00, we are moving right along. We are doing 7.2 knots with the jib up, and we are just passing the TCOM blimp construction company! It was a good day; they had a cute white blimp sitting outside on the riverside so that we could clearly see it. The interesting thing is that I thought it was a cute LITTLE blimp - until I saw a truck passing under it! The actual construction building is so gigantic that it makes everything around it look very, very small. This position is just five miles from Elizabeth City. That means we might be there in less than an hour. Since the free Mariners Wharf has free wifi, I wanted to get this done so I could post it. Meanwhile, we continue our dance of the crab pots. They are everywhere around here. Unlike the Chesapeake Bay, there do not appear to be any rules about keeping channels clear for boating. And, the watermen do not appear to put them down in any patterns, unlike home where once you see a pot you can then expect to see the line of them stretching in a pretty organized row. Not here, that is for sure. It is now 4:47, and we are at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center. No, we did not stop in Elizabeth City. We decided to skip that stop because we really did not need to go to town for anything. We have enough foodstuffs to make it through. And, I already got free books at the library in Belhaven. So, I really did not need to go to that bookstore, although there is probably some book I need desperately...... Anyway,the downside is that there is not free wifi. So, this blog posting will go up much later. So, we did head down the Dismal Swamp. It is an interesting place. It is just about wide enough for one boat, so when you see another boat heading your way, you really have to think about when and where you will meet and pass them. Mike and Carol did a splendid job. Even better, traffic was light today.  Our first big adventure was the saga of the dog. For those of you who do not know, the Dismal Ditch is a long stretch of very brown water. It is so dark and brown that it looks like thin oil or dark coffee. You really cannot see much, including brown logs in the water. We only missed one log. I was going to say that we only ran into one log, but that did not really sound like the perfect thing. Next, we rounded a corner, and I heard Carol yell, "Slow down. Back up. Don't hit the dog." I thought she was joking. No. Someone was tossing a ball into the water so that Jim's black lab could retrieve it. Good day for dog swimming, unless a large catamaran is coming around the corner. Yes, no dogs were harmed on this trip. We missed the lab. He made it back to the dock with his ball. Good dog. Bad owner. Our next adventure was our first lock. Yes, LUX for us was a newbie with locks. The gentleman at the lock was very helpful, and his little doggy was cute. It was an interesting experience for all of us. The wash from the water rushing in caused LUX to start trying to back away from the side of the lock. Peggy and Carol were charged with holding the ropes to keep us in place. Carol thought that Mike was doing something at the helm, but no. It was just the rushing water. We made it through the first lock, and then we proceeded slowly toward the bridge. BTW, we really did have to go slowly. No sense rushing. The gentleman who worked the lock had to get in his truck, drive to the bridge, and then open the bridge for us. And, yes, the doggy went for the ride. Good dog. Good owner. Tomorrow, we will see if we can make it to Norfolk. Long day, but getting closer to home makes it seem shorter each day.

Saturday Night- June 16

Well, we are back from Captain Charlie's restaurant over in the gas station. Carol and Mike stuck with the NC local fried shrimp dish. Peggy and I ventured into new territory. We ordered the NC BBQ. Hmmm... We did not know that meant a mound of pork soaked in white vinegar. Very astringent, to say the least. But, the pork was good anyway. So, we brought back a good portion of it. Peggy and I plan to make sloppy joes for lunch tomorrow with the leftovers. Tomorrow, the plans are to move on to Elizabeth City. So far, the weather looks good for our plans. We'll see what it looks like in the morning.