It’s been a bit of a whirlwind since we arrive in Virginia last month. The boat wintered well at Atlantic Yacht Basin but we had lots of projects and maintenance to do to get prepared to cruise again. We will be taking Escapade out into the Atlantic Ocean for 120 nautical mile run from Cape May NJ to New York City NY next month so we want get all of our maintenance and projects done before that.

On May 5th we took a slow, leisurely cruise from Chesapeake to Norfolk where we tied up at Tidewater Marina for 6 nights. Wally continued working on his project list, while I attended the Great Loop Cruisers Association Spring Rendezvous. I think I had way more fun than he did for sure!!! I left the conference with loads of route planning information and some new friends that I hope to see again on the loop.

From Norfolk, we had planned to cruise to Mobjack Bay, anchor there and explore by kayak for a few days but the dang weather gnomes had other ideas. Wind direction did not look favorable for a quiet anchorage so instead we headed to Deltaville and spent 2 nights at Norview Marina.

Best I can tell, the Chesapeake Bay is a moody bi-otch and needs to be given a lot of respect. That said, understanding and watching the weather is a huge part of boating and despite our 20+ years on the water, the loop is definitely test testing us on this aspect over and over. Knowing how your boat handles and having a solid Go-No-Go Plan is critical. The joke amongst loopers is you can always say ”my half of the boat isn’t going today”.

On our run up to Deltaville a hose clamp on the port side turbo output broke, which created a bad vacuum for air to move thru the turbo and into the engine. She ran fine at lower rpm’s but our stern transom and the cockpit was a sooty mess when we arrived. UGH, scrubbing the entire back of the boat was not part of the plan after a long cruise day.

The folks at Norview Marina are great and connected us with a local mechanic to trouble shoot any potential issues from that broken clamp. Bob actually called us back on Sunday morning and after chatting with him, Wally was able to check inside the turbo and then replace that damn hose clamp.
What is with us and hose clamps?? We had a recent turbo failure on our coach due to a broken clamp… that due to design and was fatal for the turbo. Nothing preventative maintenance could have done to prevent it from happening.

Thankfully, on the boat, there was no damage to the turbo itself – yay – and it was an easy fix on Sunday. Knowing that we had a relaxing rest of the weekend. There is not much to do in this area so we took a nice long walk to Stingray Point.

Apparently F dock at Norview Marina is party central in the season… I love all the porch/kitchen setups.

Our cruise to Kilmarnock was short and uneventful – just the way we like it! It was definitely a bluebird day for cruising.

Kilmarnock is a great stop over and the Chesapeake Boat Basin is a nice marina to be tied up at. It is a small marina just off the bay on Indian Creek. There are mainly permanent moorage boats here now and the transient docks are nearly empty this time of year. There has not been another looper or cruiser come in since we arrived Monday.

The marina is small but has very nice amenities like a courtesy car, bikes, swimming pool, boaters lounge, laundry and clean bathrooms. Since there are no other transient boaters here, we have been taking full advantage of the loaner car.

Oddly, not one other looper pulled into this marina during the 4 days we were there. Seems, many have cruised right on by so many of these small charming towns like Kilmarnock and just run up the Chesapeake to more well known areas.

It is an easy bike ride into Kilmarnock proper. Wally did it once to go to the hardware store but we also used the car to explore a bit. Town is super cute, some nice restaurants and stores. Double bonus points from this crew for the amazing wine shop – Specials. The owner Amy, is an Advanced Sommelier and the wine selection in this small rural city store indicates her depth of knowledge. We found a great Thai/Sushi restaurant and treated ourselves to a nice dinner out one night.

The plan was to cruise over to Coles Point off the Potomac River on Monday to spend time with my cousins who live on Machodock Creek. Again, the weather gnomes had other ideas so we stayed put and my cousin Tina drove over from Montross VA and spent a couple days with us on Escapade. We love having guests onboard and especially appreciate our adventurous friends and family who join us along the loop.

We took a drive over to Irvington and had lunch at The Office – it was delicious! We found a great small store, Kellum Farms on the way back that had loads of local items. The fresh gulf shrimp caught our eye and later that evening I fixed Cajun Spiced Shrimp and Grits for everyone. There may have been some wine consumed as well!!!

Today’s cruise will be about 52 NM to Solomons Maryland. The weather looks very favorable for a nice cruise and I am hoping the weather gnomes give it a rest for a few days!

See you in the Solomons!