Geography requires us to head 150 miles south down the Chesapeake Bay before we head north. We are currently anchored in Fishing Bay in Deltaville, VA. This is a very convenient anchorage for any boat transiting either north or south in the Chesapeake. It is also pretty, and well protected. We arrived about 48 hours ago, shortly after dark. We found “our spot” in the dark with our radar, and settled in uneventfully.
Yesterday was a success story on with an ongoing problem we have had with a coolant leak from the generator’s engine. The leak only happened when the engine was running, and was on the back side of the engine, which is hard to visually inspect when the engine is running. I set up our GoPro camera there with a light, and once I had a chance to review the footage, the answer was obvious, and easily remedied. So that’s all good!
As the day ended yesterday the cicadas were singing in the trees, clouds were rolling in and the sun was setting with a blaze of bright colors.
The dark clouds off to the Southeast were nasty looking, and rolling quickly toward us. It wasn’t long before bolts of lightening were lighting up the sky.
The storm arrived with buckets of rain and a blast of wind. Nothing TOO bad, maximum of 35 knots or so for no more than five or ten minutes, but that was enough to cause a bit of drama in the little bay. There were three other boats anchored here. One had a sail unroll and shred in the initial gusts. We couldn’t see how them got that under control, but it was an expensive lesson. The other two boats dragged their anchors. Not too far, but any is enough to be scary. We didn’t even think this was all that much of a wind event!
There might not have been all THAT much wind… but there was a pretty spectacular lightening show. The image to the right is a frame grab of real time lightening strikes over 10 minutes within five miles of us! Who needs fireworks?
It was all over in 30 minutes, and calm returned.
Tomorrow we will head further south toward Norfolk. The plan is to pull in there, and spend the night, then head out to the ocean on Friday.
fetchinketch 
“I set up our GoPro camera there with a light, and once I had a chance to review the footage, the answer was obvious, and easily remedied.”
That’s the picture I’m interested in… 😉
What was the problem? What was the solution?
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Earl,
I guess I glossed over that… the issue was as simple as a loose hose clamp. I was _sure_ they were all tight, but the small spray of coolant from the end of the hose proved that wrong! I just couldn’t see where it was coming from since it only leaked when running, and lying down across the top of the motor while it was running really wasn’t a viable option. Since it was coming out as a fine spray, and wetting a large area it was hard to pinpoint the source.
Cranking the clamp screw down tight, and all was better. I had been working on that part of the system, and just didn’t torque down the clamp enough.
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