Daydream's Great Loop Blog!

Here is the blog post for yesterday. Today's is yet to be written. We got the sh*t knocked out of us on the Alligator River, which I suppose is a taste of the crossing yet to come. We are in a nice protected spot with good shore access for Baxter, and will probably be here tomorrow too, when the forecast says winds of 25-35 mph with gusts to 45 - NOT a day to try to cross Albemarle Sound (note: I have been misspelling this because Skipper Bob misspelled it, it is Albemarle, not "Albermarle"! The forecast for tonight after midnight is high winds and a thunderstorm with heavy rain. The cockpit is all buttoned up, and we are snug as a bug in a rug. Plus, the Verizon Jetpack works here, so all is good!
 
BrentB":12jyfk45 said:
How often do you change the intermal and Racor fuel filters?(

The Racor fuel filter is changed along with the engine fluids and filter, which with a lot of good advice from a lot of folks here plus Pete at West Coast Marine, we are doing at 150 hours, and will not have heartburn if it goes to 200 hours. The internal filters, per West Coast Marine, are a 400 hour interval item. I have them in my parts box, but probably won't bother until I get back, when I will let Pete at West Coast Marine handle it!
 
It rained and was windy last night here at Broad Creek just a few miles from Albemarle Sound but no thunder and surprizingly little rocking and rolling. Today's forecast high winds (25-35 with gusts to 45) are just starting and are howling like crazy now. This is a VERY protected spot, as you can see from the Garmin Blue Chart screenshot, and despite the high winds, there is a chance that Baxter will get to shore this morning. We are anchored in 4 feet, right off the entrance to the channel to the boat ramp, so I could wade ashore if I needed to! The boat ramp symbol is right under the boat icon! Anchoring in shallow spots is just one of the benefits of a shallow draft C-Dory! We have more than 10 to 1 scope on our Rocna anchor! The water in here is rolling a little but surprisingly less than we might have expected

Broad_Creek.sized.png
 
BrentB":2lmx3kuf said:
Thanks

Are you finding E zero gas at marinas?

We fueled when we left Birch Bay with ethanol free gas, and once on the water we fueled at New Smyrna Beach Marina, again at Isle of Hope in Savannah, then at Barefoot Marina in North Myrtle Beach - these only offered on grade of gas, I assume it was ethanol free but I don't know that. I topped off at at gas station in Newport, N.C., while the boat was on Benton Blalock's trailer, and that was not ethanol free but it was only 38 gallons, and since we are moving almost every day and the gas is not sitting in the tank for extended periods of time, I am not too concerned about the gas. I have Stabil 360 and if I put a substantial amount of e gas in, I will add the Stabil just as a general precaution.

At our 2,000 RPM cruise speed, we are getting excellent economy, always at or knocking on the door of 5 statute miles per gallon. We still have at least 50 gallons left from our top-off back in Newport, and will be good probably to Norfolk, which is less than 100 statute miles away now. The big question is when the wind will subside to let us get on our way!
 
Hi Pat, Enjoying following along on the Web as you cruise. If I were you, I'd put the worries of Non-E fuel on the back burner.
The only time you might worry about it is when you're home and storing the boat. The Ethanol fuel works just fine if you're using it up every few days or weeks. Enjoy the trip!
 
Dreamer":200veews said:
Hi Pat, Enjoying following along on the Web as you cruise. If I were you, I'd put the worries of Non-E fuel on the back burner.
The only time you might worry about it is when you're home and storing the boat. The Ethanol fuel works just fine if you're using it up every few days or weeks. Enjoy the trip!

We agree Roger, we don't really think we have to worry about the gas as long as we are moving and it is not sitting in the tank for extended periods of time!
 
The blog only went to the 6th--hopefully you made it across the sound on today, the 7th! Keep the calm winds and smooth seas! We are all following you each day!
 
Here is the blog post for yesterday, which was NOT a pleasant day until we arrived at the Vinroots' pier on Cod Creek off the Potomac River! The blog post for the day before, which was a delightful day, will have to wait until I am somewhere with fast enough internet to upload the photos!
 
This blog post covers the wonderful four days and five days we waited out the high winds and waves on the Chesapeake Bay at Charlie and Sally Vinroot's home on Cod Creek just off the Potomac. Those of you who know Charlie will know we had a pretty good time!
 
I met Charlie at one of the Gatherings I think it was in NC he showed us his first Tomcat with Suzuki 115 on it . After that i heard he had bought Thataway . Nice guy I wondered if he got back into C-dorys after selling Thataway .I'm glad you guys had a good time . Your trip seems to be going Good .have Fun enjoy and Take care jim on jennykatz
 
jennykatz":370wehai said:
I met Charlie at one of the Gatherings I think it was in NC he showed us his first Tomcat with Suzuki 115 on it . After that i heard he had bought Thataway . Nice guy I wondered if he got back into C-dorys after selling Thataway .I'm glad you guys had a good time . Your trip seems to be going Good .have Fun enjoy and Take care jim on jennykatz

Jim, all is well! We had a great time visiting Dr. Bob and Marie in Pensacola and Charlie and Sally in Heathsville, VA. We are now in Cambridge, MD, tied up on the free wall in the Cambridge Creek Basin, and will be here for a few days. Today we wandered into the Dorchester County Office Building looking for tourist information, and found ourselves getting the lowdown from the County Council President! Talk about personal service!
 
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