Back in Deltaville ... Been here before just as a stop over, but this time it is to get some work done at the boat yard. The main engine (diesel) hasn't been starting well and so I want to get that corrected, and the main sail took a beating when crossing the Pamlico Sound. The three lower battens ripped through the batten pockets at the luff (leading edge of the sail), and the luff itself has about a 6" tear just below the 1st reef point. Some of the stitching on the leech (trailing edge) is also gone, and the culprit there is the monofilament line of the Dutchman flaking system (helps the main sail flake or stack up on the boom when you lower the sail instead of falling on the deck). If I ever get a new main sail, I will replace the Dutchman with a different system of lazy jacks and a bag. Anyway, that is more than you wanted to know about that stuff, but suffice to say, the sail looks like shit and needs to be repaired. I suspect this sail isn't long for the world and will have to be totally replaced before too long. The good news is these kinds of repairs are surprisingly inexpensive, so I think it is worth it for now.

I had dinner with Ted in Hampton last night. Ted is the son of my friend Ted Holtz, whom you may remember lost a valiant battle to cancer a while back. Anyway, Ted lives in Hampton and is also a sailor and has been following my exploits. He is a chip off the ol' block and we really enjoyed ourselves. He races sail boats on the Chesapeake and is now thinking about doing some long distance cruising. I warned him that once infected with this disease of cruising it will be difficult to return to the real world. I hope to meet up with him in October on the trip back south.

One thing I have to look forward to here in Deltaville is mail. Mom and Nikki have both forwarded mail to me here and among other things is my laptop that has been in for repairs twice now in the last 5 months. Anyone thinking about buying a Toshiba might want to think again. To be fair, the saltwater environment is probably a bit harsh on electronics, but the other two laptops on the boat are 5 years old and still kicking. They are just outdated. Oh well ...

Trish, here is a picture for the kids in your class. It is of the Apollo 12 capsule and it is at the VA Air and Space Center here in Hampton. For the youngun's on the list who might not remember, Apollo 12 carried the 3rd and 4th men to walk on the moon. Langley is where NASA actually got its start and is still involved in R&D for the space program.

If the engine and sail get repaired by the end of the day Friday, I plan to pull out of here Saturday and head to Tangier Island. The forecast is for fair weather by then. Today's forecast was for showers and scattered thunder storms, but that never happened, other than at about 0600. The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day!