Exciting times last night coming in to the dock. Fortunately there was a dockhand to help because when I went to put engine in reverse the engine rev'd up but wouldn't engage to there we were sliding towards a very expensive looking Trawler with the owner aboard and glaring over the bow at us. The spring line stopped us in the nick of time and other than red faces there was no damage done. All sorts of thoughts went through my head including that the damn shaft had come loose again, but no, I had checked that and it was still firmly in place. So it must be something else. What it was, was going to wait until today.

We had our first sundowner of the trip aboard Wanderer last night and got to know the charming crew. They have just returned from a two year cruise to the Mediterranean so have loads of experience. Their Admiral has only been sailing for 10 years so my hat's off to her adventurous spirit. They will be having dinner with us tonight. I'm thinking BBQ chicken as my part and Barb is talking about a nice salad to go with. Of course there will be ample wobbly pops and wine with the meal. We found some Moosehead in the grocery store so that will be the beer that we serve.

The other problem that has cropped up on the boat is that the starboard running light won't come on. We have confirmed power to the socket so we are forced to conclude that the problem is with the bulb itself. It is LED which means that you need a replacement that produces the same wavelength as the colour on that side of the boat. If you put a white light in, for example the green lens, the light will just be washed out. Without proper running lights I won't go on overnight legs so that means we will be heading up the Chesapeake and over to the Delaware. En route maybe we can find a store that will have the light bulbs.

I also took a look at the transmission that wouldn't go into reverse yesterday evening. The linkage was the first suspect but the throw into reverse was even more than that into forward. Then I checked the oil. I realized that I had never changed the oil on the transmission and what was in there was pretty dirty. So that got changed. I also did some research and discovered that when taking the measurement you aren't supposed to screw the dipstick down and I had been. That meant that I may have had too little oil in it. So, we have changed the oil in the transmission, measured it as I believe that we are supposed to and we'll see what happens the next time we are underway.

Oh, and by the way......Duh-ohhh! For our guests this evening we woke up R2 to cool down our cabin, but we forgot to hook up one very important little item - the hot air exhaust hose. Surprising how warm things get when the hot air you're supposed to be pumping out is coming straight back in. I was wondering why the little unit thought the ambient temperature was 99 degrees F. Because it was! Once the bonehead error was fixed the temperature rapidly dropped. Phew. I'm just glad we didn't break it.

We were also just looking at the news of the single and double handed yacht race from Portsmouth to Newport and the problems that some of the boats were experiencing - hurricane force winds and 10 metre seas. One sank and I believe three were abandoned. Fortunately, all crews were reported safe. One lucky guy even got rescued by the cruise liner, the Queen Mary. Talk about coming up roses!

Here at the marina paths, or should I say wakes, keep crossing. There have been a number of boats that we have met on this trip that have ended up here. I have already mentioned Wanderer, and there was a cabin cruiser called Boston Office already tied up when we arrived, and then today, another boat that we had met in the Alligator River Marina, Sophia, pulled in and we had a chance to chat with Cecil and Helena their crew. They are friends with the crew of Wanderer so, really, a small world.

We are trying to make up our mind what to do over the next day or so. Apparently the Norfolk Harbourfest is a bit of a clown show zoo down on the waterfront. Not the fest itself but some of the boaters in action. Several people here at the marina have recommended that we wait until Monday before departing. Let the drunks and party animals get out of the way. This idea has merit. Then, our friend Barry from Iolanthe and Sealegs in Hopetown has recommended some places to try to get the light that I need in Annapolis but they won't be open until Monday anyway so perhaps a Monday departure is the way to go.

Oh, and for those following us, the free docks with no services on both sides of the bridge here are still in operation. In fact they are improved.