White Knuckled
Excited to be in Hampton VA and for the day ahead of transversing the Elizabeth River with its many military vessels barges tugs and commercial ships. After much talking and discussion we thought it best to start with a new fuel filter - what were we thinking. Winds were gusting 16-20 from the southwest and temps were in the 50's as we weighed anchor and motored out of our anchorage - without any assistance from BoatUS. Headed towards the Elizabeth River and our next stop in Portsmouth I was at the helm when - yes you guessed it our motor bogged and (this time) sputtered. In 2-4 feet of chop at the mouth of the river in the shipping lanes with a military restriction area to port and a cargo ship (far off) heading our way I reduced throttle (as instructed by Greg) and we prepared to raise our sails. Our engine puttered on at 1.6 - 2.5 knots. Don't know how but we made it (great thinking Greg) across the channel and eventually to Portsmouth without stalling. It took 5 1/2 hours but we made it to our destination of the Portsmouth Marina. The marina is closed so we are tied off at the dock until tomorrow when the owner Mike will be in. We will get fuel and fill our water tanks to continue south towards the ICW.