N55 Bravo

Atlantic Yacht Basin Atlantic Yacht Basin (AYB) is a working boatyard capable of handling every possible type of boat repair with lifts and rail systems, paint shops, machine shop, wood shop, cranes, covered storage for large and small boats, fuel, water, and transient moorage. They are situated in Chesapeake, Virginia on the banks of the Elizabeth River / ICW mile-marker 12 just east of the Great Bridge Locks and bridge.  We are here for the month of July so a wide variety of work can be done on BRAVO before we head north. The AYB office and yard staff are exceptional and are willing to help with all sorts of issues that arise.  James Taylor keeps the projects moving on schedule.  Watching the AYB team carefully guide BRAVO onto the rail system for her haul-out was an amazingly delicate exercise in precision and teamwork.  Our favorite diesel mechanic, spent many long hot humid hours in the engine room smiling all the time and taking the time to explain what was being

“Repositioning Cruise” Redefined This blog is a step back in time.   It is the week immediately following BRAVO’s purchase in late April 2017.   The insurance company prefers that the vessel not be in Florida with hurricane season rapidly approaching.   So it was decided to move the boat north to the Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake, Virginia, a voyage of about 700 miles.   Karl cannot do the trip solo and he has to convince two of his best friends that they should drop what they are doing, catch a flight to Palm Beach, Florida, and spend 5-7 days in an off-shore adventure in our new boat. So, three days after taking possession of BRAVO, Karl and two of his craziest “what-the-heck” friends, Mark Jeseritz and Rick Notley take off from Old Port Cove Marina, Florida and head 50 miles offshore and due north.   Six days and one finger later (details below), they arrive at Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake, Virginia, on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) mile-marker 12.   Some near

101 Ways to “Leave Home” Embarking on this adventure of this nature required two levels of separation… one from most of your worldly possessions, and secondly separation from the friends who have shared the ups and downs of your life for many years.  Friends who are helping you for several months… pack, move, sell and otherwise dispose of the worldly goods your new reality cannot contain.  Objects are more easily abandoned.  Friends are not easily left behind… Our friends added to the level of separation difficulty by throwing parties and dinners to say “good-bye”!  Nora also retired from her HR job where she had been for 22 years, and that added another layer of good-byes. The final party was a combo affair at “Chet Kenoyer's Man Cave (a.k.a. Woomi’s Man Cave).  Chet and Lynette Kenoyer hosted an open house at Chet’s newly finished man cave to celebrate its grand opening and to wish us a fond farewell. The road trip had an inauspicious beginning.  Afte