DAY FIVE -- September 21, 2009

7:05 am -- Captain Ed is first to check in at the Maintenance Office to meet James Taylor, the  Boss Man.  He wants someone to look at the Navigator first thing. 

8:00 am -- Mechanic Alex arrives to check out the problem --- big discussion with Captain Ed -- Alex climbs around down below --  makes another trip to the office to check on parts -- then back to the boat.  We need a new steering cylinder.

8:50 am -- Alex and James Taylor come to the boat -- there is a cylinder in Norfolk which they can have someone retrieve --- so it looks like we’ll be here a while.

9:48 am -- Mary Ann and I decide to walk up to our favorite shopping center.  We stop at  “Tuesday Morning” (discount store) and “Farm Fresh” (grocery store) and just as we begin to return,  Captain Ed calls with an errand.  He needs some special screws and directs us to “Taylor’s DO IT” (Home Depot wannabe).

11: 46 am -- We arrive at the boat yard just as the Navigator is being towed away from the dock.  There is a second problem.  Alex found a leak but could not determine it’s origin so the decision is been made to haul the boat.  This requires the Navigator to be hoisted up so the mechanics can look underneath.  But the boat won’t be hauled until after lunch.

Since Captain Ed wants to see the boat after it is lifted -- we go over to this area along the Inland Waterway near the gas dock where there are several Adirondack Chairs lined up.  It is very pleasant -- a nice breeze and a lovely view of the boats going by. 

1:13 pm -- The boat is hauled up into an enormous hoist and the mechanics are all busy investigating. 

1:28 pm -- We are back in the Adirondack chairs waiting for the verdict.

2:23 pm -- They find a pin hole in the shaft of the rudder. This is causing the leak.  Possibilities of finding a replacement are either Florida or Australia.   Riviera is supposed to call back by day’s end regarding availability.  The other option is to have the rudder brought to a local machine shop where it will be remade.

We will be here until at least Wednesday afternoon.   We decide to explore the area -- Captain Ed rents a car from Avis who agrees to deliver the car to the boatyard.

4:10 pm  -- Avis picks us up -- we drop the driver at the Avis rental office and head to downtown Norfolk, VA.  We have been told to check out Granby Street for good places to eat.

  

We take a long walk along the waterfront by the Naval Museum.  There is a very touching war memorial  -- actual letters from servicemen from the 1700’s to the current time have been reproduced in brass and placed around a plaza -- as if they have blown in from the sea.  It is interesting to read a letter from a Civil War soldier and then one from an Iraqi War soldier -- the similarities are eerie.

We walk over to Granby Street -- and are hesitant when we see the selection of eateries -- but we persevere and are lucky to find “4.5.6 Fish on Granby” -- we had a fabulous dinner.

After finding our way back to the boat yard -- a little round about but successful -- we are back on the boat and in for the night.  The Navigator has been lowered back into the water and docked in a giant boathouse called The Shed. 

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.