The genset installation was finished on July 28.  The next day we primed it, fired it up, and ran it for 3 hours to break it in. It worked fine so with that done Phywave is finally 100% ready to go.

I left Rock Hall on July 30 for an anchorage in the Solomon Island area but soon discovered a problem – the autopilot wasn’t working – essential when sailing solo. I hand-steered to my anchorage (Mill Creek) where I investigated the problem thinking it might be serious. The next morning I discovered a small linkage rod between the rudder and the rudder position sensor had been disconnected during the genset installation and not reconnected. Putting it back in place fixed the problem, an easy fix once I found it.

That day I moved further south, motoring all the way bashing into 18 knot headwinds right on the nose and 3-4 foot seas. I anchored in a place called Little Bay, short of my destination at Deltaville. 

On August 1 I moved south again to Cobbs Marina on Little Creek in Norfolk. It turned out to be a great stop for final diesel refueling – very easy access to the fuel dock. Since it was near closing time and I was leaving first thing in the morning they let me stay tied to the fuel dock overnight. A horrendous squall blew through that evening so glad Phywave was tied up.

Ready for departure to Horta, Azores.