Ready, Set, Go!

Well, we made it Norfolk last night about 10:40 pm, right on schedule. Despite a minor delay in Pennsylvania when the Skipper had to introduce himself to the Keystone’s State, State Police. That’s right; Don was stopped by a Keystone Kop! We didn’t think the clocked speed could possibly be right but what can you do? Not exactly a fair ticket, but we decided to go as fast as we can when we hit the water! No speed limits there and we can turn the lead-footed skipper loose!

Today was warm and bright. The forecast was for lower temperatures, but it was easily 80 or above today and very little wind in the marina. We sorted out some gear, changed a few things in storage, flushed out a water tank, and just generally worked on a number of things to get ship-shape and ready. John has been on the boat for two days and did a lot to get things ready including flushing the other tanks. The life raft was still in Annapolis instead of Norfolk and John made a trip to meet the raft halfway to Norfolk. John’s trip took 6 hours due to traffic. At one tunnel the line of cars was backed up 7 miles! We were glad John was there early to get things rolling and rescue our raft. Rod filled the dozen 5 gallon cans with diesel fuel and checked them for leaks. Don stored them in the stern lockers and they seemed to fit well there. Ken worked in the small space in the head hooking up the wiring the mast electronics. We don’t have a wind speed indicator reading and don’t know why. We double checked it and the reading we do have now is way off. It is very low and at times a negative number. (Don went out later and bought a hand held unit at a local West Marine that was still open despite it being a Sunday. We also hoisted Ken up the mast to put on the spreader protector tips that had been left off and also to rig a few flag halyards. We finished most of the chores right at noon.

Stephanie & Andy Walls brought us a great lunch from Subway. We sat in the cockpit and ate while we talked. I was very warm in the sunshine, but a good change for those of us from Michigan. We had good visit and both Stephanie & Andy told us about their work for the Navy here in Norfolk. There is a couple of huge Navy ships right near here that we pass as we go out of the bay. The size of these is unbelievable! After lunch we all went out for a quick sail to test the boat and make sure everything works – including the crew! The wind shifted constantly and then died. Then the rain started. We didn’t have the rain fly up and Don got drenched. We put up the storm jib just for practice. It’s hard to imagine putting that up in heaving seas with strong wings! Very hard to imagine! We decided to turn back due to rain, no wind and a baby that was casting a vote for a nap. On the way back the rain really hit hard right as we came into the marina. Don was concerned about even being able to see as we came in, but it quit just in time and there was no wind by then to contend with. The Walls left us with their good wishes and took John’s car with them to store it. Don and I went to the store for groceries for our departure tomorrow. I used the laptop while we were out to connect to a few weather sites and the virtual buoy site. It looks like we can explain rain and possible thunderstorms for the next few days. The winds are predicted to range from 10 – 25 with seas under 10 feet. The virtual buoy shows waves 10 – 11 on Tuesday and Wednesday at the ¼ point of the trip.

We plan to leave tomorrow at slack water which is sometime after 8:30 I think. Don’s run through the checklist several times and will probably do it many times again in his head tonight while trying to sleep! He just said we will probably leave around 9 – 9:30 am. I think we are all ready to get this adventure underway. There will probably be a flurry of last minute phone calls to loved ones tomorrow and then we will be off!