Cruising the ICW

 After 5 days in Cape Charles, the wind finally dropped and we were able to get away further north into the Chesapeake.  We occupied our last couple of days puttering away on maintenance projects in the morning, and exploring/sightseeing in the afternoon. Although the marina was pleasant enough, 5 days is a little much for a place like Cape Charles. Our plans were to meet friends Dan and Lori McConvey in Cambridge, but that was going to be an 11 hour run north and we just weren't ready for that long a day, with this still only being our 4th day underway.  We had thought of course that we would be there in plenty of time, but the weather delay was much greater than anticipated.  So we agreed to meet our friends in Onancock, about a 40 mile or 5 hour run north.  It was a beautiful day with warm temps and light winds.   We had met a couple from Indiana at Cape Charles and they were travelling to Onancock the same day, after a similar weather hold, and we ...

We departed Norfolk mid-morning under clear skies and fair winds for the trip into Chesapeake Bay and up the York River, 4.5 hours for the 37 mile run.  As we are just getting the boat going again after 17 months of layup, my objective is for modest daily runs.   We arrived with lots of time in the afternoon to explore the town on our bikes.   Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg are 2 parts of the historic triangle  including Jamestown, which we also visited 2 years ago.   Yorktown is most famous for being the site of the last major battle of the Revolutionary War in 1781, which this monument was built to honour.   The Riverwalk Landing marina is located right in the centre of town, with great access to all the main sites.   And we certainly had our share of entertaining sights there with USCG trainees practicing docking, a submarine transiting the river, and a large supply / refueling ship requiring a bridge opening. ...

Just couldn't wait to get on the road again! (credits to Willie Nelson).  Well after 17 months, we are back on Rumaway and off for another number of months of adventure. We arrived in Norfolk VA to see her out of the water for hull paint and various prep work at the Atlantic Yacht Basin storage yard in Chesapeake VA.  After launching 2 days later, the work for us started. The boat had been winterized last December to prepare for the short cold spells that can develop here, and that also means that all of the systems needed to be recommissioned.  The first priority was AC as it was close to 90 when we arrived. Second priority was water systems and refrigeration. We moved aboard the day after the AC was commissioned and started the cleaning.  Although in covered storage the exterior of the boat was very dirty of course and required nearly two days of cleaning. The bigger concern was the interior, as it is such a humid climate here in the summer, and after two summers s...

After 15 days of hard running, long days, we reached Atlantic Yacht Basin (AYB) in Chesapeake Virginia, just south of Norfolk, where the boat will be stored under cover for the next 8 months.  This is the same place we left the boat last year for the majority of storm season. From the last post, we were in Stuart, Florida, and expecting to take 3 weeks to get the boat to AYB.  Having Tristan along has really helped as we have been able to put in long days.  Generally up before dawn and away with first good light, and docked around 6.  As we worked our way north, and being past Spring equinox, the days progressively got longer and we lengthened the days so that we were regularly putting in 10 to 12 hour days.  That enabled us to log close to 80 nautical miles days pretty regularly.  Total mileage for the trip from Sarasota was 1,071 nautical miles (1,983 km) for an average daily run of 75 miles. That may not sound like an outstanding average speed, but con...

A lot has transpired since the last post.  The world has changed for everyone very quickly, and life has been turned upside down for us as well.  I will pick up from when things were relatively normal, and get to the current state of affairs. From our stop in Sarasota we continued north to Anna Maria Island, which we have been to before and love, for a couple of nights to enjoy the beach, and the bike riding, and await son Sean and girlfriend Laura's arrival.  We had planned on going on to St Petersburg to meet them but it turned out the weekend of their arrival was the Grand Prix Indy Car race, so there was no hope of getting moorage in the area. While waiting for them, we decided to go back to Venice to have thermostats replaced on the starboard engine as it wasn't properly coming up to heat. Not an urgent job but something that should be done given the time available. That took a half day longer than planned, but it worked out okay as Tristan joined us there....

We departed Fort Myers area the day after Greg's sister Denise left, headed north again.  Our first stop was Pelican Bay, where we had spent a night when Denise was with us.  We continued to be plagued by every boaters nemesis, strong winds.  Fortunately the wind was out of the South for the trip, so following seas and not taking a lot of spray, as we had 20+ knots.  Pelican Bay is relatively protected, for this area, and the wind dropped to 10 knots overnight so we had a pleasant night. Getting out of the winds in Pine Island Sound was a priority so we headed north into the more protected waters of the Gulf IntraCoastal Waterway (GICW) towards Venice.  This was a relatively short run, of only a couple of hours, and we had dolphins with us much of the way.  We took a diversion on the way into Boca Grande so see what it offered, and came across a beautiful old yacht, We spent the next 3 nights at Venice Yacht Club, as the wind continued to blow.  ...