November 15th, 2018
Ocean Cruising Club
OCC port officers Gary and Greta could not have made us more welcome to Norfolk. There were spare berths in their marina and so we found ourselves moored up with four other OCC boats making it both entertaining and informative for we always learn something when we rub up against the OCC.
Gary took us off to top up a gas tank and do our shopping whilst Greta very kindly did our laundry. Avid sailors with four transatlantic crossings under their belt made for a great evening in their flat with the other members for beer and pizza.
This is me up the mast removing antenna and wind instruments in preparation for the Inter-coastal waterway bridges. I also measured it to find that its 63ft 7inches to the top of the tricolour so not a lot of room under the Wilkerson Bridge which comes in at 64ft.
We shall have to be careful for rain and a northerly wind can cause the water levels to rise above predictions.
November 15th, 2018
Norfolk
You know youre in the presence of a Super Power when you enter Norfolk for the place is lined with warships including a number of vast Aircraft Carriers. I cant tell you how big they are and due to scale the pictures don't seem to do them justice. Its a bit like taking pictures of rough sea only to find a millpond on film
November 15th, 2018
Cold Morning departure
This is clearing the channel at Deltaville for a motor down to Norfolk
November 15th, 2018
Noahs Boat House
Tracey just loved this and said thats the next boat for us but it needs to be in Cornwall!
November 15th, 2018
a great sail
We left Solomons Island with a lively forecast which included gusts of up too 40knts. Feeling that these wouldn't be as severe as forecast and knowing that we have a boat for the job we decided to head for Deltaville and very glad we were too. It turned out to be a cold but exhilarating sail with a peak speed of 11knts which blew all the cobwebs away. So good to be heading for the sun and as you can see from the picture this was underlined by hats and gloves. I can't speak highly enough of Finisterre clothing produced by my good friend Tom Kay. We were wearing his 1st layer merino thermals, hat, socks and jacket. All environmentally friendly and developed for the surfing world so perfect for sailing. Oh, they are a Cornish company too
November 9th, 2018
Name
Another daft name to add to our list
November 9th, 2018
Solomons Island
We had a good day in Solomons Island yesterday catching up on little jobs before a visit to the Museum. The highlight of which was this Cottage Lighthouse that we fell in love with. Its so cute inside we could have moved in there and then. Today, in deference to the coming winter and impending gale we took down the Bimini. Tracey chipped her tooth the day before yesterday and has a dental appointment this afternoon. If the wind gods are in a better mood than forecast we will rattle down to Deltaville tomorrow.
November 7th, 2018
Busy Busy
Since we have returned to the US we have been busy with lots of jobs not least having a rack made for my new toys in the form of a paddle board and a windsurfer. As you can see from the picture its been fitted and we couldn't be happier with the result. One of the other big jobs is that we have doubled our solar panels so that we can keep up with power consumption without use of the engine. Thats a lot more on the back of the boat but I think it looks discreet all things considered. The big news today is that we are now on top of the main jobs and will start to head south from what is already quite cold weather. Thanks to insurance restrictions we cant head south of Cape Fear until the 1st of December so although we are on the move there isn't any great rush. Feels great to have the work done and be on the move again for it feels like we have opened a new chapter and so its with a spring in our step that we set sail on what is a perfect crisp winters morning.
