Adventure of a Lifetime

We were lucky to be able to reserve a slip in Beaufort at the last minute. We might have anchored, but heavy weather is expected, and we'd rather be tied to a dock. I know that when you arrive early at a marina, there are more options for slips, so we got up bright and early and were off the dock at first light again this morning, around 7:15. At the helm, not the best weather today. Despite the gloomy weather and 2-3 foot seas in the Sound this morning, we saw a bunch of dolphins, so that made up for the gloomy surroundings. Here's the track we made today. Cut through the Alligator River and down the Neuse River. Pretty easy ride, except a little bumpy at times and passing and being passed is not fun in the narrow channels. We got to Beaufort around 2:30. Had to dock in around 20+ knot winds, but Empty Nest has great docking capabilities, and it was a piece of cake. On our way, we say a boat named Tamara Alane. We had to take a picture for our daughter Tamara to see, although ...

With a long travel day scheduled, we got going at first light, which today was at 7:15 a.m. It was quite entertaining to see all the boats pull off the Coinjock wall at the same time and head South, like migrating birds. For most of the day, there were no entrances or exits from the river and the canal, so we were in a line of boats. Once the faster ones passed the slow ones, it was like a stretched-out caravan. We heard the same people on the radio the whole way. Coinjock bridge Jeff C. was following us on marine traffic, and noted that the caravan was moving in lockstep. He also observed that we had the coolest boat name in the group. I have to agree. Between Coinjock and Dowry creek, there is one bridge that has to open. It's a long swinging bridge. We were lucky and had almost no wait. The bridge tender was one of a kind. Most of them are gruff and business-like. This was a chatty old guy with a strong Southern drawl. He was telling his life story to one of the boats, and filli...

 Early morning start in Portsmouth, looking across the water to Norfolk. We had a chance to add to our stink bug collection in our portable vacuum. They have been everywhere in our boat since she spent 4 weeks in the shop. All was going well until Ann accidentally popped the vacuum open and sprayed sting bugs all over me. Before we left, I did my physical therapy. Here I am with leg band monster walks along the boardwalk outside our marina. At the Great Bridge Lock, the lock tender told me I had time to let the dog out, so we used our ramp and gave him a break. We joined a long caravan of boats at the Great Bridge Lock. It was so crowded that we did not fit in the first opening and had to wait an hour for the next one. I was stuck in a cross current without a sky hook, so it was a stressful 30-40 minutes until we got to enter the lock. Ann did not hold my behavior against me because I had every right to be stressed, and she's a good wife. Leaving the lock, we headed to the Great Br...

We woke up this morning to another gorgeous moonset and sunrise. Never gets old. Some pics of our surroundings here. Moon set Sunrise I took Gimel to shore on the dinghy for him to relieve himself. We have gotten him to pee on the pads we bought and use up on the bow, but he still doesn't understand about more serious stuff. In a few days, we're going to have a night where he won't have a choice. Avi takes Gimel for a ride to use the "bathroom" The dinghy dock was at the marina pictured below. They normally charge $5, but the said I could take Gimel for free. Empty Nest was ready to keep going South. Every morning, I do my regular engine room check - about 10-15 minutes usually. I check the hydraulic fluid level, the coolant systems for the two main engines, oil level for both engines, both transmissions, and both generators. I make sure all the right valves are open, and I hunt for evidence of leaks in the bilges. I exercise the seacocks if I haven't in a whi...

When I was getting things ready this morning in Solomons, I looked out and was mesmerized by the view and took what I consider to be one of the best pictures I've ever taken. Shot with an iPhone 15 pro max. This is totally getting printed, framed and hung on the wall in our house I took another angle with the bow, but without the reflection, it's not as great.  We wanted a ride of about 6 hours today, so we chose to stop at Deltaville, Virginia. It looked like it had some nice anchorages and was the right distance for an easy trip to Norfolk the next day. When we got close, I discovered that the channel was very narrow and surrounded by shallow water. Since it was calm, we opted to anchor out, away from the Jackson Creek channel and in the Piankatank River. Right now, five other boats have joined us in this beautiful anchorage. Not much to do in Deltaville. We took the dinghy into "town" and let Gimel do his business, and we came back and cooked dinner on the boat. Th...