On our way

The odyssey has begun. We threw off the dock lines late on Thursday Oct 11 and headed out on the trip south. Well we only got as far as the Magothy River some 5 miles from the dock, but jeez it was a start. We set off in earnest the next day and headed for the Patuxant River and the Solomons some 35 miles south. What a ride it was with a small craft advisory out and winds at our back at a steady 18-20 knots and gusting to over 30 kts we have a classic Nantucket Sleigh ride although I think the origins of the term refers to being pulled behind a harpooned whale in a small dory. “Hal” the autopilot could not handle the yawing so the captain had to man the helm the whole trip, who says we will be replaced by machines. After we got into the Solomons the wind settle down and we had a wonderful night’s sleep, early to bed at 9:30 and cool enough to bundle up in the blankets. To track our stops I will put in the GPS coordinates for each stop over in parentheses so that the ambitious and curious among you can plot them in Google earth. First stop ( N38 20.2379 W076 27.6159).

We were up at 7:00 AM and out on the water by 8:00 AM heading for Reedville. All the wind we had yesterday has now dissipated and we are under diesel power.

Well the best laid plans…. We never made Reedville but ran out of time and stopped at a little creek call Dymer Creek (N37 40.2279 W076 20.1910). Searching around for a place to set the hook we motored pass a fellow traveler between him and the shore (about sixty feet off his beam) and promptly ran aground, probably this will not be the last time. We were going slowly so it was an easy off. Dymer has some very big houses on shore undoubtedly a lot on money here. Tomorrow on to Norfolk.

Well we didn’t make Norfolk. Hey this is a vacation trip not a forced march. We’re in a small creek off the Poquoson River (N37 11.0759 W076 25.3449). I’m sitting here typing this log listening to the Bob Dylan Hour on Sirius Radio, Terri is whipping up a gourmet meal and lowing about the beautiful sunset she sees out the hatch. Life is good.

We‘ve been seeing some interesting some interesting sights along the way for the last few days. The marines were practicing takeoffs and landings with their Osprey plane that converts from a fixed wing to a helicopter. According to the news they are to be deployed in Iraq. Coming into the Solomons we saw another kind of bird, a soaring eagle searching for dinner. And Pelicans, dozens of Pelicans catching chow by plunging into the drink. According to Terri’s bird book their range only extends to North Carolina…..Global Warming???

Well we got in to Hampton Va (N37 01.4200 W076 20.4429) after an early start from the Poquoson. We will have a lay day here to provision and do laundry and a REAL shower. Nice town, free WiFi in the harbor. On Wednesday we start the actual ICW, the generally accepted start is in Norfolk. It is from here that all the mileage to Key West is calculated. After passing through Norfolk, we will turn down the Dismal Swamp Canal, which I am told was conceptualized by our first President.

A little history about the ICW. In the early 1800s, the government leased land to private businesses to cut canals between various bays, rivers and sounds to create an inshore waterway to move goods. Of course these businesses were allowed to charge a toll for this service. Another note, these canals were dug mostly with slave labor. Well needless to say the business model was not sound and they lost money and the canals languished until the Thirties when we were beginning to worry about the German subs offshore. Congress took back the leases from the original canal diggers and turned the system over to the army corps of engineers, who to this day maintain the canal system, when ever Congress gives them the money. So you see even back then the government was keen on outsourcing.