Our original plan, upon leaving West Palm, was to head to the Chesapeake and then spend a few days "exploring the Chesapeake." No one had really examined what "explore the Chesapeake" meant - we would have plenty of time at sea to do that before arriving. As Dave & I poured over the charts and cruising guide a few things became apparent: traveling at night was not really an option, if we wanted to go ashore in a town it meant paying for a marina with few exceptions as there we few anchorages that would allow dinghy access to town, and a loop up through Chesapeake Bay, through the C&D canal, and back down the Delaware River would take a week even without a layover day to do some exploring on shore. All in all it did not seem to make sense for this delivery. So..... Our current plan is to head directly for Block Island, about 650 nm away. We will be in the Gulf Stream most of the way so we should make good time. As we get closer, we will decide if we want to detour to see the Statue of Liberty and New York harbor before coming up Long Island Sound or just continue off shore to Block. Everyone thought this was the best plan. Yesterday was a great day. There was little wind until about noon so me motored, making 9+ kts thanks to the boost from the stream. By noon, the sea breeze built in - amazing considering we are at least 60nm off shore - and we were able to sail. at nearly the same speed. During the night, the wind faded again and we were also beset by squalls. Around 2:30 AM, Dave & Sharon got me up to help drop the main as we were getting a squall with 20+ kt winds. We got it down without incident and I went back to bed. My watch came @ 4:00 and it rained off and on throughout but with no wind. I tried without much success to dodge a couple of areas of rain. This morning it is still raining and still windless. Hopefully the rain will end and the wind will return by noon again today. The GRIB files predict light winds for the next couple days and then much stronger winds - 2okts from SW, a perfect direction - for several days. Should make for a rapid trip as we can motor in the stream during the light air and have winds to carry us once we lose the stream. The down side of this plan is we will not be close enough to shore for any cell phone contact until we reach Block Island - or NYC if we go there.