WELL "ENTRENCHED" IN THE ICW | BLESSED SPIRIT 2009

BLESSED SPIRIT 2009

Heading South from Maine in Sept. '09 to return tp Miane from the Bahamas in the Summer of 2010.

WELL "ENTRENCHED" IN THE ICW

10/24/2009, GREAT BRIDGE VA

Up at 0700 to get into the train of 16 boats leaving Hospital point all jostling for position to get into the first locking at mile 12. OSPREY and B.S. did some discrete blocking of the pushy motor boats, but in the end we all got in and then immediately tied up for a free docking just north of Great Bridge Bridge.

Dave and Barb (FORTUNATE) invited us for dinner in their lovely home just a few miles from our boat. It was great to catch up, meet thier daughter Angelina and Sean. It was a wonderful meal with lots of laughter.

The next morning OSPREY and B.S. went through the bridge and we stopped for fuel and they went south in the presence of a red flag fuel barge. Sometimes this opens the bridges off schedule and can add to the miles per day, if you are lucky enough to sneak therough the bridge with the barge.

There is a front approaching on Saturday, so we high tailed it alone across Albemarle sound and we are now waiting at the Alligator Marina for the projected 25-30.

Comments [2]

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10/24/2009 | Chip (ntwyman att nc dott rr dott com)

Hey T and Tita, when you get to Beaufort, NC, whether or not we can meet you, I urge you to go to the Beaufort Grocery co. for lunch or dinner. it's on Queen Street, and it's wonderful! There are two others, on Front street, right on the water, but I think they're all sea food.

10/24/2009 | Osprey (osprey2003 att aol dott com)

Hey Guys, tried hailing you this morning but perhaps you are too far away. We are safely tucked up in Broad Sound and all is well aboard. Thankfully we are well protected from the winds so no worries there. There is, however, a French boat in front of us and so far they have re-anchored twice since we got here! We are hoping to shoot across the Sound tomorrow with the forecast North winds. Will probably anchor somewhere in the Alligator River Sun night. Are you going to Belhaven?

Mile 0, round 2

10/21/2009, Hospital Point

No sooner than we were feeling good about getting to a real mile stone, then we lost power. I jumped down and switched the Raycor dual filters, but that did not work. We were only a mile from Mile 0, so we raised the genny and sailed to the achorage.

soon after we got a call on the VHF and found Tom and Vicky (OSPREY) just 2 boats ahead of us. That called for a celebration, even if losing the engine didn't).

We got the ICW off on the right start with a great bottle of wine gven to us by Ken and Amy. (wish you were her to share your gift!!)

Tomorrow is another day. We will try to make Great Bridge and then get deeper into the engine / fuel situation.

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10/21/2009 | M&B (Strathspey) (mary att shercam dott com)

Heya, glad to see you in short sleeves now! The only thing missing from this pic is us.

10/22/2009 | Snoodle Time (steven dott dettman att gmail dott com)

You might want to check the locks for the western cut or the dismal swamp. I did hear yesterday that the locks were closed due to high water. I was looking online, but could not find much. I'm sure you can reach the lock operators via VHF as you are in Norfolk, or the bridge tenders would be able to tell you.

Glad you made it safely and enjoy your travels south.

10/23/2009 | Judy (jskart att gmail dott com)

oooooh----sorry to hear about the engine!!!

Quintessential Chesapeake

10/20/2009, Deale MD

Left Annapolis, but just couldn't seem to leave our good friends Amy and Ken (MARY T) so we spent the night in Deale and were treated to a wonderful meal onboard their boat and a preview of the upcoming Video. It is wonderful and a "Must have" for anyone who has spent time aboard a boat, particularly on the East Coast.

Up at 5am to head south toward Weems off the Rappahannock. It is about a 13 hour run and we only have 11 hours of daylight this time of year.

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10/20/2009 | Ed & Nancy (svtroubadour att yahoo dott com)

Congrats on resuming trip...that was a fast turnaround on service. We're still on the hard in Deltaville and will be here for at least through next week. I've posted a couple of notes on our blog to catch up.

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