CURRENT LOCATION: Docked at Little Creek Marina, Norfolk, VA, USA
36 55.373' N, 076 11.155' W

Well, the nautical sale was a rousing success! We sold most everything listed via our FOR SALE site, and pushed some of the larger items out the door through eBay. The really big chore ... shipping that stuff ... has finally been completed. The only thing left to sell is the boat ...



... So, tomorrow we untie the docklines and head north to Annapolis. We will be joined by my best friend, Kirk, whom I have known since college. Kirk is not a sailor, but has been reading our blogs with great interest. He is excited about sharing some of this experience with us first-hand. We, in turn, are thrilled to be able to bring him aboard on this last voyage aboard Prudence.

Before we take our leave of Norfolk, I would like to express what a wonderful time we have had here. We had a visit over the weekend from some friends from our dock in New Bern, NC, Morris & Christy. They were picking up a large batch of stuff they had purchased in our nautical sale and stayed around for dinner. Morris & Christy are planning their own cruising adventure, so conversation obviously centered on where we had gone and what we had learned.

More recently, we had dinner with a couple who is just beginning to dream the dream, Lola & Brian. Again, we answered a lot of questions and shared the sum of our experiences as cruisers. And, tonight we have dinner plans with a fellow we met (and his wife) who owns a sandwich shop here in Norfolk. He became interested in us as we walked across the strip mall's parking lot to his establishment (this was before we bought the car), something his customers rarely do. He also owns a sailboat and our conversation led to plans to get together for dinner.



In fact, the entire time here in Norfolk has been about meeting new people and seeing acquaintances from the past. Several people (potential buyers) have come to view the boat and stayed around for sailing conversation. In addition, we are sitting out here next to the fuel dock, so we see a lot of boats pass through each day (we often interrupt what we are doing to grab a line and help them dock).

The other day, Sheryl recognized the man she was talking to on the dock as Simon, the fellow who served as captain the day we took Prudence out for a sea trial in Annapolis back in October of 2007. He remembered fondly his experience of being at the helm of our boat. It truly is a small world.

We are hopeful that in our new capacity as publishers of a boating magazine, this type of interaction with other boating enthusiasts is only just beginning. We certainly hope to stay in touch with boating and boaters in this manner. For now, though, we still are boaters, and I need to get back to work preparing for our final voyage.