Although we are not big fans of the ICW there are numerous beautiful spots where we enjoy stopping and Beaufort is one. Although the main anchorage is small and can get a little crowded it is right downtown affording easy access to this charming town. We relaxed over morning coffee watching the harbour come to life on one side of Dagny while wild horses wandered along the waterfront park to the east of us. Once the tide turned in our favour we were on the way to Oriental, a mere 20 miles up Adam's Creek. When we changed our transmission last fall I had stored the old one with the mechanic here. The plan was to do a touch and go then proceed a little further. However, when we arrived in town we discovered that there would be a boater's flea market the next day as well as a small local boat show. Since we weren't in a huge rush the decision was made to spend a couple of nights in this interesting town before pushing on.

This is the first time we will not be bringing Dagny all the way home to Lake Champlain. Instead we will store her in the Annapolis area for 2 months while we return home for awhile. Then on July 1st we'll set sail to Nova Scotia for the summer. We had 2 weeks to cover the last 350 miles, however due to mechanical issues on the ICW we wanted to get through to Norfolk as quickly as possible. The Great Bridge lock had been shut down for 5 days due to a major electrical issue and traffic was backing up. Fortunately we were ahead of the northbound migration so once we got word that they were operating by generator on a reduced schedule the push was on to get through while we could. The lock was only opening 4 times a day and while recreational traffic was light we had to deal with numerous barges that normally operate at night. Their limited manoeuvrability combined with the narrow channel made for some very close calls. In two and a half days we managed to cover what we usually do in 4 days and arrived in Norfolk tired but happy that we had completed another ICW trip without running aground.

This week we'll work our way north up the Chesapeake in anticipation for our haul out the week of April 24th. We haven't had much luck with wind on the Chesapeake however yesterday the wind gods finally granted us a beautiful 15-23 knot breeze to sail from Norfolk to Deltaville VA. Our friends on "Whitebird" who will be sailing to Nova Scotia with us, met us for lunch today so we could work on our summer plans. From here it will be 2 easy days to our destination where we'll spend a few days giving Dagny a major cleaning.

Today's picture is of The Siletto, a military craft we met on the ICW