Today started at 0400 -- actually about 0015 when Heather arrived onboard. We all said, "Hi" and went to bed but never really got to sleep. My mind was racing about details of the transit such as bridge opening times, bridge heights, and the processes to run certain equipment onboard. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep and gave up any efforts around 0230 when I got up and headed to the marina shower.

When I got back all freshly showered, Stu was getting up and we began to prepare to et underway. Heather soon joined and began making coffee. What a saviour!!!

We left Tidewater Yacht Marina at 0400 on the nose and it wasn't too far along that we made our first bridge "crossing." It was dark and as the morning wore on, fog continued to creep upward and got intense at many points.

The sun finally began to show itself when we were at Great Bridge Lock (see picture), and we ended up waiting at North Landing Swing Bridge for about an hour because of rush hour traffic. The whole way it was either eerily foggy and/or looked like a scene from the Bayou.

Finally the fog burned off and we were left to transit in exceptionally good weather. We had planned on stopping at Coinjock but we arrived there at around 1300 and decided to press forward since it was early and the tide was in our favor for bridge lifts.

Interestingly, the landscape appreciably changed after Coinjock and became more low country-like rather than swampy. Heather -- the person with the least amount of sleep -- chose a great location off of the AICW for us to anchor and enjoy dinner. The anchorage, Broad Creek at SM 62, is tucked away and takes some finesses to navigate into this protected cove but very much worth the effort.

We're ahead of schedule but will see what tomorrow holds and how far we can get. Overall, the boat handles expertly and is very comfortable for this crew of three.