October 7, 2007 - Sunday 12:30pm
Location: Departing Ocean City, Maryland bound for Norfolk, VA

We figured it would take around 20 hours to travel the 120 miles to Norfolk. We raised anchor at 12:30PM and headed out of Ocean City, MD. The girls would like to come here on the way back to check out the huge amusement park. We shall see. When we get out to the ocean, we have unlimited visibility, a nice change from the fog. The seas are about two feet and yes we have wind, but it is directly on our nose so the iron jib stays running. We are all getting use to being on the boat.

Today I am reading "Two Minute Mysteries" aloud to everyone. These are fun to challenge your brain. We then switched to a Lateral-thinking book. We had so much fun with this book that we finished it. The book had some easy puzzles and some bizarre questions. It definitely helped make the time pass. While we reading these stories, I am at the helm and checking for traffic while Kelly rests. I then turn around and see a storm is approaching us from behind. I wake up Kelly and we put up the rest of our cockpit enclosure side curtains and backdrop with the rain less than two miles away. We can see the wind line approaching with the rain. We stay mostly dry due to the enclosure. It was neat to watch! The highest wind gust was 37.5 knots off the stern with rain, thunder and lightening adding to the excitement. The boat reaches a maximum speed of 8.1kts with bare poles, not bad. It all passes within an hour. As the sky clears, the daylight ends with a beautiful sunset. The sun turns pink as it sets along the shoreline and then disappears from sight.

Presently there are no boats in sight, which in a way is comforting. Kelly and I begin our shifts around 8:30 PM. I take the first shift. I listen to my CD player to make the time pass. From time to time I search the vast horizon to find only flashing markers and no boats. During my second shift, I see a vessel approaching and I awake Kelly. I am near sighted so you would think I'd be wearing my glasses to scan the horizon for boats and navigation aids. I don't because I get nauseous scanning the instruments while wear the glasses. I need bifocal lenses! Kelly awakes and we both try to figure it out. Even with all our technology, eyesight still is the best! As the boat gets closer and passes off our port we see that it is a tug with a barge. This is one of two that will pass close to us during the night. The second one Kelly contacts on the VHF and learns he is pulling a twin barge totaling 1200 feet! You have to make sure you are a safe distance from these boats.