Oh Danny Boy
27 August 2009 | Hampton, VA
John and Cheryl
Cheryl's Notes:
We listened to the weather reports for hours last night, and decided that we had one day of good weather and we should try to get as far south as we could. We set out early this morning and headed for Hampton, Virginia. It was a long day for us, 47 nautical miles. You could do this in less than an hour by car, but it took us eight and a half hours by water. We had some help with the wind for the first half of the day, but as we turned southwest, it was right on our nose. We have decided to take a slip at the public marina here for the next three nights. It is our first time in a real marina, but we feel safe and protected here. Plus, after the storm passes we are closer to the entrance to the Dismal Swamp and our route home.
Yes, we are spending money on a marina, but we will have use of the pool and showers, shore power and unlimited WiFi. We are looking at it as a spa retreat after 50 some days on the hook. Plus, John worked a deal with the dockmaster to get us a good rate. We also can get better weather updates here. It now sounds like the worst of the weather will be coming through tomorrow.
As John will tell you, our boat has been surrounded by dolphins for the past three days. I don't know if they are starting to migrate? We have been trying to take pictures, but it is impossible. I took some video footage with the camera, but I don't know if we can post it to the blog. More to follow.
John's Notes:
Yea, we are in a marina, but, Cheryl didn't tell you the best part. The original cost per night is $1.50 per foot. We get a Boat US discount, so, that brought it down to $1.25. I told the guy if he made it $1.00 per foot that I would stay for three days. DEAL. Better to have someone in a slip than nobody. That way we will be tied off here for the worst that we expect from Danny Boy.
We have been on dolphin watch. The last couple of days we have been surrounded by several pods. The one this morning must have had 20 plus dolphins. About all I can say is that they are not very photogenic. Every time we try and get a picture, they are gone. Cheryl has really doing her best but nothing yet.