As Jimmy Buffett wrote, "If men came from Venus and women came from Mars then I'd be lunching with my boyfriends while you girls talked about cigars". We have a couple of lay days here in Hampton while some crappy weather blows through. So, while Judy went for a manicure/pedicure, I did the opposite. I got my fingernails real dirty catching up on some boat chores like taking all the chain and rope out of the anchor locker and marking the lengths in standard intervals, dissembling the dinghy and cleaning it out. I think we each had a good day in our own right.

Hampton, while busy is a very nice place to wait out the weather. We're at the city pier and the folks couldn't be nicer. We got three nights for the price of two and there are bicycles, showers and all the restaurants, bars and shops you'd want within short walking distance.

I spent some time today preparing for the different kind of navigation required for the ICW. In my last post, I mentioned that we will start to measure our distance by statute mile rather than nautical mile but there this is only where the differences start. The navigation/planning challenges are very different. To this point, the night before I would pour over the charts, check tides, get the weather forecast, establish waypoints and figure where to go for the day. While you still have to review charts, your preoccupation is with the timing of bridges and staying within the marked channel. Weather is always important but not nearly as significant in the ICW.

Met more great boating folks today; most of whom are working their way south. Judging from the number of boaters we've met on their way down, I doubt there'll be any room for us.