We are at our home away from home, York River Yacht Haven waiting for the last of our crew to arrive and for a weather window to round Cape Hatteras. From what we have been hearing and seeing online, this last storm in Florida has been wreaking havoc up and down the coast. It has been flooding from St. Augustine all the way to Charleston. Some of the flooding has been from rain, but a lot of it has been from record high tides and the 60 knot winds offshore that are pushing water into the bays. We are not flooding here, but the water has been extremely high. We are very grateful that this time we were allowed to berth on a floating T-head instead of a fixed dock. It makes it so much easier getting on and off the boat.
Last week, Hayes Custom Sails and Canvas spent a few days on the boat replacing our old tired worn-out stack pack that was falling off the boom with a new beautiful blue main sail cover.
We have a slight problem in that the new stack pack has four lazy jack attachment points, and we only are rigged for three. At this late date we are unable to find a rigger to fix the problem, and West Marine did not have the supplies we need. So Ben will jerry rig the last attachment point so that the stack pack will be functional until we get to Florida.
Yesterday, Cousin Stacie, came and picked me up for our last Virginia excursion together (at least I hope we are leaving soon). We went to Williamsburg Winery and had a wonderful lunch and wine tasting. The leaves on the trees are starting to turn now which is reinforcing that, while its beautiful, it is time for us to head south to warmer weather.
Then we went to the grocery for the final last-minute passage items. We have enjoyed spending time together this year while exploring VA. It was an elixir for me today to get off the boat and spend some girl time with Stacie.
Don, a friend we met at York River Yacht Haven back in June, arrived yesterday and is planning to sail down the coast with us for a while. His wife, Shelley who is an excellent seamstress graced us with this spectacular pillow that she made. It matches well with our new tablecloth. I love adding color to boat as it livens it up especially with the dreary weather outside.
Today our other crew member, Bill, will arrive. He is a new acquaintance, and we are looking forward to getting to know him better as he travels with us to Florida. It will be nice to have four crew members for a while as we make the trek south.
Now, we wait for a weather window. We need the storms that have kicked the sea state to 12-15 feet to subside a little before we poke our nose out of Chesapeake Bay into the Atlantic Ocean. We may leave York River tomorrow and head to Willoughby Bay near Norfolk just to get us a little closer to Cape Henry and the mouth of the Chesapeake. This will save us about 5 hours when it is officially time to leave.
Waiting for a weather window is critical to rounding Cape Hatteras which is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. We want the seas and wind to be with us rather than fighting us when we round this cape. After that point we will determine how far we can continue until we need to duck ins somewhere to wait for the next weather window. We can tuck into Cape Lookout, Wrightsville Beach or maybe even make it all the way to Charleston. Charleston would be a 3-day run from Willoughby Bay, Norfolk. The weather is our master when making passages.
So we wait….
And pray we can leave soon as the weather windows are getting shorter and shorter and its getting colder and colder! Brrrrr!
You are welcome to complete the form below if you want to be notified of future posts (and haven’t completed the form previously). Be assured your information will NOT be shared.
