ICW

Bill and I had a very low key four days in Norfolk. It rained and was very windy (sustained wind of 25, gusts 30-35 knots) the whole time. We pretty much just stayed in; we watched a lot of movies, did laundry, and went food shopping. I am sorry to say that we did no exploring outside of the marina. It was just too miserable outside!

This morning we left Norfolk and entered the Intracoastal Waterway. Since the recent weather has delayed several other cruisers making their way south, Bill and I have found ourselves in a fleet of about 25 boats all heading south via the ICW. Sv Mary Elizabeth was in the middle of the pack waiting for the first bridge opening at 8:30. It has been interesting traveling with so many other boats on the same schedule.

So far today (and we are only at mile 18) we have gone under 12 bridges (most of which we have had to wait for, which has been interesting with so many boats trying to go through / wait at once). Two of the bridges were 65 foot fixed bridges, which we went under while holding our breath. ME's mast is 63 feet. We also went through one lock (see pic above) which was pretty much uneventful.

Our destination tonight is Coinjock, NC, which is at mile 50 on the ICW.

We should make it to Beufort, NC by Wednesday. Tommy Murdock, our friend from Quincy, is going to fly into New Bern, NC and help us take the boat on the outside from Beufort straight to Charleston, SC. We are very happy that Tommy is able to help us out, since the trip will require an overnight passage (it is about 30 hours) and I do not feel comfortable doing a watch by myself.

We have seen about a dozen F-18s fly overhead in the past few minutes. There must be some training ground or auxiliary field around here. It is strange; it is very desolate and quiet -- except for the roar of the fighters overhead.

The other "news" is that yesterday I threw my wallet away. Anyone who knows me knows that I lose my wallet about once a week. This time I really lost it. Yesterday after I went food shopping I put my wallet in one of the bags, which Bill unpacked and threw away. Thankfully I retraced my steps and realized what had happened. Bill called the marina and someone at Tidewater actually went out to the dock, found the trash bag, looked through the garbage and found my wallet. Talk about customer service. They are going to put it in the mail. I am so thankful that Bill called the dockmaster, the marina agreed to search our trash, and that they actually found it.

I have taken a ton of pictures today. To view the album, click here.