The route has changed, Winchelsea's trial by fire
After 4 days in New Jersey, leaving here couldn't have come soon enough. It's sad but true, people around here are only nice to you if you have something to give to them, and thats usually cold, hard cash. Its like they have some sort of complex about being so close to New York that they feel they need to stand out, but at the same time secretly wish they were New Yorkers.
Anywho, we are leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow, bound for Norfolk. I really can't wait to be in the south again, after over three years in the north. I know I was excited to move away up to Boston when I graduated college, but its just so much more...fun down there. Surfing, sailing, biking, the beach, long days in the sun, beautiful warm nights and its all year long. Sure, it gets a little steamy for a bit in the summer, but its a small price to pay.
Our original plan was to head towards Virginia and the mouth of the Chesapeake and keeping going south to Oregon Inlet, some 30 miles north of Cape Hatteras and head inside there to Pamico Sound. Being a responsible mariner, I called the local TowBoat US guys down there to see what the conditions were like at the inlet currently. Unfortunately, he said he strongly recommends we do NOT try and go through Oregon Inlet, it has severe shoaling and a really powerful current. He said he didn't want to tell us flat out not to, but if he had a 34' sailboat with only a 22 horsepower engine, he'd go the ICW route from Norfolk instead. So, thats what we are going to do. It will be 100 miles of straight motoring from Norfolk until we can again set sail in Pamico Sound. Thats 18 hours. Two nine hour days of Winchelsea using nothing but her engine in a narrow man-made channel. Her 39 year old gasoline powered tractor engine that, if you've been keeping up with this blog, has given me a fair share of trouble in the past. Now, I'm pretty sure I've worked out all the issues she had over the past summer, outside of completely rebuilding it, but this will be quite a test. It's a sad thought, but if the engine fails epically, this is probably the end of the Keddy/Winchelsea chapter of my life. I don't want that to happen obviously, but its an outcome I've thought about and have accepted if it comes down to it. The boat is 39 years old, and I can't justify putting another engine in there for more money than I originally bought her for. Wish us luck, this will be a great challenge!
Anywho, we are leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow, bound for Norfolk. I really can't wait to be in the south again, after over three years in the north. I know I was excited to move away up to Boston when I graduated college, but its just so much more...fun down there. Surfing, sailing, biking, the beach, long days in the sun, beautiful warm nights and its all year long. Sure, it gets a little steamy for a bit in the summer, but its a small price to pay.
Our original plan was to head towards Virginia and the mouth of the Chesapeake and keeping going south to Oregon Inlet, some 30 miles north of Cape Hatteras and head inside there to Pamico Sound. Being a responsible mariner, I called the local TowBoat US guys down there to see what the conditions were like at the inlet currently. Unfortunately, he said he strongly recommends we do NOT try and go through Oregon Inlet, it has severe shoaling and a really powerful current. He said he didn't want to tell us flat out not to, but if he had a 34' sailboat with only a 22 horsepower engine, he'd go the ICW route from Norfolk instead. So, thats what we are going to do. It will be 100 miles of straight motoring from Norfolk until we can again set sail in Pamico Sound. Thats 18 hours. Two nine hour days of Winchelsea using nothing but her engine in a narrow man-made channel. Her 39 year old gasoline powered tractor engine that, if you've been keeping up with this blog, has given me a fair share of trouble in the past. Now, I'm pretty sure I've worked out all the issues she had over the past summer, outside of completely rebuilding it, but this will be quite a test. It's a sad thought, but if the engine fails epically, this is probably the end of the Keddy/Winchelsea chapter of my life. I don't want that to happen obviously, but its an outcome I've thought about and have accepted if it comes down to it. The boat is 39 years old, and I can't justify putting another engine in there for more money than I originally bought her for. Wish us luck, this will be a great challenge!
Comments
The wife and I will be making that trip next September and ending up in Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. I'm following your exploits with great attention.