Brrrrrrrr!

This morning it was only 50^o when we got up. Luckily it's warming up pretty quickly as we plan to leave our free dock this morning. The three Canadian boats in front of us also left, which will make it easier for us to get off the dock without taking out the dinghy or outboard on the pilings. Docking is always a challenge, but when there are pilings that can snag things on the boat it's very stressful. When we turn the bow to starboard to leave, the stern obviously pivots to port. John Ray is a very heavy boat and difficult to push off, especially when you have to be at the helm and deal with the lines at the same time. Always a huge sigh of relief when all goes well.

http://tinyurl.com/chesapeakeVA

Our planned departure was at 8:00 to go through the 8:30 Great Bridge Locks. However, since we've been at the dock for three days with virtually no sun and winds occassionally, the batteries were way down and the engine wouldn't start. So we had to pull out the generator and charge the batteries for an hour before the engine would start. (Or at least we're hoping it starts.) Steve's thinking the new engine requires more starting amps to get going than the old one. AT some point, we need to install a new charger. We haven't had this problem since installing new batteries in Marathon. I guess it's always something.

If we do get going today, our plan is to head to Hampton Roads, fill our tanks (water and fuel) and anchor for the night while we wait for the winds to clock around from the North to the East. At that point we should be able to head offshore and sail up the coast of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware and make it to Cape May or Sandy Hook, New Jersey in two nights. Hopefully it won't be too cold at night offshore. So that's our plan.