A Soggy Start

Off we go again…well, sort of. As our friends and family know, Lynn and I have been preparing for this second journey for the last few months…with the more intense provisioning and last minute work happening these past few weeks. We finally set off at 12:30 PM on Monday, November 9th. Unlike the last time when we left in the middle of a snow storm, the conditions in the Chesapeake Bay were ideal with flat calm water and relatively warm temperature. Although we could not sail (wind was too low and on the nose), motoring was very comfortable. We decided to continue overnight and get to Norfolk, which seemed prudent as there was a predicted Nor’easter for Tuesday night so we wanted to get safely tucked in before it arrived. More on that later…

Back to getting ready. Lynn spent last winter installing a new ceiling in the salon and galley. In his words…he outdid himself! It is absolutely beautiful with gleaming white panels and custom teak trim. We installed solar panels and a new autopilot, which operated perfectly throughout the first leg down the Bay. But most importantly, Lynn has a brand new ice maker that makes perfect little cubes to keep him in ice heaven. So, we are finally getting close to having the boat fully outfitted, at which point we will have to start replacing some of the things we started with…it really is never ending. But, we are definitely very happy with the condition of our vessel for this cruise.

The last month or so has also been filled with send offs by our friends and family. I was starting to worry that people were getting tired of saying goodbye! My work girlfriends treated me to a lovely dinner and some of my workmates took me out for lunch. We had dinner with several of our friends, including Joe, Carol, Chris and Lu from Havre de Grace, Butch and Rosemary, Peg and John and George and Delores from the dock. Lynn’s kids and grandkids came out for a brunch again and we had a great time eating and hanging out on the boat. I love to see Lynn with his family, it makes him so happy. Thank you to everyone for such nice farewells…

Now for the soggy part. While we knew that we would be affected by the remnants of hurricane Ida, the weather forecasts were predicting up to 30 knot winds and about one day of rain. Based on that information (or misinformation as it turns out), we decided to head down the bay and wait it out in Norfolk. Lynn’s nephew KC met us here (in Norfolk) on Tuesday night and will be traveling with us until he has to go back to work or gets tired of us, whichever happens first. It may be the latter since we have now been stuck on the boat for three days waiting out Ida. Had the weather predictions been more accurate, we would have definitely made different plans.

OK, the previous paragraph was written yesterday. At that point we decided to go for a walk in the rain to get some air and “blow the stink off” as Lynn would say. When we ventured out from the boat we discovered that the Norfolk flood gates were closed and the headlines read “Nor’easter Packs a Punch”. Yes, we are in fact in the middle of an historic storm that is wreaking havoc along the south east coast, causing record tidal flooding and beach erosion. We spent the afternoon on a blustery walk and roaming the mall. Later I did a little sewing project to make a seat for my tush at the helm and the boys did something else while giving me helpful hints.

Around 5 PM, KC took a peak outside and discovered that the floating docks were actually about to float right off the pilings! By about 6:30 PM they did…which needless to say caused us some stress. The storm was at its worst with heavy rain and winds gusting over 50 knots. Apparently the resultant tidal surge is equal to that of hurricane Isabel. After much consternation and discussion between Lynn and the dock hands (one of whom broke two fingers in the process), they tied the dock to some pilings and we made it through the night. As an aside, the people on the boats on either side of us poked their heads out of their cabins a few times but didn’t seem the least bit concerned that we all were about to float away en masse! Today we woke to more of the same, although the wind and rain has died down somewhat and we seem to be holding on to the dock. KC says we have been having a three day slumber party! We plan to make some peanut butter candy (a Hershfeld family tradition I just recently discovered) and maybe play some games. We are hoping that we will be able to recommence our travels by tomorrow.

I had wondered what I would have to write about this time around but it turns out that we started our trip in the middle of the storm of the decade! Definitely good fodder for story telling. But, all is well now and other than dealing with an annoying leak in the master cabin and feeling soggy and a little frustrated, we are doing just fine. I don’t think I would have said so last night, but I still love cruising…you never know what it will bring. Stay tuned for the next blog when I will hopefully have more to tell you about than being stuck in Norfolk!