It was a beautiful day on the water, a beautiful day no matter where you were. Blue skies and a steady south wind carrying the warmth of spring. At 10 to 12 mph the wind was perfect for getting to know the new set of sails. As you can see from the track above I spent the day tacking and jibing, sailing close to the wind and then trying to sail closer, running down wind and on any point of sail I could find. Just the kind of sailing I needed.
With all the warmth and sunshine I was surprised to have the river to myself. There was the usual commercial traffic - barges and tugs - but very few pleasure boats. The south wind did carry two snowbirds up the ICW - the first I have sailed with this season - including the interesting looking "Owl" from New York, below.
Out on the water for four or five hours I began to feel comfortable at the tiller. With the trip just a matter of weeks away I'm working through a few of the details....
- need to call the hotel in Chincoteague and move the reservation from saturday to sunday night
- order new batteries from the Optio W90 waterproof camera (I've concluded that the power issue is not with the camera, but instead with cheaply made batteries that do not hold a charge for very long)
- check the trailer bearings
- on the Eastern Shore last week I did find an Enterprise car rental office in a auto repair shop in the tiny town of Keller, they said they would pick us up for a rental from Onancock
- buy a new fishing license
- print out the tide tables for the seaside inlets
- while at Cape Charles the other day I did find the new restaurant Shanty right next to the marina where we'll most likely spend the night, sounds like dinner to me
- I did find that fuel, should we have to go inside the barrier islands, is available in Wachapreague
I did talk with Bruce on the phone about his flight reservations and a few other details. There is lots to do over the next few weeks.
steve
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