Sonaki in her slip

This is the Sonaki in Crisfield, MD. She is an Island Packet IP32, a 35'LOA cutter rigged sloop. She also has an auxillary 27HP Yanmar diesel.

Me

My turn at the helm. Auto pilot is nice.

Even when the weather is not favorable, its fun. This picture is from the Pamlico Sound. There are a few more further down in this blog. We were heading dead into the wind. Our little 27 HP Yanmar diesel was working hard but came through for us.

For those who know the points of sail, you know that the wind directly on the bow is not one of them.

This picture is Bob Mckee. We were wet and cold, but still enjoying the trip.

The Cape Charles gale took most of this guys canvas. We were in a slip just across from him...though we heard the wind howling all night, we sustained no damage, just lost a few days waiting for it to die out.

No fuel, no store...perhaps a sign of the times???

Cape Charles Marina

Roughing it in a Cape Charles Marina. We ducked in here to avoid a gale that was blowing to 40 knots and the waves at the mouth of the Chesapeake were reported to be 8 to 10 feet.

Overtaking the "Mistrel"

Our little Yanmar diesel powered us through the Pamlico Sound as the wind was blowing hard on the bow. We unfurled the staysail and dropped off the wind a few degrees and picked up about a half knot of speed, passing the Mistrel with ease.

Bob McKee

Bob at the helm during some unpleasant weather. We duct taped a 1 gallon plastic freezer bag over the Lowrance chart plotter to help keep it dry, though the manufacturer says a little water will not hurt it... It crashed once early in the trip but a quick cell call to the tech line got us back up in a few minutes. We plot on paper charts as a back up.

Snowbird traffic

We met many nice people on the ICW. Traffic was heavy a few times, but everyone remained calm and polite.

John and his 30' S 2 diving into a wave on the Pamlico Sound

John's 30' S2 "Mistrel"

This is a friend we met on the ICW. He bought this 30' S2 in the Chesapeake for the sole purpose to sail to Florida and then live on it. This picture and the following are from the Pamlico Sound section of the ICW where we powered through 4 to 6 foot waves and almost head on into consistent 25 - 28 knot winds with some stronger gusts. John did not have an auto pilot and stayed at the helm, cold and wet for at least 9 hours. When we got to Oriental, he took a hot shower, ate dinner and went to bed. He slept all night and through the entire next day.

Lift bridge in Virginia

One of the many bascule bridges along the VA section of the ICW. These bridges are manned by a bridgetender who manually engages the mechanism to lift the bridge. Some bridges open on request and others on schedule. The bridgetender may "bunch" up a number of boats before he opens the bridge to faciliate the flow of auto traffic.

Norfolk, VA

This is familiar water to me as I served on the USS Springfield CLG 7 as a signalman in the late sixties. The Springfield tied up to one of these piers. She was sold for scrap.