Homeward Bound - At Last!

Living at a 15-20 degree angle!

It is finally departure day and we are heading west!  We are leaving on Saturday morning with four other boats going to Virginia. The rest of the fleet is headed to various ports in New England. I will miss our new friends, but plan to reconnect with some next fall in the Caribbean 1500 Rally back to the BVI.

The weather reports are mixed. Some forecasters say little wind (more “driving” in the future) and others suggest strong winds and storms. It will depend on what is in the area in which we will be sailing. I sure hope we don’t have to motor all the way to Hampton! I am tired of hearing the engine.

Sunset through the rain.

As it turns out, all of the weather reports have been correct. We have seen it all: flat water, ten foot swells, 40 knot gusts, driving rain, sunny skies, beautiful sunsets, full moon … It has been a Mother Nature smorgasbord! The crossing of the Gulf Stream will be the biggest weather challenge.

We had several schools of dolphins swim along with us and play in our bow wake. It is fun to watch them as they lunge out of the water in pairs and dive back in like synchronized swimmers. There was a dozen or so each time swimming back and forth under the bow, then running alongside. This went on for 30-40 minutes. I tried to get a photo but could never get them out of the water!

A couple of the nights have been extremely rough. I am physically tired from being rolled back and forth across my bunk. It is also physically exhausting to maintain your balance and posture whether sitting or standing when it is rough. I did not get many bruises this time so I have learned something from the trip south!

We saw a couple of freighters and a cruise ship. Other than that, we had the ocean to ourselves with the dolphins and an occasional stray bird that would come along. We did not have any luck fishing, but then we did not put a lot of effort into it either.