Chesapeake
Tilghman Island - Norfolk (18th - 21st November)
Sailing down the Chesapeake Bay with Lieke and Chris was a really great experience. Finally getting a real feel of how she sails, enough hands to manage all manoevres, and a crew with plenty of energy! It was pretty darn cold, but it was fair too, so we could handle that. It was a breath of fresh air to have someone on board with a great mood in the mornings (Chris), as the rest of us are not all that energetic at 06:15. Now we could wake up to the tunes of Chris singing "Port out, Starboad home, P.O.S.H!" and "Ultraman, here he comes from the sky!"
Sailing down the Chesapeake Bay with Lieke and Chris was a really great experience. Finally getting a real feel of how she sails, enough hands to manage all manoevres, and a crew with plenty of energy! It was pretty darn cold, but it was fair too, so we could handle that. It was a breath of fresh air to have someone on board with a great mood in the mornings (Chris), as the rest of us are not all that energetic at 06:15. Now we could wake up to the tunes of Chris singing "Port out, Starboad home, P.O.S.H!" and "Ultraman, here he comes from the sky!"
The US Navy
Seriously, what is up with the US Navy??? We have sailed for about three weeks, and we have seen US Navy units every single day. Even though there are no enemies around anywhere...
Massive aircraft carriers, fighter jets showing off, helicopters, a target ship that gets bombed every now and again, and coolest of all, some kind of helicopter-plane transformer unit that can fly like an airplane and land like a helicopter. Pity we have such crappy cameras, but at least the aircraft carriers in Norfolk are big enough to fit the screen.
Massive aircraft carriers, fighter jets showing off, helicopters, a target ship that gets bombed every now and again, and coolest of all, some kind of helicopter-plane transformer unit that can fly like an airplane and land like a helicopter. Pity we have such crappy cameras, but at least the aircraft carriers in Norfolk are big enough to fit the screen.
Departure at last
Thursday the 18th of November was a great day for us, as we have finally set off on our voyage to the South. Hoist the anchor matey, and trim dem sails ARRR! The two months of hard work on Buena Onda were more than worth it, but we're really happy that finally, we're sailing! Not that all the jobs are done, but man, we just gotta get outta here. Or else we'll have the Immigration Service hunting us down. And the ice crysals on the deck this morning were a pretty clear sign too. It has been a wonderful time on Tilghman, especially with all the kind people we met. Luckily we got the chance to say goodbye to almost everyone, and life is sweet again.
We currently have a crew of four cruising down the Chesapeake Bay: Maarten, Adriaan, Lieke (Adriaan's sister) and Chris, a friend we made on Tilghman Island. Now that we finally got to sail our new boat, we found out she's fast, comfortable and pretty roomy, if it hadn't been for all the junk we have on board. We made good progress and expect to be in Norfolk in time to pick up our new crew-member Rosa. The Bay is at the peak of autumn, and the colours of the trees are dazzling. It may be cold, but the sun shines every day. We anchor out every night, and get up early to make the most of the daylight.
We currently have a crew of four cruising down the Chesapeake Bay: Maarten, Adriaan, Lieke (Adriaan's sister) and Chris, a friend we made on Tilghman Island. Now that we finally got to sail our new boat, we found out she's fast, comfortable and pretty roomy, if it hadn't been for all the junk we have on board. We made good progress and expect to be in Norfolk in time to pick up our new crew-member Rosa. The Bay is at the peak of autumn, and the colours of the trees are dazzling. It may be cold, but the sun shines every day. We anchor out every night, and get up early to make the most of the daylight.