Getting Ready to Leave - 2017

Oct 21 thru Oct 27

---Blogpost written by Bob

We anticipated leaving our slip in Baltimore on Wednesday morning (October 25) but we had to postpone our departure because of a package arriving here on Thursday (October 26).  Since it's bad luck for a sailor leaving a port on a Friday, we are now leaving on Saturday morning (October 28).  I revised our 10-day travel plan to the following:     

      Oct 28 - travel to Annapolis in AM (Penn State plays Ohio State @ 3:30 PM!) 
      Oct 29 - hang out on mooring buoy in Annapolis for the day (expected rain all day)
      Oct 30 - travel to Galesville in PM, anchor out
      Oct 31 - travel to Solomons, anchor out in Mill Creek

      Nov 1 - travel to Reedville, anchor out

      Nov 2 - travel to New Point Comfort, anchor out

      Nov 3 - travel to Great Bridge, slip on south side of lock, (MM 12 on ICW)

      Nov 4 - travel to Coinjock NC, slip, (MM 50), 38 miles

      Nov 5 - travel to Alligator River, anchor out, (MM 102), 52 miles

      Nov 6 - travel to Pungo River, anchor out, (MM 142), 40 miles

Provisioning for an 8-month trip is a complicated endeavor since for some things (like razor blades and shower gel) we are stocking up for the entire 8 months while other things (like fresh meats and veggies) are for just the next six or seven days.  We can easily re-provision for fresh meats and veggies at various points along the ICW.  (We still see no point in having an onboard freezer and all the additional electrical power it requires.)

Why am I always pushing the grocery cart?

I keep detailed lists of things we have to order ahead of time and others that we pick up at the last minute.   I am always making lists!  I have lists of boat projects for next summer already.  When we were provisioning at Walmart, we walked down every isle and Maggie put things in the grocery cart, ignoring my list.  

We practically filled a shopping cart and very little of
it was fresh meats and veggies.

At the end, we checked my list of provisions and went back and picked up things we missed.  We spent over $440 before getting fresh meat and veggies. On Friday morning (October 27) we spent another $115 on fresh groceries, made a little more expensive because of accommodating our low-carb diets. 

Ron Harris (center), a boat neighbor and friend, took us out for dinner
at Mayuree Thai Tavern before leaving Baltimore.  Ron is
co-authoring a book on recent police shootings
of African Americans.

The sunsets are so pretty in the marina in Baltimore Harbor.  
The sounds of the police helicopters in the 
evenings and the homicide statistics 
tell a different story.

We expect this trip south to be so much better than last year, when we had our engine problem.  We hope to take our time and stop at some new and different places than last season.

Here, s/v Rainy Days is all ready to head
south for the season.

Conclusion

This will be our last blogpost for the season from Baltimore--the next one will probably be from the entrance to the ICW after we have traveled down the Chesapeake Bay.  Stay tuned for more of this season's adventure...


Thanks for following our blog!