N55 Bravo

Saying good-by to AYB We finally push off and head south.  The plan is to cruise the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) as much as possible with a few long days offshore to bypass some of the gnarly sections.  We plot the cruise plan into the Navionics software on the iPad and then enter each day’s course into the navigation software on Bravo’s computer.  Because the days are getting shorter, we have less practical travel time each day.  We plan to cover about sixty miles a day to make our Florida arrival date goal. Southern Virginia… North Carolina… Alligator River We depart AYB at dawn.  Virginia slips by and the canal quickly delivers us into North Carolina.  Day one covers wide straight stretches of water.  The weather is grey and rainy.  Another tropical storm is swirling offshore over the Atlantic Ocean.  Very few boats on the canal equals relatively easy cruising.  We make good time and decide to proceed several miles past our initial goal and anchor at sunset in a wide stre

We are back at Atlantic Yacht Basin (AYB) for some rest, clean-up, and provisioning before we start the next leg of the trip south though the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).  It is the Autumn boat migration season and the AYB moorage, maintenance yard, and fueling dock are very busy.  Boats come and go every day.  Every hour the bridge opens and a new collection of boats streams through. Boats on parade One of the most entertaining aspects of being docked at AYB is the non-stop parade of boats of all sizes, shapes, and purposes.  This time of year, the activity is especially high.  The Annapolis Boat Show just ended and apparently everyone is headed south.  Great Bridge opens every hour and the boats come through our “front yard”.  Along with the recreational boats, the canal carries a large amount of commercial traffic. Barges carry everything under the sun… some of the loads are so large we cannot imagine how they will fit through the bridge, make the tight turn