AND SO IT GOES!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

I really do hate getting a cold. To avoid this very thing is one of the reasons that I wanted to head south. "Ah, but the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray"....just ask George.

I made the mistake of going to the boat on Friday. I had made the last "major"purchase (the inflatable dinghy) and wanted to drop it off at the boat rather than leave it in my car. Good idea but bad timing. It was cold and snowy and I had not completely gotten over the cold and I have paid for it over the next few following days. From the quick inspection it appears that everything is done (hopefully) but I won't know for sure until I talk with the electrician. But there really, really can't be that much left undone, can there be?

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Anchoring! How exactly is one person to set an anchor on a 39ft sailboat? And how is one person to retrieve said anchor? In calm air? In a bit of a blow? For some reason, I have been thinking about anchoring a lot the last few days. Surely it is an important topic, but I have worked out how I will be doing it. Having done the vast majority of my sailing solo, I have had to work out such problems several different time on the various boats I have owned. While size and weight are significant factors and have to be a major consideration, the steps to that dance have already been choreographed. The most important thing is planning, knowing what you will do and how you will do it ahead of time. The second most important thing is patience, as are the 3rd, 4th & 5th.

I have been following the weather more closely the last 10 days. The weather is going to be the hang up I fear. Getting to the Chesapeake will be key I feel. Up here in the great Northeast, the weather has become freezing and very unstable and makes getting away rather hard. I would really like 4 days of stable weather. That should get me to the Chesapeake even with the diminishing sunlight. Once there, the only real problem will be Ablemarle which, because it is open and shallow, is susceptible to winds and storms and can be nasty. Still in all, better Ablemarle Sound than Fishers Island Sound.

I will be heading down to the Shipyard tomorrow and I'll find out where the boat and I stand. And after that, well it depends on what i hear.