Residence Inn By Marriott Norfolk Airport

... the water.

We rendezvous’d near Hampton Roads bridge tunnel with Our White Magic departing from Bluewater Yacht Marina at Hampton. Existing conditions were 15-20 knot NE winds and, due to the close apparent wind angle required to pass through the South Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, we began motor sailing upwind. You can follow our position reports at http://www.winlink.org/userpositions under reporting vessel KI4VYJ.

Today Josh competed at the Dawn of the Shred. He did OK. Of course I can quote many many pro skateboarders who also said, they lost their first competition as well. All I can say was Josh had the nervous jitters during his second run, and his knees kept giving out just before a trick.
The first run went fine! He did well and landed all of his signature tricks, except at the ...

... the Creek, we proceeded on a roller coaster run with main and jib wing and wing. We surfed southbound at 15+ kts with top speed seen 15.5, frequently over 13 kts downwind.

We anchored in Willoughby Harbor. Dave left the boat on October 26 for appointments in Arlington. Donna stayed on the boat. It was terribly rainy throughout this period. Dave returned on the 28th. This would be our final week before departure to the Bahamas. Dave worked on the ...

... really really really young last time my feet touched a skateboard, those originial plastic fish tail you see from the 70's and 80's. A friend Steve Holeczy was 9 or 10, and he had a indoor pool at his home which was drained. It was a classic kidney style, but really small and tight. This was my first exposure to skateboarding at that time, and I was already on the wrestling team, and had no problem jumping on the board and ...

We spent September 13 on a day sail with guests John, Jim and Charlene, Wally and Michelle. We sailed through the North Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on N winds 10-15 kts, then sailed back via the south tunnel. We spotted a very impressive flock of rays along the way and enjoyed a nice lunch spread. Dave was happy to have plenty of helpers eager to take the helm and adjust sails.

We spent September 21 on a day sail with Dave's dad, Norma and brother ...

... Bay on the Piankatank River arriving just before 4PM after a pleasant sail with partly sunny skies and N NW wind 12-18 kts. We spent the following day laid up in Fishing Bay due to stong NE winds and rain. Dave cleaned the props and barnacles off the hulls. We started the watermaker for the first time since it was “pickled” years ago by the prior owner. The quality of the water seemed good but we were ...

... It was one of those What the .... moments

As we approached the entrance to the Chesapeake we had small destroyers accompanying us in. In fact we were waiting for a call on the radio to tell us to stop so they could search our vessel. It happens, but neither the Navy nor Coast Guard seemed interested in us!

Chesapeake Bay is the largest inlet in the USA and is fed by several large river systems which are home to some very well know ...

... on the floor laughing because he was asking EVERYONE. So thanks Matt Damon look alike for making me laugh. By yesterday morning I had lost all sense of smell and taste thanks to the cold. Oh well, at least I had 1 day to enjoy Boston food. On the drive I discovered that terror is a good way to clear the sinuses. The forecast in Boston had called for scattered thunderstorms all day. I didn't hear any thunder, but I did see some lighting during the ...

... the two teak deck chairs we had purchased. He installed a wireless remote auto-pilot control that would allow us to steer the boat from anywhere on board via a hand-held device. We were selected as an escort ship to the Tall Ships that would sail into the Norfolk Waterfront. John and Joan were also selected to do the same on their Catalina Sutra. Our boarding party included Dave's son Erek, Danny and Gail V ...

... through the cutouts that would allow storage under the galley settee. We will need to find smaller containers to fit there. Dave inflated the dinghy fully and installed the outboard motor which we returned from having been in storage at home. He drained the sail bag, installed the teak bow seats that he had refinished, and reinstalled the bimini. At home last weekend we ...