RAIN, RAIN...GO AWAY!

Diane celebrates our departure!

We finally reached a spot where we have Internet access...but not cell phone coverage (thanks AT&T) at a marina just outside Oriental, N.C. But I get ahead of myself, let me go back to the beginning.
  Magic departed our home slip in Hampton just before noon on Saturday, 3 November after a frenetic several days of final preparations which included countless trips by Diane to the grocery store and me to West Marine (sort of a Toys-R-Us for boaters!). With almost everything loaded, we were finally ready to leave...oh wait, we forgot (fill in the blank here!). Finally, our trusty diesel was ticking over, lines run back to shore and we were off!!  We received a wonderful sendoff from good friends/ neighbors who made our departure very special. Thanks guys!

  The first day we remained in our home waters as Magic cruised down the Elizabeth River, past the Navy Base (the next day the USS Enterprise (where I served as Weapons Officer in the 90's) would return home from her final deployment after 51 years of service), downtown Norfolk and through a labyrinth of bridge openings to Great Bridge, VA at the beginning of what is known as the "Virginia Cut" of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). The only problem of the day was the cold. Before our hasty departure, Diane said she didn't want to put in place our cockpit enclosure (something about getting the whole experience!?) until we were gone. Of course, that meant that I stood freezing in the cockpit while the admiral hunkered down in the companionway, all warm and cozy! Oh well...  That evening, Diane and I hosted a number of her friends and (former!) co-workers from the Chesapeake Hospital for drinks and chili-mac on the boat. Lots of great stories were told (a couple even true!), and the wine flowed, which made the chili-mac even better!

Magic (r) and Veritas (l) crossing the Albermale Sound

  Magic was now cruising in company with good friends on the sailboats Veritas (if you know Latin, you will get the incongruity since their last name is Lyon!) and Peaceful Easy Feeling. A great group to be headed toward warmer weather with!
  Day two of the trip took us down the ICW to Coinjock, N.C.  Another chilly, dreary run...but at least we had our enclosure up which made a HUGE difference by keeping out the wind. Coinjock is pretty much a "must do" stopover for those headed up/down the ICW, not because of the fabulous amenities or cheap prices but because they have the BEST PRIME RIB IN THE WORLD! Diane, who doesn't really care for red meat much, enjoyed the heck out of it.
  Knowing we wanted to be in a safe marina for the brewing nor'easter, the group decided that Day 3 would be a long "push" one and we did, a 0600 departure (it was still dark for crying out loud!) for a 77 mile day. Now, for those of you used to either a car or even powerboat, 77 miles is literally nothing, but for sailboats who cruise at 6-7 knots, that makes for a long day! Even so, when the sun finally peaked out of the clouds and warmed our mercifully enclosed cockpits, all was right in the world and we happily motor(sailed) our way into the North Carolina tidewater. Passing down the Alligator River (not sure why they call it that, never seen one there!) we cruised under a very active military jet "low level" route and had a Navy F-18 fly right over our heads at about 200'! For a now retired pilot, that was a pretty cool experience and one I hope I never get tired of.
  The only other excitement of the day was during a very boring run down a 22 mile canal (miles and miles of nothing...but miles and miles!). I was actually taking a quick nap below with Diane at the helm when she call me to the cockpit to hear a boat ahead of us calling the Coast Guard with a report of gunfire on the waterway. Apparently someone on shore was shooting across the canal with some rounds hitting waaay too close! That woke all of us up as we scanned the shore for signs of the shooter. I have to give the skipper of Peaceful Easy Feeling (a former Army helo pilot) some credit here. As we approached the spot of the suspected shooter, he powered up from behind Magic and placed his boat...on the far side of the canal! That it Bob, sacrifice the Navy guy!
  After 10 hours underway, we finally reached a really nice anchorage and gratefully accepted in invitation to raft up to Veritas for the night. Drinks for all on Magic made for a great end of the day. Next stop, River Dunes Marina in Oriental, N.C.
  Remember folks, neither Diane or I are computer/internet experts so don't expect much here! I promise to post photos and information on the trip whenever we can but don't be surprised if a bit of time goes by between postings. You should always, however, be able to keep track of our location by clickng on the "where is Magic" link at the top of the blog.