Finally on our way!

Finally - May 18, 2011 - The Nauti Nell has finally left to begin cruising the Great Loop. After what seems a lifetime of planning, working, saving and praying - we are finally on our way!

We left Waterside Marina about 1:00 p.m. We had planned to leave earlier (don't we always), but there were a couple of things Mike needed to do before we set out. I had plenty of laundry and other chores to do also, so I didn't mind. Anyway, those "Loopers" that had planned to leave - did so earlier so we were left to venture out on our own.

We passed back through the entrance that gives way to the great Naval Base. The size of some of the ships there are unbelievable! We had to venture across before we went out to meet up with Chandler from Signature Canvas-Makers. He was the one that repaired our eising glass. And what a great job he did! He had also made us some covers for some of the electronics on the flybridge. We needed to pick them up. It was an interesting test for Mike to pull up beside the dock and let me get the covers from Chandler. It was a very small dock and there was about a 3 knot current flowing. Mike did a good job and we were finally on our way out to the Bay.

As we ventured on the skies began to become quite ominous. It looked like we were about to experience our first storm while out in the Bay. Mike thought that we could out run it but that's pretty hard to do when you're only going about 10 mph! It was actually going in the opposite direction than we first thought. It circled around us and the skies grew dark. In fact, we saw a "tail" drop down out of the clouds for a few minutes and then go back up. Lucky for us it stayed up! We finally just slowed down to about 3-4 mph and waited and watched it move on. Of course, we were listening to NOAA the whole time!

Finally, we were able to move on and find a good spot to drop anchor. After all, that little storm wasn't going to cause us to waiver! HA! Well, we did find a beautiful spot in Mobjack Bay in the Southwest River. We toasted our day and had a great dinner. Yes, we had crabcakes once again! We thought this time we were going to be missed by the oncoming showers. However, we were very wrong! The storm came up fast and we had to ride it out. The storm had 40-50 mph winds and hail. NautiNell is tough and we rode it out safe and sound. However, NautiNell can sure make some strange noises during a storm. We are getting quite an experience early on!

We left early the next morning about 8:00 a.m. We wanted to make up some time that we lost yesterday. It was a beautiful morning. We really didn't have any problems and Nauti Nell is doing a great job. Most of the other loopers were staying at Doziers at Deltaville for a few days. We weren't really ready to stop there so we passed them by. We'll all catch up later. We thought we'd stop at Windmill Point at this neat Tiki Bar and have lunch. But our minds were changed when they said that it would cost us $10 to dock! Never mind that!

We did finally stop at Chesapeake Boat Basin in Indian Creek which is part of Fleets Bay. We're not far from Reedville where we had spent the first few weeks. We first stopped at the marina for provisions only to find that the nearest store was 1.8 miles away! In fact, it was in the town of Kilmarnock where we had bought our furniture - the town that has a Wal-Mart! We walked up hill to the store - all 1.8 miles! Finally found it and only bought what we thought we could carry back. As we were drudging back to the boat, a friendly local pulled over and offered us a ride back to the boat. He said that "we transients were easy to spot and thought we might like a ride". He was right! After we got everything put up, we decided to anchor out just a little ways away in the bay (still on Indian Creek). It had been a beautiful day, but it was starting to cloud up. We sat and watched the evening approach. We spotted something out in the water swimming across at a pretty good speed. It turned out to be a deer! I didn't know they could swim like that! Anyway, as soon as she touched land - off she went into the woods. We had a wonderful evening without any storms!

The next morning we set out about 7:30. We planned to make it to Solomons Island, MD where we would dock a few days. There is a lot to do in Solomons Island according to the cruising guides. We're also having a problem with the generator. It keeps shutting down after it runs a couple of hours or so. This way we can be plugged into power while Mike checks it out. It was a beautiful day and pretty much uneventful. The navy has a base at Solomons Island (Cedar Point). They were doing live target maneuvers this afternoon. Fighter jets flew over us along with several helicopters. It was quite a sight to see. Glad we weren't the target!! We arrived at Solomons Harbor Marina about 2:30. We're all set and having a bit of Happy Hour. There is even a live band playing at the Tiki Bar just across from our sundeck. Imagine that! I think it's going to be another great evening.

Till later!

Admiral "C"

p.s. As soon as I have a strong internet connection, I'll post some pictures.