Afterthoughts

Now that we've been home for a couple of days, I have some time to share some thoughts on the journey of about one thousand miles we just completed. We took about a month to travel from Vero Beach to Annapolis. The trip could be shortened if we pressed harder, but part of our plan was to spend some quality time in some of the ports that we found attractive. We spent a week in Charleston, and we spent several days in other ports that we enjoyed, including St. Augustine, Beaufort, NC, and accidentally in Belhaven, NC due to our transmission issue.

Our only mechanical problem of the trip, the problem with the transmission solenoids, was probably caused by some salt water getting to the electrical contacts. We observed some salt water entering the engine room vent on the port side during the sea trial, and we fixed the problem by clearing the vent drain. This was a perfect example of a small problem becoming a bigger problem. A good reminder to address small issues as they come up with the boat.

Someone asked me what I think about the ICW, and I said that there are good and bad things about the inside passage along the East Coast. The bad things are the narrowness, the shallowness in places, and the traffic and no-wake zones that can slow the progress of the boat. But, on the other hand, taking it slow allowed us to see lots of beautiful places, and being sheltered on an inland body of water allowed us to travel on days that might have been untenable on the ocean. We only had one leg, from Charleston to Georgetown, when the conditions were right to allow us to comfortably jump outside and run offshore.

From this trip, we've learned about where the good places to stop are located, and we have a better feel for how many miles we like to cover in a day (between 50 and 80 miles). Our longest run was up the Chesapeake Bay, about 130 miles in 7 hours, running at 20 knots all the way. The next trip will be easier now that we have some experience with the passage. Come fall, we'll be heading south again, and we're looking forward to the next adventure.