We're now back in Deltaville getting our bottom painted with new anti-fouling paint and getting a few other things done to the boat...

Installing a regulator on the wind generator as well as a Link1000 system so we don't "blow through" another set of batteries and know exactly what we are using and making each day in terms of amp hours.

Getting the oil changed, impeller and belts changed and getting all suspect hoses replaced.

Getting the topsides and teak back to ship-shape after the long winter.

I will be brief about our trip back up the remainder of the ICW as we've described most of the highlights on the trip down. We pressed hard to make mileage and did several 70 mile days on the trip north which made the trip tiring. We did manage to arrive in Beaufort NC for their 3 day music festival which was great fun especially dancing to the Platters under the stars.

We also decided to make a detour across the Albemarle Sound to visit Manteo on Roanoke Island which is where we hope to retire once we become land-lubbers again. We waved goodbye for now to Tony and Kathy on Odyssey who have become such good friends and traveling companions. We hope they can join us again one day soon! As usual, the Albermarle was not kind to us and as soon as we headed to Manteo it kicked up into a nasty chop with 25-30 knot winds in our face. We had to keep the dodger open to enable us to look out for crab pots which were everywhere and we both arrived in Manteo thoroughly soaked and ready for a hot shower! We were pleased to find that Manteo has grown slightly since we were last there, but still retains its' essential small town charm.

From there we ran the remaining 85 miles of waterway over two days and arrived in Norfolk & saw son Chris for the first time since January. The Chinese food was great that night and we set out for Deltaville the next morning. Unfortunately the 15 mph winds that had been forecast were really 20-25 from the northeast and the combination of wind, tide, James River flow and ocean swells made the area around the Hampton Roads tunnel a real washing machine with 5-6 ft. seas from a variety of directions. I knew that once we got out and up the bay things would settle down a bit so we pressed on through what was really the worst weather of our entire trip. Of course the fuel filter that had carried us the length of the waterway picked that moment to quit along with (as I discovered), the fuel lift pump again! We rolled out the genny to try to hold our position and I went below to make repairs... just 50 minutes for both this time and we made it back into Deltaville without further delay as the tide turned to help us and the seas calmed down.

Thinking back on the whole trip north, I'm struck by how much more nerve wracking it was than the trip down. Not only were we pushing harder and enjoying it less but the waterway has continued to deteriorate in depth due to lack of maintenance and dredging caused by Bush's decision to cut funds. We love Bush...but he is wrong on this one! His view is that interstate commerce is the feds responsibility so allocates money to port dredging, but feels the ICW is the individual states responsibility as it is largely recreational. WRONG! The ICW is the water equivalent of Interstate 95 and if one state doesn't maintain it then the whole thing will shut down. I can't count the number of places where our depth sounder alarm sounded for 6 feet due to shoaling that wasn't there last fall. We went aground in 4.5 feet in the middle of the channel in Mantanzas Inlet and saw a tugboat, a powerboat and a 4.5 ft draft sailboat all go aground in the channel south of Morehead City (between markers 11 & 13 keep to the green side!). Odyssey went aground several times as well.
I'd suggest that some of the diesel fuel tax $$ now being allocated back to the states to build boat ramps etc. be channeled for ICW maintenance or our whole ICW will end up impassable in key spots in the very near future. The sea waits for no man! Write your congressmen!!

Camaraderie is "on the hard" now and we've spent the last week or so back in Richmond catching up with friends and family but we are anxious to be on our way again. It seems to me that I'm even less tolerant of traffic and noise than I was before we left and the shopping and stores have little appeal as we need so little aboard our home.

We hope to be headed north before the end of the month. The plan is to sail from Norfolk outside to Long Island and spend the month of June cruising the sounds and visiting my brother. Noelle will be attending Stonybrook U. for some courses this summer and hopes to hitch a ride or two as well! From there it will be on to Maine for the summer if all goes well. I'm looking forward to the 350 mile ocean passage that turned us around in 1999 and I'm hoping that the lessons in preparation learned then will serve us well now! ....GB//