Fixin to Head South

Well, it's finally that time, and we're fixin to head south. Kieran and his two boys took me shopping today, and I got pretty much everything I needed for the trip.

The only thing I couldn't get was a wet suit, but that's not a big deal -- the water's not that cold yet. I'd wanted to clean up the prop and depth finder this afternoon, but ran out of time. It'll be really nice and warm tomorrow, so I may try to do it either before I leave or after I anchor.

I did get all my provisions stored, but will probably need to adjust everything to trim the boat and make it easy to get to. It looks like the bow is sitting a bit low right now, but it's hard to tell -- the boot stripe may not be accurate.

Radio watch:

I picking up another net this evening after the sun went down -- couldn't really do any more work anyway, so it won't affect my departure. I'd also spoken earlier to Michael, KC2QYR, who's moored about a mile away. I really enjoyed talking to him, and he gave me some good advice about going through Hell Gate.

Trip watch:

I plan to fill my water tanks tomorrow morning, and bring the dinghy on board. I also plan to PM my engine in the morning to make sure it's ready to go.

I still haven't decided, but I may try to go through Hell Gate Sunday night to take advantage of the great weather. Another option would be to go through Monday morning, then continue directly out into the Atlantic in the afternoon. Either option would help me make Cape May before Tuesday night when the wind is expected to pickup.

Anyway, I plan to keep my options open and play it by ear, but I'd really like to take advantage of the weather while it lasts. I'll continue to check in and post my progress, plans, and positions with the MMSN, so you should be able to follow me on shiptrack or winlink.