I have bought another boat, after thirty years of sailboats I decided to buy a power boat, I looked around at what is a huge selection of used boats (the economy here is not what it was) and found a friend of a friend who has a 44 foot trawler in fine condition and closed on it last month (Valentine’s Day).
Our next adventure will be to bring the boat up to Maryland from Florida (it’s only 900 miles). Right now we are scheduled to start the trip March 15 and should be back home by the first week of April. The plan (that word again) is to drive down to St. Augustine starting March 9 (likely today as you read this) in a rented minivan loaded with food, wine, clothes and tools and set out via the Intracoastal Waterway (Google ICW) to the Chesapeake Bay. It’s a six state trip, Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Virginia, and home to Maryland. By that time spring should surely be here, it has been a long and unseasonably cold winter here as it has been in the UK. The ice has just gone from the creek in the last few days and the ducks and geese look like they are about to follow. In several weeks of intense preparation for the trip I have completed my taxes and purchased some charts and distress flares, the unimportant details (clothing, provisions etc.) I am leaving to others.
I have been a little preoccupied working on a scheme to allow me to stay in internet contact whilst traveling, (cell phones are wonderful things) and should be able to provide some indication of progress made (if any) on a fairly regular basis. Several nautical wags here have assured me the trip will be routine, to my mind moving a small boat nine hundred miles is better described as somewhere between an adventure and a disaster, depending on circumstances largely beyond human control, but we shall see.
Fortunately the route is nowhere near Somalia so piracy should not be a hazard.
More news when it happens
Boadicea's Chariot 
I suspect you will find the US Coastguard very helpful when they have assured themselves you aren’t shipping drugs across State lines (how does that work at sea?) or have a cargo of illegal immigrants on board!
It will be a great adventure, and I hope you enjoy every moment of it. Keep us posted.
She looks a very trim lady LW. Have a safe journey and a enjoyable one. Keeeeeep blogging.
CWJ: The Coasties are suspicious of every thing that floats in the sea, slow boats like Trawlers and sailboats are unfortunately not exceptions. Smuggling drugs (or illegals) at seven knots would seem unlikely to any thinking person but I have been stopped and searched in a 38 foot sailboat.
Toc: It will be inshore most of the way, I should be able to keep an internet connection open most of the trip.
🙂
Water? Nah! not me, I’m a land lover from way back but If you can bring it into Lake Illawarra I’ll go fishing with you, we had a white pointer in there for years and nobody can catch it.
Hope you enjoy your boat, LW, best of wishes. 🙂
Almost looks as good as our car 🙂
You going to give her a name? Perhaps we could have a poll, ‘Floating Chariot’ perhaps 😉 She looks a beauty here’s wishing you good health to enjoy her.
I’ve been watching the NASCAR this past few weeks, love it. Our ESPN show it live starting 10pm Sunday nights (which I rarely stay awake through.) Not sure if my favourite bit is The Thunderbirds at the start or the cars at the finish, I love The Thunderbirds.
Any room in the suitcase?
LW – re-reading your blog …
“I have been a little preoccupied working on a scheme to allow me to stay in internet contact whilst traveling, (cell phones are wonderful things)”
Wireless Broadband! nifty little things that plug into a laptop might be the way to go, they are cheap, transportable and even with Cyclone Yasi in the area they were show to work just fine
Donald, I’ve just switched to a gadget like yours – here it’s called Oister. Mrs J can plug it into her laptop too – when she takes the plunge – sharing the subscription. Dontchya just love it!
Janus – I think they are awesome, reliable and quite cheap. The way of the future! 🙂
That is great looking boat, we love looking at these when they ply the inland waterway past our holiday rental at Indian Shores, so if you ever see two drunks waving from a balcony it’s probably me and MrsOMG. Happy sailing.
Are you looking for crew?
Taks me back to my honeymoon! Enjoy it, CWJ.
Enjoy, may the sailing gods be kind to you!
Thanks for all the good wishes, we are currently taking a break in our trip south at about the 700 mile mark (Savannah, GA) should be at the boat tomorrow morning.
Regarding internet, I finally settled for this little guy (about the size of a credit card)
It’s a mobile wifi modem, up to five machines simultaneously, no limit on downloads and best of all no contract, $50/month if you use it, nothing to pay if you do not.