Dolphins, Drones, and Delights

Location: Onancock Creek, Onancock, VA
Position: 37 24.666 N 075 45.567 W

You may be able to tell by our position and location that we're no longer at Zimmermans! Woohoo! Nothing against that fine institution and those fine folks, but it sure does feel good to be at anchor again! The second tuning of the propeller got rid of the singing, all systems were good and we were on our way on Tuesday, October 16th.

We are now busily scurrying around the Bay trying to put 50 hours on the engine. The number 50 is a bit magic for us: it's how many hours we have to have on the engine for it's first service, and after that, we can start picking our way South. The down side is that we don't get to sail since we have to run the engine at pretty high RPMs for the run in period. This results in some pretty fast travelling for a sailboat!

Today we were motoring out of Onancock Creek and Mark saw a big splash out of the corner of his eye. "Wow that was something big!!" Julie immediately leaped up and scoured the surrounding water. After a few moments she saw a dolphin... and then another playing in the entrance to the sound. She thinks this is far better than seeing floating scraps of carpet and pieces of pizza float by!

We must admit a sturdy, strong, smooth running engine is a wonderful thing. The new engine is running well and is a lot quieter then the old one. We don't think we'll ever get used to the drone of the engine running near full power all day, though, as we're sailors at heart and miss the quiet of being under sail.

Yesterday we went for a walk around the quaint old town of Onancock after our arrival. It's really pretty with old houses lining the creek and lots of history. We then went for a water side tour in the dinghy, and as we meandered our way back to our boats, saw a bald eagle sitting on top of a tall pole.

We are travelling with our friends Mike and Helen who have been with us since the day we left Zimmermans. They are valiantly putting up with having to move on and motor for 6 hours every day - good friends, indeed! Today we are heading for their dock on the Coan River, back across the Bay, for a "lay day" on Friday, as bad weather is expected.

These are some of the great delights of cruising - friends, wildlife, finding new things to see, new places to visit, new people to meet...

Fair winds (or should we say "Fair RPMs"?)