Chris Parker, weather forecaster for The Salty Dawg Rally, advised the weather for our departure day would be calm seas and no wind. He got that right! As a result, some of the rally boats decided to stay put and wait for the wind to pick up at the weekend. But for Two Drifters, we decided to push on and are heading for Bermuda, with the aim of seeing another island, albeit briefly, before we turn southwards for Antigua.
In the absence of Barry Manilow’s ‘Bermuda Triangle’, we opted for a sail away song of ‘Rocking All Over The World,’ as we lifted anchor at Hampton, Virginia at 6am. But it was worth the early start, and, as we left the Chesapeake Bay and USA behind us, we were treated to a gorgeous sunrise, complemented by dolphins, low-flying geese and whales.
The afternoon brought a little excitement as we were buzzed several times by military aircraft, with wannabe Tom Cruises in M-18’s requesting a fly by. One aircraft’s sonic boom was enough to break the sound barrier and bring a sleepy Nev upstairs from her cabin wondering what on earth was going on. No sooner had she gone back to bed when Skipper and Deckhand Al caught their first fish, a skipjack tuna.
As we entered the Gulf Stream the seas became very lumpy so it was a rock and rolly night for those on watch and also for those trying to sleep. However, the moon was stunning and very bright, which is always a bonus when on watch.
Since we left, we’ve had some great some VHF-interaction with Salty Pause, Allegro, Arkouda, Exodus, Nandu, Raven and Kalunamoowho seem to be on our track about 15 miles behind us and we’re meeting up for a VHF party at 1500 on Friday to discuss plans for going into Bermuda!
© Two Drifters Travel
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