Everyone at the Coinjock Marina seemed to be leaving at the crack of dawn. Because of the high winds predicted in the afternoon, those going south wanted to get across the Albemarle Sound and those of us going north wanted to get across the Currituck Sound. We were one of the first off and headed north to the Currituck Sound. All the other boats that left after us (mostly trawlers) passed us on the way. The twelve mile crossing was uneventful, with little or no wind. Along the way, we left North Carolina and entered Virginia. We got through North Carolina a lot faster on the way back than we did on the way down. When we got across the Currituck, we calculated the time remaining to the first swing bridge (North Landing Railroad Bridge) that only opens on the hour and half-hour. At the current speed, we would barely make it to the on-the-hour opening, two hours hence. At that point, the wind picked up a bit from the south and we put up a sail. This got us going more than a knot faster and we made it to the bridge with time to spare. We then had one more bridge and we tied up at the Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake, VA for a short day of only six hours and 31 nm. After getting the boat in shape, we walked over to a nearby Walgreens and got our fourth COVID shot. We have made it to mile 12.4 of the Intracoastal Waterway. Key West is mile 1243.0 (statutory)–we have put on a few miles: 2461.2 miles since we were here last fall (still need to calculate the total since we left Ithaca, but it would be well over three thousand). Ben is coming to visit tomorrow for a couple of days. He is on spring break from law school and is looking for an apartment in DC for a summer internship.
