Awoke at 0800 and checked the weather... the gale force wind warning had changed taking effect at 1300. Checked the current winds and the anemometer was reading 0 to 1 knot of wind... it was raining... actually it was wintery mix of snow and rain... 33 degrees outside. I woke up Susan and asked her if she wanted to stay or leave... we made the decision to leave... getting us just a little further south

We departed at 0930... planned destination as Midway Marina, Coinjock, NC... approximately 5 hours away.

Had no issues with bridges... Centerville Turnpike Bridge was on demand and we passed through at 0950... North Landing Bridge which I thought was also on demand on the weekends was still opening on the hour and half hour... not as issue since we cleared the Centerville bridge with 40 minutes to make the North Landing Bridge... we actually arrive about 5 minutes early for their 1030 opening.

Quite a few boats traveling south today... before we got away from the dock 3 boats passed us heading south and we had three other boats pass us along the way.

It was a dreary nasty cold day... virtually no wind until about 1200 when a heavy band of rain passed over us and with it winds... 10-15 knots at first and slowly reached a steady 25 knots with gusts to 40 knots... the seas began to increase and we had 2 hours to go. By the time we reached the lower portion of the Currituck Sound we had 3 to 4 foot seas. They were out of the NE so the ride was snot too bad... just a bit wiggly.

We arrived to Coinjock area at approximately 1345 and were securely docked at Midway Marina at 1400. Our position tonight is N36°21.082', W075°56.868'. We traveled today for 4 hours and 30 minutes covering 31.6 nautical miles averaging 7.0 knots.

Departed from Salt Ponds this morning at 0930... planned destination as Great Bridge, VA so no need to leave early... can't dock there until after 1300 so slept in till 0800.

This section of the ICW is always interesting... passing the Norfolk Naval Yard and all the Navy ships and lots of commercial traffic... got waked by one inbound container ship that was running 18 knots and putting out a 6 foot wake... a few things tumbled here and there in the boat. It always amazes me how fast these huge ships can move.

No bridges to deal with until you get to Great Bridge and the Great Bridge Lock... we arrived to the lock at 1325 and waited about 5 minutes before being able to enter the lock... we were the only boat in the lock... no troubles... 15 minutes and we were out the south end headed to the Great Bridge Bridge... the bridge opened as scheduled at 1400 and 15 minutes later we were securely docked at the Atlantic Yacht Basin.

Forecast for tomorrow is gale force winds so we may end up staying another day here but we will wait and see what the weather forecast is in the morning... things can change overnight with the weather.

We arrived to Great Bridge and were securely docked at the Atlantic Yacht Basin at 1415. Our position tonight is N36°43.209', W076°14.075'. We traveled today for 4 hours and 45 minutes covering 26.2 nautical miles averaging 5.5 knots.

Another layover day Salt Ponds, Hampton, VA... spent the morning hunting down the freeze plug for the port engine turbocharger... 20 mm is a tough size to locate.