Where is Spring?

Are we in Maine?  I didn't think so but I am beginning to wonder!  I don't think they have officially announced that we are having a "noreaster" but I think we are!  It's been around 50 degrees for the past two days and the wind has been blowing between 25 and 35 mph - and they're calling for the same thing again tomorrow!  Very nasty!  My friend Samantha told me that when we get to Florida we will not come back north and at the time she said it I thought "yes, we will".  Now, I'm not so sure.  We're almost ready to scrap previous plans and head that way now!

We drove over to Virginia Beach today and went to the Virginia Aquarium.  We saw "Under the Sea" at their IMAX theatre and then had a nice mid-afternoon lunch at Bubba's Seafood.  I think we must have picked the worst Spring (weather wise) in recent history to embark on our sailing adventure.  Oh well, it will get warm one of these days and we will actually sail up the Chesapeake Bay!  Stay tuned...

Blessing of the Fleet

Late yesterday afternoon we attended The Blessing of the Fleet held by members of the two prominent yacht clubs in our marina.  We all met on the main dock and participated in saying a prayer in unison to thank God for many of the aspects vital to sailors such as friends, water, wind, rain, sun, storm, sea life and seasons.  Lastly, we asked God for guidance and protection this boating season for us Sailors of the Sea.

The Blessing of the Fleet is a tradtion that has been observed for hundreds of years and began in small fishing villages in the Mediterranean where a local priest would bless the fishermen and their boats for a safe and bountiful season.  Boating clubs and associations all over the world continue this tradition today.

Yesterday was the first time we have had the opportunity to attend one of these gatherings, which we thought was very appropriate since we will soon embark on a full season of sailing for the first time in our lives.

Last week we were blessed with several warm, sunny days and we checked a lot of the items off of our "prepare to launch" list!  We don't have a specific day or even week designated yet for leaving the dock but we believe it will be before the end of April - if all goes as planned.

Our new home!  After all the preparation and final move we have officially become "live-aboards".  Now, if we can just get some warm weather all will be well!  In the meantime we will work on our list of final preparations for cruising so we'll be ready to start out in a couple of weeks.  We've only been hear a few days but so far we are loving it!