Virginia to North Carolina
Author: ssolsen12
Finally underway
Winter in Gloucester Point, Virginia
Covid restrictions dragged on, keeping us away from friends and family, so we had plenty of time for boat projects. The winter was cold enough for a few snowfalls. Fortunately, one of Todd’s first projects was the retrofit kit on the diesel heater to ensure we can stay toasty warm. Although… there’s something just not quite right about living on a boat and having snow on the rails. Surely it must be time to head south.
In February, with the enclosure and windshield projects almost done, we began planning to head down the coast, so we made our first major fuel purchase: 600 gallons! Gulp. A) I’m glad we don’t need to do that very often, and B) I sure wish the price would stay down there near $2/gallon.
We enjoyed some beautiful sunsets from the new flybridge enclosure. Look closely, there we are!
Let’s watch a movie!
The day-to-day of life on a boat is very different than life on land. One such example is entertainment. Of the folks we know, most either read or watch some sort of “video” content in the evenings. Be it regular over-the-air TV, cable TV, satellite TV, or streaming Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. We are no different, but our choices are different. Land-based homes (cruisers refer to them as “dirt homes”) have physical connections coming to the house – telephone lines, cable lines, etc. – wonderful avenues of electronic data.
Boats don’t… it is just that simple. Cut the cord? Heck we ain’t got a cord to cut!
Television on a boat can be had two ways: through a fancy satellite TV dish thing that can track the signal regardless of the movement of the boat OR a cellular hotspot providing internet access. Any of you folks that use your phone for everything have probably run into the limitations of “unlimited” phone data plans. Additionally, cell signal doesn’t carry very far offshore. The original owners of our boat did a terrific job in outfitting her with great systems. In our case, yes, one of those fancy satellite dish things with a dome to protect the working parts from the weather. The selling couple assured us ours worked with DirecTV. After much consideration and accepting that Todd’s lifelong frustrations with AT&T would continue, we thought we were all set. Unfortunately, fancy satellite TV dish things on a boat have an expiration date, technological obsolescence. Ours was dead and logically located where? At the very top of the boat. Solution? Tear the entire boat apart to install a new one. Boats might appear to have walls in which to hide things like wires, similar to a house, but no, remember it’s a boat. Ceiling panels and hidey holes behind cabinetry, seating, appliances and drawers are the norm.
Meanwhile, back inside the salon and galley, for several days, the boat was a project zone, not for the faint of heart.
Success! Whatrwewatching?
Birthday surprise
Today we had visitors. We were watching a bit of television while dinner was cooking, when I heard people out on the dock in the darkness. I was quite startled when someone stepped right over onto the swim platform. Yikes! What the heck? I smacked Todd on the thigh with shock, “there’s someone on the boat!” Then he started to laugh, as he was in on it. Lo and behold, it was our son Jeff and his family, Caitlin, Kai and Ella, masked up and delivering treats for my upcoming birthday. A visit from children and grandchildren! Fantastic! If only I’d thought to get a photo. (sheesh)
Our Travels 