Friday, May 16, 2014 – 7:00PM – Leg 31/Day 47 – 22.9 Miles
I was going to run down the shipping channel but after spending the night and seeing all the traffic, I figured the day time would be worse and decided to cross the channel and hug the land on the Eastern side. When I woke up, I figured correctly and set out to get across as soon as possible. I snuck in between two big freighters and made it through without a problem, but I did hit some wakes that rocked me really good.
It was mostly uneventful after that and the only other incident was that I was stopped and questioned by the Harbor police as I was passing Salem nuclear plant. They were very nice and after their boat check and paperwork check, they disembarked. I stayed in about 15-20 ft. of water most of the time and made my way down. About midway, the tide started coming in and it really slowed me down to a crawl. But the scenery was lovely and the autopilot snaked me through the shoals while I kept an eye on the local traffic.
I am at the Money Island Marina having just got home from dinner. They have a great restaurant here and I met another solo sailor who joined me. He is going the other direction down the ICW and then heading out to the Bahamas for the summer. He's a lot younger than me and looks to be in great shape. If I was younger and trusted my body more, I might make a living out of island hopping in the Caribbean. Then again, I wouldn't be retired and have a regular income every month like I do now. It made me a little jealous, but not enough to change my plans.
Heavenly Father, protect those I hold dear and help them to overcome the obstacles in their lives.