4 May 14

Lovely, warm, sunny day today, so we pulled away from Hampton Public Pier just before 09:00, pumped out both holding tanks. Out in Hampton Roads, there was a nice westerly breeze, so we got the sails up, killed the engine and had a very nice sail across the roads and up the Elizabeth River all the way to Waterside Marina, arriving just after 13:00. The marina is nearly full and we are the only sail boat; the rest are big trawlers, some quite big. Our next door neighbor at the marina is a couple from Colorado Springs, CO on a Selene 48 trawler; beautiful boat and very nice people: Barbara and Craig. The loopers at the marina held an informal cocktails party on the dock and we had a good time meeting our fellow cruisers.

5 May 14

Happy Cinco de Mayo. The AGLCA registration, etc., does not start until 15:00, so we spent the morning finishing off the installation of the last of the mosquito screens and other miscellaneous chores. We disinfected the aft head and, just for fun, I opened up the aft holding tank and sprayed the, uh, deposits off the inside wall to see if the odor in the aft head improves. That is not a job I enjoyed, but it was not as bad as anticipated, except for a couple of kick-backs and sprays; in anticipation of such events, I had stripped down to skivvies and donned disposable gloves and a face mask. But I still managed to get one splash right in the eye; lovely. After I hosed myself off and got the tank pumped out, we were back in business. I must figure out how to put a level indicator/alarm on the holding tanks. After the AGLCA registration, we had a happy hour and introductory dinner. Lots of nice folks here, but there is only one other sail boat attending. 

6 May 14

This is the first full day of AGLCA rendezvous activities, which includes a full day of seminars, show & tells, lunch, Looper Crawl, happy hour and another dinner, starting at 08:00 and finishing up at 21:00. The Looper Crawl is where a number of Loopers in attendance open up their boats for fellow loopers to check out. We looked at 5 or 6 big trawlers, but did not fall in love with any of them, despite their extra room, storage, full size beds, full size showers, full size refrigerators, etc. I guess I have picked the right boat and/or wife. Brain dead, we crawled into bed at 22:00 and were soon fast asleep.

7 May 14

Day 2 of the AGLCA seminars. We spent all day again in the Sheraton listening and learning. It is a bit difficult to find out, with any precision, what is the limiting draft. They all “say” that if you draw 4.5 ft, you will have no problem. They also “say” that sail boats drawing as much as 6 ft have made it through. We draw 5’-9” in seawater, fully loaded for cruising. If we take off the mast, boom, sails and any other excess weight (e.g., the forward water tank), we may be able to reduce weight enough to knock 3 or 4” off the draft, but of course, we will sit a bit lower in fresh water. I’m trying to get a definitive answer out of Beneteau. The Coast Guard came round and gave us a safety inspection, which we passed with flying colors. We had a free evening (i.e., no AGLCA activities planned) so Terri and I found a tapas bar - Empire Little Bar Bistro (sister to the tapas place we ate in last week in Phoebus) a few blocks away on Granby Street. 

8 May 14

Last day of the AGLCA rendezvous. Presentations in the morning, lunch, final happy hour reception and awards dinner. It has been a week chock full of seminars and camaraderie. We are worn out and anxious to get back on the move. We met lots of nice folks, including two other couples who are planning to do the loop in sailboats.  

Weather permitting, we will head north tomorrow in the direction of the Ware River and a get together with Ash and his wife, Ronda.