Departing Hampton?

At this point in time, with all the delays that have occurred, it seems completely unreasonable that I will actually be departing Hampton, Virginia and heading towards the ocean to start my transatlantic journey. Still, that is exactly what will be happening within the next 24 hours.

A gale is forecasted for early this week. Once that passes, there is a nice three-day weather window to get me safely across the Gulf Stream.

The gale came and passed. A bit slower than expected, but it all happened. I originally thought I could depart on Wednesday morning. However, the gale was still offshore. The winds were subsiding, but the waves were reported as 7-13' by the NOAA Weather Buoy 45 miles out.

I continuously check the weather models, weather reports, local forecasts, and weather buoys. I try to correlate all the data to determine how accurate the models are. The GFS model was right on. This was good news since that is the model I trust most near the Continental US.

The local forecasts were calling for thunderstorms in the early evening.

Here is Distant Horizon safely tied to a dock. There is no reason to go out ahead of a thunderstorm! ... or two, as it turned out to be.

The red thing sticking up at the stern (back of the boat), is the windvane. This will be used for steering the boat, so I don't have to be at the helm all the time. Just below that, and actually closer to you, is the new life raft; mounted and ready to never be used! You can also see the wind generator, since it now mounted, tested and ready to charge my batteries whenever the solar panels have insufficient light... like at night.

In the background, you can see the approaching thunderstorm. Sorry, no lightning shots.

I took this photo on my way to the shower. It would be my last hot shower for nearly a month!

Depending on winds and tide, I can depart this evening, or early tomorrow morning. Yes! The tide is a factor on my departure. Once I reach the Hampton Roads, the current will be around two knots. If the tide is flowing (coming in) and I am going out... I will make about 3 knots of progress, since the boat motors around 5 knots. Turn that around for an ebbing tide (outgoing) and I will make close to seven knots; actually slower because I compromise between working the engine less and going faster.

If all goes well, I will write my next update from Sao Miguel; one of the islands in the Azores!