Ah, the typical life of a cruiser...

I'll bet you're thinking I spend my days lolling about in a hammock strung between the forestay and mast, glass of rum in my hands, perusing a good book while some bikini clad lovely runs hors d'oeuvres to and fro. Or perhaps I'll go skindiving, wrestling with sharks for fun (NOT), while chasing down a supper of fresh lobster.
Well, other than the bikini clad lovely, some brief parts of very occasional days are like that - but it's more often that I'm doing some sort of boat repair - they do break, and often too! - walking the dog, doing laundry like I was today, or working at a writing assignment.
The reality is that cruising is just another job, albeit with constantly changing scenery, and no paycheque at the end of the week. But I wouldn't change it, as along with most cruisers, we feel it's a great life.

Route from Deltaville, on the Rappahannock River, to Hampton Roads

One more day here in Deltaville VA and then off to Hampton - unless Sunday's winds are too strong out of the south, in which case, I'll head out Monday when the winds go back to the north. This will be the last opportunity for a good sail for a while, as I'll be on the ICW, so I want to make the most of it. Here's a chart showing the sail...
The preferred way to do this is with a north, west or easterly wind. A south wind means either a lot of tacking, or a motor trip. A northwest breeze is usually the very best, as other than getting out of Deltaville into the Chesapeake, you've got the wind over your shoulder - sailors say it's on the quarter - for most of the trip. That means the waves push you along, not smack you in the face, and it's much more pleasant.
In Hampton, I'll be docked at the Hampton Public Piers, a lovely spot, with some of the best showers on the entire trip. Trust me, when you sail like this, you learn where the best showers are! This is the area the Caribbean 1500 left from just about ten days ago - some of them stayed here at this marina in fact. From Hampton, I'll cross the river and head into the ICW...more on that later.
Time to go and post some more YouTube links for the songs from the contest.