Thursday, April 30, 2015. We left Gibson Island Boat Works around noon for our pre-loop trip to Norfolk. Our wonderful crew for this journey was Sinker. He has a real name, but no one uses it! Our mission was to get to the Great Loop rendezvous in Norfolk, Virginia in one piece, and without mishap. Sinker was a tremendous help. He knows boats, has spent years on boats, and he’s a licensed captain. We were in good hands as we worked on our navigation skills, checked and rechecked all systems and thru hulls, and made decisions on where to anchor each night. Anchored off the Little Choptank River.
Friday, May 1, 2015 We sailed/motored all day, heading south on the Chesapeake Bay. New crew member for the day….. Popeye the invisible sailor man, aka our autopilot. Anchored off Great Wicomico River in Virginia. The ice cream experiment is going well. The freezer is great! We have lucked out with the weather. Nice northeast wind blowing us south.
Saturday, May 2, 2015 Beautiful day sailing south to Norfolk.  Night at Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth, Virginia where we taught Sinker how to play Mahjong.

Sunday, May 3, 2015 Sinker caught the early morning flight back to Baltimore.  We will be forever grateful for his help on our trip to Norfolk.  We spent the day exploring Portsmouth, swimming in the frigid but refreshing marina pool, and loving a tiny tapas restaurant called “Still”.  Night at Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth, Virginia.