" When Pigs Fly"

Still sitting in Norfolk, VA with some good news to report today. The survey on the Viking has been approved by the bank and insurance company so we may be able to close Friday this week. It also appears that we will be getting a revised contract on the Carver sometime today too, and it should close by the end of the month. Talk about cutting it close.

Yesterday Tropical Storm Diana’s wind and rain found us; winds of 17-18 MPH with light to moderate rain off and on all day then a heavy downpour from about 2:00PM till 6ish. Norfolk received 1.25” of rain. The high wind remained consistently strong over the night and looks like it will continue all day. The weatherman is predicting more of the same for the rest of the week and upcoming weekend. So as anxious as we are to be boating we may as well forget about it for a few days. 

With a nudge from the weather we decided to start the dreaded packing. To both of our amazement we found items that were safely packed away and long forgotten. I hope on the Viking we won’t have to store items in small cubby holes. We were able to get both the V-berth and galley packed up, sounds like a small chore doesn’t? The V-berth has two hanging lockers, 6 drawers, and 3 storage spots below the bed. In the galley there were another 4 drawers, and all the space under the cabinets. I’m really glad Anna was here to do the under cabinet areas. There is no way I could have gotten everything out. Carver has some great storage spots in a 42’ boat but the downside is it’s not always very accessible, and you don’t normally think about it as you’re stuffing them full. Our packing is becoming more of a challenge today since we are quickly running out of places to put loaded tubs and boxes.

The V-berth.  This is progress, I promise!

Last week I made an expensive decision, I decided to purchase a Garmin 5212 chart plotter for the flybridge of the Viking. I just didn’t feel warm and fuzzy with the Northstar plotter as our main navigation tool. The Northstar plotter will remain as a backup since it’s also the screen needed for our radar display. It took the first 5 or 6 months of our trip using the current Garmin 5212 everyday to get comfortable with the idiosyncrasies. I also got comfortable knowing Garmin has great customer support when I can’t figure something out on my own. I have had Garmin on speed dial since last July and we have talked so much I know which of the techs to ask for depending on my problem.

With all that said we will go to Portsmouth to pick up the new Garmin at Mile Marker 0. Meeting Bob McBride at Mile Marker 0 in Portsmouth has been one of our better finds in the Norfolk area. We first met Bob on our initial visit when we needed a new VHF radio. He had a radio close to what I wanted and he gave me another 25% off his already low price. Then when he found he was out of stock he offered to deliver it across the harbor for free! Four days later he called and told me the radio had a $25 rebate and sent me the paper work to apply for the rebate. On the same trip I needed a Garmin G2 card. Bob couldn’t meet the price I could buy it for out of NC but he told me to have it delivered to his store and he would bring it to us when it arrived. From my perspective  going back to Bob for the new Garmin Plotter was a no brainer. I told him what I found for a price. He got his prices, showed me his cost of the items and all he wanted was $100 to run it through his store. Not bad mark up for a $3,900 purchase. We will tell everyone who needs marine items about Mile Marker 0.

While I have been writing this the Admiral has started pulling life jackets out of storage so I should go join the packing fun. Can’t wait to put all this stuff away on the Viking!

We are definitely prepared with PFDs

See ya on the water