GL: Three Months into the Great Loop

[Jim Ague]

>    We plan to leave Washington DC on November 1 and take the ICW down to
> Florida. Does anyone see any problems with taking this southern route so 
> late
> in the year?

It's a game of percentages, not ultimatums. Getting into the Chesapeake by 
Sep 1 is good advice, getting south of Norfolk, VA by Nov 1, is also good 
advice. However, if you are a little late, it just means you may be waiting 
for weather windows more often and staying a little longer.

We have waited at Sandy Hook, NJ, for 4 days before heading south. Likewise 
we have waited in Sunset Lake, Cape May, NJ, for 3 days before heading 
north. Neither seemed like a handicap because Derreen was well stocked with 
books and boat chores.

Sep and Oct are lovely months to be lollygagging around the Chesapeake. 
Before you leave DC be sure to have your anchorages and alternative 
anchorages picked out. The western shore of the Chesapeake is riddled with 
them.

-- Jim Ague