It’s Sunday morning and it doesn’t look like the Salty Dawg Rally is going to get off on time, after all. We had a weather briefing last evening and Chris Parker’s assessment of the forecast is that there is a “low” or at least something that looks a lot like one, that will migrate off of the coast near Hampton and head to the NE in the next day or so. This will bring very strong NE winds about the time that we would be traversing the Gulf Stream. And if there is one thing that’s clear is that NE winds and the Gulf Stream are a really nasty mix and when the wind opposes the current it kicks up big and steep seas.
Actually, the best time to have left was a few days ago as the conditions were very good but alas, we weren’t ready anyway. Such is life.
So, what’s a Dawg to do? The current forecast points toward a departure in a “few” days, perhaps as far off as later this week if we want to sail for the first 500 miles or perhaps sooner if we are willing to just head out with no wind behind the low and motor for the first few days. I am not too keen on this option as it would burn up a lot of my fuel and leave little reserve for the end of the trip when we might need it.
However, I know from many of Chris’s forecast that things can change quickly so perhaps we will find that the favorable winds will fill in sooner than not. Hopefully, we will only be delayed by a few days. More to come on that.
On Friday morning we had visitors from US Coast Guard Norfolk who talked to us about safety and what to expect from them if we get into trouble. They showed us some videos and also provided some insight from their experiences with those that they had to assist in the SDR rally that got into trouble a few years ago when participants left Hampton and got caught in a low that came through faster than expected. These guys make it clear that they would do everything that they could to help us in the event of an emergency but that it costs the US taxpayer plenty. In the case of the 2013 rally “experience”, the price tag was something like $1.6 million, a tidy sum that would buy at least couple of toilet seats or perhaps a nice package of nuts and bolts for the guys at NASA. Editor note: He did have his eyes open for most of the presentation. 
Want give them a call yourself to request a lift? What no Twitter?
Meanwhile back at the “Dawg House” yesterday, we had a live life raft demonstration, a sobering discussion, to say the least, of what can happen when things go badly. It’s the whole jumping into a raft and having someone in a wet suit say “I’ll be your rescue swimmer today”, that makes deciding when to leave so important. As much as I want to get going, I REALLY, REALLY don’t want to try out my raft any time soon. But, it’s nice to know that it’s there is a raft if and when I need it. On that point, I am going with the “if” part as I am hoping that there won’t be a “when”. 
It gets even better. How about a video of the deployment? It’s amazing how quickly the raft blows up. I’d hate to have one go off in my salon. So, with another briefing tonight we wait and see what the weather will do and while we are ready, we’re not, at least not yet.
For now, you will have to settle for a shot of a good portion of “the fleet” in Hampton Harbor as shown on the tracking program. There are 80 boats participating in the rally and this is only a part of the group, as some, including Pandora, are not in the host marina. Don’t forget that you can track our progress in the “where in the world is Pandora” section of this site. There will be several options, one for Pandora alone, updated every four hours, and the other for the fleet overall, updated twice a day. 
For now, we wait. I guess I’ll have to wash the boat again today. Have to keep busy.
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