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Griffin Update #15: Underway Soon
Friday, 2:50pm, May 22, Griffin In Dry-dock, Belle Isle Boatyard,
Hampton, Virginia, Absentee Pennant Flying. Crew southbound on I-95.
As we write this, the new crew of the Griffin are driving south on I-95 through Virginia to rejoin the boat in Hampton for the final leg northward to Annapolis to complete the 2,500 mile Odyssey that started last November.
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Football Boy driving south on I-95. Note the healed head and full
head of hair.
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Making this leg of the voyage are Steve Holmgren, Andrew Coile and Jon Coile. You may remember Andrew as "Football Boy" from the southbound trip. His ICW emergency surgery was documented in Update #2 of the original series. You can read about it at http://www.coile.com/griffin/nov97/update2.html.
As they say, "Time Heals All Wounds". Andrew's head has completely healed so he no longer resembles a regulation NFL pigskin from the back. Time also tends to fade memories, leaving the pleasant experiences intact, but erasing the pain. At this point, Andrew has nothing but pleasant memories of his run down the ICW to Charleston. He was quick to sign on with his partner Steve for the final leg home. Hopefully Steve knows what he is getting himself into.
Actually, we are anticipating a pleasant, uneventful run up the bay tomorrow. The weather forecast is for winds of less than 10 knots, initially out of the North, but shifting later in the day to the East and ultimately southeast. Wave heights are forecast for 1 foot. Sounds pretty good. Hopefully that's what it will be.
The boat is in the final stages of having her repairs completed. The propeller shafts are going back in today, and then the new props will be installed. The bottom has been painted with anti-fouling. The engine heat-exchangers have been cleaned and re-installed. The fiberglass on the transom has been repaired and the dingy davit beefed up where we broke it on the first day south, almost exactly 6 months ago. To top it all off, Joe and his guys compounded and waxed the entire boat, so she should look like a million bucks.
We plan to arrive about 4:30 this afternoon and help the yard guys finish whatever is left to get Griffin ready to go. We will top off with Diesel, do our standard pre-underway engine checks, lay out our waypoints in the GPS, have dinner, and go to bed early for a 6:00am underway.
The trip up the bay should take about 8 hours. We are anticipating arriving in Annapolis by 2:00. After refueling with diesel we will run up the Severn River to Griffin's permanent berth at our house in Severna Park, and then pop the Champagne to celebrate the end of the journey.
We plan to send one mid-point underway update tomorrow from the Bay near Tangier Island, and then close out with the final update after we get home.
So, the adventure restarts in two hours. Buckle up, follow along, and enjoy the ride.
Warm regards,
The Griffin Crew,
Jon, Andrew & Steve