The days leading up to it and the weekend before Halloween were some of the nicest days of the year on the Chesapeake Bay. The winds were quiet and the days and nights were very comfortable. We spent one night in St. Michaels and then another on anchor on the Wye River. Those that had not yet put their boats away for the winter were rewarded for their patience.............or procrastination. We were able to enjoy being outside on the boat without heat, humidity or bugs. Air conditioning and heat were not necessary. What a delight!

This was one more opportunity for us to accustom ourselves to the boat and her many systems before the big trip, and remind ourselves of how enjoyable it can be out on the water. Martha's cousin joined us and had the best of conditions for his visit. We were able to use the newly installed AIS transceiver and get used to the additional information it provides. I feel a lot more comfortable having the ability to see other boats on AIS, but more importantly, that they can see us. We had quite a bit of fog to contend with on our last trip south. We could always see other boats sending an AIS signal, but being able to send our own AIS signal will give us a little more peace-of-mind during restricted visibility situations. Being in the vicinity of those big commercial vessels can make life a little scary when visibility is restricted. They are required to have AIS and hopefully we will be more visible to them now.

Last week was a project week and included the installation of a toilet brush holder (I know it doesn't seem like much, but it helps with small bathroom organization), removal of a toilet from the crew quarters which is used strictly for storage, and reorganizing that area, storing the old anchor in the forward locker and purchasing an anchor rode for it to use as a spare. We organized and reorganized the pantry area to try and make the best use of our limited storage spaces and removed a number of items from the boat that we will not need on this trip. Fuel tanks were filled and the holding tank was pumped out. Good ways to start a long trip.

We have completed the meal prep at home, frozen enough meals for most of the trip and finished food provisioning except for the fresh items that we will get right before we depart. Tomorrow we take the last big load of food and make a stop at the wine store on the way. The goal is to have just a small load when we leave the house next week.

Since we are within the ten day window, I am watching the weather carefully and hoping that we have a couple of good days to get down the Bay. We need to get past the Potomac River on the first day, and that can be choppy. It was actually ok the last few times we have gone by that area. Cape Charles will be the destination for day two, as we have not visited there before. We will be going through Norfolk and then Currituck Sound on day three, which had very sporty conditions and a lot of traffic on our last trip. We're hoping for better conditions this time. Day four will see us going through the Albemarle Sound which has been known to be pretty rough in certain weather conditions.

Beyond planning where you would like to be, it is hard to make definitive arrangements when you know that weather conditions can change it all. Hope for the best, plan for the worst is the way we approach. Knowing what awaits us is what makes it worthwhile.

This will be the end of the 2023 Season blog. The next entries will be in our ICW Fall 2023 blog. Looking forward to the adventure.

Our November 15 departure date to head south is fast approaching. We continue to gather supplies for the trip and load up the boat with those things that we anticipate needing on the ICW as well as in the Bahamas. An AIS transceiver was installed yesterday to replace the receiver-only that came with the boat. After encountering so much fog on the last trip, we decided at that time to make sure we were sending as well as receiving AIS signals this next time. We want to be seen by other vessels, especially big ones, and will be able to check it out tomorrow when we get back to the boat.

We have been doing some tests to record engine rpm, speed and fuel usage to help us gauge our range and optimal speed under various conditions. We have also been trying to get a clear understanding of the fuel level gauges so that we know how much fuel is left in the tanks. We definitely don't want to get too low. There are quite a few good diesel fuel stops along the ICW, but those have to be considered along with the speed we run and the distance we need to cover. We will also have to contend with shorter days, and that may limit how far we are able to go each day. Fortunately, we don't mind getting up early so that we can be out on the water at first light. The sun is getting lower in the sky and that will effect  our visibility as we head south. It will be right in our eyes and reflecting off the water.

Last week we anchored out for two nights to test out the new anchor and new bridle. We also wanted to see how the boat handled windy conditions. There were some breezy conditions during the day and all worked well. The nights were very calm and not much of a test. We have especially enjoyed using the grill to prepare dinners, but anticipate that cold weather may force us indoors, especially at the beginning of our trip. We have been preparing some meals and freezing them for later use during the journey.

We have planned a basic route with stops in a number of new places and hopefully we can go on the "outside" (ocean rather than ICW), but that will be determined by the combination of weather conditions, how much daylight we have and how much fuel. We would also like to anchor out as much as possible to reduce our marina expenses. This boat allows us to be self-sufficient and not need marinas as much, but it is good to get off and stretch your legs when you can.

Most cruisers have plans A, B and C (maybe more) and we do to. It is critical to be prepared for the unexpected and the possibility that it will cause a deviation in our plans. Flexibility is not a strong personality characteristic for me, so that is the challenge. Boaters will tell you that you must have a plan, but it could be dangerous to stick to a schedule if the conditions don't allow it.

It was a long process, but it was worth the wait, and we are pretty sure we have a boat that we can enjoy for many years. The Prestige 460 is a good size for us and was our favorite model when we were first looking at boats 6 years ago. The path getting to this point had quite a few twist and turns, and I'm not sure I want to go through it again. Here is the abbreviated (believe it or not) version.

The boat market changed dramatically after the start of the pandemic. Dealers had little inventory and due to supply chain shortages, the build process for new boats became drawn out with customers waiting for a year, a year and a half, and even longer for new boats. Prices for new boats went up, and as a result, the prices for used boats jumped up as well, and availability went down. The market has shown a little softening and we feel lucky to have sold our 420S last fall after being on the market for about three months.

We were initially looking at a 2016 Prestige 500 that was becoming available and went through a successful survey in June of 2022. The boat had a few issues, but that was expected on a boat that age and we knew we would have to invest in some repairs and upgrades. Deposits were paid and agreements were signed. We just needed to wait for our boat to sell. 

There were a few showings of our boat so we were minimizing use and keeping her in a good show condition. Ironically, we received a sight-unseen offer and a survey was scheduled. Unrelated to boating, Martha ended up having surgery on her knee and that put her out of commission. I had to clear out the boat to get it ready for the survey, so we rented a storage unit in Rock Hall and during the hottest weekend of the summer I moved all the boat items into it. As I was closing the door to the storage facility after the final load, I received a phone call from our broker. As I am standing there holding the door, he told me that the survey had been cancelled by the buyer. That was disappointing enough, but then he told me that there was some other bad news, the 500 we were planning to buy had run aground and was going to be out of commission for a while. He assured me that there was no structural damage, but some assessment was ongoing. This was disappointing to say the least. I was exhausted from cleaning out the boat and drained by the high heat. All I could do was go to the marina pool and try to relax.

The potential buyer of our boat rescheduled a survey, but cancelled again and then completely backed out of the purchase. We were done with him! Another buyer came along, looked at the boat and scheduled a survey for later in September. It was successful and he took ownership in October. We were now without a boat and unsure about the future of the 500 we had a deposit on, but optomistic.

The broker let us know that the 500 was going to be brought back to Maryland (the grounding happened out of state) and another survey was scheduled for the beginning of December. The survey results came back pretty rough and indicated significant work needed to be done on both the engines and the pods. There were a few other issues as well, but everything was fixable.

What I didn't mention earlier, was that each delay caused us to lose our loan rate locks and the rates had started to climb fast with the Federal Reserve hiking the rates to combat inflation. Great!! In the mean time, we were looking for other boats, but the selection of good available boats......at affordable prices and fitting our criteria.......was very thin.

I was informed by our insurance agent that a policy could not be written on the boat while it had open claims, meaning we could not close on it until all work was done and claims closed. So work continued on the boat throughout the winter, but some things had to wait for the weather to warm up. Once we got to the end of March, we were very concerned that we may never get a boat.  

We attended the Bay Bridge Boat Show in April, saw the 460 and decided to make an offer. We were sorry to back out of the other deal, but we just had no idea when we would be able to get the 500 and didn't want to miss this opportunity. We had a successful survey in early May and took possession of the boat right after Memorial Day. It's now time to get used to her out on the water and learn how she runs. I'll let you know how that goes in upcoming blogs.............