Day 2

Left the marina at 8:30. It was windy, gusty, rainy, but we were all in good spirits, probably due to the great coffee I made on my new Coleman stove top drip coffee maker

Passed an impressive line up of navy boats (carriers, battleships, etc.). I'll post pictures soon as I figure out how

We entered the canal about 1/2 hour later and the wind and waves were blocked. The rain soon stopped as well and we motored on to the first of many bridges which open on the hour or 1/2 hour. Our goal was Coinjock, a small town on the ICW with one marina and one restaurant famous for miles around for their 32 oz. Prime Rib! We made reservations and were looking forward to a nice dinner when we came to the only lock on our route. As we pulled up to wait for the opening we were told that it couldn't open cause the water was too high. Turns out we are having unusually high high tides (two to four feet above normal and now (high tide) there was just too much water outside the lock for the gates to open. We have to wait till lower (or low) tide till it can open.

So... We anchored in the middle of the ICW and had lunch (a great soup that we got from Palate Pleasers in Annapolis). By the time we finished there were 5 other boats anchored nearby.

Our plan now is to stay at a marina just beyond the locks and head off again to Coinjock in the morning (36 miles away). We couldn't make it before dark today and there is no place to stop for 47 miles beyond. So I cancelled tonight's dinner reservations and made new ones for tomorrow

The upshot is that we lose a day...once again we prove that one shouldn't make firm schedules when sailing..just enjoy the trip. Which we are