So as you can probably tell, our trip stalled when we got to Portsmouth. Between hurricanes, work schedules, and the threat of winter weather, we made the decision that Portsmouth was as far as we were going to be able to advance in 2018.

We parked the boat in Portsmouth for a few weeks while I attended to some business. When we returned, the boat remained docked at Tidewater Yacht Marina for the remainder of September. From there we were able to explore Norfolk and the surrounding area. We also took a side trip Washington DC by car. When October arrived we decided that we would prefer to have the boat in Florida during the winter, so for 10 days in October we retraced our path back down the ICW. Along the way we stopped in Georgetown, SC for the wooden boat show.

We ended up in Beaufort, SC. Once again we parked the boat for a month while we went home and then took a trip to Texas for Thanksgiving. 

The Monday after Thanksgiving we drove a rental car up to Beaufort to pick up Blue Sky. We spent three days moving the boat the remainder of the way to Jacksonville, Florida.  Then we spent two days cruising down the St. John’s River to our destination of Sanford, FL. This is where the boat will live for the winter. This was not the most fun trip because it was 8 plus hours each day of travel, and we didn’t have much daylight when we arrived to do anything but secure the boat and grab a quick meal. It was effective, and we now have the boat in Florida for the winter. I will do some maintenance and hopefully add or upgrade a few things on Blue sky in preparation for the spring.