Cats Cradle Chasing the Sun South

Greetings, One and All. The past month has been a busy one with both planned and unexpected events. The marina at Aberdeen Proving Grounds (U.S. Army) was a very inexpensive place to park Cats Cradle while we had our extended visit in PA. But, if the Army is playing with ordinance they close the Bush River to all traffic. It took us several hours to get out to the Chesapeake Bay resulting in a short trip to Baltimore. We then went across the bay to Swan Creek and unexpectedly came across some old friends we hadn't seen in quite some time. What a pleasant surprise to find "One With the Wind" anchored as we came in, we had a great evening with Rick & Chris. The next morning was the first time we attempted to start the genset in over 2 months and it didn't. For some unexplained reason it had no compression and after several telecoms with NexGen they decided it was best to send it back to Jacksonville. We went on to Yankee Point for our routine haulout , as you can see Bernie takes bottom painting very serious. After that was completed we went to Gratitude (Island Packet dealer) in Deltaville where we were offered the use of one of their slips to remove the genset. That went well with no real problems and shipped it out OK. Now comes another turn of events. The last night before leaving for Portsmouth, Gilligan went AWOL for six hours. He came back about 5 AM with no collar, apparent superficial bite marks on his neck and a very tender left shoulder. Don't know who or what he encountered, but he was a sore kitty for a few days. We think a few more of his nine lives expired that night.
On 10 October, with all crew onboard, the winds were ENE 15-20 knots so we flew down the bay with all sails flying, a very fast trip, and very enjoyable. The past week has been spent at anchor off Hospital Point in Portsmouth, catching up with friends and getting a few small projects done that have been put off too long. We will be leaving to transit the Dismal Swamp later today. For some reason they are limiting the locks to 2 openings a day, so we will be spending the night in the canal. It's time to get moving a cold front moved in last night.