This voyage is aboard a 1980 Hatteras 48' Long Range Cruiser (LRC). Onboard this trip will be the owner (Andre), wife (Lisa) and their sons Pierre (7 y.o.) and Luc (10 y.o.). The family is moving up from a 31 Tiara to the LRC in preparation for a 5 years voyage from the Great Lakes to Alaska. The purpose of this mission is to provide advanced training in preventative maintenance, navigation and ship-handling.
Saturday, we are sitting in a hotel in Porthsmouth awaiting the passage of Hurricane Irene. The closing for the purchase of the vessel has been scheduled for Monday. In the mean time, we are enjoying the attractions and activities that Portsmouth have to offer. For instance, we visited the USS Albacore, a former Navy submarine.
Sunday finds us still in the hotel with torrential rain and wind as Irene passes to the west of us. After several hours of bordom and fidgety kids, we decided to take a drive to the beaches at Hampton and see what the seas looked like. We happended upon a crew getting ready for high tide to refloat a sailboat which had broken it's moorings and wound up on the rock wall. Ironically, the boat is named "Mariah." Of course the song from "Paint Your Wagon" immediately came to mind.
The seas out front are 15 feet with a 5 second duration - definitely a day you don't want to be caught offshore. Tonight, we finished up with a couple of games at the local "small ball" bowling alley.
Tomorrow morning, we check out of our hotel and head down to the boat for the offical closing and new owner orientation. The plan is to head to Cape Cod Canal after picking up some marine items ordered on Saturday. More to follow...
