Russ speaks up: Some days … this is our life … hurry up – then wait – and wait.  The bridges over the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) are car based & pretty much don’t care about us boats!  Openings are (mostly) on the hour.  If you’re lucky, that means steaming along at 6 – 7 knots & being in line for the next bridge.  Sometimes that means creeping along at only 2 – 3 knots for up to an hour & still having to wait (with 20 of your closest boat friends)!  As you can see, there are a great variety boats traveling with us.

Always entertaining are the different “styles” of boaters between bridges.  Some procede in an orderly formation, keeping their distance & speed.  Some speed thru the pack, even though there is “no where to go”, just another bridge to wait for.  Some hold back, then try to push their way to the front of the line.  Powerboaters often speed past us all, rocking everyone (except us catamarans!).

Speaking of entertainment, we saw our first dolphins today!  We knew it would be soon, but it was quite a pleasant shock to see them all-of-a sudden up close.  Lori took a dozen photos, but most of them were as they dove back under.  Some cruisers seemed bored by them, but I imagine we’ll be impressed with them for quite some time!

We decided we needed a slightly larger sailboat with a more traditional look … so …

We’ve been speeding along so fast that we had to slow down.  Our insurance requires that we remain north of Cape Hatteras, NC until November 1, so we’re spending a great 4 days here in Manteo doing boat chores & provisioning for the next leg of our trip south.

Manteo has a great waterfront & is very friendly to boaters.  We spent 1 night at the dock & the other 3 anchored in the harbor.  Did I mention that the wind has been blowing 15 – 30 knots the whole time?!