Sticker Shock! Decorating the Dodger Before Cruising to Norfolk

Work on the dodger may be done, but before we can leave Okracoke, we need to install our new Garmin GMI20. The last one died halfway through our passage from Miami to Beaufort, and we had a replacement unit sent to the Okracoke post office. Despite our best efforts to get the original unit working again (and after many calls with Garmin’s support team), we determined it a lost cause. Fortunately, the new unit fired right up and worked like a charm right out of the gates. There was one other last task we had to tackle before leaving Okracoke: decorating the dodger with stickers from our travels. We’ve been picking up stickers everywhere we’ve stopped with the hope of “stickering up” the underside of the dodger, which is well-protected from rain and the sun’s harmful UV rays. It was great to take a walk down memory lane and relive—if just for a moment—the memories we’ve made along our journey so far. With all of our electronics firing—and the dodger newly decorated—we’re ready to head out of Okracoke…and we have a plan. We waited for a calm day, so if we do runaround on another surprise shoal, we won’t have any sort of sea state to deal with. We also pulled up the ferry schedule with the intention of following one through the tricky, turn-y channel…but that plan backfired as the ferry screamed ahead of us and we quickly fell too far behind to actually follow its maneuvers. Safely into Pamlico Sound, we found more wind than what was forecasted and decided to raise the sails. The next day, we found more rain than what was forecasted, and put our foul weather gear on for the first time since our journey south. The next day brought more rain, but we only had about 20 miles to cover—including a few bridges and a lock—to get into Norfolk, VA, where we plan to wait for a weather window to make the passage back north. In Norfolk, we find perhaps our last taste of southern hospitality at the local marina, where access to hot showers, laundry, and a dinghy dock is convenient, affordable, and so very welcomed. And now, we wait for our good friend George to join us for the multi-day offshore passage to Mattapoisett, where we launched Arabella just about two years ago. Talk about bringing things full circle… -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his backyard: designer William Atkin's Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel's gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com