THE GREAT LOOP

PART 4

NORFOLK TO NEW YORK

Some people never tire of telling me that the best two days of owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it, but this is absolutely not my experience. Some of the best days I’ve had over the past 25 years have involved lavish sunsets, beautiful beaches, wild dolphins and, of course, the satisfaction of solving the inevitable technical issues that crop up from time to time. However, our next leg could top them all because it fulfils a bucket list item I have been dreaming of for years – running my own boat past the Statue of Liberty and into New York harbour. I always imagined it would be on a sailing yacht, perhaps an Oyster 53 after crossing the Atlantic. However, it will actually be on an equally iconic British motorboat, the Princess V48 I imported to Florida when I relocated here from the UK.

WAITING FOR THE TIDE

We leave Norfolk, Virginia, early in the morning carrying plenty of fuel and with six of us on board bound for Zimmerman Marina located in a tiny creek, 20 miles due north up the mighty Chesapeake. The reason for this short detour is to have a new Raymarine autopilot steering pump fitted, which is waiting for us there. My co-captain Alan has plotted a course into Mobjack Bay and down the small East River to the marina. He is one of the best navigators I know, a qualified flying instructor