November 07-08, 2000 -- I am not getting rained on!

November 7-8, 2000 -- I am not getting rained on! At 1125 GMT (6:25 AM EST), we raised anchor and headed out of Willoughby Bay. At 1228 GMT, we were clear of any shoals, so we tuned the auto pilot for the new pump before turning out towards the ocean. We left with variable winds of five knots or less. The seas were essentially flat. We had a one foot swell coming from the North East. As soon as we cleared the Chesapeake Bay, I headed below to fire up the water maker. I was unable to get the high pressure pump to start. After reporting this to Mike, who was at the helm, I headed below to take a closer look at the system. I wound up opening the start switch housing. After studying it, I was able to get the pump started just as Mike came down and suggested that I not do anything because of concerns about electrical shock. At 1505 GMT, Mike did his flipper call. It's definitely an off shore trip. During the trip, we have had several birds visiting us. It's about 10 nautical miles to land, so we don't know how long they will stay. At 0513 GMT, the dolphins finally responded to Mike's call. They dived through the boat wake even with the fly bridge. At 1227 GMT, November 8, we saw a big fish, about two feet long, jump out of the water. At 1300 GMT, after watching the weather window shrink and fog and rain move in, we decided to stop. So, we pulled up the course to Cape Lookout Bight and headed there. We dropped anchor at 1627 GMT. As we were completing cleaning everything up from the trip, Pat and Ron on Home Free stopped by to say hello. They gave us the low down on the area before heading back to their boat