And they are off! To Tortola, that is

My good friend Roger headed out today from Hampton VA aboard his SAGA 43, Ilene.  Roger, along with some 75 boats and upwards of 350 sailors (on different boats of course), as there are five aboard Ilene, is participating in this year's Caribbean 1500 cruising rally from Hampton VA to Tortola in the BVI.

After what will likely be a 10 day trip, Roger's wife Ilene will join him in Tortola to begin a 5 month sailing trip through the warm tropical islands between the  BVI and Trinidad, just off the coast of Venezuela.

For those of you that want to watch the boats as they make their way South, you can follow them on this link as each boat (this link is to class 6) has a GPS transponder that "pings" a satellite about every 15 minutes to give a location speed and direction on this nifty chart.  To learn more about the rally, which they have been running for about 20 years, check this out.

I am so jealous of Roger and Ilene as they will be spending the winter in a great place aboard their boat and will have an opportunity to see places that most visit for a week or two.  To be able to spend 5 months.  DID I SAY 5 MONTHS SAILING IN PARADISE!, is just too much.

While most of us are putting antifreeze into our water tanks, they are headed to warmer climes.

After a week long delay due to a late season hurricane, it seems that the forecast was a go and they are on their way.  The forecast for the next few days is to provide strong NW winds which will speed them on their way south.

God's speed to Ilene and the rest of the 2010 Caribbean 1500 participants.

You can follow Roger and Ilene's travels aboard Ilene the Boat at www.ilenetheboat.blogspot.com.

I guess it's time to go to work. Drat, no make that double drat.