DeLaMer Sails South

Annapolis to Onset

2008-05-21T08:37:00.001-07:00

May 6 – Our Fifth Anniversary – Tuesday
Hollie, Bob, and Rich Wellman went to the Baltimore-Washington Airport to pick up Mark and Pauline Wells to help us crew the boat back to Maine, pick up Rich’s wife Carol, and put Hollie on a plane to Albany to help Amie and be with her for Mother’s Day. An absolutely gorgeous day with sunshine and warm winds!

May 7 – Wednesday
With winds 10 to 20 kts from the south and waves ½ to 1 ft, we actually sailed most of the way from Annapolis to Worton Creek on the east shore of the Chesapeake – Yesssssss!!! Quiet at last - so much more pleasant without the constant noise of the engine. Mark and Bob figured out how to rig the whisker pole to sail wing on wing, which added significantly to the boat speed, at times 9.5 mph. We went under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (Hwy 50/301) about noon.

With very little room for anchoring in Worton Creek, we picked up an unused mooring ball at a marina in the creek and spent a delightful night, except for a false alarm on the anchor watch because of Bob’s using too small a radius for the alarm circle. He set the anchor watch small because of the poor condition of the mooring pendant and concern the rest of the mooring setup might be in similar condition.

May 8 – Thursday
A second day of almost entirely sailing without the engine – Great!!! Winds were 15 to 20 kts and waves of 1 to 2 ft – making a delightful sail. With a favorable current of a kt or more all day, we made 8.5 to 10.1 mph most of the time. The whisker pole gave us good wing-on-wing sailing again. The current in the C&D Canal was about 2.5 kts, making the sharp turn into the narrow entrance to the anchoring basin at Chesapeake City (about a third of the way into the canal) challenging.

With the anchoring basin too full for another boat, Bob called the Chesapeake City Town Dock number in the Cruising Guide and was told by the lady who answered the phone he could dock for two days (for another weather delay…) at a designated place on the face dock, even though the signs on the dock say “No Docking.” Well, as soon as the dock lines were tied, a man about 60 stormed over to the dock and angrily confronted Bob with “Do you know how to read?” followed immediately by, “Do you see these signs? Do you know what ‘No Docking’ means?”

After finding out that the lady who answered the phone had told Bob to tie up there, he promptly redirected his anger toward her: “She is not responsible for the docks and has no business telling anyone to dock anywhere. I’m going to have a talk with her. I’m the dockmaster here, and I’m the only one who can authorize anyone to tie up to these docks.” After calming down some, the dockmaster told Bob he could stay there for the night but might have to move to the anchoring basin in the morning if another boat, which had that dock space reserved for tomorrow, still wants it. With that, Bob, Mark, and Pauline went to the C&D Canal Museum, then walked around town and found an ice cream shop. The next morning, the dockmaster drove to the docks and yelled to us from his pickup truck that we could stay an extra day; the other good news was that the docks are free – only $5 for water and $10 for electricity (if there were any, as the outlets were all either burned out or the wrong plug configuration).

The C&D Canal was first opened for use in 1829 after 5 years of back-breaking digging and hauling dirt from the 14-mile ditch by over 2,600 workers. Originally only 10 ft deep and 66 ft wide with four locks, the canal is now 35 ft deep and 450 ft wide with no locks. Each of the locks required a large steam engine that pumped over 20,000 gallons per minute to raise the water levels in the locks. The canal can accommodate the largest commercial ships that go into and out of Baltimore or Philadelphia harbors and cuts off many hours from their trips compared with having to go in or out through the bays and around the land by sea. Since 1927, the Army Corps of Engineers has operated and maintained the canal, redesigning and expanding it several times.

May 10 – Saturday
After a day of heavy rain most of the day on Friday, we left Chesapeake City at 4:55 a.m. (yawn….) headed for the Delaware Bay and Cape May. It was eerie leaving in the dark, but the lights along the banks of the C&D Canal were a big help navigating until the sun started to come up and we could see land features. Current was 3+ kts against us in the canal, so we hugged the shore in 15 to 20 ft of water (45 ft in the middle of the canal) where the current was about a knot slower than in the middle.

We entered the Delaware Bay about 7:15 with winds less than 5 kts and waves less than a foot –unusual and ideal conditions for the bay. We had a great sail down the bay with favorable current for the first three hours and got to Utsch’s Marina at 1:45 PM to spend the night and pick up a package Hollie had sent for Pauline. After doing our accumulated laundry, we had dinner out in Cape May and got a good night’s sleep for another early rising the next day.

May 11 – Sunday, Mother’s Day
Up bright and early (well, early anyway…), we cast off lines at 5:45 a.m. and headed up the New Jersey coast bound for Barnegat Bay, which would position us 55 miles from NYC. Again we had ideal conditions – winds on the bow less than 5 kts, waves less than a foot, gentle 2-ft swells, and sun breaking through the overcast. As we left the Cape May Inlet jetties, we were greeted by several dolphins, interpreted by sailors to be a good omen.

However, our good omen was short lived. About 10 a.m., the wind picked up to 20 to 22 kts true (high 20s relative), building the waves to 2 to 4 ft, then 3 to 5 ft, then 4 to 6 ft. By noon, with the waves pounding us, rolling the boat up to 25 degrees, and sending solid water crashing onto the dodger windows and running into the cockpit, with the wind howling, and with a forecast for nasty weather including 9 to 11 ft waves and winds gusting to 35 kts for the next two days, we opted to go into the Atlantic City inlet and anchor for two days to wait out the weather.

May 12 – Monday – A day to remember…
We went to bed Sunday night about 9:30 with the winds in the low 30s gusting to the upper 30s; the anchor watch alarm was on. At 1:30 a.m., the alarm sounded – the anchor had dragged about 50 ft, and the boat was about two boat lengths from Great Catsby as it wildly swung back and forth with winds in the upper 30s gusting into the mid 40s. For the next 20 minutes, Bob used the engine to try to hold the boat into the wind, reducing the swinging and the pull on the anchor. Scope was 8 ½ to 1. The winds were so strong that the boat still swung, but not quite as far or as fast. This seemed to allow the anchor to reset itself, as it held after the engine was turned off.

As a precaution, though, we started a “helm watch,” taking turns at the helm ensuring the anchor did not start dragging again (couldn’t reset the anchor watch alarm without driving the boat back over the anchor, which was not possible in the existing conditions: winds howling; waves 2 to 3 ft, all with whitecaps and a lot of blowing spray; and unable to see the anchor trip line float). We continued this watch until 5:30 pm when the winds subsided to mostly less than 35 kts.

The boat was swinging rapidly back and forth 50 to 60 degrees to each side of the wind, and the wind heeled the boat to each side 15 to 20 degrees, occasionally 23 to 25 degrees, on each swing. Heavy rain was pelting the dodger windows and the side curtains of the cockpit enclosure, blowing into the cockpit through every opening in the enclosure and wetting the entire inside off the cockpit and all of its contents including people. Also, every few minutes, a wave would crash against the windward side of the boat, and the wind would drive the heavy wall of salt water splash against the dodger windows and cockpit side curtains, much of which also got inside the cockpit via the openings in the enclosure. This continued and worsened through the night, the morning, and the early part of the afternoon.

About 10 a.m., the winds had risen to the upper 40s gusting into the 50s (the maximum gust we saw was 54.6 kts) – too much for the anchor to hold, and it started dragging again, putting the boat precariously close to The Great Catsby. Since we couldn’t put out more scope without getting closer to Catsby, we elected to reset the anchor in a different location. Mark drove the boat very skillfully in the heavy wind; Bob went on deck with life jacket and harness on, tethered to the jackline, to release and reattach the anchor snubber line and raise and lower the anchor; and Pauline relayed signals, as the headsets didn’t work in the howling wind.

Resetting the anchor took three tries in miserable, bitter conditions. The third set seemed firm, but after 20 minutes, it was obvious the anchor was again dragging, even with a scope of 8 ½ to 1. So Bob went out on deck again and increased the scope to 15 to 1 (160 ft of chain plus 20 ft of snubber in 12 ft of water), which held through the rest of the day, that night, and the rest of the time the boat was in Atlantic City.

This experience taught us some valuable lessons for coping with high winds, including: using the biggest and most effective anchor available (the Great Catsby had just purchased a 55 lb Rocna anchor which held firmly through all these conditions with a scope of only 7 to 1); using a much larger scope than the typical recommended 7 to 1; tying down the fenders so they don’t blow about wildly on deck (one of them almost got free before Bob went on deck to retie it); tying restraints on the boom so it can’t swing side to side and rub on the dodger roof; and making and installing tight Sunbrella flaps to cover each of the cockpit enclosure openings (the tape we tried didn’t hold at all, and the towels we stuffed into the openings was only marginally effective).

May 14 – Wednesday
Leaving Atlantic City was harder than any of us would have imagined. It took over 45 minutes to get the anchor up. All 160 ft of chain was solidly caked with tenacious, smelly mud/clay; getting the gunk off using the anchor washdown hose was tedious, wet, and messy, with the wind blowing the muddy spray back over the boat and Bob (he was thoroughly soaked!). The anchor was so deeply buried from the strong winds that the windlass couldn’t begin to get it up; it took three tries of driving the boat forward harder each time to pull it free.

We headed for Barnegat Bay at 1:15 in S 10-15 kt winds and 2-3 ft waves superimposed on 5-7 ft (occasional 9-10 ft) swells 60-70 degrees off the starboard bow with periods of 10-11 seconds. Overcast with occasional sunlight peeking through. Our ride was relatively comfortable on the gentle rising and falling of the swells. Mid afternoon, we diverted course out beyond the three-mile limit to dump our holding tank, since the Atlantic City Marina pumpout system was not working.

At 6:10, we anchored in Barnegat Bay south of the lighthouse (the second tallest in the U.S.) and the Dike and had a restful night.

May 15 – Thursday
Weighing anchor at 6:15 a.m., we headed for Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island. Winds 5-10 kts from the South, 5-7 ft swells (6-8 second periods) on starboard beam, with 1 ft waves on the swells. The staysail dampened rolling nicely. Enroute, plans changed so Rich and Carol could more conveniently pick up two guests, and we tied up to a mooring ball at the 79th Street City marina, 5 ½ miles up the Hudson River from the Battery. Pauline spent the night on The Great Catsby (Rich and Carol’s spacious catamaran) and left for home the next morning, so Bob and Mark could leave very early.

May 16 – Friday
To take advantage of favorable currents along the Hudson and East Rivers and into Long Island Sound, Bob and Mark left at 2:30 a.m. and made great time to Long Island Sound, with up to 4.2 kt currents pushing them down the Hudson, through the East River, Hell Gate (named from the Dutch word hellegat meaning beautiful passage) and into the Sound.

Going through NYC at night was a fun experience – seeing all the city’s lights – as well as a challenge – the lights made seeing the navigation buoys difficult. We were surprised to have only a dozen or so other boats on the rivers to contend with, all of which were easy to see (most had AIS transmitters) and avoid. The captains of the tugs we talked to seemed glad to have someone to talk with during the night – most were even chatty...

We passed under the Throgs Neck Bridge at 4:45 a.m. – great time, thanks to the current, which boiled along in many places, creating eddies that moved the boat around unpredictably requiring prompt correction to stay on course. Our speed over ground was 8 to 11.6 kts the entire time, with a boat speed through the water of 7.4 kts.

With the vagaries of the tidal currents, we had unfavorable currents in LI Sound from about 5:30 to 10:00, then favorable again until about 3:30. Winds and seas in the Sound built during the day and became quite uncomfortable by late afternoon, with winds 15 to 20 kts on the nose (apparent winds of 25 to 30 kts) and seas of 2 to 4 ft (occasional 5-6 ft waves) on 4-5 ft swells with 5-6 second periods. Scattered showers throughout the day made the day cold and raw, even inside the cockpit enclosure, as the rain blew in through the enclosure openings. Bob and Mark were glad to be out of the waves when they turned into mouth of the Thames River about 5:00 p.m.

At 6:45 p.m., we tied up to a dock at the Thames View Marina on the Navy Submarine Base in New London, about 6 ½ miles upriver, after passing the screening of the “Whisky Boats” (patrol boats keeping terrorists away from the many nuclear subs at the base). Winds predicted during the night were to be 15 to 20 kts with gusts up to 35 kts, so we opted for a dock rather than taking a chance on the anchor. Total distance traveled was 122 miles in 16 ¼ hours, for an exceptional average speed of 7.5 kts.

May 18 – Monday
Opting to wait out strong winds and seas yesterday, we left the marina at 6:10 a.m. and headed for Onset, at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal, to position ourselves for an early departure through the canal and into Cape Cod Bay. We had a fairly rough ride with 5-8 ft swells, occasionally 10-11 ft, with 4-6 second periods coming at us from 80 to 120 degrees off the starboard bow with 1-2 ft wind waves on the swells and 2-4 ft swells in between the larger ones – a confused, choppy sea state. Winds of 15-20 kts from the south rolled the boat up to 26 degrees to each side.

At 1:30, after we had turned into Buzzard’s Bay, with the waves now on our starboard quarter and winds 15 to 20 kts from our starboard quarter, we put the jib out and furled the staysail, for a fairly comfortable ride the rest of the way. By 5:30, we had tied up at the Town Docks in Onset, where we would again wait out strong forecast winds and seas.

Almost Though the ICW!

2008-04-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

Swansboro to Pungo River Canal to Coinjock

Days 171 – 173 April 23-25

Cruising Friends
As we were motor sailing from Swansboro to Oriental, both Rich from “The Great Catsby” and Alan (a cruiser friend from Jacksonville Naval Marina) on “Whale Song” called us. We had dinner with Alan in Oriental and spent a nice evening catching up and reconnecting. We left Alan there, cast off at 7:50AM, and caught up with Rich crossing Pamlico Sound (he had anchored in Cedar Creek, six miles before Oriental).

Enroute we planned a potluck dinner for eight, which we’ll share at the Pungo River anchorage this evening. I do love the social aspects of cruising!

Pamlico Sound
We were pleasantly surprised and grateful for the nearly calm conditions we had while crossing the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers – waves about ½ ft and winds about 5 kts from the NE. It was an enjoyable ride, especially in light of the nasty ride these rivers are known for.

Bill Hooper - Once Again
Bill Hooper heard us being hailed on VHF and listened in. He heard me say, “I’ve checked my stores on board and can make a pot of white chicken chili that will feed the eight of us.” Bill said, “I told Cheryl, that must be Hollie and Bob on DeLaMer.” He recognized my recipe and called to say he was an hour and a half behind us and had been wondering if he would meet us on the trip north. He and his wife are delivering “Wolf” from the Bahamas back to Boston. They pulled alongside for a brief visit before charging along in speedy delivery mode.

The anchorage at Pungo River was delightful; great holding, very rural, and lots of singing birds. This morning a light fog covered the area, making the area appear ethereal and even more beautiful.

Alligator River, Albemarle Sound and Coinjock
The color of the water has steadily declined. It’s absolutely brown in the Alligator River. Most of the boats we see now have a “brown mustache” on their bow, discoloration from the water.

The Wisteria in the Alligator River are beautiful along the banks. Their fragrance is wonderful - very prominent.

The wind is very light and on our nose and the water is almost flat. We’ve decided to push on to Coinjock today, crossing the Albemarle Sound. This will be another long day – 78 statute miles.

Thunderstorms

2008-04-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

Swansboro, NC

April 21 -22

We left Wrightsville Beach via Mott’s Channel without incident -- only memories of TowBoat US pulling us off that shoal last fall. The channel was dredged over the winter and now has plenty of depth.

We arrived at Mile Hammock, our planned stop for the day, at noon and decided it was too early in the day to drop anchor. “Painted Skies,” a Tartan 412 ahead of us, had called on the VHF asking if we were the same “DeLaMer” that had been at the Jax Naval Air Station Marina last winter. They were there when DeLaMer took her solo trip across the St. John’s River. Catherine and Lael were headed to Swansboro to anchor and invited us to join them for wine and hors d’ oeuvres aboard “Painted Skies.”

By mid-afternoon, the skies ahead were black. Our radar showed a large cell of heavy precipitation over Swansboro. We tuned in to NOAA. They were issuing a severe thunderstorm warning, lightening strikes, and quarter-sized hail for the Swansboro area and urging mariners to seek safe shelter. Swansboro was six miles ahead! We slowed to give the storm time to pass and waited almost an hour before it had cleared.

Skipper Bob’s rating of the Swansboro anchorage was: no protection from wind and strong current. He’s right! The first two times we dropped the hook, it dragged. On the third try, it caught. After testing our hold twice, we put the dinghy down and enjoyed a pleasant evening with our new cruising acquaintances. They’ve invited us to stop at their home in Horn Harbor, Virginia in the Chesapeake.

By late evening, the winds had picked up to 15-20 kts, gusting to 25, and radar showed more storm cells in the area. Between the thunder and lightening, checking our anchor and proximity to the two other boats nearby -- it was a restless night. Morning brought no weather relief. We decided to go into Dudley’s Marina and wait the weather out on a dock. We docked in 20 knot winds with a 3.5 mph current. Dudley’s was a good decision; it poured and howled most of the day.

“Island Spirit,” a 35 foot IP anchored with us, also came into the marina. We enjoyed meeting Hayden and Radeen. Hayden teaches computer science and Radeen is an elementary librarian. They are both on sabbatical taking online master’s degrees from their boat.

We took Dudley’s loaner car, drove into Swansboro and found a delightful place for lunch, Church Street Deli. The food was excellent, the chef gregarious, and the hand-painted murals on the walls and tables fun to see

I’m beginning to wonder if being in Saratoga for the winter will satisfy me. We are meeting so many nice folks and having so many new experiences cruising!

My Birthday

2008-04-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

Myrtle Beach to Wrightsville Beach Days 167 – 168

April 19

Aground Again
We left the Coquina Yacht Club at 8:50AM to time the 10AM hourly opening of the Sunset Pontoon Bridge. Our first skinny water concern for the day was Lockwoods Folly Inlet. Bob called ahead to ask TowBoat US for the latest conditions as we neared the inlet at noon, two hours before low tide. They told him to stay mid-channel, slightly favoring R36. He did, and DeLaMer took a nose dive into a 4’7” shoal mid-channel! Bob powered off once again into deeper water on the “red side” and called TowBoat US back to update them! TowBoat US simply said the shoal wasn’t there yesterday; must’ve formed overnight…

Cape Fear River
The Cape Fear River is a force to be reckoned with. We entered it 45 minutes ahead of low tide; our speed over ground dropped from 9.4 to 4.3 mph. The winds were blowing 15-20 kts against the current giving us 2-3 foot following seas – very choppy...

Twice in One Day!
Traveling on Saturday, we encountered lots of power boats with no etiquette with regard to their wakes! Carolina Beach Inlet, according to the Waterway Guide and Skipper Bob, is notoriously skinny. As we approached, Bob called TowBoat US, again, for current info. Having none, they suggested he call the dredge working in the area on VHF. We did -- they didn’t respond. As we reached R2, just before the inlet, a large motorboat, with an equally large wake, roared by putting us momentarily aground at 4’1” as he took our water. A small powerboat named “Bite Me” had been following us for several miles. Having had enough grounding for one day, I called the captain and asked if he had local knowledge of the inlet. He did and even agreed to lead the way; one of the many considerate and helpful power boaters.

Wrightsville Beach - A Happy Ending
We arrived shortly after 5PM, and Andy was waiting for us at the dock. We spent a great evening with Barbara and Andy. After enjoying a glass of wine overlooking their spectacular view of the ocean, we dined at Brasserie DeSol. A great way to end the day!

April 20th - My 65th Birthday
I had a super birthday! Andy loaned us his car. Bob and I toured the battleship USS North Carolina, had lunch at a romantic restaurant on a private balcony, celebrated our engagement, six years ago today at a Luau in Maui,
and took the Trolley Tour of downtown Wilmington.
The USS North Carolina, commissioned in 1940, was the most decorated battleship in the fleet. It spent 40 months in combat, fighting in every major battle of the Pacific. Of the 2,339 men aboard, only 10 were lost in battle.
I was utterly amazed at the number of guns it carried and its size. In addition to being a battleship, it was a self-sufficient city with everything from an ice cream parlor to a medical laboratory.

When we arrived at Barbara and Andy’s for dinner, they surprised me with a birthday cake. The boys had put three candles on it -- one for each of them, and they were a great help in blowing them out! It was a wonderful birthday.

Church Creek to Myrtle Beach

2008-04-19T04:06:00.001-07:00

Days 164 – 166 April 17-18

April 17th - A Day to Remember
As we motored along, I found myself remembering my Grandmother Smith. Today was her birthday. I thought of the Hollyhocks in her backyard, making and bottling Sassafras Soda on her back porch, the ringer washing machine she pulled to the kitchen sink to fill and empty, the Mangle Machine she sat at to iron, her Player Piano and all the rolls of music I loved, the gauche lobster dish on her sideboard (that ended up in my house), her peddle Singer Sewing Machine… and many more things from decades ago that my children and grandchildren will never experience.

An Unnerving Experience
The peacefulness of Church Creek, the egrets, and my musings ended abruptly as we approached Isle of Palms Bridge when Bob smelled oil in the cabin. We quickly dropped the anchor just off the channel in 16 feet of water. I alerted the boats behind us on VHF we were anchored in the ICW with an engine problem. To add to the anxiety, our anchor was slowly dragging across the channel! What had been 15 feet was now 6 feet! By this time, Bob had discovered the source of the problem and it was almost resolved. My husband who meticulously checks the oil level daily before he starts the engine had forgotten to put the oil fill cap back on (the Yanmar engine needs the cap removed to get a correct oil level)!! Meanwhile, Towboat US is calling us on the radio asking if we need assistance. Thankfully I was able to respond, “No. but thanks for checking. We’ll be underway within 10 minutes.”

No Place to Anchor!
We had planned a long day, 72 statute miles, from Church Creek to Minim Creek. As we approached the Minim Creek anchorage at MM 415, the east side was filled with crab pots making it impossible to navigate. The sailboat ahead of us had tried to enter the west anchorage, turned around, and was now motoring south. As we passed, the Captain shouted, “Don’t try the west anchorage, it’s too shallow!” I thought, “Oh shoot! Now what?” It was already 4:30PM and we were 17 miles from Georgetown. Knowing many marinas close at 5PM, I looked ahead for another anchorage and found Butler Island at MM 396. We anchored there at 6:30PM, thanks to the current pushing us along at 9.6 mph.

As we left the Minim Creek anchorage, we knew there was a cable ferry crossing a few miles ahead in the Estherville Minim Creek Canal. As we approached, it was just getting ready to cross. The driver waved us through and then started his crossing, a very short one across the narrow canal. There were people walking on the ferry on our port side, and empty vehicles starboard.

Today was our best mileage ever in one day, a completely unplanned 92 miles!! Bob reminded me we also saw our best speed over ground late morning – a whooping 11.7 mph!!!! The favorable currents and tides allowed us to cover so much ground.

Sunset at Butler Island was beautiful. After a trying day, our Tempurpedic mattress felt awfully good. Our peaceful night was interrupted at 5:30AM by our anchor alarm (which only I heard). I quickly awakened Bob; however, Bob doesn’t awaken quickly. Forgetting he had closed the stateroom door to keep the heat in, he walked straight into it. That did wake him up a little. We were securely anchored with our tracks as we would expect. That’s the 2nd time the alarm has gone off, both times a false alarm.

April 18 – The Beautiful Waccamaw River
Mile after mile of pristine, isolated, natural beauty. Nothing but the blue sky, the river lined by Cypress trees, and eagles in their nests We played classical music in the cockpit and thoroughly enjoyed a spectacular morning.

At noon we stopped at the Bucksport Marina for refueling. With the Boat US discount of 10%, it was $3.75 gallon, cheaper than we have seen since leaving Key West. I bought two packages of their famous (on the ICW) “Bucksport Sausage,” which is now stored in our freezer.

By 2:30, thanks to another favorable current boosting our speed, we reached Coquina Yacht Club Marina in Myrtle Beach and tied up at their transient dock. Many of the boats here have a “mustache,” brown water stains on the bow. A thorough outside cleaning to get the discolored water and salt spray off, a quick polishing of the stainless pulpits, stanchions, ports, etc. a fast shower, and off to one of the best meals we’ve had on this trip – at Umberton’s Italian Restaurant, right next to the marina. The food was great, and the service matched the food.

Weather and Water Changes

2008-04-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

Beaufort, SC to Church Creek Anchorage

Days 162 – 163 April 15-16

At the Ladies Island Marina in Beaufort, we learned of yet another way for the rich to enjoy boating – purchase a time share on a large (in this case, 110 ft) very luxurious yacht named “Enticer.” The price? A mere $1,000,000 for a week of yachting luxury anywhere in the waters of the US, Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, the Bahamas, or Bermuda. Just schedule your week, and the boat will be there to meet you. From your pickup by the boat’s crew at the nearest airport to your return to the airport, you will be treated like royalty. How about it? Any takers? There are only a few weeks left on this fine yacht.

After spending two delightful days with Lynn and Bob, we left Beaufort early this morning, despite the 20-25 knot winds on our nose. We have begun to transit the parts of the ICW that can be quite challenging and anxiety producing due to skinny water. Bob has been more focused than usual on navigation and the helm.

The weather and the water have changed significantly as we have motor sailed north. The nights are now quite cool (in the 40s) and we’ve used our diesel furnace to take the chill off the bedroom during the nights and off the salon in the morning. The beautiful clear aqua waters of the keys have turned to the brown murky river waters of central Florida and north.

During the last several days, we’ve enjoyed seeing numerous white birds resembling large sparrows with oversized wings, like swallows, dive bomb the water from 5 to 20 feet high and immediately take off again, presumably with a small fish in their beak or belly. It’s amazing how fast they can get back into the air; it looks like they use their buoyancy to pop themselves out of the water and instantly use their wings to get themselves airborne again.

Tonight we are anchored in Church Creek. This is what I love about cruising! The only noise we hear is the serenade of the birds as we sit in the cockpit watching the sun set in this beautiful rural setting.

Georgia to South Carolina

2008-04-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

St. Augustine to Beaufort, SC

Days 155 – 161 April 8-14

St. Augustine
I had prepared a real (as opposed to quick) dinner to serve Mark and Pauline. Plans on a sailboat are always subject to change. After docking at the St. Augustine City Marina, we ran into Donna and Jerry Luh, whom we had met at Vero Beach. Another small world experience -- they’re good friends with cruisers we had dinner with in Jacksonville, Tom and Joyce Russell. We invited Donna and Jerry back to our boat and found Mark and Pauline on board. After drinks and hors de’ oeuvres, the dinner menu changed to “reservations.” We went out to dinner at O.C. White’s, in the historic district, with Mark and Pauline.

One of the neat things about this trip has been, and continues to be, learning interesting facts about the places we travel though. This morning we took the Trolley Tour of St. Augustine with Mark and Pauline. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States. Ponce de Leon came to the area first with Columbus. On his second trip to the New World, he brought 76 ships with him… looking for Bimini. In 1513, he landed at what is now St. Augustine and claimed all of North America for Spain. Here he discovered what he thought to be “The Fountain of Youth.” Ponce de Leon was the tallest of the Spaniards on his ships, measuring all of 4’ 11”. Most of his crew were 4’ 5” to 4’ 8.” In 1695, the Spaniards built Castillo San Marcos Fort, constructed with over 500,000 coquina blocks. St. Augustine remained a walled city for 250 years. French, Spanish, Indians, and British fought over the area for several hundred years.

Florida became the 27th state in 1835. In 1885, the School for the Deaf and Blind was established in St. Augustine. It now serves over 800 students. One of its more famous students was Ray Charles, who spent eight years there during the 1950’s.

Henry Flagler made his mark on this city. A poor boy born in New York State, he left home at the age of 14 with $1.00 in his pocket. He became a multimillionaire, making most of his money as a partner with Rockefeller in Standard Oil. He was also a hotel and railroad magnate and contributed significantly to the development of Florida’s east coastal area. Flagler built the Florida East Coast Railway, extending it across the keys and making Key West accessible to tourists for the first time by land. From 1885 to 1887, he erected the Ponce de Leon Hotel, the flagship of his hotel system. It was the “Winter Newport” for millionaires. In 1890, the cost to stay for three months (no lesser period of time was allowed) was $250,000. The price, however, did include all the meals. At the entrance to the college is a fountain with 12 turtles on the outside circle and 4 frogs in the center. The turtles are a sundial, and the frogs mark the four seasons of the year. The hotel was the epitome of opulence. It is now Flagler College, and Florida residents attend free of charge. The college has the world’s largest collection of Tiffany glass windows and chandeliers.

St. Augustine to Shellbine Creek
Leaving St. Augustine Municipal Marina took some planning. The current and tides are notoriously strong here, requiring cruisers to leave at slack tide. The dock master warned, “If you wait an hour past slack tide, you may end up pinned broadsides against the pier behind you waiting for the next slack. Lots of boats do that.” We pulled away at 6:45AM, slack tide, without a problem.

We motorsailed 81 statute miles, a 10-hour day on the water, and anchored in Shellbine Creek at MM 697. The anchorage was nice, but the current was very strong and the bugs were horrific! When we arrived at Jekyll Island the next day, our hull was covered with black insects!

Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island is one of 13 barrier islands off the coast of Georgia. We stayed one night at the Jekyll Island Marina and spent the day riding bicycles around the island. We visited the historic district and enjoyed learning about the Jekyll Island Club, an area of history neither Bob nor I was familiar with.

Jekyll Island was purchased for $125,000 in 1886 by a group of 50 millionaire naturalists from the Union Club in New York City. The Jekyll Island Club was constructed over a period of several years and became their hunting and fishing retreat three months of the year. Like the Flagler Hotel, many of the patrons came from their Newport mansions to winter here. A few of the club members were the Pulitzer’s, Vanderbilt’s, Harvester’s, Goodyear’s, Rockefeller’s, Carnegie’s, Mellon’s, and J.P.Morgan.

The first condominium in the United States, Sans Souci, was built here near the clubhouse to give the five owners more privacy than the hotel provided. It was called the house of power due to its occupants: J.P. Morgan, James A. Scyrmsee, William Rockefeller, William Anderson, and Joseph Stickney.

As the resort developed, a number of “cottages” were built. Crane Cottage (owned by the Crane Plumbing magnate) was the most expensive of all; the workers were brought from Chicago to build it. None of the cottages at the Jekyll Island Club had kitchens. Everyone was expected to gather at the main hotel for their evening meal, which typically lasted three to four hours. Men wore tuxedos and the ladies were expected to appear in a different gown each evening. Consequently, many trunks of clothing arrived with each woman.

Theodore Vale, the President of AT&T, initiated the first transcontinental phone call from his home on Jekyll. The call was to have originated from New York City, but Mr. Vale was ill with a bout of gout and unable to travel. Lines were laid from NYC to Jekyll Island so he could participate in the four-hour call.

The Federal Reserve was started on Jekyll Island; participants for the meeting came in under the guise of a duck hunting trip.

The Jekyll Island Club prospered for over 40 years. Its demise began in the Great Depression. During World War II, owners defaulted on taxes and stopped maintaining the buildings. The State of Georgia condemned the property and took possession of it.

Killkenny Creek and Bull Creek Anchorages
We left Jekyll Island Marina later than planned due to a dense fog, but we still managed to cover 83 statute miles. We weren’t anchored in Kilkenny Creek more than a few minutes when an IP32 arrived. The name on the boat was “Curieuse.” It was the boat we looked at buying from our marina in Willsboro Bay on Lake Champlain. The folks who bought her had never sailed before taking a vacation in Florida and spending one day aboard a sailboat. They sold their house, left their jobs, and sailed “Curieuse” away. Sherry and Dan have been in the Abacos all winter and are returning to Connecticut for the summer. They spent the evening aboard DeLaMer, sharing their adventures with us.

Crossing the Savannah River, we left Georgia behind and entered South Carolina. We anchored in Bull Creek just as a front approached with 20-30 knot winds. Once again “Curieuse” pulled in behind us. We spent a quiet evening listening to the rain and winds.

Beaufort, SC
We will be here two days. Bob has some boat work to do and our friends, Bob and Lynn, whom we cruised the ICW south with last fall, are here. This morning Bob replaced the gas piston that holds the refrigerator lid up. It was under warranty and as usual, the Caliber folks were very responsive; they overnighted it to us at Jekyll Island. As I write the blog, Bob is changing the oil and fuel filters and the engine and transmission oil. We have a number of other boat maintenance chores planned for the rest of today and tomorrow before again heading north.

Thunderstorms and Groundings

2008-04-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

NASA Causeway – St. Augustine

Days 153 – 154

Saturday
We weighed anchor at 10:30AM to reach the Ponce De Leon Inlet at high tide. It is a notoriously shallow and shoaling area.

We traveled through the NASA Merritt Island National Refuge for a number of hours. There is a lot of shallow water just outside the ICW channel. It’s really strange to see people standing in water just off our bow! There were many fishermen seemingly enjoying the weekend.

About 3:00 PM our radar showed a huge cell of heavy rain moving toward us. We were soon in the middle of a heavy downpour that lasted almost an hour. We reached New Smyrna Beach shortly after 4:30PM, just south of the skinny water at Ponce De Leon Inlet. Radar showed another cell, larger and darker than the first, heading our way. This one we could hear! It was accompanied by loud rolls of thunder. We opted to go into New Smyrna Beach City Marina and the security of a dock. The rain started as we arrived. By the time we reached the dock, I was getting drenched as I threw lines to the dock hand. Just as Bob and I finished securing the boat, lightening bolts flashed behind us. That was the first of three heavy thunderstorms that came through in the next few hours.

After enjoying a hot shower and drying out, we joined our cruising friends Rich and Carol Wellman and Bob and Paula Hofgren for dinner. We found a great little restaurant, recommended by the marina, several blocks down Canal Street – The Deli. Bob had sesame tuna and I had filet mignon with fresh crab. Hardly what I would call deli fare! Prices were refreshingly low, and the food was very tasty.

Sunday
We stayed busy with “boat chores” all morning. Life aboard isn’t all fun and games. I defrosted the freezer while Bob emptied and refilled water tanks and cleaned the bilge filter. After doing the wash, changing the bed, and vacuuming (sound like home?) - we took a walk along the docks for exercise. There were lots of people fishing – but no fish were biting.

We joined our cruising friends for pizza and an early evening. It’s anchors aweigh at 7AM to pass through the skinny waters at Ponce Inlet on a rising tide! Rich in “The Great Catsby” will be leading the way in his catamaran as our depth sounder.

Monday
Off as planned at 6:55AM. We passed the last of the dredging equipment near Ponce de Leon Inlet -- just before going aground. “Fourth Watch,” who draws 5’5,” went aground in front of us at 8:10AM. We moved slightly to her port and found a 5’1” shoal of skinny water just south of Red 2. Bob was able to back off. The current pushed us aground again. Rich turned around and came back with the catamaran and found 6’ of water on the right side of the channel. We backed off the shoal, proceeded to deeper water, and waited while Rich pulled “Fourth Watch” off.

We’ve been enjoying watching the pelicans fly this morning. It’s amazing how close they fly to the water. Their wing tips are only inches from it. They don’t make altitude mistakes – if they erred at all they’d splash!
We are headed for St. Augustine City Marina where we will meet our friends Mark and Pauline Wells this afternoon. They’re on a road trip from Greenwich, NY to Tampa, Fla. They’re bringing our mail, some packages, my guitar, and a few items we forgot to put on board when we left last fall. They’ll spend the night with us on the boat before continuing their trip.

Tides and Thunderstorms

2008-04-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

Vero Beach to NASA Causeway

Days 150 – 152 April 3 – 5

Vero Beach is a very nice community. The municipal bus is free and stops at the Vero Beach City Marina… couldn’t be handier. I took the bus in to Publix to reprovision, bus schedule in hand. Before departing the bus I asked the driver what time he returned to this stop, he replied “I’ll be back in an hour.” It only took 15 minutes to pick up the few things I needed, but since the store was air conditioned, I puttered for another 40 minutes before heading out into the hot and humid mid-day weather. The bus came promptly at 60 minutes; however, what the driver hadn’t said was he was outbound – not returning to the marina! I waited, or rather wilted, another 30 minutes for the bus to return. Yet another lesson from the school of life – be specific with your questions.

We motor sailed with main 9 hours from Vero beach to the NASA causeway on Friday. Winds were 15-25 SE on our starboard aft quarter. We ran the engine at 1800 - 2000 rpms and still did 8 mph.

We had a number of dolphins playing with us on today. One of them even came up for a photo op!

Last night we anchored behind the NASA causeway. We were glad to have an anchor alarm, winds were 20-25, gusting to 30 all night.

This morning we are waiting to weigh anchor. We need to pass through the Ponce Inlet, where shoaling is a major problem, at mid to high tide which is not until 5-5:30PM. The weather early today is cloudy, severe thunderstorms are predicted for later this afternoon. We’re caught between the devil and the deep blue sea – the tides and the storms. We’ve made reservations at a marina in Daytona for two nights to wait out the weather.

Hawk Channel to Vero Beach

2008-04-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

Rodriquez Key, LasOlas, Boca Raton, Hobe Sound, and Vero Beach

Days 145 – 14 March 29th - April 2nd

We had a delightful sail through Hawk Channel in beautiful turquoise waters and were again visited by graceful dolphins. At Fowey Rocks, the end of Hawk Channel, we headed 5 miles out to sea to pick up the edge of the Gulf Stream. This was another first for us, and I, as always with new experiences, was a bit apprehensive having heard so much about the potentially treacherous “river that flows in the ocean.” As we neared the Gulf Stream, the water temperature rose from 75.6 to 78.8 and DeLaMer gained 1.2 to 1.6 statute mph speed over ground. I really enjoyed the experience and, once again, was glad I stretched my comfort limits! Our best speed over ground in the Gulf Stream was 9.6 mph. As we neared Fort Lauderdale, the winds picked up to 15-20 kts gusting into the 20’s, we reefed our mainsail and set a course for Port Everglades at Fort Lauderdale. We picked up a mooring ball at Las Olas City Marina and nodded off for the night.

Fort Lauderdale is called the “Venice” of America. The canals and taxis are quite picturesque, although the buildings are in stark contrast to the ancient structures in Venice, Italy. Early Sunday morning, we began the “battle of the bridges” as we headed north on the ICW. This is the section of the ICW known as "the ditch" since both sides are concrete walls for a number of miles. I was blown away by the number of spectacular multi-million dollar homes lining both sides of the ICW mile after mile.

Bob completed his next assignment for the Writing for Children’s Literature Course he has been taking. Appropriate to our voyage, the article is entitled; “The Lure and Lore of Sailing” geared to 12 to 16 year old boys.

While we were in Boca Chica, John and Nelly VanBlois had invited us to their home in Boca Raton. We arrived at their dock shortly after noon. While in Boca Chica John, who has been to the Bahamas many times, shared a wealth of knowledge with Luke, Jan, Bob, and me. Bob and I spent two days with them at their lovely home and had a most enjoyable visit. Nelly graciously hosted a formal dinner while we were there, inviting their son and his family and their good friend Ed Carey (who had come to Bob’s birthday bash in Key West).

After dinner, Ed invited us to his home to show us the carbon fiber Lanceair two-place high performance (retractable wheels, controllable pitch propeller, and variable manifold pressure) airplane he has been building in his garage for the last four years. Bob was most impressed with the meticulous details and high quality of his work, as well as his ingenuity in working around the many problems that arise in building such an airplane. Coincidentally, this is the very airplane that Bob almost bought the kit to build in the late 1980’s. Ed, a retired Navy fighter pilot, now flies internationally for Northwest. Tuesday morning, we bid our hosts adieu and once again began our journey north.

Our plan was to sail offshore along the entire coast of Florida, as we had done on the way south. In good weather, sailing offshore is a lot faster and a lot less stressful than the ICW (no bridges or shoaling or cross-currents or big powerboat wakes…). The weather, however, is not cooperating, and we are imprisoned in the ICW! Hard to believe it was only two months ago I was feeling apprehensive about going offshore -- and now I’m disappointed I can’t be out there!!

Tuesday we motored 48 statute miles from Boca Raton to Hobe Sound. We averaged 6 mph, impeded by 17 bridges. Most of them were on a fixed schedule, forcing us to wait up to 25 minutes for an opening. We anchored overnight in Hobe Sound, at mile marker 1,000, and spent a quiet evening reading and preparing for the next day’s navigation. Only 1,000 miles to Norfolk at seven mph!!

We weighed anchor at 8:25 this morning, accompanied by two playful dolphins. They swam back and forth under our bow for about five minutes. I snapped a picture of them underwater – if you look closely you can see our wake, the anchor and pulpit of the boat, and both dolphins in the picture.

Near Jensen Bridge we overtook a Canadian sailboat, “Whitecap.” The captain, an older bearded man named Dick, radioed us asking if we had a cell phone on board and would be willing to make a call to his wife Mary. We were happy to oblige. He had just made an uncomfortable overnight passage from Marsh Harbor in the Abacos to St. Lucie Inlet in multiple thunderstorms and squalls. His message was, “I’m safe and having a spot of brandy to celebrate. All is well.” He is returning from several years of soloing in South America.

About noon, we motored past the St. Lucie Nuclear Generating Station (St. Mile 975), to which Bob led two evaluation teams during his years working in Atlanta for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. The station is located on Hutchinson Island and generates about 2,500 MW of electrical power for the homes and businesses in Florida.

We should reach Vero Beach in about two hours.

Rodriquez Key to Fort Lauderdale

2008-03-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

Day 144 Saturday March 29th

The weather forecast for Sunday deteriorated: 15-20 knot winds on the nose and 3-5 ft seas. We changed our plan and pulled anchor at 6:55AM for a long 10-11 hour day to Fort Lauderdale. The seas are calm, allowing me some time to write while enroute.

Yesterday on the way to Rodriquez Key, we watched a catamaran, flying a colorful spinnaker, approaching from the opposite direction. When the vessel was close enough to read the name, “SuitsUs,” we were pleasantly surprised to find we knew them. It was our friend Scott, with another friend John, from Boca Chica. They were returning from the Bahamas with Scott’s son. Had a nice chat on VHF.

We have been meeting the nicest people cruising. At this stage in life it can be difficult to meet new friends unless you’re involved in an activity. Sailing has certainly broadened our world and expanded the number of folks we consider fortunate to have as friends. Last night we were invited to a potluck supper by Carol and John Welling aboard their lovely catamaran, “The Great Catsby.” Bob and Paula Hofgren from “Fourth Watch” also joined us. We spent a very nice evening getting to know one another. John has spearheaded the group traveling north to the Chesapeake. Another small world experience, Carol and John have cruised the Bahamas with John and Nelly VanBlois.

Marooned in Marathon

2008-03-29T02:09:00.000-07:00

Days 138 – 143 Sunday through Friday

The weather that brought us into Boot Key Harbor in Marathon marooned us there for a week! We had at first hoped to leave on Wednesday, then Thursday; and now, finally, the winds and weather look good for leaving today. Our sail plan is to travel Hawk Channel to Rodriquez Key, where we’ll anchor overnight before continuing to a second anchorage in Biscayne Bay, and then offshore again to Boca Raton.

The Drying of the Mainsail
Since we arrived as a thunderstorm was coming through… we didn’t take the time to put the cover on our stack pack (the canvas that our sail drops into) before taking cover ourselves. That being said, our mainsail was very wet. Sunday morning the air was very hot and humid. Bob opened all of the hatches and port holes hoping for some circulation of air. An hour or so later, he decided to dry the mainsail.

Now this was a first for us. Prior to our trip from Boca Chica to Marathon, we had never sailed in heavy downpours before and put the sail away wet. It quickly became another learning experience for us! One would never think a mainsail could hold so many gallons of water in its folds! The water poured over the deck, into the hatches and port holes, into the main salon, into the book shelves, down the salon cushions, and into storage compartments underneath the seats. We hadn’t anticipated drying the main salon as well as the mainsail today! I captured the mess we had in the cabin with my camera - a picture is worth a thousand words!

Laundry, The Keys Fisheries Restaurant, and Man Overboard
Doing the laundry from a mooring ball added another level of inconvenience… transporting the laundry to shore via our dinghy. With the winds and chop we were experiencing in Boot Key Harbor, loading and unloading the already somewhat unstable dinghy required focus. The laundry facilities, located at the end of a warehouse building, left much to be desired. The washers and dryers were old and rusty. The marina had only four washers and dryers for 260 boats on mooring balls, and one of the washers is was out of order!

During the “Cruisers Net” (on VHF channel 68), we had arranged to meet Bob and Sandy from “Carpe Diem” at the laundry to talk about the possibility of traveling to the Chesapeake together. Upon our arrival, a “dirty laundry line” had formed for the machines - now this was another first for me. Sandy said, “It took me five hours to do my laundry last week!” Several of the women waiting had small feisty dogs on leashes. One overweight black bulldog had an attitude. He was particularly surly and confrontational and was the instigator for several ensuing loud dog altercations. With each confrontation, his owner dragged him away on his leash... while his paws were firmly planted on the concrete floor, and he barked loudly.

Sandy and Bob’s departure plan didn’t match ours. However, we enjoyed meeting one another and found we have a number of things in common. We’ve agreed to stay in touch and try to meet somewhere on the ICW as we travel north.

Having stowed the clean laundry back in the dinghy, we decided to go out for lunch. Sandy recommended the Keys Fisheries, Market, Restaurant, and Marina, about one mile walk away. When we arrived, we found yet another long line. When Bob finally reached the window to place our order, the first question the woman behind the counter asked was, “What’s one of your favorite songs?” He replied, “You Light Up My Life.” We soon discovered that songs are the method they use to call customers when their order is ready. We found a picnic table on the harbor side and were amused by the diversity of songs people had chosen -- everything from Mary Had a Little Lamb, Amazing Grace, and All My Ex’s Live in Texas, to the Star Spangled Banner. We were entertained while waiting for lunch by a resident Egret that walked up and down the picnic tables looking for handouts. Each time someone got too close he’d fly away and perch on an adjoining roof until he deemed it safe to return.

As we left the restaurant, we walked past hundreds of crab and lobster pots that had been refurbished. They are constructed a little differently than those we see in Maine.

We had our first experience with man overboard when we returned to the dinghy. As Bob stepped in, his foot was off center and over he went. Fortunately, the laundry stayed on board and Bob wasn’t hurt.

Fuel Prices
Diesel fuel prices for the boat have increased significantly since we left Maine. In Boca Chica and Marathon, they are charging $4.12 a gallon for diesel. Bob put 100 gallons in our tanks last week by carrying 20 five-gallon containers from the gas station when the price was $3.71. The last time we bought fuel, it was $3.39. Our friends, Luke and Jan, said when they reached Chub Key in the Bahamas, fuel was $5.25 – but the marina was out of fuel. In Georgetown, we are told it’s $6.25 a gallon. We’ll try to use our sails as much as possible on the way north.

Underway
We left Marathon at eight this morning with four other boats that are heading to the Chesapeake. We had a pleasant 50-mile motor sail in Hawk Channel with 10-15 knots of winds and 1-2 foot seas. We’re now anchored at Rodriquez Key.

We've Turned the Corner - Heading North

2008-03-23T08:09:00.000-07:00

Days 132 – 137

Key West - Marathon

A new restaurant opened on Stock Island several weeks ago, Fishbusterz. It’s a very casual outdoor restaurant at a fresh seafood market on a working wharf. It reminded me a little of Five Islands in Maine, although I must say Fishbusterz takes 2nd place to the setting and scenery at Five Islands! I wanted to try “pink Florida shrimp” – fresh off the boat. Bob had a fresh “mega” snapper sandwich. A shrimp boat had just come in and was unloading its catch – a neat activity to watch. I asked a shrimper how long the boats stay out: “A week to ten days. The last trip brought in $50,000 in shrimp.”

The restlessness that comes with “time to move” became apparent this week. We’ve enjoyed Key West, seen everything we wanted to see, eaten in many good (and a few not-so-fine) restaurants, met many new friends, and done our part to boost the tourist economy.

We watched the weather for several days and saw a possible window for the weekend to sail from Boca Chica, through Hawk Channel, to Biscayne Bay. Our plan was to anchor there in one of the two protected harbors, No Name or Hurricane, to wait out the large front passing through Florida before heading north again. Our Boca Chica cruising friends got up early to handle lines and send us off. We left at first light. The first 3 hours were delightful… all three sails up, 12 knots wind from the S, close reach, and doing 6-7 knots. Then the clouds started to build. We had expected scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms as NOAA predicted – but not all of them over us!! As the winds increased, we reefed the main, then reefed the jib, then pulled the jib in, and finally dropped the main, leaving only the staysail. At the same time, it was neat to watch the cells building on our radar. Bob tracked them, and we slowed down to avoid two heavy downpours. By 11AM, NOAA had changed its forecast, and was describing what we were in the middle of. We made the prudent decision to pull into Marathon City Marina at Boot Key Harbor. As we reached Marathon, a large thunderstorm was 4 ½ miles south and heading our way. Just as we secured the mooring ball – the storm hit.

This morning in Marathon, we listened to the “Marathon Cruisers Net” on VHF 68 at 9AM. Cruisers nets are another first experience for us. A variety of categories are covered each morning: new cruiser arrivals and departures; cruisers looking for “buddy boats” to travel with; things to buy, sell, or give away; questions about anything from anyone; (this morning a cruiser was looking for the phone number of a good engine mechanic); announcements for the day (today there is picnic pot luck on Sombrero Beach at noon); and trivia. The net was facilitated efficiently by one gentleman, and the whole broadcast took less than 15 minutes.

Our big news for the week is we’ve put our townhouse in Saratoga Springs on the market. Bob and I have been talking about selling for several years; this wasn’t a rash decision. The boat gives us the opportunity to offer the house for sale and still have a place to live while we decide where we’ll be next. If it sells, we’ll sail south another winter. If it doesn’t sell, we won’t be disappointed, so it’s a win-win situation.

Winding Down in Key West

2008-03-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

Key West - Days 126 - 131

Tuesday March 11th - Sunday March 16th

The Little White House

Tuesday was a rainy day, the first one in a long time. We became tourists once again and met our good friends Sheila and Jim to tour The Little White House. The building, constructed by the Navy in 1890, was originally quarters for naval officers. The navy has played many roles in Key West. During that period, the Navy’s mission was to rid the Florida Keys of pirateering.

The Little White House has been used by a number of Presidents, most often by Harry Truman who used it as a vacationing home and functioning White House between 1946 and 1952. The building has been restored to that time period.

The tour was well done, educational, and very interesting. Harry Truman, although very well read, never went to college. He adopted the slogan, “The Buck Stops Here,” after seeing it on the desk of a warden at a Federal Penitentiary he visited. He liked the slogan so well, he asked where he could get one like it. The warden said the prisoners had made his and he was sure they would duplicate one for the President. The sign arrived several months later with a hand written letter from the inmates that described the origin of the slogan. Playing poker in the old west, the dealer had a buck knife next to him. When he passed the deal, he passed the buck knife with it. The cards and knife were passed around the table until someone accepted the deal – hence – “the buck stops here.” Truman, an avid poker player, adopted the slogan for himself. Truman was an exceptionally honest man. Upon leaving the White house he wrote a letter requesting that he be allowed to take the desk sign with him since it had been a gift to a President. He was granted permission. It was the only item he took when he left.

While at the Little White House, he and one aide would sit at a small desk each morning and conduct all of the business of the White House. He once wrote to Bess that he signed his name more than 300 times most days. Hardly the staff that accomplishes the work today!!

His salary was only $75,000 a year while in office. All of the entertaining he did came out of his own pocket. Several times during his term he had to take out a personal loan to meet his expenses. When he and Bess left the White House, his popularity had plummeted to an approval rating of only 27%. There was no pension for a President. They purchased their own train tickets and quietly traveled back to her family home in Missouri. He never owned his own home.

Despite the lack of public support when he left office, in February of 2000 Truman was ranked 5th in a poll done by a group of 58 leading Presidential historians. The historians ranked all 41 Presidents on the basis of public persuasion, crisis leadership, economic management, vision, human rights, and overall performance. Ranks one through four went respectively to Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Washington, and Theodore Roosevelt. Quite a well earned honor for Truman.

During his two terms in office, from April 12, 1945 to January 20, 1953, his accomplishments were noteworthy. He signed the United Nations Charter and dropped the atomic bomb to end World War II in 1945; in 1947 he created the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan; he recognized the State of Israel, supported the Berlin airlift, desegregated the military, and proposed the Fair Deal in 1948; in 1949 he created NATO; he waged the Korean War from 1950 – 1953; and fired General MacArthur in 1951. Few Presidents have done so much in such a short period.

After a great lunch with Jim and Sheila at Kelly’s, the original home of Pan American Airlines, we spent the afternoon at the Key West Eco Center. Bob thoroughly enjoyed that. Their displays and movie depict the formation of coral reefs and describe the variety of corals and fish living on them.

March 12 – Bob’s 69th Birthday

For his birthday, Bob wanted to sail out to one of the reefs to snorkel. Theresa and Andrew, from Freedom, joined us for an afternoon that will not soon be forgotten.

Patti, Sheila, and I had planned a surprise birthday party for Bob for the evening. Word spread during the week, and by the time the day arrived, many of our dock friends had joined in. Everyone contributed something. We had a four course dinner on the dock complete with Key Lime Pie and birthday candles for dessert. Bob was totally and completely surprised.

March 13th – Sailing and Dining

Patti and Carl, from WindStar, invited Sheila, Jim, Bob and me to sail with them. The water was strikingly blue, the color I’ve only seen here and in the Caribbean – absolutely beautiful! We had a great afternoon followed by dinner at Mango Mama’s. Once again the food was outstanding!

As I write this, I am thinking – this is a pretty good life! Now mind you, there are all of the humdrum monotonous things we do on a weekly basis – like laundry, cleaning, paying bills, shopping, filling water tanks, emptying holding tanks, and routine boat maintenance. Since they don’t fall into the category of memorable experiences -- I’m not choosing to write about them.

March 14th – Hogfish Bar and Grill and The World’s Worst Waitress

The New York Times carried an article on Key West this week that described the Hogfish Bar and Grill as “a lively roadhouse-style joint at a marina a few minutes outside Key West proper, on Stock Island.” The reporter continued, “I came to talk with the owners, Bobby and Michelle Mongelli, about their reputation for nabbing more hogfish than anyone in town. The motto around Key West on hogfish, a flaky, delicate, white-fleshed fish, is “we have it when we have it.” It’s indigenous, but it’s hard to come by: not only does it have to be speared by a diver, but it’s also seasonal.

“There’s a mystique surrounding it,” Mr. Mongelli said. “You know how it is. The harder it is to get, the more people want it.” As an ex-diver with enough connections to make a small-town mayor blush, he gets about 30 to 40 percent of the local pull, but even he runs out sometimes. (He’s been known to spear a few himself, if complaints get too loud.)"

The next section may be of entrepreneurial interest to Steve and Stephanie!!!

"The marina where the Hogfish sits is one of the last undeveloped deep-water ports on the East Coast, and talk turned to the future. There’s a lot of buzz about what will happen to Stock Island if and when Cuba opens up. For now, though, Stock Island remains a quiet refuge from bustling Key West — a place where locals come to show out-of-towners what Key West used to be like, where commercial shrimp boats still pull in from three-week journeys at sea. “That’s Ricky Toomer’s boat,” Mr. Mongelli said, pointing across the marina. “He just came back with $50,000 worth of shrimp. It’s loaded to the gills with shrimp.”

So… having just read the New York Times article on Hogfish, and having had two wonderful meals there, we headed for one last taste of Hogfish before leaving the Keys. Arriving just ahead of the dinner crowd, we got the last table – a picnic table on the water.

A middle-aged burly, broad, blonde with a surly attitude accosted our table. Lucky us – she was our waitress!! She plied us with, “We can make anything you want, any way you want.” What she didn’t say was – do not ask me ANY questions! Each inquiry brought a brusque “Point to it on the menu!” Not having received the answer to his 1st question, Carl had the audacity to ask her a 2nd! Not the right thing to do! She replied, “I said point to it on the menu!” After a few seconds delay, undaunted, she attacked the next person with, “Since he can’t make up his mind, I’ll come back to him later. Point to what you want on the menu!” This scenario was repeated around the table. She was taking no prisoners! We all finally managed to order something by following the Witch’s Rules - pointing to it on the menu. Patty was the only who complied with her demands and pointed to barbecued spare ribs. When the meals came, the waitress brought her barbecued shrimp! Despite the rude and slow service, the food was delicious, and the sunset spectacular.

March 15th – Another Small World Experience

This morning we bid our friends Sheila and Jim a sad farewell. We’ve spent a great deal of pleasurable time together over the past few weeks and developed a real liking for one another. They plan on flying to Maine this summer (Jim is a retired American Airlines pilot) to sail with us. We are looking forward to that!

A new boat arrived at Boca Chica Marina yesterday, with a Maine registration. It’s in the slip next to ours. “Walkabout” is a 1980 Cape Dory 26 trawler. Being the gregarious person I am, I went over and introduced myself to the couple and asked where in Maine they are from. Betty replied, “We’re not from Maine. We bought the boat in Maine and had it hauled out in October to have work done on it – then we had it trucked to Maryland.” I said, “My son and his wife have a marina in Maine, where did you have the work done?” Bob said, “Harpswell.” You can see where this is going! “Which marina?” I asked, to which he replied, “Great Island Boat Yard.” What a small world!! There are extremely few boats leaving Maine that end up at the Naval Marina in Boca Chica in the Keys! Prior to their buying it, the boat had actually been kept at GIBY since before Steve and Steph bought the business.

March 16th – Dolphins and Tarpons

This morning we were treated to three large dolphins playing and fishing between our dock and the next one. Fish hide underneath docks and boats to find shade and escape the sun. Bob was fortunate to get the best show when he saw one of them chase a fish on top of the water a few seconds – just long enough to dash across the channel and catch his prey! After the dolphin, two large tarpons (one was 4 ½ feet; the other 6 feet long) swam under the docks – again looking for their breakfast. Haven't seen many small fish this morning - they've probably been ingested! Today is a quiet down day for us, writing the blog, beginning to plan our route north, and looking at navigational charts.
We talked with our friends, Mark and Pauline Wells this morning. They plan to join us for a few days of sailing in April, which we are looking forward to. Later on our cruise north Mark has committed to do the overnight(s) with us from the Delaware Bay to an as yet undecided point north.

46th Annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest

2008-03-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

Key West Day 123- 124

Saturday March 8th

Every evening at Boca Chica, the sound of Conch shells can be heard to herald the setting of the sun. We’ve been entertained for the past few evenings by cruisers on “C” dock practicing their act to compete in the 46th Annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest, called the "Conch Honk." We went to the event at Sunset Pier in Key West this afternoon to cheer our group on.

The contest is sponsored by the Old Island Restoration Foundation and celebrates the historic importance of the conch in the Keys. According to their website, “Far reaching sounds from conch shells were used by the Calusa Indians for communication, by sailors as fog horns, and by early settlers to signal salvagers that a sinking ship was spotted offshore. The conch is deeply entwined in Key West’s heritage and tradition.” As well as savoring conch meat in fritters and chowder, native-born islanders proudly call themselves “Conchs.” The Keys are known as the Conch Republic (more history on that later).

At the conclusion of the competition, while winners were being selected, entertainment was provided by a talented senior citizen, Auwina Weed. She was amazing, playing actual songs on the Conch such as the Grand March from Aida, When the Saints Go Marching In, and Mary Had A Little Lamb. Our “Conch Honkers” held their own! The “Boca Chica Conch Players” won first place in the group competition and Angie won first place for women.

Sunday March 9th - Hogfish Bar and Grill for Breakfast

At the risk of receiving absolutely no sympathy from my northern family and friends, it was a nippy 62 when we got up this morning. For the first time in weeks we fired up our diesel furnace to take the chill off.

A number of our fellow cruisers have raved about great Sunday breakfasts at the Hogfish Bar and Grill -- complete with free Bloody Mary’s or Mimosas. This morning we headed for Safe Harbor on Stock Island with Sheila and Jim to check it out. The restaurant is an unpretentious locals’ spot with a laidback friendly atmosphere. A number of colorful locals were already sitting at the bar when we arrived at 9AM. We sat outdoors under a roof, bundled up in sweaters and sweatshirts, at a picnic table. Their reputation is well earned. Breakfast was excellent, complete with Cuban toast, and service was great.

Snorkeling, Dining, and More Beach - Life Is Good!

2008-03-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

Key West Day 121- 122

Thursday – March 6th

Six of us went to dinner last night at “Mangrove Mama’s” on Sugarloaf Key – Carl and Patty, Jim and Shelia, and Bob and I. The restaurant was recommended by a military friend and colleague of Carl’s who makes a point of stopping there whenever he’s in the Keys. From the road it doesn’t look like much, but once inside the ambiance is interesting. The décor is eclectic, artsy, and very Key West. I had envisioned “Mangrove Mama’s” to be a plump, elderly, weathered woman in brightly colored Bahamian clothes. Quite the opposite! “Mangrove Mama,” the owner, is a tall, attractive, well dressed blonde in her 40’s. I tried one of their house drink specialties – a Key Lime Pie Martini! I couldn’t believe the bartender poured milk into the shaker. It looked like liquid lime pie in a martini glass, complete with a slice of lime garnish. Interesting drink – but one was enough – too sweet for me. The waiter suggested Blue Moon Beer, a very light beer served with a slice of orange - very nice. We all ordered fish, every dish was outstanding!

Jim and Sheila are from the panhandle of Florida. Sheila drove to Boca Chica last weekend to meet Jim - who sailed four days across the Gulf of Mexico in a 30 foot sailboat. Jim was an Air Force fighter pilot who retired last year after a second career flying for American Airlines. He’s been sailing for years.

Over dinner he shared the harrowing experience he, and his inexperienced male crew member, had when an unpredicted thunder and lightning storm created 30 foot seas 80 miles off Key West. The storm hit with such suddenness and violence he was unable to get his mainsail completely down - the upper section was shredded by the wind. On the verge of losing control and broaching in high seas, he deployed his drogue sea anchor and spent the next 30 hours bracing himself inside the cabin as the boat rode the steep waves. During the storm, the drogue trip line tangled in a crab pot and broke, which made retrieving it quite a challenge. I said, “Your adrenalin must have been rushing.” He said, “No. That drogue was my ace-in-the-hole. I rigged it before we left port with dental floss that breaks away if it’s deployed - I’d never do a crossing without a drogue. I hated to deploy it because I knew that was the end of our forward progress; we were blown backwards at ½ knot. We just had to ride it out. It wasn’t comfortable but I knew we’d be O.K. once the drogue had us headed into the wind.”

When Jan and Luke left for the Bahamas, they gave us two tickets they had won for a snorkeling trip off Key West. Thursday was hot and humid, and the morning winds were light, so we decided to call Sunny Days and book their afternoon three hour snorkeling excursion. We brought our own gear -- I was glad we had. Their equipment was the inexpensive variety without inverted cap on the snorkel top that prevents sea water from entering.

Most of the tourists, many of them college students on spring break, had never snorkeled. The snorkeling instructions, given by a young and quite tattooed male employee, were minimal. His presentation smacked of sarcasm and came across as somewhat demeaning. To his credit, he did demonstrate and have the group return a demonstration of the two diving signals for “I’m O.K.” – tapping a closed fist on top of your head - and “I am in distress, I need help” – waving both arms overhead.

When we reached Western Sambo Reef after about 30 minutes, the waves were 1-2 feet. As folks entered the water, many of them had difficulty clearing their snorkels and were swallowing sea water. While Bob and I were on the reef, I looked up to see where we were in relation to the boat. I saw the largest of the college co-eds frantically waving her arms overhead as she went under and returned to the surface. Two crew members spotted her and dove in to rescue her. When I returned to the boat, she was wrapped in a large towel looking very unhappy, and complaining of feeling seasick. Not a pleasant day for her.

The tour made a 2nd stop at Eastern Sambo Reef which offered more interesting snorkeling. In spite of the fact that visibility was only about 12 feet, we had a great day and thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

When we returned to Key West we waited for Carl, Patti, Sheila, and Jim to return from thier day at the Dry Tortugas. We all went to dinner at Chico's Mexican restaurant on Stock Island. Their parking lot has been packed with cars every time we've driven by - and for good reason! Their food is homemade and delicious. Even their tortilla chips are made on the premises.

Friday – March 7th

Another day in paradise. After doing some boat maintenance and cruising chores we headed to Fort Zacary Taylor beach for the afternoon with Carl and Patty. Bob was very helpful - he offered to walk the beach in case there might be any topless bathers for me to report.

The Navigator Grill had a chicken and ribs barbecue this evening - complete with beans and cole slaw – for the outrageous price of $12 a plate. It was delicious. One of these days I’m going to have to cook some of the well stocked provisions I have on board.

Catching Up

2008-03-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

Key West Days 103-120 Feb 17-March 5

Amie, Sean, and Liam arrived on Sunday February 17th to spend five days with us. Five days turned into eight when a snowstorm closed Logan Airport on their departure day. One of the boys slept on the boat with us and one with Amie at Visitor Officer Quarters. We did the “tourist thing” packing in: Ripley’s Believe It or Not, The Aquarium, The Pirate Soul Museum, Spiderwick, a Glass Bottom Boat to the Reef, an art festival on the streets in Key West, Hemmingway’s House, No Name Pub, El Siboney (the Cuban restaurant), four sunsets at Mallory Square, and four days at the beach. Whew!! On our last beach day, Fort Zachary Taylor State Park had the Marine Hazard Flag flying for Portuguese Man-O-War. They are beautiful transparent blue jelly fish with a sail on top and long poisonous tentacles capable of producing a very painful sting lasting for weeks. At the mercy of the wind, they float on top of the water with no ability to propel themselves. We developed a keen sense for spotting their sails and by the end of the afternoon, having seen dozens of them.

Bob and Sean spotted another interesting beach attraction, a topless bather. About that time a young Florida State Policeman came on the beach looking for the owner of a yellow Cruiser some tourist had run into a boulder and left in the parking lot. Having decided topless bathing was inappropriate for a family beach, I approached the policeman and asked whether it was allowed here. His adamant response was, “Absolutely not!” I pointed out the buxom bather and off he went to put an end to it, much to the disappointment of Bob and I’m sure the other males on the beach. Not 30 minutes later, there she was – topless again. She was determined – but I was relentless! This time it took me 15 minutes to locate the policemen and bring him back to the beach. The second reprimand was enough – they packed their scant belongings and left. The boys response, “Gram’s the Beach Topless Patrol.”

Several of the cruisers at Boca Chica told us about a great restaurant on No Name Key. The No Name Pub is off the beaten path and not easy to find. The pub’s early customers included people from all walks of life, from world travelers to fishermen. In the late 30’s, Henry Flagler was building the railroad across the Keys. In an effort to increase business, the upstairs storage room of the pub was converted into a brothel that was frequented by the railroad workers and fishermen. The venture failed after several years as the patrons were reported to be better looking than the ladies.

Today, No Name Pub is one of the few places remaining with an old Florida Keys atmosphere. The unique thing about the pub is the walls and ceiling – they are covered in $1.00 bills, signed and dated by customers who have been there. They estimate over $80,000 is hanging inside this tiny pub. Their pizza is fantastic!

The Boca Chica Marina where we are docked is located on one of the four Key West Naval Stations. Over the years, the Navy has played a significant role in this area, with 60,000 Naval personnel stationed in Key West during the 50's and early 60's. Bob was stationed here on a submarine in 1959. Today there are no submarines or other Naval ships in Key West. Cruise ships tie up to the Naval docks.

The Navy's focus today is on training fighter pilots (top guns) for combat (dog fights). The instructors – called “aggressors” - fly F5’s; and the students, F18’s. Their dog fights are electronically monitored and evaluated by instructors and pilots at the end of each day. The roar of planes taking off every morning at 7AM and returning mid to late afternoon in groups of 3 and 4 is deafening. They bank at 90 degrees and pull 5-7 g’s in their turns. I am told the operating costs of an F18 is $60,000 an hour. Bob asked one of the student pilots what he thought of the training he was receiving. His answer was an emphatic, “This is the hardest training I’ve ever had, and I’m glad for that. It’ll save my life someday.”

We’ve met many interesting cruisers at Boca Chica; it’s a very social group here. We’ve become good friends with a number of them and will continue to stay in touch. Helen and John Caffrey and Patti and Carl McMackin are members of yacht clubs at their home ports. The two couples invited a group of us to the Key West Yacht Club for lunch – great food, nice ambiance, and good service.

Following lunch we went to the Butterfly Museum in Key West with another cruising couple - John Van Blois, a retired fighter pilot, and his lovely wife, Nelly – who is Norwegian. The butterflies were beautiful, and it was yet another learning experience on this journey. Monarch butterflies have a five-generation migration cycle from Canada to Mexico and Central America while most butterflies’ life cycles are 14 days or less. John and Nelly are an interesting, well traveled, and entertaining couple. John has been to the Bahamas over 20 times, and he willing shared his knowledge of the islands with Jan and Luke Sand and Bob and me. A number of us went to cocktails on their boat one evening so Nelly could introduce us to one of her favorite Norwegian drinks, Aquavit, a potent cordial with an anise flavor.

We have really enjoyed getting to know Luke and Jan Sand, a most delightful couple. We seriously considered going to the Bahamas to cruise with them. They are now on their way to Bimini. They have a wedding in NH the weekend of the Newport International Boat Show and have tentatively planned to meet us there and help bring the boat back to Maine.

Yesterday, we had planned on going out to dinner at Blue Heaven, one of the finer restaurants in Key West, with Patti and Carl. Those plans changed abruptly when Bob discovered he had no car keys as we were leaving the Fort Zachary Taylor Beach. He had left them in his swim trunks pocket, and they had fallen out while we were swimming. Our cell phone and wallets were locked in the car, and Bob had only one soggy dollar bill in his pocket – just enough to call Enterprise and the locksmith. Three hours later, the locksmith handed us a new key along with his bill for $250!!

Today, the weather was perfect for a great sail, so we invited Patty and Carl and John Wiggins and took the boat out for a day sail to Key West. The winds were 8 to 12 knots, the waves 1 to 2 ft, the waters beautiful shades of turquoise only found in southern waters, and the skies sunny and bright – all in all a perfect sail.

A Family Reunion

2008-02-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

Key West 100-102 Feb 14-16

We had a lovely evening with Bob’s nephew Eric and his wife Windi. They’re here from Utah taking a week long sailing course, so we had lots to talk about. I have heard so much about Eric; I was really looking forward to meeting him, and Bob hadn’t seen him since he was seven years old. We really enjoyed the evening, he is an absolute delight and Windi is charming.

Knowing we were going out for dinner with them, Bob and I asked our dock neighbors, who’ve been here three years, for a local restaurant recommendation. Simultaneously, their sailing instructor recommended a “don’t miss” local favorite to Eric. Coincidentally, both recommendations were the same -- The Hogfish Bar and Grill! Eric, Bob, and I all tried the Hogfish – it’s a rich white local fish that is delicious!

This week has been beautiful… sunny, warm, and breezy. It’s been nice to be still for a few days after so many weeks of traveling. We’ve both actually gotten to the point of sitting down to read a book!

Every night at sunset the conch shells come out to herald the setting of the sun and each morning the daily greeting from fellow cruisers has been, “Another day in paradise.”

Not only do we have two resident barracudas at Boca Chica Marina, there is also a resident pelican and egret. The egret spends every afternoon perched in the mangroves and the pelican has become quite sociable.

Boca Chica

2008-02-14T06:45:00.000-08:00

Key West 96-99 Feb 10-13

Sunday

Although thunderstorms were predicted, Sunday afternoon was sunny, warm, and breezy. Bob unpacked the new green swinging deck chair Steve and Stephanie surprised us with at Christmas and hung it from the spinnaker halyard. I climbed in, put my feet up, and settled in for a relaxing afternoon. It is soooo…. comfortable. I was looking forward to an afternoon siesta in the sun.

Before dozing off, I asked Bob to get the camera and snap a few pictures to send Steve and Steph. As he stepped backward to the edge of the dock to get a better picture angle, knowing his propensity for tripping, I felt the need to caution him. A few shots later, he had one foot on each side of a dock cleat and, once again, I issued a safety warning. Back on the boat, pictures taken with no mishaps, Bob handed me the camera to view the shots. The sun was too bright to be able to see anything, so I handed the camera back to him. Just like in football - it was the perfect fumble. The camera hit the deck, bounced up, and flew overboard into 17 feet of water.

It wasn’t long before we were, once again unfortunately, the center of the afternoon’s entertainment. Several of our dock-mates had witnessed our faux-pas. Mike and Gene, father and son, were already in the water snorkeling and came over to begin the search. Charley and Joanna came to encourage them. Theresa went to get Andrew saying, “He can find anything.” More folks began to appear. After numerous unsuccessful, but quite competitive, dives to find the camera, Andrew’s pony rig (air tank with a long hose) came out. By this time a group of 12-15 had assembled, sitting on dock chests and standing in groups watching the retrieval effort. Bob left for Key West to pick up his air tank and the regulator he ordered to scuba dive for the camera. Andrew was the hero of the day when he surfaced with the camera in hand.

Conversation centered on what to do next: put it under a glass bowl in the sun leaving a small air space to suction the sea water out; rinse it in distilled water; rinse it in alcohol; don’t rinse it. We settled on the dish on the deck, but since it was already 3:30 in the afternoon and beginning to cloud, there wasn’t much sun.

Sunday evening we were invited to a “Meet and Greet” bring-a-dish dinner at the Navigator Grille. What to do next with the camera conversation resumed. Jan, from the Island Packet in the next slip, had been successful drying out a watch with desiccant and a zip loc bag. That sounded like the best alternative to me.

Monday

I called Olympus for their recommendation on what, if anything, could be done. They concurred with the rinse in fresh water/desiccant approach and said - with a little luck – the camera might work. It didn’t. I am now the new owner of a SONY digital, which I like better than the almost new defunct camera!

We’re looking forward to snorkeling on the reefs as soon as the weather settles. In the meantime, Bob and Andrew are planning to snorkel along the edge of the marina. According to the cruisers who have been here before, there are two resident barracudas living under our dock - “Barracuda Bob” and “Scar.”

Wednesday

We undoubtedly made the right decision last week to arrive in Key West by Saturday. The weather has deteriorated since our arrival.

Last night we were awakened at 2:30AM with thunder, lightening, high winds, and torrential rains. Bob turned the instruments on and saw winds in the lower 30’s gusting to a max of 66.8 knots!! When the gusts hit, we heeled 15 degrees. I cannot imagine being anchored in these conditions!

This afternoon we are waiting out NOAA’s severe thunderstorm and mariner warnings, “gusty winds in excess of 40 knots, frequent lightening, small hail, and possible waterspouts” (tornados over water). DeLaMer is securely tied to a concrete dock with double lines all around, as are our fellow cruisers at Boca Chica. After all of our preparation this afternoon’s thunderstorms passed through uneventfully.

We've Arrived At Our Destination!

2008-02-09T14:34:00.000-08:00

Marathon to Boca Chica

Day 95 Feb 9

Another front is predicted to come through this evening and linger until next Wednesday. Our plan has been to be at Boca Chica ahead of the front.

We left Marathon at 6:50AM with light winds and seas less than 2 feet inside the reef. The trip down was beautiful - blue green water, blue sky, and balmy breezes. We had some interesting company on this leg of the voyage -- two dolphins and a large sea turtle came by to say hello. Our speed over ground averaged 8.7 mph with the main, the jib, and the iron jenny. We arrived at Boca Chica Marina at 11:45AM and were greeted by five cruisers waiting to help us dock! Very social group of people here – we’re looking forward to getting to know them.

Harpswell, Maine, as my grandson Gavin would say “is vewy, vewy, vewy far away.” Indeed it is. Bob and I have traveled over 2,000 miles in DeLaMer to reach Boca Chica – that’s pretty amazing. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be doing this!

Sailing south has been a real journey. We’ve gained a lot of boating experience, had some very boring days (on the ICW), had a few days that had too much excitement (wind and waves), seen a good part of our country from the water, enjoyed some great museums and learned more about the history of our coastline, and last, but far from least, we’ve met some wonderful people along the way.

On a personal note, this journey has had a wonderful effect on the relationship Bob and I have. It has deepened our appreciation of and love for one another.

Rodriquez Key to Marathon

2008-02-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

Days 93-94 Feb 7- 8

Fort Lauderdale to Rodriquez Key

We left the dock at 6:50AM to make the 7AM bridge opening since it doesn’t open from 7:30-9:00 AM. We were outside the Port Everglades jetties by 7:10AM. Keeping a close eye on weather, we knew we had a three day weather window before adverse conditions arrived. Unfortunately the short weather window and the distance we have to travel kept us from stopping at John Pennekamp Underwater National Park. We’ll plan on making time for that on the return trip. Thursday was a beautiful day, fair winds, and calm seas. We decided to push for a 10 hour day at 8 mph to enable us to make Boca Chica by Saturday. We had an alternative plan, to duck into Biscayne Bay, if it looked like we couldn’t make Rodriquez Key. Arriving at Biscayne Bay close to 11AM, we made the decision to continue. This is a significant decision since we still had 48 miles to go and there are no anchorages or marinas between the two.

We arrived at our anchorage in Rodriquez Key at 5:10PM, just 10 hours after going outside. We traveled a whopping 78 miles today – a record for us!

Passing Cape Florida and entering Hawk Channel was a milestone for me. We traveled the entire coast of Florida offshore, 389 miles!! I wonder if this qualifies me for a “Novice Salty” medal or award.

At 2:30 AM our anchor alarm went off. Now this was more than a little alarming since there are two shipwrecks behind us, we are in the largest live coral reef in the Northern Hemisphere and hitting coral results in a $50,000 fine! After we checked and double checked, Bob and I both agreed that we hadn’t moved at all and it must be an electronic glitch!

Rodriquez Key to Marathon Sunrise was spectacular this morning. By 7:10AM we were underway and finally able to put all three of our sails upl!! We sailed all the way to Marathon and had an absolutely delightful day.

We only have 45 miles to go to our final southerly destination, Boca Chica Marina next to Key West! It seems like a very long time ago we left Great Island Boat Yard in Harpswell Maine bound for Key West -- and now we are within a day of it.

Fort Lauderdale

2008-02-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

Day 92 Feb 6 Hyatt Regency Pier 66

Marina Millionaire Row

Fort Lauderdale is known as the Venice of America with its waterways. We took the Water Taxi to see the area and learned some interesting information about the mansions on Millionaire Row. They are spectacular; each one is on waterfront property valued from 8 to 30 million dollars. The homes are on seven islands connected by bridges. Some of the rich and famous who live here are: the inventor of Alka Seltzer; the owner of the Doubletree Hotel Chain; Tom Bodette (owns Motel 6); Wendy Thomas (daughter of the Wendy’s Chain); the CEOs of Seagram’s, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Anheiser Busch, and SunGlass Hut. One of the houses, valued at 18.5 million, is worth less than their 22 million dollar megayacht parked at their dock. Bob was particularly impressed by the house that belongs to the CEO of SunGlass Hut; it is 18,500 square feet - and only two people live in it. They must see each other once every few weeks! Two megayachts are tied up in front of the house; their third is too large to fit there, so they dock it at a marina for $15,000 per month.

We saw two 40 million dollar Palmer Johnson megayachts, manufactured in Michigan, which intrigued Bob. They are designed to run at 55 mph with jet drives and burn 275 gallons per hour. A typical megayacht in this area holds up to 30,000 gallons of fuel. Most of the megayachts are registered in Georgetown, Cayman Islands or in Bikini, Marshall Islands to avoid paying luxury taxes.

Hyatt Pier 66

My Laundromat experiences have been widespread in terms of equipment, cost, and cleanliness. This morning I came to the realization that the Harpswell Laundromat is a luxury facility. It must be, since it charges the same as the Hyatt Regency Pier 66!!

We spent the afternoon poolside - very nice. Pool boys bring cool towels smelling of eucalyptus to refresh patrons, and the poolside bar makes great frozen Pina Coladas.

The Hyatt Pier 66 Resort was built by Mr. Phillips, of Phillips Oil. He drilled 65 unproductive oil wells before becoming an instant billionaire on his 66th. The hotel is a six-sided building with 66 floors and 66 windows on each floor. The six elevators each go top to bottom in 66 seconds. The 26th floor is a restaurant overlooking the ocean and Fort Lauderdale; it completes a rotation every 66 minutes. The angle of the 66 spirals off the top of the building are - you guessed it, 66 degrees.

We are looking forward to fair winds and calm seas tomorrow to make the offshore trip to Biscayne Bay, or beyond if the weather and sea conditions permit.

Offshore Fort Pierce to Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale

2008-02-06T16:25:00.000-08:00

Day 90-91 Feb 4-5

Fort Pierce to Lake Worth

We missed connecting with Babette and Tom on Super Bowl Sunday. However, the folks at Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce were very accommodating and they offer a Boat U.S. discount! We’ll try to stop there on our way back.

Monday at sea was great! The SE winds were light and the seas 1-2 feet. We put our mainsail and staysail out and enjoyed a pleasant motor sail down the Palm Coast. We were intrigued watching the rescue of a good sized fishing boat which had capsized south of Jupiter Inlet about two miles offshore. It was lying in the water about 45 degrees heeled and its decks awash. We watched Coast Guard boats and helicopters and TowBoat US rescue the vessel.

Bob had another career flash back when we passed the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant on Hutchinson Island, having lead two separate teams there to inspect the plant. As you can see by the picture, he prefers retirement onboard DeLaMer.

We called our friend, Harry Jones, who lives ten miles north of Fort Worth, and he joined us, once again, for dinner. His nephews are charter fishermen in the area; the youngest keeps his boat at the Sailfish Resort Marina on Singer Island. Harry picked us up and we had a superb dinner in an elegant setting at the resort. Tiger Woods is building a home on Singer Island and keeps his megayacht, Privacy, at the Sailfish resort.

February 5th Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale

We had a challenging departure from the Rivera Beach Municipal Marina in Fort Worth. Both the wind and current were pushing us against our dock. When “Nervous Nellie” finally agreed with the departure plan – Bob did a superb job maneuvering out of the slip into the tight fairway.

The best thing I can say about our trip to Fort Lauderdale is – we had the opportunity to gain more experience and confidence in choppy seas and I’m grateful the trip took only seven hours. We never saw the NOAA forecasted two to four foot seas. Five to six foot waves were the norm with SE winds 10-15 true off the bow. We rolled continually 15 -30 degrees starboard with strong pitching. DeLaMer took lots of water over the bow and some heavy spray over the dodger. Not a comfortable ride! The boat was in its element, though, and handled the conditions very well. Another good thing about the day, having experienced it, I know both the boat and we can handle it. I’ve overcome my concern with choppy seas.

We arrived at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66, a resort marina, in Fort Lauderdale at 3:30 PM. DeLaMer is the “baby boat” amongst the 60 – 140 foot cruisers and mega yachts. We are treating ourselves to luxury, staying put until Thursday morning when the forecast is predicted to change. Today sunning and swimming in one of their 6 pools – sounds delightful after yesterday!

Offshore Jacksonville to Fort Pierce

2008-02-03T18:20:00.000-08:00

Day 87 – 90 Feb 1 - 3

We left JAX Naval Air Station at 1:40PM Friday - with a lot of help from our friends Alan Mitchell and Stephanie Peterson. Both the wind and the current were pushing us against the T-head of our dock. After two feeble and failed attempts, Alan jumped on board with us to fend our bow off the pilings. With Alan still on board, we came abreast of the catamaran at the end of the face pier and he jumped ship (I would have loved to kidnap him to journey with us. For those of you who know me well - the first time offshore with just Bob and me is a stretch for me.) It was an auspicious beginning to a long journey.

Key West is 500 miles and a 3 1/2 day sail from the mouth of the Jacksonville River. We anchored off Blount Island Friday night to allow us an early departure from Jacksonville through the jetties and into the Atlantic. A pod of four dolphins played with us – they were beautiful to watch, bringing their tails up out of the water and diving down. They are camera shy, but this time I did get a marginal shot. The weather window for sailing offshore looks good for at least 3 days.

Our First Offshore Overnight

We weighed anchor at 7:30 AM and had a rough ride for 14 hours due to a two to four foot following sea and north winds at 12-20 knots. DeLaMer was loving the 15-20 degree port to starboard rolls; her passengers were not as enamored by them. We motor sailed at 7.5 to 8 knots with a reefed main and staysail. At 3AM Sunday morning we passed the Port Canaveral Inlet, the busiest cruise ship port on the eastern seaboard. There were three cruise ships inbound. That AIS (Automated Information System) system is the best! It takes all the concern (or at least most of it for me) out of colliding with a large ship.

By morning, the winds had shifted to the south at five to ten knots. Sunrise was beautiful against the blue green sea. The water temperature at JAX was 58 degrees; here it is 76. The seas were still giving us quite a ride with the south wind bucking the waves created by the previous north winds. Neither of us had gotten much sleep, so we opted to go into Fort Pierce and spend the night at Harbortown Marina. It was recommended to us by a couple from Willsboro Bay, Tom and Babette Crittendon, our marina on Lake Champlain. They are based here.

Our first offshore trip was 280 miles – pretty impressive (at least to us!) for seagoing novices. Fort Pierce is halfway to Key West. We are planning to go outside again either tomorrow or Tuesday to Lake Worth – a day trip.

Key West to Palm Beach

2008-01-31T10:55:00.000-08:00

Days 84 – 86 January 29 - 30

Bob and Bill left Key West at 6:30AM on Apparition, bound for Palm Beach. After discovering there would be a $600 one-way drop off charge on our rental car, I decided to drive the car to Palm Beach to meet them.

Jupiter, where our friend Harry Jones lives, is ten miles north of Palm Beach. Harry and I had a nice visit and were able to catch up on news of family and friends while waiting for the Swan 42 to arrive.

It took Bill and Bob only 25 ½ hours to make the trip. The boat is very fast, running at 9-10 knots in 10-15 knot winds with 1-3 foot seas and only the mainsail. Bob really enjoyed sailing with Bill again and was amazed in the difference in comfort level, stability, and structure between the Caliber and the Swan

The considerable vibrations occurring each time the boat pounded a wave surprised Bob. Due to its thin lightweight hull, the vibrations went throughout the boat and made sleeping difficult.

The Swan is very Spartan, lacking the cruiser comforts of the Caliber. During the voyage, there was no running water, no useable head, no cockpit cover, no comfortable seat at the helm, and very uncomfortable berths. So sorry I missed all of that – especially the no head!!

A Note About the Swan 42

Three hundred twenty five sailboats participated in the 5 day Key West Regatta. Bill, and the other 9 crew members on the Apparition, tied for 3rd place in the Swan 42 class. Although they lost the tie breaker and came in 4th, they were very pleased since it was the first time they had crewed together and the boat was brand new. The mean age of their crew was 44 years old.

The draft on the Swan is 9'6." The keel, which is a small fin with a torpedo at the bottom, weighs 9,000 pounds and accounts for 60% of the weight of the entire boat. The owner of the boat has several other race boats and keeps them near Booth Bay, Maine.

Sunday in Key West

2008-01-31T10:22:00.000-08:00

Days 83 January 27

After helping Bill on the boat in the morning, we spent the day being consummate tourists. We toured Mel Fisher’s Maritime Museum, took the famous Conch Train tour of Key West, went for margaritas and lemonade at Kelly’s (guess who had the margarita), and finished the day with another Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square. The best performance of the evening went to a tight rope walker performing in 20 to 25 knot winds!

Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

Mel Fisher’s museum, displaying the results of his treasure hunting career, was very interesting. On September 4, 1632 a fleet of 28 ships left Havana to return to Spain with a cargo of gold, silver, indigo, pearls, and other merchandise from the New World. Nine of them were driven off course in the Florida straits by a hurricane which struck only one day into the journey. The Santa Margarita and the fleet’s flagship, the Atocha, carried the bulk of the treasure. By dawn of the next morning, 550 persons and cargos worth more than two million ducats had been lost to the sea.

In 1969 Mel Fisher began his search for the lost galleons. He discovered the Margarita in 1980, but his search went on until 1985, making a total of 16 years, before he located the Atocha and its cargo. Court battles ensued with both the State of Florida and the Federal Government over possession of the $200,000,000 cargo – which was impounded in a jail for the duration of the dispute. Mel finally won the battle but, in the course of his pursuit of treasure, lost one of his sons and a daughter-in-law in a storm at sea.

Conch Train Tour

The Florida Keys have the world’s 3rd longest coral reef stretching 230 miles from Biscayne Bay to Key West.

Key West was originally named Cayo Hueso (Bone Island) by the Spaniards due to the huge number of Indian bones found on the island. Key West boasts the largest historical district in the United States with over 3,100 buildings on the register. Many of the homes have “gingerbread” trim, carved by men at sea and used to trim their homes when they returned. It was given the name gingerbread after cookies the wives baked for their sailor’s return.

Key West itself has had a colorful and very tumultuous history, going from prosperity to poverty numerous times. In the 1890’s it was the richest city in the U.S., in the 1930’s the poorest. It’s been home to pirates, shipwreck scavengers (a one billion dollar a year activity), a huge Cuban cigar cottage industry, a naval base (65,000 sailors before 1975 – only 3,000 today), and many of the rich and famous such as Hemmingway, Jimmy Buffet, the Truman Whitehouse – and today Madonna. It has the most bars and churches of any city in the U.S.

Chickens and cocks roam the streets of Key West. They were brought from Cuba where cock fighting was popular. When cock fights were banned in the U.S., the birds were set free and are now protected by a city ordinance.

Duval Street, one of Key West’s famous streets, is the “longest street in the world” stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. Whitehead Street boasts both the beginning and the end of US Route 1.

The Dry Tortugas

2008-01-31T09:16:00.000-08:00

Day 82 – Sat January 26

Saturday at 7:45AM we left for a 2 ½ hour trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park aboard Yankee Freedom II, a high speed ferry. Bob spent a fair amount of time on the bridge conversing with the captain.

The seven remote islands, composed of coral and sand, are located 68 miles west of Key West and 90 miles from Cuba. In 1513, Ponce de Leon named the islands Las Tortugas (the turtles) because of the abundance of large sea turtles. The word dry was added later by mariners to indicate there is no fresh water. Even today, conditions at the park are primitive; all power is generated on site, water is made with reverse osmosis purifiers, there are no restrooms, and cell phones are useless.

We spent a delightful and memorable day on the island with a guided tour of Fort Jefferson, swimming in the clear blue waters, and snorkeling part of the reef surrounding the fort.

History of Fort Jefferson

The Tortugas are located along one of the world’s busiest deep water shipping channels. By 1829, the United States knew it could better protect its interests by fortifying the islands to control the heavy ship traffic passing between the Gulf Coast and the eastern seaboards of the United States.

In 1848, the construction of Fort Jefferson, one of the largest forts ever built, began. There are 16,000,000 bricks in the fort, making it the largest brick structure in the Western Hemisphere. Granite for the fort was brought from Vermont, and marble from New York. That in itself was no mean feat, considering the modes of transportation available. Construction continued for the next 30 years… plagued by heat, lack of water, manpower, malaria, and construction design flaws. Over the lengthy construction period, large numbers of enslaved workers were employed by the Army, and often hired from wealthy Key West owners. Although the fort was never completed or fully armed, it was an undeniable symbol that the United States wanted to be left alone, thereby fulfilling its intended role - helping to protect the peace and prosperity of a young nation.

During the Civil War, the fort was a Union military prison. Its most famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel Mudd, known in history as one of the “Lincoln Conspirators,” the physician who set the leg of John Wilkes Booth. During his imprisonment, he played a key role in treating victims of two yellow fever epidemics. He was pardoned by President Andrew Jackson and allowed to return home to Maryland.

In 1992, the Tortugas were redesignated a National Park to protect the historical features, coral reefs, nesting birds, endangered green sea turtles, loggerhead turtles, Sooty Terns, frigate birds, and other wildlife on the islands.

The Tortugas have become a destination for Cubans seeking amnesty in the United States. In 2006, over 2,000 Cubans fled Cuba, crossing the 90 miles of open sea packed in small unstable craft, called “chugs,” or in high speed motor boats.

Snorkling

We saw thousands of small fish, many different types of coral, and several beautiful red-purple sea fans. While swimming over two four-foot barracudas, Bob turned his head and came face to face with a third barracuda staring at him half an arm’s length away. Several of the snorklers encountered a sting ray.

Weather Watch and Touring Key West

2008-01-27T05:22:00.000-08:00

Days 80-81 January 24-25

We traveled most of the day Thursday, arriving in Key West late afternoon. All of the race boats were returning to the Bight as we arrived, so we had no difficulty connecting with Bill Hooper. We enjoyed watching all of them rapidly back into their slips stern first. After our experience at Patuxent we decided, or rationalized, their boats were much lighter and easier to maneuver than DeLaMer.

Bill is watching the weather and planning on departing either early Saturday morning, or waiting for the approaching front to pass and leaving early Tuesday morning. So – we have at least one day to tour Key West. We’re staying on base at the Naval Air Station Visitor Quarters, very nice accommodations!

Friday we walked around Key West. The highlights of our day were: a swim in the ocean; visiting the southernmost point in the Continental US – where we waited in line with a dozen others to do the tourist thing – a Kodak moment; and the “Sunset Celebration” at Mallory Square. Every night hundreds of people gather at the square to be entertained by carnival performers and street vendors, drink, and watch the fabulous sunsets.

Bill called to say the approaching front will delay his departure until Tuesday morning. Darn – three more days in Key West! We immediately reserved space on the High Speed Ferry to the Dry Tortugas National Park, 70 miles west of Key West.

Two Days at Kennedy Space Center Day

2008-01-26T19:16:00.000-08:00

Day 79-80 January 22-23

Merritt Island Wildlife Preserve
NASA's Center, located on the 140,000 acre Merritt Island Wildlife Preserve, shares space with 500 different species of wildlife and 1,000 species of plants. The refuse is located on the Atlantic Flyway and is a key resting spot for many migrating species. Their brochure puts forth an interesting concept, "The unique relationship the Refuse shares with NASA bears testimony that nature and technology can peacefully coexist."

As we drove toward the Space Center, we saw alligators sunning themselves on both sides of the road in water filled ditches created when the road was built. We saw several bald eagles as well as the largest eagle nest in North America. The nest is roughly the size of a king size bed and has been inhabited for forty years.

Kennedy Space Center
It was inspiring and somewhat humbling to see the enormous size and technical complexity of the spaceships and rockets that propel them as well as the facilities required to prepare, maintain, and launch them. Bob and I both felt a real sense of pride in what has been accomplished by our nation and the brave men and women who have flown these incredible spaceships. We were awed by selfless dedication of the astronauts who've spent thousands of hours in preparation and simulation to man these missions in space. They are the true explorers of our lifetime. We were equally impressed by the technical ingenuity, imagination, and attention to detail of the thousands of engineers and technicians without whom the missions would not have been possible.

Throughout the Space Center are photographs with explanations of pioneering NASA research that has benefited completely unrelated facets of everday life. To mention a few: more than 66,000 profoundly deaf people can now hear, thanks to cochlear implants that stimulate the auditory nerves; wet roads are 85% safer due to grooves cut in pavement increasing traction by 300%; and Hubble Space Telescope technology is being used to pinpoint tissue for biopsy in diagnosing breast cancer.

Apollo Mission
There were 18 Apollo Missions in total. Apollo I blew up on the launch pad – and our country continued to pursue the goal of reaching the moon. Imagine the courage required of the crew on Apollo II!!!

Apollo’s Space Ships, mounted on the Saturn V rocket, had over two million separate systems, all of which had to work together flawlessly. Each system was tested separately, but never tested in combination with all of its counterparts prior to blastoff. (That in itself requires faith and supreme courage to pilot one of these ships!!!) The Saturn V, with its payload, was a massive 360’ long. Its five engines put out more thrust than 35 jumbo jets on takeoff.

An entire section of the Space Center is dedicated to the Apollo Mission, with an actual Apollo Space ship on display there. Only 27 men have been to the moon and of those, only 12 have walked on it. Inside the Apollo Mission building is a piece of moon rock that can be touched; the surface has been worn smooth by thousands of fingers – including ours.

The future Apollo Program, called Constellation, is developing robots to place on the moon. The eventual goal is to return men to the moon in the year 2020.

Whenever I think of the Apollo missions, I remember the date the first man walked on the moon – July 20th, 1969 – Amie’s second birthday. As a young GE engineer, Dave worked on the emission control system with Werner VonBraun in Houston, Texas. Another personal and very special connection with the Apollo missions for me was meeting and spending time with Ed Mitchell who flew on Apollo 14. When Ed was a featured speaker at a Saratoga Springs conference, I had the great pleasure of picking him up and returning him to the Airport. It was a wonderful experience to spend several hours of fascinating one-on-one conversation with him!!

International Space Station
We had a real treat; the Atlantis Space Shuttle was on the launch pad, loaded with the next module to go to the International Space Station. Scheduled launch is February 7th. This is the first of the eight launches scheduled for 2008. The current Commander of the Space Station is a female astronaut from the United States. Atlantis will be the 121st launch since 1986, when the first piece of the Space Station was put in place by the Russians. That piece is named “Mir,” which means peace in Russian. Sixteen nations are participating in its development, with the United States playing the major role. All launches are made from the Kennedy Space Center. The Station is scheduled for completion in five years after 38 more space flights. When completed it will weigh over 1,000,000 pounds and be larger than two football fields. It is traveling at 17,500 miles per hour and circles the globe every 92 minutes in an orbit 200-230 miles above the Earth. It can often be seen with the naked eye.

The Space Shuttle and its booster rockets are the same height as the Statue of Liberty, but weigh three times as much. The rocket designed for the Space Shuttle is the only rocket engine in the world designed for re-use. Each one of the three shuttle engines puts out 375,000 pounds of thrust.

When the Space Shuttle returns, all the parts are reused, except the hydrogen and oxygen fuel tanks. To prepare the Shuttle for the next launch requires nine months and over 300,000 work hours. The solid fuel booster rockets, which are recovered from the ocean, are sent to Nevada via rail to be refurbished and then returned to the Space Center. The shuttle itself spends several months in the orbiter processing facility where it is examined, repaired, and refitted with new parts as needed.

It then goes to the Space Shuttle Assembly Building where it is mated with refurbished booster rockets and new fuel tanks. The assembly building is 525 feet high, covers eight acres, and is the 3rd largest building in the world by volume. The mating process requires a 325 ton crane with 1/50,000 of an inch vertical accuracy and 1/64th of an inch horizontal accuracy. WOW – and I thought brain surgery was precise!

The latest addition to the Kennedy Space Center is the Shuttle Launch Experience, which Bob of course had to experience! He was fascinated by the realism of the simulated launch, including the intense vibration, extreme noise, and sensation of rapid acceleration and movement - all of which resulted in a roaring headache for the remainder of the day! Guess he won't be an astronaut in this lifetime!

As you can see by the number of numerical facts – Bob really enjoyed the two days!

One Thing Certain On a Sailboat - Plans Change

2008-01-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

Day 79

Our friend Will Blake emailed us today with a great, and quite quotable quote, “The plan is always there, you just have to remove the dates from the equation.”
Bill Hooper, the Captain who sailed with us from Maine to Annapolis, asked us to crew for him from Key West to Palm Beach. He’s bringing a new 42’ Swan sailboat back from the Key West Races (which he’s participating in). Bob and I have really been looking forward to it. Unfortunately, the Florida weather didn’t give us the window to sail to Key West by the 26th. So… last night we decided to drive to Key West and take the opportunity to tour the Kennedy Space Center for two days enroute. Great decision!!

After yesterday’s experience in wind and waves, I have to say, traveling by car is ohhh so much easier, more comfortable, more forgiving, and faster! Guess that’s why so many folks drive rather than sail! I’ve developed a real appreciation for the cruising community. Those who venture out on the seas are always ready to lend a helping hand.... never knowing when they may need one.

A Day of Frustration

2008-01-21T16:17:00.000-08:00

Day 78 Monday January 21, 2008

We were up at the crack of dawn and ready to cast off at 7AM. Turned on the VHF and heard the end of a Coast Guard announcement about the McCormick Bridge – located eight miles after we would enter ICW this afternoon. Neither of us heard the complete announcement – but we did hear, “… closed until January 24th.”

We spent the next 35 minutes calling the bridge (which was closed for the holiday) and the Coast Guard (who, after 20 minutes on hold, was able to tell us what they had just broadcast.) Their answer was, “Call the bridge tugboat on channel 9 two hours ahead of time – and the tug will open the bridge periodically throughout the day.”

We finally cast off at 7:45AM, temperatures in the 30's, and spent the next 3 hours with waves breaking over the boat, 20-30 knot winds, heeling 10 degrees (without any sail up), and fighting the current and tide on the St. John’s River.
Just to make the trip a little more enjoyable, I went out on deck periodically to clean the spray off the dodger windows so Bob could see.

Our morning had some added interest when our AIS went off just before we rounded a blind bend in the river. As we came around, there was a 650’ cargo ship from Singapore with two tugs immediately in front of us. It appeared to be beginning to turn around in the middle of the channel. Bob called the ship on Channel 13 asking their intention and, “Will it be safe to pass across your bow as you make your turn?” The captain replied, “Looks like there’s plenty of water out there. We’re turning to port for a portside dock before heading back out to sea. Go ahead.”

At 11AM, in lieu of what we had been experiencing all morning, we thought it prudent to recheck NOAA’s earlier forecast for 15-20 knots since our only choice for tonight was an unprotected anchorage on the ICW.

NOAA had updated their small craft advisory to: “NORTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO GALE FORCE. SEAS 5 TO 7 FEET. INLAND WATERS ROUGH. ISOLATED SHOWERS.”

We had a short general staff meeting and made the unanimous decision to turn around and head back to JAX Marina. We arrived back at JAX Naval Air Station at 1:30 PM in 20-25 knots true winds. Our cruising friends Alan and Pete met us on the dock along with Gary from the marina staff. Bob did a great job bringing DeLaMer into the dock.

Bottom line for today – DeLaMer did just fine with the weather and wind. The crew abandoned ship! We are cozy and warm tonight – winds still howling - and once again looking at options.

Still Waiting for Weather

2008-01-20T17:34:00.001-08:00

Day 77 Sunday January 20, 2008

Another weather front went through Saturday bringing cold temperatures, rain, winds, choppy seas, and tornado warnings just south of us. We decided to err on the side of prudence and delay our departure plans yet another 24 hours. We are both feeling “harbor-itis” and are anxious to cast off the dock lines in the morning.

We awoke this morning to temperatures in the low 30’s. As a result, all the interior cabinets had condensation -- and a few damp clothes! Spent the morning planning an offshore route from Cape Canaveral (four days from here on the ICW and the first opportunity to go out) to Miami. Bob entered all the waypoints in our GPS, hoping a weather window will allow us to go offshore. I have to admit, I am a bit apprehensive about taking my first solo watch at night. I know the only way to gain the experience is to do it.

We spent Saturday doing a walking tour of St. Augustine with our fellow cruiser Ed Hart, a retired Marine Corps Sergeant. The city has a long, tumultuous, and bloody history beginning with Ponce de Leon in 1513. Sir Francis Drake, an Englishman, burned the city to the ground in 1568. Many of the buildings in St. Augustine, including the fort which still stands today, were built with a soft shelled rock called coquina. The English and the Spaniards fought over the city for control of the coast of Florida during the 17th and 18th centuries. During the American Revolution, St. Augustine remained loyal to the crown. The Confederate Army captured the city during the Civil War. Florida became an American territory in 1821 and the 27th state in 1845. During the 1880’s Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil Co., had a major impact on the architecture and economy of the city.

We have really enjoyed getting to know Ed. He’s an interesting man with a broad range of sailing experience, including a solo circumnavigation in a 29’ sailboat with only a compass, a depth finder, and a short wave radio receiver. When I asked him how he provisioned for the trip, he said, “Easy. One heavy and one light a day – just like field rations in the Marines. A heavy is like canned spaghetti and meatballs or chicken, and a light is a canned fruit or vegetable.” He added a few more provisions for his solo navigation, “like raisins and crackers.” For water, Ed said, “I planned for less than a gallon of water a day and rationed that real carefully.”

Waiting for Weather

2008-01-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

Day 73 January 16, 2008

We arrived at Jacksonville Naval Air Station late Saturday night. Sunday morning we met Ed Hart for breakfast at the Golf Club. He was going to do the offshore leg to Miami with us until his physician scheduled another appointment for him later this week.

The remainder of Sunday and all day Monday were spent preparing to leave. I provisioned the boat and prepared meals for offshore sailing while Bob took the Honda outboard to a service center to have the recall work done on the motor. He stayed busy researching the Sojourners Pass and then preparing the documents exempting us from paying Florida sales tax on the boat after being in state more than 90 days.

Our friends Bob and Lynn from “Second Spree,” who are staying at the Brunswick Landing Marina in Georgia for the winter, drove down Monday. We spent an enjoyable afternoon and evening with them. Lynn gave me a haircut, for which I was very grateful since the one I had last month at the base was a disaster! It was really great to see them again.

While walking yesterday, we found a butterfly garden on base with some interesting facts. Did you know: butterfly blood is green; they smell with their feet when they land on plants; and they see only red, yellow, and green?

One thing I've learned – plans on a boat are always subject to change. We are waiting out rain, thunderstorms, and a small craft advisory; hoping to leave on Friday.

From Snowy Upstate NY

2008-01-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

Hi Bob and Hollie: Enjoyed reading the blogs and looking at the photos. I am jealous. Can't wait to retire so I can enjoy some sunsets in the south! Looks like fun! Enjoy yourselves and stay safe. Keep us posted on your journeys. Andrea

69 Days on Board DeLaMer – Harpswell, Maine to Jacksonville, Florida

2008-01-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

1/10/08 Update from Saratoga Springs, NY

A lot has happened since my last blog posting. In early December we met a group of very interesting folks, all cruisers preparing to go south or to the islands, at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station Marina. Getting to know them was the highlight of our week; we enjoyed nightly libations and hors d’oeuvres on one another’s boats. The rest of our free time was spent cleaning the boat and getting ready to leave it for the month while we returned home for the holidays.

The Sunday after we arrived home, the phone rang at six in the evening - it was the marina. The metal eyebolt on the mooring ball had chafed through our bridle and chafing guard. DeLaMer had broken loose from the mooring and was aground on the opposite shore of the river, two miles away. The marina staff were great. They had located the boat, gone over, and put our anchor down. The 20-25 knot winds and 3-4 foot waves prevented them from doing anything else. We contacted TowBoat US and, due to the rough conditions, they had to call in additional staff. They spent the next 3 ½ hours searching for the boat. When we called them at 11 PM, they still hadn’t found DeLaMer!

We spoke with them again at 7AM. They had located the boat and, by afternoon, had returned it to the marina. Bob flew back to Florida to assess the condition of the boat. Amazingly, there was no damage. It went through all of the boats in the mooring field without hitting any of them; crossed two miles of the St. Johns river in wind, waves, and strong currents; missed the low bridge (which would have demasted it); and came to rest between two concrete pilings (both of which it missed) on a soft mud bottom.

We’ve decided from now on we don’t need to spend time determining our course and navigating – the boat does so well all by itself!!!

Steve FedEx’d a heavy duty mooring pendant from Great Island Boat Yard, which Bob installed with a heavy duty swivel and shackle, along with a backup heavy duty pendant, both of which are fully encased in a rubber lined fire hose for chafing protection. That boat is going nowhere!

The rest of our month at home was less eventful and much more pleasurable. We spent Christmas with Amie and her boys, traveled to Maine to be with Steve and his family, and stopped in to see Bob’s son, Ken, and his family on the way home. We even got to spend a few days skiing – conditions were great!

We are flying back to Florida tomorrow. We will spend a few days provisiong the boat and doing preparations for the next leg of our journey. We plan to leave on Tuesday, January 15th, weather permitting, and sail offshore from Jacksonville to Miami and then on to Key West. The 530 statue mile trip should take between 3 ½ and 4 ½ days. This will be our first extended offshore voyage on our own. We are both a little apprehensive and also excited about the challenge.

Bill Hooper, the Captain who sailed offshore with us from Maine to Annapolis, will be racing in Key West the last week of January. He has invited us to crew for him when he returns the boat to Palm Beach after the races. It will be a 30 hour offshore sail on a 42 foot Swan which we are really looking forward to!

Amelia Island

2007-12-05T08:57:00.000-08:00

12/5/07 Amelia Island to Jacksonville, Florida
Mile 761

Amelia Island Yacht Basin assigned us a new dock this morning with a depth of nine feet. When we told them we hit bottom at 4’7” four times in their channel coming in, the manager said it was dredged six months ago to eight feet. We saw an interestiing ad in their marina newsletter, “TowBoat U.S. -- Coming Soon to Amelia Island Yacht Basin.” I can see why – to tow boats out of their channel entrance!!

A cold front came through this week, so temperatures have been in the 40’s in the morning and the high 60’s to low 70’s with the afternoon sun. Stephanie sent a picture of Gavin and his snowman taken earlier this week. A real difference between the weather here and the weather in Maine! I’m looking forward to the snow when we fly home. Hopefully it will stay on the mountains, rather than in the driveways, so Bob and I can ski with Amie and the boys over Christmas vacation at Willard Mountain.

We took a cab to Fernandina yesterday and spent a nice day walking the town. It’s an upscale touristy area with lots of interesting shops. The sidewalks are brick. Trees line both sides of the street. Fernandina is one of the shrimp centers in the south. Taking advantage of local food, we enjoyed a great shrimp lunch at “Bret’s,” which is right on the harbor overlooking the ICW. We started with a ½ pound of peel and eat shrimp for an appetizer. I had a great shrimp salad sandwich and Bob had their shrimp pasta special.

The history of Amelia Island goes back to the Timucuan Indians, 4,000 years ago. In the 1500’s it was occupied by French settlers. Beginning in the 1500’s Spanish troops occupied the island for 200 years. In 1736 the British Governor of Georgia named the island Amelia after King George II’s daughter. After the Revolutionary War President Jefferson, in 1807, signed the Embargo Act closing U.S. ports to foreign shipping -- Fernandina become a center for smuggling and piracy. In the late 1800’s many wealthy Americans built Victorian homes in Fernandina, many are on the historic register. Today tourism, shrimp, and paper mills reign.

We’re now enroute to Jacksonville Naval Air Station where we will leave the boat to fly home for the holidays. During the next few days we’ll be getting the boat ready to leave for a month and renting a car to tour Jacksonville.

We Made It to Florida!

2007-12-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

12/3/07 Jekyll Island to Amelia Island
ICW 721

Today I saw my first nuclear submarine in the water as we passed Kings Bay Submarine Base in the Cumberland Sound. My docent at the helm provided a running commentary on these Trident Ballistic Missile nuclear submarines. Bob’s memory for numbers astounds me with the information he can roll out. Tridents are the largest submarines of any kind in the world – 40’ beam, 540’ long, and over 18 thousand tons displacement. Bob was managing the Kesselring Site in West Milton, NY during construction there of the navy’s land-based prototype for the Trident nuclear propulsion plant (the back half of the submarine) and has vivid memories of being awed by the immensity of the submarine’s interior with its four floors of living and working space – especially in comparison to that of the 16’ beam, single floor diesel-electric submarine he sailed on for a year as a young sailor in the late 1950s.

A very attentive Navy patrol boat with machine gun mounted on it positioned itself squarely between DeLaMer and the docked submarine during the entire time we were close to it. Bob was concerned that the repeated flashing of my camera as we went by might result in our being boarded and the camera being confiscated, but I guess they weren’t on camera patrol today…

We tried to get a reservation for Fernandina Harbor Marina this morning. There is a small craft advisory with 20-25 knot winds predicted for tonight and we had planned to stop for two days to see the town anyway. They only had room on the outside of their megadock, with full exposure to the winds. They openly discouraged us from taking it and, although disappointed, we appreciated their honesty.

We called Amelia Island Yacht Basin, four miles south of Fernandina, for a reservation; they did have room. (Now I know why!!!) They asked what our draft was. That’s a usual question, I told them 5’1.” They didn’t mention their channel into the marina is only 4’3” at low tide. Arriving two hours after low tide, we hit bottom four times in the middle of their narrow channel coming in; our depth gauge read 4’7.” Bob plowed through each time!

Although the marina itself is nice, the fairways are very narrow and difficult to navigate if there is any wind -- and there was when we arrived – 15 to 20 knots! We had a near collision with a docked catamaran; a strong gust of wind came while Bob was doing a U turn to dock the boat. The dockhand jumped on the cat pushing on DeLaMer and I grabbed the tending hook and pushed the cat. It took both of our efforts to avoid the collision.

There is no way the winds will rock our boat tonight! We are sitting solidly on the bottom at our dock. We are now at low tide -- the water depth is reading 3’1” and we are listing eight degrees to starboard. Our poor fenders!!! The things this marina didn’t advertise in their full page ad in the Waterway Guide or tell us when we called!!! Bob will be at the office when they open in the morning for a new and deeper dock assignment!

12/2/07 Brickhill River Anchorage, Jekyll Island
ICW 696

Today was a short travel day. We had to wait for a rising tide to transit Jekyll Creek with its five foot depth. The Creek is also subject to shoaling – so what else is new!

St. Andrew’s Sound provided our excitement for the day. As we approached the sound, we were disappointed to find flat water and a true wind speed of 2.9. We had hoped to put our sails up.

The course the ICW takes through the sound is v-shaped, heading directly out to sea and then turning back to land. The tide was coming in with opposing wind as we headed out. Within minutes, the wind picked up to 15 knots and the seas where four to five feet of nasty chop. We had water coming over the bow and things tumbling below. Once we made the turn, we were going with the tide, the waves settled, and the wind dropped to 6 knots. We were zooming along at 10.1 mph speed over ground!!

After our exciting passage, we anchored off Cumberland Island in the Brickhill River and spent a quiet afternoon with the dolphin and pelicans, surrounded by marsh grass. One other sailboat was the only sign of civilization, and the sunset was gorgeous.

12/1/07 New Teakettle Creek to Brunswick
ICW 680

We went to New Brunswick Landing Marina to say goodbye to our friends, Lynn and Bob, where they will stay for the winter. We’ve been traveling with them since we entered the ICW and will miss their company as we journey on. We went for a farewell dinner to their favorite pizza restaurant, Fox’s, in downtown Brunswick. Great choice, it gets a triple A rating from us. With their homemade crust and sauce, it was the best pizza we’ve had in a very long time.

New Teakettle Creek

2007-11-30T13:30:00.000-08:00

11/29/07 New Teakettle Creek
ICW 646.6

We motor sailed through both Sapelo and St. Catherine Sounds today. It was so nice to see the jib unfurled. I was very aware of how much I’ve missed sailing! With the jib out, we were able to reduce the engine speed by 400 rpms and still maintain the same SOG – 9.4 mph. True wind speed was 12 knots out of the east and the tide was with us. We’ve changed the B&G settings to mph since the ICW is in statute miles not nautical miles.

Since I was out of bread and we are anchoring both tonight and tomorrow night, I decided to baked bread aboard! The oven is slower than mine at home, but it does the job. When the bread was finished, I was on a roll and baked brownies with chocolate chips and nuts for Bob. After having home made bread and home made beef barley soup for lunch -- I just might be back on another one of my “phases” -- as my offspring used to call them. Baking the bread was actually enjoyable and using the pressure cooker to make soup is so easy. It’s looking like the “Bread and Soup Phase” may be returning!!

We passed several shrimp boats today. The boats were being followed by hungry pelicans. We also saw two more pods of dolphins -- they continue to evade my camera.

We’re anchored tonight in New Teakettle Creek, and yes, there is an Old Teakettle Creek that we passed along the way. We're in the middle of a Nature Preserve. Frankly, it doesn’t look any different than all of the other wide open marshes we’ve traveled through in Georgia! There’s nothing in sight but bull rush, water, and sky… and an occasional pelican, egret, or dolphin. “Second Spree” and two other boats are the only signs of civilization.

Kilkenny Marina

2007-11-30T03:45:00.000-08:00

11/27-28/07 Kilkenny Marina, Kilkenny Creek

Wednesday we planned to cross two sounds, St. Catherine and Sapelo, both with the ICW exposed to the ocean and its weather. Winds this morning were a steady 20 knots. NOAA was predicting 6’ ocean waves and had posted a small craft advisory. We would have been transiting the larger sound with the wind opposing the tide, creating a very uncomfortable ride, so we opted for Kilkenny Marina.

As we approached the marina, the winds were 20 knots with a 2 knot current. The marina responded to our VHF call with, “Prepare for a starboard tie up, fenders at the waterline, someone’ll be there to wave ya in.” We passed the marina, saw no one, and circled back. Our friends from “Second Spree” were already at the fuel dock with an older man, who turned out to be the owner. As we started to pull in behind them, they shouted, “Go forward. There’s a man up there.” I looked up and saw a middle aged man… hands in his pockets, head down, cigarette hanging from his lip. He was standing at the aft end of an old fishing boat. I waved to him; he may have nodded a response.

The winds were blowing us into the dock. The man didn’t move. I had the aft spring line ready to toss him. Hands still in his pockets, he didn’t budge. I got ready to jump to the dock, without moving he yelled, “Bring ‘er forward.” I relayed the message to Bob and yelled back, “Here’s the aft spring line.” Still not budging, he repeated, “Bring ‘er forward.” We were at a stand off! I jumped to the dock and secured the aft spring line to a 2” x 6” board. There were no cleats. As Bob was getting out of the cockpit to help me, he slowly began to walk toward me. He yelled to Bob twice, “Stay in there! Stay in there.” Bob ignored him, got off, and helped secure the boat. I looked at the dock and realized why he wanted us forward -- nails were protruding from the side of the dock along a 10 foot section. The whole experience reminded me of “Deliverance.” Our “dockhand,” we later learned, was one of two sons of the owner -- the one that hadn't had customer service training!

We are consuming our stock of Parmalat and almost out of bread. When we checked in at the office, I asked if there was a grocery store within walking or biking distance. The owner replied, “No ma’am. Nearest town is ten miles up the road. You wouldn’t want to ride there; it’s ten miles back too.”

Kilkenny is one of two marinas on a 77-mile stretch of Georgia marshland. Looking around, the marina’s main source of income seems to be from fuel and fishing. Bob asked the owner, whose name is also Bob, if the trailers behind the marina were permanent residences or weekend get-a-ways. He said, “Those aren’t trailers, they’re mobile homes! I own the land they’re on. Folks use ‘em on the weekends for fishin’ camps. Most of ‘em found good deals on those mobile homes – bought ‘em second hand.”

The amenities at Kilkenny are sparse. I finally located the rusty washer and dryer in a small metal utility shed. A plastic milk carton, cut in half, provided the step up from the dirt path into the “Laundromat.” My mother would have been mortified by the lack of cleanliness. For a split second, I considered taking the clothes back to the boat and wearing them dirty!

With the laundry done and having been cruising for the past four days, I needed to stretch my legs. Bob and I went for a walk and discovered a restaurant about a ½ mile from the marina, “Outrigger’s Grill at Kilkenny Creek.” It looked like a nice place; no one was around, so we walked up on the deck and peered in the windows. Very nice! As we were leaving, an SUV drove up and a man in his 30’s got out. He smiled, introduced himself as the manager. We told him we were at the marina next door and out for a walk, to which he replied, “If you get chilly and want a cup of coffee, come on in. I’ll make you a pot.”

We went back to the “Outrigger’s Grill” for dinner with Bob and Lynn. Another couple on our dock, John and Priscilla from a 36' Selene Trawler named “Sitzmark III,” came in shortly after we did and joined us for dinner. It was delicious!

During the meal we were talking about the military marinas we stayed at when John mentioned there was one in New London near where they keep their boat at Crocker’s Marina. Out of the blue, he started talking about a very interesting man he met at Crocker’s last April. As soon as he described him, we knew it was our friend from Maine - Will Blake! What a small world the boating community can be.

This morning, Bob of “DeLaMer” and Bob of “Second Spree” mentioned to “Kilkenny Bob” (the owner of the marina) that we had dinner next door last night. He responded, “I knew his daddy, but that was a long time ago. He’s a nice enough young fella. He went off on his own, became a chef. Now he’s bought that restaurant. He’s a chef all right, but in this neck of the woods, he needs to be a cook.”

I’ve come to like “Kilkenny Bob.” He’s quite a character and a hard working man. He advertises being open for bait and business 7AM to 7PM, 7 days a week. The marina looks like a “do-it-yourself” construction project. I asked if he had started the business. He said, “Yup. In 1960. Built it myself. Been here 47 years and startin’ another 47.”

Four plus decades have taken their toll. OSHA would have a field day here! The docks are in need of repair and could easily have been in the story I used to read my kids, “There was a crooked man, who had a crooked house.” The conduit carrying the electrical power to the docks is broken, exposing the cables to the elements. The rusted receptacles have no breakers or covers. A large piling next to our boat has a huge rotten hole at the waterline, as do many others.

Thursday we woke up to pea soup fog and zero visibility, which lasted all morning. As I sit here writing, the shrimp are having a feeding frenzy eating away on the bottom of the boat. Since we are in the heart of shrimp country and being curious about what they were eating, I thought “Kilkenny Bob” might know. I asked Bob to go up to the office and ask. Their conversation went like this…

“We’ve been told that shrimp eating on the bottom of our boat make the popping noise we hear inside. We’re curious, do you know what they’re eating?”

“Whoever told you that -- it’s a bunch of bull. That noise ain’t shrimp. Nobody knows what it really is. I got a theory I’m sure is right! What’s makin’ that noise is tides. You’re from Maine ain’t ya? You ain’t got tides up there. We’ve got big tides down here with lots of water flowin’. If you look at the bottom of your boat, it ain’t smooth. That noise is the tide flowin’ past the rough bottom makin’ eddies. Them eddies make a poppin’ sound like cavitation.”

Knowing that his theory was flawed, Bob continued, “But the noise is there even at high tide and low tide when there is no flow.”

“That don’t matter. There’s always water flowin’. It ain’t never still. It’s the flowin’ current that makes the poppin’ sound. So if anybody tells you it’s shrimp – don’t you believe em.”

Several books we've read describe the shrimp phenomena, so I think "Kilkenny Bob's" theory may not stand the test of time.

There’s a nice old house behind the marina office with a long straight road behind it lined with beautiful live oak trees on both sides. Spanish moss hangs down from the oaks. It looks like it may have been the entrance to a plantation at one time. I mentioned what a lovely house it was to “Kilkenny Bob.” He replied, “That’s my wife’s house. She lets me come in sometimes.” Further questions led him to tell me the land had been a grant from the King of England that no one claimed for over a hundred years. In the early 1800’s, a man named George, from Kilkenny, Ireland named the area after his home town and built a plantation and house. During the Civil War the house was hit by a number of cannon balls. Henry Ford owned huge tracts of land in Georgia, this being one of them. He repaired the Civil War damage and restored the plantation house and it's surrounding buildings.

Although this marina doesn’t have many amenities, it certainly has a lot of color!

Big Tom River

2007-11-28T05:19:00.000-08:00

Georgia ICW

2007-11-27T08:13:00.000-08:00

11/26/07 Big Tom River
ICW 584 - 613

The Georgia marshlands are exactly what folks described to us, lots of “S” turns. You can see a sailboat several miles back or ahead – and it looks like it is just across the way. When the tide is high, there’s water everywhere. Today high tide is 9.7’ – not shabby! At low tide – there’s lots of mud.

Combining the tides and currents makes for interesting motoring; we’re either bucking the current or flying along at 9-10 knots. The most we’ve motored with, or against, to date is 3.9 knots. We did have our Genoa out for about an hour this afternoon; it was nice to see the sail again!

Today we passed Moon River, made famous by the 1960’s song “Moon River.” I fondly remember close dancing to that song my freshman year in college. In fact, I can still remember most of the words! The lyricist took great liberty with reality -- it’s no where near even a ½ mile wide! I am once again disillusioned! I’ll never be able to sing “wider than a mile” again.

We’re anchored in the Big Tom River this afternoon, very rural, very isolated, lots of bull rush and lots of current!

So…. tonight I decide Bob and I should watch one of the movies Andy and Barbara loaned us. Now remember – here we are in Georgia – in a boat - in the middle of nowhere – in a swamp – it’s the dark of the moon – and it’s thundering. Someone should have told me what “Cape Fear” was about and where it takes place BEFORE I decided to watch it tonight!!!!! I made Bob go out and check the anchor, get the key out of the dinghy, take the key out of the motor ignition, and lock the companionway. Now I’ll have to stay awake all night to avoid having nightmares about "Cape Fear!"

11/25/07 Herb River
ICW 565 - 584

Today was a most unusual day. Fields Cut is one of the narrow passages, shallow at low tide; we entered it at high tide with a 3 mph current against us. The fog started rolling in, and by the time we reached the end of the cut and were about to enter the Savannah River -- we had zero visibility. Our friends from “Second Spree” and a sailboat from San Francisco were with us. We collectively made the decision to turn around and drop anchor at the end of Fields Cut to wait for the fog to lift. The river has strong currents and, more importantly, is a busy commercial shipping lane.

We were the only one of the three boats with an automatic fog horn and AIS (automatic information system). Bob got his manual out and determined how to set the fog horn. For the first time since we left New England, we put our fog horn on automatic, blasting out one long, 2 short blasts every two minutes. It wasn’t more than five minutes when our AIS alarm went off. A 900-foot container ship was approaching in the commercial channel reporting zero visibility and broadcasting over the VFH, “Securite. Securite. Securite. This is the vessel ‘Hamburgo’ on Savannah River inbound to Savannah, coming up on the ICW crossing; standing by on Channels 16 and 13 for vessels with any concern.” With our foghorn on, we couldn’t respond on our VHF (design flaw…). “Second Spree” came back with, “Securite. Securite. Vessel “Hamburgo,’ there are three sailboats anchored at the southern end of Fields Cut in the ICW outside the commercial channel.” That was the first of four large commercial vessels that passed while we waited on deck and watched for traffic. By the time the 4th vessel approached, the fog cleared enough for us to see the channel markers in the river. We had been anchored an hour and a half.

The Savannah River at this location is the state line between South Carolina and Georgia.

Just before we reached Herb River, my cell phone rang. It was Bill Hooper from “Blue Frontier,” our Captain on the first leg of our journey. He was delivering a motorboat to Florida and thought he might pass us along the way – he was 30 minutes behind us! What a coincidence! His wife, Cheryl, was on board as crew. We gave Bill our anchorage destination and he stopped by for a very brief visit in “Wolf” -- a 40’ Abel built in Southwest Harbor, Maine. It was great to see him again. I passed a bag, via boat hook, with the sandals he had left on board and half a dozen of his favorite snack, Snickers.

11/25/07 Bull Creek
ICW 539.6 -565

We don’t have to be in Jacksonville, Florida until 12/8, so we are traveling fewer miles per day through Georgia. In addition, there are a number of narrow cuts in this area with shallow (“skinny”) water. We plan our days to pass through these cuts during, or at least close to, high tide.

Bob is becoming an “expert” at going aground and motoring/plowing us off -- number seven today. As we prepared to anchor in Bull Creek this afternoon, he found water that was 4’7” (shown on the chart as 6’). It took us about 10 minutes to work our way off. We had a “discussion” about whether he should head the boat to port or starboard to find deeper water. Our GPS indicated port; our charts said starboard. I went with starboard – and when Bob finally agreed – we found deep water and dropped our anchor.

Three dolphins seemed to be enjoying our maneuvering antics. When we had the hook planted, the dolphins lost interest, stopped swimming around DeLaMer, and went fishing along the shallow water at shore. They entertained us with their splashing; at times, they almost looked like they were beached. It has been fun to watch their antics all along the ICW; at times, they stick their heads above the water for a few seconds and seem to be looking at us to see what’s going on.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T17:19:00.000-08:00

11/21-24/07 Beaufort/Port Royal, SC
ICW 521 – 539.6

We arrived at Port Royal Marina to meet our friends from “Second Spree,” Bob and Lynn, for Thanksgiving dinner. In Charleston, Bob and I met a couple from the U.K., Angie and Mike, who have been living aboard their Pacific Seacraft for two years. They joined us for Thanksgiving also.

The marina provided the turkeys, and the boaters contributed the side dishes. A group of men who are live-aboards at Port Royal Marina smoked, grilled, and fried the turkeys. The process started on the deck of the marina the evening before, apparently requiring a fair amount of libation to complete the process. The turkeys, however, were delicious! Lynn made homemade lemon meringue and pecan pies; I brought mashed potatoes and a sweet potato casserole, and Angie brought smoked salmon appetizers. Some of the southern contributions were quite interesting: Waldorf salad with Granny Smith apples, cornbread dressing, a creamed corn casserole, a Mexican taco and corn casserole, creamed lima beans, pea soup, and a pound cake.

For the past two weeks I have been hearing a new and very strange noise in the boat. It sounds like the crinkling of bubble wrap or the snap, crackle, and pop of Rice Crispies. At first Bob couldn’t hear it, but as the days progressed it became louder and more apparent. We hypothesized temperature changes in the insulation, defects in the fiberglass, and leaks in the hull. It was altogether puzzling and driving my analytical husband crazy trying to determine its origin. There were times it was more apparent in the bow, other times it seemed loudest in the stern. Perplexed, he decided to call George at Caliber after Thanksgiving to see if any other Caliber owners had reported this unusual noise.

I happened to mention our strange noise to Bob (of Bob and Lynn), who immediately knew the source of the noise – shrimp feeding on the bottom growth of our boat!!!!! It is a South Carolina and Georgia phenomenon that has given us one more story to add to our cruising collection.

Lynn, Bob, Bob, and I spent a most enjoyable afternoon in Beaufort today. The family and staff of this marina could not be friendlier or more accommodating. Larry, one of their managers, drove us into Beaufort and picked us up at the end of the afternoon. We had a delicious lunch on the waterfront at Plum’s.

The weather has taken another turn, with NOAA issuing small craft advisories with strong winds and waves. The boats have rocked and rolled and the winds have howled for four days and nights. We hope to be able to leave in the morning. Bob used the delay to replace the stanchion gate damaged at the Centerville Marina on the piling and do the 250 hour engine maintenance.

11/20-24/07 Charleston to Wimbee Creek Anchorage
ICW 469.3 - 521

Tuesday was a long day, arriving at the Wimbee Creek anchorage just before sunset. During the day, we were treated to several pods of bottlenose dolphins, along with egrets, herons, eagles, and pelicans. Once again it was a very isolated area with only a few small communities. Most of the scenery was wide open marshland with huge expanses of golden bull rush.

As we entered Wimbee Creek, a playful dolphin greeted us. It swam alongside DeLaMer, surfacing and snorting again and again. The dolphin must be the local greeter. Shortly after we anchored, another sailboat came in, and the dolphin repeated its playful antics with them. The anchorage was rural and peaceful with a beautiful sunset and sunrise the next morning.

Charleston, SC

2007-11-24T15:51:00.000-08:00

11/18-19/07 Isle of Palms to Charleston
ICW 458 – 469.3

We arrived at the Charleston City Marina at 9:30 Sunday morning, ready to take full advantage of the day. We decided a Carriage Ride through the French Quarter would be a great way to see a large area in a short time. We didn’t know the City of Charleston had broken the French Quarter into four quarters to control carriage traffic! Each carriage is randomly assigned one of the quarters by the “Carriage Cops” as the tour begins. Unfortunately we didn’t have the luck of the draw with either the quadrant our carriage was assigned or the guide, whose lack of enthusiasm could only be surpassed by his lack of interest in giving the tour.

The Slave Market, covering three city blocks, was historically an open air market run by slaves. It now offers a wide assortment of touristy junque. The most interesting part of the Market was Gullah women weaving baskets of sweet grass, pine needles and bull rush. The basket weaving tradition originated in Africa and has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations. Baskets now bring a high price in shops, although bartering was very apparent at the market.

We spent the afternoon at the Aquarium, much to Bob’s delight, followed by the Fort Sumter National Monument.

Back at the marina, a local couple walking their dog on the docks stopped to chat. One thing led to another and Rob and Laurie invited us to their home for dinner the next evening. We discovered they are an entrepreneurial couple with two businesses: one producing premium ice cream - WhollyCow.com - and another importing coffee beans and selling a wide variety of gourmet high end coffees - IslandCoffee.com. Laurie prepared a traditional Low Country meal for us, Frogmore Stew: corn on the cob, sausage, shrimp, and potatoes. The dinner was delicious and the evening most enjoyable.

Earlier Monday we took a historical guided walking tour of an area of the city we missed on the carriage tour. The guide was outstanding and we learned a plethora of fascinating facts about the architecture and history and of the area. We had lunch at Fleet Landing, which had been a Navy demarcation point for troops during World War II. We finished the afternoon with a tour of The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, also very well done.

I was surprised to learn that Charleston is one of the three most visited cities in the United States, ranking with New York and San Francisco.

Georgetown to Isle of Palms

2007-11-18T04:17:00.000-08:00

11/17/07 Georgetown to Isle of Palms

ICW 403 – 458

Our plan is to spend most of Sunday and Monday touring Charleston. Leaving from Isle of Palms, we should arrive in Charleston by mid-morning; Sunday will be a very short travel day.

We’ve been going through the Santee Swamp this morning. Like many places on the ICW, this is another where you don’t see signs of civilization for hours. It’s refreshing to be surrounded only by nature. We’ve seen three eagles, one in its nest and two others perched atop dead trees. A bottle nose dolphin entertained us, playing and diving alongside DeLaMer for about 5 minutes. There was one lazy pelican floating on the water and lots of cormorants and seagulls fishing.

As we approached Isle of Palms, we passed a group of kayakers with a pod of bottle nose dolphins playing in front of them.

We have made our plans to return home for Christmas. We will be leaving the boat at the marina at Jacksonville Naval Air Station Marina and flying home on 12/11/07. We’ll return to Jacksonville 1/12/08 and continue our trip south to the Florida Keys. We have a reservation for the month of February at the Boca Chica Naval Air Station Marina. We are looking forward to being with family and friends for the holidays.

Georgetown

2007-11-16T04:28:00.000-08:00

Another cold front with small craft advisories and strong gusting winds is passing through. We’ve chosen to stay put and enjoy Georgetown's restaurants, museums, and tours. The area is rich in history.

Georgetown became a port of entry in 1732. Indigo and rice were the major crops. Slaves from Africa taught the plantation owners how to grow rice and harvest indigo. By the 1840’s, almost half the rice consumed in the U.S. was grown in the lowlands around Georgetown. The seaport exported more rice than any other port in the world. Indigo and “Carolina Gold” rice spawned the affluent genteel culture associated with the old South. The plantations required enormous amounts of hand labor to operate, and slaves comprised 85% of the population. The labor required to turn a cypress swamp into a working rice field was likened to building one of the Great Pyramids.

To escape “bilious disease” (malaria) carried by the mosquitoes, plantation owners built summer homes in Georgetown. The slaves, largely unaffected by the disease, remained on the plantations working the fields and protecting the rice. An entire crop of rice could be consumed by bobolink birds in one day; children were put in the fields to scare the birds away by banging pots and pans, bells, and whistles.

Wealthy plantation owners imported many things from Europe such as china, crystal, fabrics, and furnishings. Ships coming from England used bricks for ballast. Since rice and indigo provided ballast for the return trip, Colonists used the English ballast brick for buildings.

Georgetown architecture is unique. At one point, colonists were taxed on the number of feet their home faced the street and the number of doors within the house. To diminish their taxes, many of them built their homes sideways and eliminated closets. Small cookhouses were separate from the main house to diminsh the risk of fire from grease. Homes near the waterfront faced the harbor and their back porches faced the street. The porches are so nice, Bob and I hadn’t noticed that until we heard it during a tour.

There were 160 plantations in Georgetown County in the mid-1800’s. Only one remains. Many of them are now golf courses or golf communities. Georgetown is now rated among the top 100 small towns in America.

Today was brisk. We enjoyed walking the waterfront and dining at “The Rice Paddy,” a great restaurant now occupying the old bank building. Before we leave, I plan to pick up some fresh local shrimp at the Independent Fish Market. They have a resident egret named “Wilbur” and a resident heron named "Gus."

North Myrtle Beach to Georgetown

2007-11-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

ICW 355-403

I was quite surprised to see a gondola crossing the ICW this morning. It was carrying golfers from one side of the course, accross the ICW, to the other. Rather than skiis being transported on the outside, there were golf bags!

We are transiting a pretty, and very desolate, stretch of the ICW today, the Waccamaw River. Cypress trees grow out of the tannin water near shore, turtles sun themselves on dead logs, hyacinths grow on the river surface, and families of eagles build their nests in the trees. We’ve seen lots of nests, but no eagles. A huge flock of blackbirds flew over the boat – hope none of them wanted to buy it!

Before you sign on to crew with us, there are a few things you should know about the cruising life. Everything and I mean everything, takes longer to do on a boat. Take for instance, paying two bills. Doesn’t seem like much of a task when we’re home, a few minutes and I’m finished. Not so on the boat. On DeLaMer the process goes like this: turn on the computer; attach the cell phone to the computer; attach the cell phone to booster antenna; open Verizon Access (usually up to a minute to load); open AOL (another minute or longer and very often accompanied by an error message saying it can’t connect -- close AOL, reopen AOL); open the email with the scanned bills from Donna (our wonderful “Mail Lady”); download the documents; open the zip files; set up the printer; print the bills; and finally – write the checks.

That’s only the first part of the process! The next challenge is to find a mailbox. Yesterday at Barefoot Landing I asked the dock master if there was a drop box nearby – after all it is a huge very well developed outdoor mall. He said, “I don’t know of any, but if you can’t find a mailbox, bring the letters back. I go past a Post Office on the way home, I’ll mail them for you.” (This has happened quite often along the ICW, folks are very accommodating.) The Information Booth in the mall knew where there was a drop box. He said, “Go seven stores down, take a right, cross the wooden bridge. You’ll see the Christmas Shoppe ahead, the drop box is behind it.” After a ½ mile walk we found the box, and mailed the the two letters. Thankfully, we have most all of our bills set up to be paid automatically online. Other tasks requiring extraordinary time on board will follow in later postings.

Southport to North Myrtle Beach

2007-11-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

ICW 315 to 355

We’ve seen osprey, pelicans, egrets, cormorants, herons, and the always present seagulls this morning. Bob has decided the birds of North Carolina want to buy our boat from the number of deposits they’re putting on it.

If anyone at home is thinking we are doing nothing but laying back, enjoying the sunshine, and cruising along – it’s time for a reality check.

The ICW keeps us on our toes. Shoaling, watching for flotsam (floating logs and dead heads), timing the bridge openings, avoiding gill nets, crab pots, and the wake of passing motor boats requires being constantly alert.

Just before noon Bob and Lynn in “Second Spree” ran out of diesel mid-channel just ahead of us and had to drop anchor. Fortunately they had 10 more gallons on board. We offered to stay, but they said go on.

We did – and just around the corner ran into a problem of our own. Going aground seems to be our fate. We were approaching a shoaling area that Bob had identified from doing his homework reading the ICW Guide. He had penciled it in on the chart. Once again, the description of how to avoid it was vague. We went from 15 feet of water to 4.7 feet in seconds (our draft is 5’1”). Bob, who is becoming quite good at powering off shoals, was able to get us back into the deep water. I am sure we have no more barnacles left on the bottom! Every few miles in this stretch of the ICW we see a red and white Tow.Boat US sign with their phone number in large numbers. I can understand why!!

Today we are transiting the “Rock Pile,” a long narrow trench cut into coquina rock. The ICW Guides says, “Boaters should exercise extreme caution since boats routinely go aground on the rocks along both sides of the channel. Many call this the most worrisome segment of the whole ICW trip. Call ahead to see if any barge or tug is passing through the area before entering this stretch.”

Always compliant, Bob called ahead and got no response. We were 5 miles into the “Rock Pile” when a tug pushing a loaded barge came on the VHF announcing he had entered the south end heading north. Our recent experiences going aground, compounded with our knowledge of the "Rock Pile," put us on "red alert."

We met the tug at the Barefoot Landing Swing Bridge. The bridge tender instructed us to hang back and let the barge pass through first. Then he changed his mind, opened the bridge, and said, "Sailboat, power through ahead of the barge." At that point the barge Captain came on and said, “I can’t slow her down.” The bridge tender came back with, “I don’t direct traffic, use your own judgment.” The Captain replied, “Sailboat -- come through under full power if you think you can make it.” It was a tense 5 minutes as we throttled to full power with a tug and barge approaching the bridge at 5 knots from the south. We made it through ahead of the barge and are safely docked at Barefoot Landing Marina south of the bridge.

Bill and Valerie from “Calypso”, an East Bank from Yarmouth, Maine were docked two boats ahead of us at the marina. We had another small world experience talking with them on the dock. Bill said, “Does Kevin work at Great Island Boat Yard?” to which I replied, “Yes.” He continued, “He did a great job painting my boat when he was at another marina. He’ll remember me. I damaged a section of the bow after he finished. When he repaired it, you would never know it was damaged. He is amazing.” They also have a summer house on Long Island just north of the Basin and a car dealership in Cooks Corners.

Barefoot Landing is part of a huge outdoor shopping mall. We finished the day by doing a little Christmas shopping and going out to dinner.

Wrightsville Beach to South of Southport

2007-11-12T05:22:00.000-08:00

ICW 283.1 to 315

Andy very graciously loaned us his car. We were able to pick up the order we had called ahead to West Marine and some much needed provisions. We had an excellent lunch at a restaurant Andy and Barbara had recommended.

We had a challenging, but well executed, departure with 15 knot winds pushing us against Andy’s dock. We were underway by 8AM Sunday morning in chilling 40 degree temperatures. We faced two potential challenges on this leg of the trip, both due to shoaling. Our recent experience made us much more apprehensive about these areas but we transited both without a problem.

The Cape Fear River has up to a 2 knot current. We had planned to ride the outgoing tide with the wind to give us a smoother ride with less chop and less fuel consumption. Both Bob, and Bob from “Second Spree,” misinterpreted the tide table so we ended up fighting the current and chop all the way.

We docked at St. James Marina, 15 miles south of Southport. The marina is in a lovely setting within a development. Cruisers have access to their tennis courts, hiking trails, and four golf courses. Several cruisers had tennis racquets aboard and headed off to the courts. We are continuing to meet the same folks along the way.

Bob and Lynn have cruising friends living on nearby Oak Island. Kathy and John invited the four of us to their home for a shore dinner and have loaned us their car. We are off to tour Southport today.

We enjoyed seeing the beautifully restored historical homes from the Civil War era and The Indian Trail Tree. The tree is a large oak bent as a marker to fishing grounds centuries ago. Had a great lunch at "The Pharmacy," a restored building that had actually been the town pharmacy.

DeLaMer Aground – Not Once But Three Times!!

2007-11-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

Mile Hammock to Wrightsville Beach

ICW 244.5 to 283.1

As we left Mile Hammock at 6:30AM we went aground in the channel going back to the ICW. Bob was able to back off using full power on the Yanmar.

Once in the ICW, we were in a long line of sailboats heading south. Kairos, three boats ahead of us, went aground at an inlet. We’ve noticed the inlets along the ICW are often accompanied by shoaling and tides. This one had a particularly strong incoming tide, pushing Kairos out of the channel and aground. We transited the area without a problem by crabbing the boat into the tide.

Once again this morning we had a pod of porpoise playing on our bow.

The Surf City Bridge one of the four bridges we’ll transit today, opens on the hour. There were well over 30 boats in a queue waiting to go though – and more stacked behind that didn’t make the 9 o’clock opening with us. We are trying to make Wrightsville Beach by early afternoon to visit with Barbara, Andy, and the boys.

Last night we read shoaling was reported between markers 24 and 25 at the entrance to Mott’s Channel – the last ½ mile on our way to Barbara and Andy’s. They were right! We went hard aground in the middle of the channel at neap low tide! Boats.US Towing arrived in 15 minutes. He pulled and tugged, with his two 150 hp engines, pulling from one side to another for 25 minutes trying to free us.

In the meantime, we provided lunchtime entertainment for a hotel across the way on the ICW. When I first noticed folks watching us from their balconies, there were about a dozen. By the time we were off the shoal, balconies on all four stories of the hotel had people watching!! It must have been a bus tour to have news spread that fast!

As we continued down Mott’s Channel, with Boats.US beside us making out our bill, we went aground again!! This one required only a slight pull to get us off.
Our Boats.US card says “$50 per incident for towing.” Bob thought it meant we would be responsible for $50 -- another hard lesson learned. It cost us $380 minus the $50 per incident paid by Boats.US. We also discovered had we upgraded our Boats.US card for an additional $60, which we have now done, towing is free.
On a positive note – we have no more barnacles on the bottom!

After we went aground we received calls from several other sailboats:
“Welcome to the club! We’ve been aground twice already today.”
“You’ve joined the ranks of ICW cruisers!”
“You’re not a virgin anymore.”

Our day ended with a wonderful dinner and an enjoyable evening with Barbara and Andy. They made us feel most welcome.

I haven’t mentioned the boat cards most cruisers carry. I’ve collected a number of cards as we’ve met some very interestiing folks along the way. Like business cards, they have contact info -- the vessel's name, owner's name, cell phone, email, and hailing port. The one I made for DeLaMer has the website for Great Island Boat Yard along with our hailing port.

Morehead City to Mile Hammock Bay 244.5

2007-11-08T12:01:00.001-08:00

At Brown’s Inlet, green marker 61, just before the Onslow Beach Bridge, three sailboats and one Grand Banks went aground yesterday due to shoaling. Sea Tow was busy on Channel 12. We will be passing though that area today.

Shortly after we left this morning we had 6 porpoise playing with us again. They are quick! We also enjoyed seeing a beautiful white egret on the shore and a large pelican gliding inches above the water. I had my camera in hand – my finger wasn’t quick enough.

As we approached the shoaling area, Bob called Sea Tow for an update. Three new temporary markers have been placed there. They instructed us to keep the two reds close to starboard and stay away from the new green, keeping it far to port, as you make a sharp turn. Since we were approaching the area at low tide, we throttled back and gave ourselves another 45 minutes of water. As we approached the shoaling area, a motor boat and two sailboats in front of us went aground. We turned around in the channel to give them maneuvering time. Another sailboat (from Canada – no surprise!) came up behind us, passed us, and went aground. All of them seemed to be too close to the green temporary marker. Since the first three boats were able to get off the shoal, we decided to give it a try. We made it with water to spare!!

We are anchored in Mile Hammock Bay near Camp LeJeune tonight. This Marine Corps base has a lot of training in progress! We have been watching Osprey short take off and landing aircraft maneuvering this afternoon and listening to the frequent sound of heavy artillery from the base.

Oriental

2007-11-07T05:46:00.000-08:00

Oriental is a quaint little town that seems to be in the process of restoration. There are a few Victorian homes and many single story southern bungalows, some badly in need of paint and others appear to have been recently restored. The marinas are quite nice, as are the few upscale artsy, gourmet food and wine shops. The town is centered around two areas; Broad Street which follows the main highway through the middle of town and the harbor area.

We spent the morning walking around the town and browsing in the shops. One particularly interesting store was the Inland Waterway Provisioning Company. Had a great lunch at the M&M Café. I had their special of the day: a quesadilla filled with crab meat, shrimp, spinach, mozzarella cheese, and tomatoes. Delicious!

Southern hospitality abounds here. Russ, the dock master loaned the boat across from us his truck to go to the grocery store, which is just outside town. Late in the afternoon I decided to walk the mile back to the wine store. I hadn't walked far when a car pulled up beside me, stopped, and a friendly woman rolled the window down. Her name was Kathy, a reporter for the Pamlico News. She offered me a ride, which I gladly accepted, and was quite happy to share information about Oriental and its shops.

This is the 4th time someone has stopped and offered me a ride since Norfolk.

Weather Delays Once Again

2007-11-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

11/05/07 Dowry Creek to Oriental

ICW Statute Mile 133 to Oriental 181

Temperatures are dropping. It was in the 50’s last night. I’m grateful for the diesel furnace Bob installed. Our fellow cruisers are shivering while we are toasty warm and comfortable – plus hot showers every morning!

Today the sunrise at Dowry Creek was incredible. What a beautiful setting to wake up to every morning.

Skies are bright blue today, good day for travel. The views are beginning to change. Southern pines are replacing the swamps along the canals. Crossing Pamlico Sound was very smooth. Tonight another front is on the way with small craft advisories for the next two days. Weather delays are beginning to get old!

We are docked at Oriental Harbor Marina tonight. "Journey" came in behind us and is docked next to us once again. We motored down with "Second Spree" and are really enjoying their company.

Our cell phones don’t work here, but we can get a WiFi connection.

11/04/2007 Alligator River to Dowry Creek

ICW Statute Mile 82 to 133 Dowry Creek

The menu at the marina snack bar offered “Alligator Bites,” fried pieces of alligator tail. I asked the clerk at the counter if they saw many alligators in the river, hoping to see one as we motored along. She replied, “Not dis time ‘o year honey. Days all hibernatin’.” With alligator tails on the menu - must be Miss Wanda is a “freezer queen” too!

We were able to pull out the jib and pick up a little speed motor sailing for about 45 minutes. Then we lost the wind.

The water has been brown with tannin for miles. We’ve been motoring four hours through nothing but wetlands, swamp, and marsh. I wonder what creatures inhabit this area with the sleepy alligators. We’ve seen a few cormorants and seagulls, but nothing else in the Alligator River – Pungo River Canal.

At 7 knots, my grandsons could ride their bikes faster than we are traveling. Those trawlers are looking pretty good right now! I’m thinking of putting my thumb out and to catch a ride as they pass us. I wonder if there are any laws against hitch hiking on the ICW.

We passed a sailboat from Teal Cove on the St. George River, near Maple Juice Cove, Maine. Later in the afternoon, they came into Dowry Creek Marina and docked across from us. The boat is “Journey” and their name is Walsch, we have an invite to visit them next summer.

Dowry Creek Marina is a serene and beautiful setting. Mary, the owner, is in her mid-fifties and recently widowed. They have the best Captain’s Room I’ve seen anywhere. The only drawback at Dowry Creek is no cell reception or internet. They do offer a loaner car and Belhaven is nearby.

Alligator River Marina and Hurricane Noel

2007-11-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

Bob – Tokyo’s New TV Personality

Before I begin today’s entry, I want to share an experience I intended to write earlier. As we were approaching the entrance to Nauticus Maritime Museum in Norfolk we spotted three oriental people, a man with a TV camera, a 2nd man who didn’t speak English, and a woman interpreter with a microphone. When they finished interviewing the family they were with, they approached us. The interviewer said a Japanese television station in Tokyo had sent them to Norfolk to interview Americans about how safe they felt nuclear power is. The Navy was about to send a nuclear ship to Japan; the Japanese people were very uncomfortable about having a US nuclear vessel in their midst.

They couldn’t have asked for a better interviewee than Bob with all of his experience with Rickover, the nuclear navy, and the Institute of Nuclear Power. When they discovered he was a nuclear engineer as well, they had even more questions about commercial nuclear power. Bob patiently answered all of them, reinforcing how safe both US nuclear powered vessels and commercial nuclear power plants are, and why. So, don’t be surprised when you see Bob on Tokyo TV!!

Hurricane Noel

Yesterday we motored through Albemarle Sound in less than 5 knot winds, no waves, and a beautiful blue sky day. As we docked at the Alligator River Marina it was hard to believe we were about to be inundated with gale force winds. Even when we went to bed last night, the sky was star studded and the waters still. When we awoke shortly after midnight, the wind was howling and our wind instrument was registering 24 to 28, gusting to 36 knots.

We’ve meant many interesting people in the past 24 hours – all cruisers stranded in "Miss Wanda's" marina by Noel. The NOAA forecast looks like we will be waiting out the weather until Sunday morning.

The Alligator Bridge doesn't open to allow vessels to pass when winds are greater than 34 knots. We heard the bridge tender turn two boats back this morning saying she would not be opening the bridge before Saturday at 3PM at the earliest.

Bob is busy installing cockpit speakers as the winds howl around DeLaMer.

Dolphins and Halloween

2007-10-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

It took two hours to motor from the Naval Amphibious base to Newport because of barge and navy vessel traffic in the shipping lanes. It was another four going through the bridges and the lock in the Norfolk area.

As we transited the busy Norfolk Harbor, just opposite the Norfolk Naval Base and commercial shipping terminals, two dolphins surfaced on our port beam. What an unexpected treat --- and a day before Halloween!

We had another first experience Tuesday, going through a lock. In the lock we met a very nice couple, Lynn and Bob, who have been living aboard for six years. Small world, Lynn was from Springfield, Mass – Stephanie’s territory. Prior to cruising, they lived in Freeport, Maine.

We docked at the Centerville Waterway Marina at mile 15.2 on the ICW. The Centerville Turnpike Bridge was about 100 feet in front of us, very noisy evening! Marinas on the ICW have boaters raft up when all the dock space is taken. Most marainas charge half price for a rafted dockage.

Today was beautiful -- blue skies, low 70’s, water temp 66 degrees. The trip from Centerville to Coinjock was through a very desolate, swampy area -- beautiful in its own way. The water is brown from tannin and rotting logs. We spotted a number of herons and loons enroute.

This morning we caught the 9AM opening of the Centerville Bridge and were delighted to find Lynn and Bob behind us. They told us about a very funky unadvertised marina in Coinjock they were heading for, “Tate’s Marina.” We are both docked there now. The marina consists of a long row of pilings in front of Mr. Tate’s house and an electric hookup (checkout the picture). When he gets home from work he comes out for a friendly chat and collects his 50 cents a foot! He brought his 7 year old grandson Tom along, dressed as Willie Wonka, for trick or treats. I was glad that I had Bob’s chocolate stash on board to share! Mr. Tate adds, “Make yourself at home. Come by anytime. I don’t need to be here for you to stop.”

"Sleepless In Norfolk" Continues

2007-10-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

From the experience we've had in Norfolk, it would not make my “10 Best Nautical Attractions” list. Chicago can’t hold a candle to this “windy city!” Last night the noise from the wind, in the rigging, and from the fenders was so loud neither of us got much sleep. Winds were 15-26 knots, gusting to 30. The 1-2 foot white capped waves in the bay pounded against the side of the boat, tossing it around, jerking on the dock lines, and heeling us against the five fenders Bob put out. We were grateful to be at a dock rather than on a hook. Our tolerance for persistent rain and wind has been tested; this was our sixth day of foul weather.

On a brighter note, we've met some nice folks at the marina, had more than one ice cream, and I've had another entertaining laundromat experience! Last night we spent the evening watching an old movie neither of us had seen, “Titanic.”

We are eager to cast off in the morning for the ICW. We have our first four days mapped out on the charts, including marinas and anchorages.

We're keeping an eye on tropical storm “Noel” and hoping it goes out to sea as predicted.

Marooned in Norfolk

2007-10-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

We’ve had thunderstorms and/or torrential rains with NOAA small craft advisories every day for a week! The sun finally came out Saturday, with winds less than 10 knots, and we spent the afternoon getting ready to cast off this morning. It looked like we might have a short weather window to make the ICW. Last night the winds picked up again and have not abated. It’s a toss up whether the airplanes taking off or the 20 knot winds – gusting to 25 - are noisier. Between wind gusts in the rigging and waves slapping the hull, we had another “Sleepless in Norfolk” night. We’re watching the weather daily, very eager to be on our way.

When we rented the car, we visited Nauticus Maritime Museum and the Virginia Air and Space Museum. The grandkids would have enjoyed both; they are well done and very interactive. One of the highlights for us was an IMAX film at the Air and Space Museum called “Space Station” depicting daily life aboard the International Space Station. The station is constantly manned by an international crew of three to four scientists for four months at a time. After four months, they are replaced by a new crew. Another exhibit we enjoyed was the Apollo Mission. The Apollo 12 re-entry capsule, totally charred on the bottom, was on display.

Thunderstorms in Norfolk

2007-10-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

We are waiting for the weather to clear. We’ve had thunderstorms and rain most of the day. Since the entire Delaware Bay is under a small craft advisory, and there is a special NOAA hazardous weather warning for the Norfolk area, we decided to rent a car and tour museums on Thursday and Friday.

This morning Bob needed a part to finish installing the water filter. He asked the Marina staff if there was a hardware store nearby and was told there was one about a mile outside the front gate.

Out comes his trusty Port-Runner folding bicycle and off he goes. He came back with both the part -- and a story.

On his return, a Marine Security Patrol Car pulled alongside Bob on his Port-Runner. The scene went like this:

"Sir, may I see your I.D.?" (Very formal, no nonsense voice)
Bob shows his Military I.D and the guard salutes, military protocol for enlisted
men to salute officers.
"Sir, you can’t ride your bicycle on base without a helmet."
"Gee. I had no idea," Bob pleads innocence.
"Sir. It’s regulation. You can’t ride your bicycle on base without a helmet."
"O.K., I’ll walk the bike back to the marina."
"Very well sir, have a good day."

Bob keeps attracting Navy Security! Such a renegade! We’ll pick up two helmets tomorrow while we have the car.

Bob's Haircut and Directions to The ICW

2007-10-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

Bob surprised me once again! This summer I had been teasing him that he should get a haircut like Steve's - a shaved head. We were walking on base to get groceries when he saw a lighted red and white spinning barbershop sign and decided he needed a haircut. Although I suspected what a naval base haircut might look like, I refrained from commenting. The “barber” was a large, very friendly, older Afro-American woman. As she reached for her electric clippers with the vacuum attached, I knew what was coming next. Since I was having a hard time keeping a straight face, I left and went next door to the grocery store. When I returned, Bob said, “You came back to soon!” He was having his head completely shaved! She laughed as she said, “I know how to do this! I’ve done lots of these Marine cuts over the years!” When he saw my face, he settled on what was left - a very short crew cut!

Yesterday we heard the best VHF conversation. An older male voice with a real southern drawl said, “Sailboat what just turned up Cabin Creek. Are you a-lookin’ for the Intracoastal Waterway?” A female voice came back and said, “Yes, we are.” The male replied, “Well Ma’am – you ain’t a-goin’ t’ find it the way you’re a-goin’. That creek ends 3 miles up. You’ll be aground in less than a mile if you keep a-headin’ on. What you need to do is turn yourself around right now and go back three bridges, and hang a right into the next river. That’s where the Intracoastal is.”

Deltaville to Norfolk

2007-10-23T09:29:00.001-07:00

Naval Amphibious Base - Little Creek Cove Marina

We had been trying all day to reach either the Little Creek Cove Marina on the Navy’s Amphibious Base or the Navy Marina and Sailing Center on the Norfolk Naval Station for a slip. Unable to make contact and a little apprehensive about anchoring with thunderstorms forecast overnight, we anchored in the very limited space in the Hampton River -- a tight area between an anchored boat and a seawall, with marina docked boats tied up close to us on the other two sides.

Bob decided to give the Navy Marina one more call. A human being answered the phone at the Sailing School and said they were closed for construction. He gave Bob his boss’s (Mike’s) cell phone number. Mike happened to be the Manager of both marinas and was at Little Creek Cove. He said, “Our phones have been out all day. Come right over – I’ll make space.”

We had read on the chart that the area was restricted and required prior approval from the Commanding Officer of the Naval Amphibious Station. When Bob asked Mike how to obtain that, he said, “We monitor Channel 12 on the VHF. Identify yourself, ask permission to enter as you approach, and show your Military ID to the Navy Security boat.”

I was about to have a new experience! We’ve stayed at Naval Marinas that are recreational areas, but never on an active military base.

Complying with the directions, we received permission to enter the restricted military zone. As we motored further in the base, a security boat came along side. After seeing our military ID’s, the Brad Pitt look-alike guard standing on the gunwale of the security patrol boat said in a no-nonsense voice, “You’re out of the channel; move to port. Have a nice day.”

As we were motoring toward where Bob thought the marina was, we heard a very loud patrol boat siren. I turned to see the security boat speeding directly as us! They pulled along side once again and the guard patiently said, “You’re going the wrong direction. The marina is in back of you.” Who would have thought the Little Creek Cove Marina was not in Little Creek Cove but in another part of the base!

By the time we had docked, cleaned the salt off the boat, and put things away, it was almost sunset. I set out cheese and crackers on the cockpit table and poured each of us a drink. I had just settled in to enjoy the sunset when a very loud bugle blasted over a huge loud speaker just behind me. Startled, I jumped -- almost losing my drink! The unexpected bugle call was announcing the flag would be lowered momentarily. Within minutes, the loud speaker blared again with the booming bugle, this time playing taps.

Now I have to say, I have always had affection for taps. During World War II, one of my father’s jobs was to play taps and reveille on his bugle each day in the Army. Continuing with my fond childhood memories, we sang “Taps” at the end of each Girl Scout meeting. That signaled we would soon be seeing the Boy Scouts. The Naval Base taps will not be added to my list of fond memories.

The Mill Creek Cove experience continues. When I read about the marina, nothing was said that it was under the end of the final approach path for the Norfolk Airport! As the sun went down, Southwest, Delta, Continental, US Air, and American passed two to three hundred feet over our boat in a seemingly endless parade of planes! The parade continued until late in the night.

This morning, expecting reveille, the bugle returned playing the “Star Spangled Banner” as the flags were raised. Will I never cease to be surprised?

Mill Creek to Deltaville

2007-10-23T09:14:00.001-07:00

“Argonauta” left Lake Champlain in 2005. They’ve been in the Chesapeake ever since and will be heading south in a few days. We agreed to look for one another on the ICW.

Motoring for six hours in the middle of the Chesapeake leaves a lot of time for other things. Bob, always vigilant with his binoculars, spotted a sailboat heading north with a nude woman sunbathing on her cabin top.

The weather changed suddenly a few hours before we reached Deltaville. Winds out of the south, going against the tidal current, increased to 18-20 knots, creating a 4-6 ft chop that gave “DeLaMer” a complete salty bath. Spray was going over the top of the cockpit canvas. The dodger windows were so covered with salt deposit that we had to clean them off to safely make our next landing.

Having so enjoyed our anchorage in Mill Creek, we used Skipper Bob’s book again and picked Jackson Creek at Deltaville for the night. Little did we know we would meet our neighbors from last night. The channel into Jackson Creek snakes between two very shallow shoals. As we approached, we heard on the VHF, “Boat aground at Marker 3 in Jackson Creek Channel.” Seeing the distressed sailboat dead in the water, we slowed and circled once just outside the channel entrance. Two sailboats ahead of us decided to go in, and we followed. As we reached the beached sailboat, “Marie Gallante II’s” Captain was waving both arms, yelling, and directing us to move further away from him in the very narrow channel. We reluctantly moved about a boat length from his boat, on the ragged edge of where we judged the other side of the channel to be -– and “DeLaMer” hit bottom. Bob increased power and plowed the channel for about 50-70 feet until we were clear again. We later heard he went aground three times coming through the channel.

Finding a Post Office, or Two Bananas Make an Enjoyable Evening

My oldest grandson’s birthday is 10/27, and I wanted to mail the two cards I purchased when we were still in Maine. Finding a Post Office is not always the easiest thing when cruising. Reading in the guide there was one within a mile, we took the dinghy and motor off their respective davits, motored to shore, and walked to the Post Office.

On our walk back, we met and talked with Catherine, from Dream Time, a boat that had anchored near us. Her husband, Neville, with a British accent, had humorously asked Bob, “Hey Captain, mind if I anchor in your front garden?”

Catherine was in search of a grocery store for bananas and ice cream. Everything we had seen in the center of the small town was closed. As we walked back to our dinghy, Bob said, “We have three bananas, let’s give them one.”

We invited Neville and Catherine aboard for drinks and bananas and had a most enjoyable and interesting evening filled with laughter, stories about our journeys, and great conversation. They will be circumnavigating the world over the next 5-10 years while running their New York City graphic design business onboard. The March issue of Fortune Magazine has an interesting article on Neville and “Dream Time” which can be downloaded from his website, http://www.zeroxte.com/ We are looking forward to staying in touch with them and hope to see them again soon on the ICW.

Patuxent to Great Wicomico River

2007-10-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

The NOAA forecast this morning was 15-20 knots from the west, seas 2-3 feet, with a small craft advisory in effect along the Atlantic coast and throughout the Chesapeake Bay. It was such a beautiful sunny Saturday morning, much too nice to stay at the dock; we set our course for the Great Wicomico River 40 plus miles south. We left Patuxent Naval Base at 9:30AM, looking forward to a brisk beam reach with 15 knot winds.

It’s 11AM and the only waves on the bay are from motorboats. The wind is 2-3 knots from the north. We are in the company of many other sailboats, all motoring south under bare poles.

Bob is staying marginally entertained dodging a few crab pots. The multitudes of lobster pots in Casco Bay, Maine require much more vigilance.

On the way down today we saw a number of pelicans. A couple we met in Oxford told us pelicans, who used to be endangered, are now migrating in numbers farther north each year.

Bob loves watching the chartplotter screen and playing with the electronic settings in the cockpit, sometimes to the detriment of watching what is happening in reality around him. This morning he had his manuals out and was totally focused on adjusting something on the screen. As I came up from the galley, he had a perplexed look on his face. I asked, “What are you trying to do?” He replied, “There’s a fixed object up there that looks like a tower or lighthouse ahead and I can’t find it on the chartplotter.” I picked up the binoculars and scanned the horizon for his fixed object – and found a huge barge being pushed by a tugboat about 3 miles off our bow.” He replied with his sense of humor, “I’m not talking anymore.”

We anchored in a pristine rural area, Mill Creek, at 4:15PM. We found this beautiful spot in one of the many charts and books that Will and Halcyon Blake so generously loaned us for the trip,“Skipper Bob’s Anchorages Along the ICW.”

Three other travelers, “Argonauta” from Charlotte, VT, and “Marie Gallante II” and “Epsilon” both from Montreal have found this anchorage as well. In the morning I'll try to contact “Agronauta.” Their hailing port is on Lake Champlain across from Essex, New York. We often anchored in Converse Bay, just south of Charlotte.

We have two neat electronic aids to help us sleep confident that the anchor is holding: the chartplotter’s GPS keeps track of the boat’s position and sounds an alarm if it goes beyond the expected swinging circle around the anchor; and the “boat track” feature of the chartplotter puts a red dot on the screen every two minutes, so we can glance at the screen now and then and see that we’re still inside the swinging circle. Ain’t technology wonderful???

Transportation to the Grocery Store

2007-10-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

We rode our port runners (bicycles) for the first time this afternoon and found a great gourmet market about two miles from the marina, Woodburns of Solomons. Bob bought chocolate chip cookies while I picked up fresh vegetables and milk. They also have a super deli, butcher shop, and fish market. All of the little specialty grocery stores and commissaries we've found along the way have kept us in fresh produce. I have probably stowed enough away to feed us for our entire trip! I must have been remembering my old Girl Scout motto, "Be Prepared." It was working overtime during the provisioning process!

Actually, thinking about the Girl Scouts reminds me of another funny stream of consciousness story. My friends and I joined Girl Scouts because the Boy Scouts met on the same evening in the basement of the Greenwich Community Center. I was elected Treasurer of our Troop. Each meeting we paid our dues, I think it was a quarter, which I faithfully recorded in the ledger. No one ever mentioned subtracting what we spent. When I left my elected position, we had more money in the treasury than ever before – until the scout leader balanced the books!

Parmalat Update

Just in case anyone was wondering, I have opened one box of Parmalat -- by mistake. I thought it was the Swanson's Chicken Broth I needed for soup. However, the Parmalat is being put to good use as additional ballast for DeLaMer.

At the grocery store today I spotted instant pudding. My next-to-youngest grandson, Gavin, made his famous recipe of vanilla instant pudding for us several times this summer. Remembering that, I bought eight boxes. Bob’ sweet tooth will be satisfied and I have a new use for Parmalat!

Laundromat Update

Every washer and dryer since Harpswell has cost three to four quarters per load. I am proud to report that I have successfully mastered Laundromat 101. I can only conclude that the higher prices in Harpswell must have been to cover the cost of instruction.

Questions For Our Grandsons

2007-10-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, we saw two things coming from Oxford to Solomons Island, Maryland that we thought might pique your interest. You may have to enlarge them on your computer to get a better view.

Can anyone guess what photo one, on the left, or photo two, on the right, is?

Have you looked at a map to see if you can locate were we are on our boat? Try finding the Patuxent River and Solomons Island, Maryland. Hint -- it's on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay south of Annapolis.

Over the next week we will be sailing to Norfolk, Virginia. Try finding it on your map. The Intracoastal Waterway starts at Norfolk and goes all the way to Florida. It will take us about a month to reach Florida by boat. Flying or driving is much faster!

Our Docking Adventure

2007-10-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

10/18/07

From Oxford we motored to the Patuxent Naval Base, Point Patience Marina at Solomons Island. Winds were from the south at 15-17 on our bow with 3 foot choppy waves for well over an hour as we approached the Patuxent River. DeLaMer handles them very well… as did the Captain and First Mate. NOAA has issued a small craft advisory due to winds and thunderstorms for the next two days, so our plan is to stay at the dock.

We decided to live with the remaining electronic and Nobeltec issues rather than undertaking a major rewiring while underway. We called Steve at Great Island for a consult; he had reached the same conclusion and concurred.

Our Docking Adventure

As we entered the marina we quickly noticed all the boats on both sides of the narrow channel were backed into their slips and tied to pilings port and starboard with their sterns to the dock. Bob and I had never backed DeLaMer into anything and the wind was now blowing at 11 knots. As we approached #49, our assigned slip, a salty older gent in a well worn captain’s cap and a red tee-shirt, which barely covered his protruding abdomen, authoritatively told us “49 is mine.” After several unsuccessful attempts to back into #50, which was considerably narrower than #49, the wind was winning the battle. Meanwhile, “The Captain” was shouting unsolicited orders from shore. Bob couldn’t hear him with our engine on. I could, “Head back down the channel! Get it revved up in reverse and crank it in between the pilings!”

Bob opted for calling the marina office and asking for a larger slip. The person on the phone said he would come right down to the dock. Two teenagers in lime green tee-shirts appeared. One was obviously in charge, and to his credit, told “The Captain” he was in the wrong slip and would have to move to his slip, #50. He reluctantly agreed and at a snail’s pace, began to prepare to move his boat.

Meanwhile, we had become the entertainment in the marina as we first tried unsuccessfully to back into the slip, then held position against the wind and turned around twice in the narrow channel waiting for “The Captain,” who was now making a real production of re-docking his well used, but not well maintained, older sailboat.

While waiting in the channel, we made an executive decision -- we would learn how to back stern first into a slip another day. As we approached slip #49, the scene at slip #50 was comical. The wind was now blowing "The Captain's" starboard bow into the piling. He was repeatedly giving the piling a swift kick with his foot, pushing his bow off, then dashing to the port side and making futile attempts to get his tangled bowline over at piling -- missing time after time.

After our dock lines were secured and I was on the dock, a woman emerged from "The Captain's" boat. She walked over to me and said, "We weren't upset with you or your boat. My husband and I just had a huge fight. Our dogs don't like it when we fight. They are still hiding and cowering down in the stern of the boat; one of them is a blind poodle and the other one a 14 year old shepard." "The Captain" is now grumbling about how difficult it's going to be to get the dogs off the boat with the stern backed in and sais,"I think I'm going to move to the boat to the pumpout dock." He doesn't.

Later, as we sat watching a beautiful sunset, a Catalina came into the marina. The owner masterfully backed into his slip, nailing it on the first try! I sent Bob down to offer them wine and cheese in return for their docking technique. Several hours, and a bottle of wine later, they had shared a number of good pieces of information as well as their docking technique with us. Small world, they had just been at the Annapolis Boat Show looking at Calibers and had decided they would like one.

Oxford

2007-10-16T17:30:00.001-07:00

10/16/07

Today we motored the 34 miles from St. Michael’s to Oxford. No wind for sailing. You could have water skied on the flat surface.

The saga of malfunctioning electronics continues. The rewiring Bob did to correct the boat’s position on the GPS and have Furuno recognize AIS signals created new issues. Now our autopilot will not track to waypoints and the heading information coming into Furuno is inaccurate. I am grateful Bob is a patient man and has the skills necessary to trouble shoot these problems.

Wa-la! There must be an invisible genie onboard – about an hour into the trip the autopilot began functioning properly! No luck with the heading info, but we’ll take one genie fix a day!!

As we motored along I remembered some interesting facts from our museum tour yesterday. St. Michael’s was a British Colony. They grew tobacco, used slaves to harvest it, and traded the tobacco for English goods. British costs of goods were often higher than the price tobacco brought. That, coupled with bad crop years, eventually bankrupted the tobacco plantations. England was at war with France and Spain at the time and ships were needed, so… St. Michael’s residents turned to ship building. After the Revolutionary War fishing became the primary source of income for St. Michael’s. They still fish year round for oysters, crab, eel (which is sent to Asian markets), and rockfish.

There were a number of exhibits on oysters at the museum. One oyster purifies 50 gallons of bay water a day! Hard to imagine! Think about that the next time you eat an oyster! The oyster population has been depleted over the years and the bay has become increasingly polluted. Oysters are male until they are three years old, then they become female. All sorts of interesting hypotheses could be formulated around that fact! They grow about an inch a year and would live to be about 20 years old, save the fishermen.

Bob talked with his “new friend”, Chris, the technician at Furuno. Chris has a solution to our problem – rewire our entire system and get rid of the multiplexer!

We docked at Oxford about 2PM. Our Maine friends told us about a wonderful ice cream store here – The Scottish Highland Creamery. We were disappointed to find the owner has taken a much needed two week vacation. We had a delicious dinner at Latitude 38 Bistro. Their crab cakes, sautéed spinach, and sweet potato gnocchi were outstanding. The restaurant also provides transportation to and from your marina.

We walked through the village which appears to be early in the process of restoration. A poor country cousin compared to St. Michael’s.

St. Michaels

2007-10-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

10/15/07

We spent the morning at the Chesapeake Maritime Museum. It’s a great hands on experience for kids. I wished a number of times our grandsons had been here to enjoy it with us. What a rich and varied history the Chesapeake has -- from tobacco plantations, to ship building, to oyster and crab harvesting. The area is also a major flyway for the migration of birds, and hence a duck hunting Mecca.

Hooper Lighthouse has been restored on the Museum grounds. It was a screwed post lighthouse with each post screwed 25 feet into the Chesapeake Bay bottom. The only remaining screw post lighthouse in operation is Thomas Point Lighthouse south of Annapolis. I happened to photograph it as we passed by yesterday.

The village of St. Michael’s is charming. A nearby church bell chimes the hour and half hour from early morning until 9PM. There are many beautifully restored homes from the 1600-1800 hundreds, brick sidewalks, and a main street lined with quaint specialty shops.

Bob spent hours this afternoon on the phone with Furuno and rewiring systems (per their suggestions) to get Nobeltec and Furuno communicating – still no success. He did accomplish one thing; Furuno now recognizes and displays AIS targets.

Tomorrow morning we cast off to cruise the eastern shore – destination to be determined.

Harpswell to Annapolis

2007-10-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

10/13/07

We spent most of today cleaning the boat - inside and out - and polishing stainless. Bob put the davit supports on and our dinghy is now stowed on the davits.

The weather looks great for the next few days. We are looking forward to some good sailing. After St. Michael's, our plan is to explore the eastern shore of the Chesapeake.

10/12/07

I spent better than an hour trying to upload photos to the Blog this evening. It isn't an easy process. The Blog program is very limited. I've decided to wait until we get to St. George's Marina where Wi-Fi is available.

The routes and waypoints we created on the laptop Nobeltec software have never transferred to our chart plotter. This morning, Ryan, the tech from Marine Technical Services came out to replace the defective B&G digital display, which is under warranty.

He and Bob have spent the entire day attempting, without success, to get Nobeltec to communicate with Furuno. After many calls to technical support we were disappointed to find that neither Furuno nor Nobeltec have an answer. To add to our frustration, our AIS is not communicating with Furuno. According to the technician, this may be resolved with a re-routing of the AIS signal directly to the Furuno rather than through the multiplexer.

All of these expensive systems that don’t communicate are a source of great expense and frustration! I find it interesting that none of the vendors tell you to expect issues when they sell their products! All we have at the end of the day is another large bill and a small improvement in performance.

We will be sailing to St. Michael’s on Sunday and have reserved a dock at the St. Michael’s Marina for Sunday and Monday. We're looking forward to visiting the Chesapeake Maritime Museum.

10/9/07 – 10/11/07

Tuesday began with a beautiful sunrise; a sunny warm day with light winds.

As we left the Sassafras River one of our B&G digital displays went down taking the remaining four and all our cockpit data with it. We had no wind, speed, or depth information available. Bob took the defunct unit out and fortunately Bill knew how to reconfigure the remaining displays to show all data on two instruments.

We motor sailed under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at 1:30PM and docked at the Naval Academy Mill Creek Marina in Annapolis at 2PM.

At the marina, we found ourselves behind a locked gate. Bob and I went to find the office to check in. At the gate my intuition told me one of us should stay back. Bob said, “Come on” – and I followed him. There was no marina office in sight, our cell phones were on board, the gate was now locked with us on one side and DeLaMer on the other, and there was no one in sight. I decided to try to get back to the boat and Bob continued on. After a long walk, Bob finally encountered a man who gave him a ride to the Marina Office -- 3 and ½ miles away. What we didn’t know is there are two marinas on base, Carr Creek and Mill Creek Marina. We are at Mill Creek and the office is at Carr Creek. The staff gave Bob a ride back to the boat and the code to open the locked gate.

Our Enterprise Car arrived, after being lost on the base for some time, and we took Bill to the Baltimore Airport.

On the way back we stopped at a restaurant he had recommended, the Severn Inn. The setting was lovely; on the water overlooking Annapolis. We hadn’t been seated on the outdoor deck more than 10 minutes when ominous dark clouds and bolts of lighting drove everyone inside.

We docked in Annapolis only five hours before a dramatic weather change. Rain and high winds have continued for two days as a result of three lows converging in the northeast. We feel most fortunate to have arrived at the dock before the inclement weather.

10/8/07 - Monday

We motor sailed from Cape May up the Delaware River using the full main and genoa. Our speed over ground, 7 ½ to 8 knots. The skies are blue, water calm, and the temperature again in the 70’s.

We passed close by the Salem-Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station. Bob reminisced for awhile about his experiences with the three evaluation teams he led there while working for the Institute of Nuclear Power.

We entered the C&D Canal at noon and dropped sails, per their regulations.

Spent the afternoon sailing in the Chesapeake, practicing a few of the sailing maneuvers we had on our list of questions for Captain Bill. He, by the way, is fantastic! We would highly recommend him to anyone in need of a Captain. His extensive sailing experience, love for and ability to teach, enthusiasm, easy going nature, and sense of humor have made him an ideal sailing companion. We are learning every day and gaining a sense of confidence in coastal sailing.

I experienced an interesting phenomenon with sleep deprivation. I discovered I couldn’t maintain concentration for any length of time and I had great difficulty focusing and retaining information. Having never experienced it before, it was disconcerting.

We anchored in the Sassafras River overnight since we didn’t have enough time to make Annapolis before dark. Our reservation was at the Naval Academy Mill Creek Marina, which has only daymarks marking a narrow channel between two shoals. Sunset was spectacular!

10/7/07 Sunday

We passed under the Throgs Neck Bridge at 7:30 AM. Sunny day with great visibility. Going down the East River brought back a lot of memories. This time I had my camera and was able to get some great pictures of the Statue of Liberty, UN Building, Empire State Building and Metropolitan Hospital (where I spent two of my four undergraduate years in college.) I’ll get them downloaded and on the blog when we are in Annapolis.

Transiting from the Verazano Bridge to the Jersey shore was a challenge with all the buoys, markers, and shipping lanes. Bob took the helm and I navigated with the charts, with Bill on my shoulder coaching me through. Another great learning experience.

We passed Sandy Hook, NJ about 11:30AM, temperature was in the 70’s and mostly sunny. We turned the motor off and had a lovely sunset sail at dinner time. As the evening and night progressed, the weather changed. We had quartering seas, waves 2-3 feet, and winds 12-15. Not a comfortable sail. We motor sailed with the main reefed, the genoa partly furled, and the staysail out. Nothing much to see on the New Jersey shore. We expect to be at Cape May early tomorrow morning.

10/06/07

The fog is still present; however the visibility is 2-3 miles. What a difference! We’re on our way to the Race and Long Island Sound.

We turned the engine off at 5:55PM and had a beautiful sunset and evening sail until 8:30PM. Our speed over ground was 6.3 – 7 knots. Seas changed to choppy with 2-3 foot waves.

10/4-10/5

We’ve have had prolonged opportunities to use our radar in fog. We motor sailed in dense fog for over 22 hours with visibility 100’ to 200’ or less. It requires concentration and focus and I guess most of you know whose strength that is between the two of us.

One of our most memorable experiences 10/4 was spotting two Humpback Whales about 150 feet off our port side. One of them gave us a number of spouts and a beautiful view of his tail out of water. And where was my camera? Down below! I did manage to retrieve it in time to snap the last spout. However, by that time the whale was a long way off.

On his night watch, Bill Hooper, our Captain, a Pilot Whale surfaced and spouted less than 20 feet from our starboard side.

Friday afternoon we altered course, due to fog and weather forecasts. We docked at Payne’s Marina on Block Island. Two side benefits, we all got a great night’s sleep and I got to catch up with Tamara. She stills owns the Orange Cat Coffee Shop on Block Island and manages three Inns on the Island.

Casting off Tomorrow

2007-10-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

Bob is on his way to the Portland Railroad Station to pick up our captain, Bill Hooper. We plan to cast off between 8 and 9 tomorrow morning which should put us at the Cape Cod Canal at the right time on Friday morning to catch the ebb tide going through.

Getting all of the last minute things done kept both of us going non-stop today. Bob was busy installing electronics, fixing a leaking heating system valve, tying wooden plugs onto each through-hull valve, and testing systems. Midday he discovered our hailer, which we’ll need for fog (and hopefully not for emergencies) worked at the nav station but not on the mast. That sent me into a tizzy and John, one of Great Island Boat Yard’s riggers, up the mast. Thankfully correcting a splice at the speaker solved the problem.

For the moment, my apprehension has been replaced with the excitement of looking forward to a new adventure.

It’s Good to Be Able to Laugh at Yourself

2007-10-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

From Cape May we’ll go up Delaware Bay, into the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and on to Annapolis.

Our Captain suggested we look into dockage at Annapolis since it will be at a premium due to the Boat Show. I was one step ahead of him (only on the plans for terra firma). I had gone to the Naval Academy website last night and found Mill Creek Marina located on the Annapolis Naval Base. We called this morning and reserved a slip from 10/7 – 10/14 since we’re not sure exactly when we’ll arrive.

A very accommodating woman named Christina answers the phone at the marina. Since Mill Creek isn’t in the Cruising Guide, I inquired about the services available. Much to my delight – I discovered there is a large Navy Commissary (grocery store) on base. Less than a week on DeLaMer and a grocery store!

Now remember, I have just provisioned DeLaMer with enough dry goods, Parmalat, and chocolate (for Bob) to sail from Harpswell to Cape Horn!

Speaking of Parmalat, it’s a good thing my daughter Amie and son Steve aren’t taking inventory of the number of quarts I have on board. I would be accused of being in "My Parmalat Phase!” From their point of view I went through a number of phases while they were growing up. There was the zucchini phase – when we had a garden; the quiche phase – when “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche” cookbooks were popular; the homemade bread phase – when my sister-in-law taught me how to bake bread; and finally the homemade soup phase at Willard Mountain.

Provisioning the Boat

2007-10-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Some of the Things I’ve Learned

I have a new appreciation for skills of the cooks on the Mayflower who provisioned their boat for both the crew and passengers for their extended voyage. Provisioning for just the two of us has challenged my already well honed organizational skills.

I’ve been in “grocery store withdrawal” for a week. It’s difficult to imagine not being able to jump in the car and pick up whatever I need whenever I need it. Once we set sail, our land transportation will be folding port bicycles and our groceries will be carried back to DeLaMer in our backpacks. Now that is downscaling!

Thinking about what we’ll eat was the easy part. How to store it with our limited space and refrigeration was the much bigger challenge. I am appalled at the amount of wastefulness there is in food packaging! Advertising the product seems to take almost as much space as the item itself! As I’ve brought things aboard, I’ve removed all excess packaging and discarded it. The weekly garbage removal service I’m used to doesn’t service sailboats.

Once stored, the next issue becomes, “Where was it I put that?” While removing five pillows and still not locating the item I’m looking for, I have yet another opportunity to test my patience and tolerance for inefficiency.

Retrieving the food from under the salon settee (couch) seats and behind the settee backs requires the flexibility of a contortionist. Much more time consuming than opening the kitchen cupboard.

As departure day approaches I am finally becoming familiar with where I have stored what. Most of the time I can locate the item I need. Over the next few days I'll be organizing the freezer and refrigerator and preparing the meals we will be consuming during the 4 days (or more weather depending) at sea.

Departure Day Approaching

2007-09-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

DeLaMer is fully provisioned, Steve has scheduled the last of the commissioning items to be completed, and Bob is finishing last minute projects.

Our departure day is Thursday, October 4th, weather permitting. We've hired a Captain who teaches to go with us from Harpswell, Maine to Cape May, NJ. After spending 4 hours on the boat with him on Saturday, we are really looking forward to sailing with him and learning more about coastal navigation, overnight sailing, radar, and weather.

We will be sailing/motoring non-stop 24 hours a day at 6 knots. Our route, which is about 430 nautical miles, will take us from Harpswell to the Cape Cod Canal, to Long Island Sound, through Hell's Gate and New York City, and the final 30 hour stretch to Cape May.

When our skiing friends, Mark and Pauline Wells, left the boat yard last weekend, taking our car home for us, the die was cast. I have to admit, I experienced a moment of anxiety having committed to venture out into unfamiliar territory.

As the day approaches, we are both excited and ready to embark on our new adventure.