Maine to Florida Summer and southbound
29 December 2008 | Jewell Island, Maine
Brilliant's Log 06-08
The weather in Maine left much to be desired, with way too much rain and fog, but we had a great time seeing our grandchildren. We took time this summer to explore a bit more of the Maine Coast.
3-21 July highlights included; A boatload of kids aboard for a 4th of July BBQ and fireworks while anchored off Portland's Eastern Prom.
- Quohog Bay. A beautiful saltwater "lake" surrounded by a rocky, tree lined shore. The bay is peppered with tiny islands to explore by dinghy with the grandkids.
- We bounced back and forth between Falmouth and Freeport moorings as the mood moved us.
- Visiting the islands of Casco Bay. We especially liked Jewell Island, one of the uninhabited islands within a few miles of Portland. We anchored in the narrow cove, hiked the island trails and gathered mussels at low tide. Maine summertime at it's best!
22-28 July. Kennebec River - We spent a night at Sequin Island (a famous Maine lighthouse), then rode the flood tide up the river to the Bath Maritime Museum, sighting 9 bald eagles en route. We grabbed a mooring ball just off the museum for the night. The reasonable fee for the mooring ball, included an entry to the museum and the use of the cruisers facilities. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay short stay in Bath.
We continued our trip up the river, passing through Merrymeeting Bay, near where we lived in Topsham, Maine for years, and made our way to Richmond, Maine. We spent a week there enjoying "Richmond Days" a small town summer celebration, with our daughter and grandchildren Lion and TigerLily.
28 July - 7 August. From Richmond we made our way back down the Kennebec River, spending an enjoyable free night on the Bath waterfront at the city dock. From there we headed on to Islesboro, Maine for the Seven Seas Cruising Association Gam (a gathering of sailors) that ran from 1-3 August. A highlight of the trip downeast was passing close to Eastern Egg Rock on a clear day and seeing the southern most colony of Puffins. Islesboro weather was terrible with thick fog, but over 60 boats were gathered for the Gam and we had good time meeting other cruisers. On the way back to Casco Bay we stopped for a night at Maple Juice Cove and walked up to the Olsen House. The Olsen House was made famous by the painter Andrew Wyeth's painting, "Christina's World"
8-26 August. We used the last of our time in Maine wisely. Lots of quality time with the grandchildren and a chance to revisit our favorite islands in Casco Bay.
27 August-11 September. Time to head south! Stops included: Isle of Shoals off the New Hampshire coast. A great fast sail brought us to Plymouth, Mass. Where we saw the "rock" and visited the tourist town. Then a couple of nights in Marion, Mass, a sailing center off Buzzard's Bay. A day sail to Fisher Island in Long Island Sound, then on to the Groton, CT Submarine Base to restock. Tropical Storm Hanna reared its ugly head, so we moved quickly to reach Oyster Bay N.Y. to sit out the storm. The storm, thankfully, was much less than it could have been with winds just over 30 knots. We ended up staying almost a week in Oyster Bay. It provided us with a good chance to visit with Pete's Cousin Dean and family and his Aunt Angie in the Bronx.
12-23 September. "Brilliant" and crew departed Oyster Bay and motored down the East River past Manhattan. Pete managed to time the tide backwards, so that as we arrived at Hell Gate, the tide turned against us. We decided to continue despite tide and rain, but at a much slower pace than last year. Finally reaching the Hudson River, the wind and tide were still against us, so with the daylight fading, we ducked into Coney Island Creek for the night. Checking the engines oil Pete discovered we'd lost 2 quarts in about 10 hours... not good! Long story short, we made it to Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey next day and Pete figured out that our oil cooler had sprung a leak. We arrived on a Saturday and had to wait until Monday to order the replacement from the UK. It arrived on Thursday, and we were back in business. We waited three more days for a weather window for the trip down the Jersey coast before it looked good enough to go. Unfortunately, as often happens the wind had died completely and left us with rough seas and no wind. We ended up motoring all the way to Cape May. We did, however arrive at Cape May early the next morning and had the perfect opportunity to catch the flood tide into Delaware Bay. The tide carried us all the way up the bay and through the C&D Canal. The trip from Cape May through the canal took us only 33 hours. Two days later we were in Annapolis, Md.
24 September - 25 October. Annapolis, MD. We'd heard about the possibility of working at the Annapolis Boat Show at the Gam in Isleboro and decided to give it a try; we were both hired. While we're not ready to give up retirement, this was a fun opportunity to see how our favorite boat show is put together in less than a week. During the set up, Pete worked on a crew that built the temporary flooring for the vendors, Stephanie helped with one of the trucks bringing in trailer after trailer of floors, tents, etc., then as Security and traffic control. During the show we both worked at the gates taking tickets. The other employees were mostly cruisers like us, so we had a great time. The hours were long and the pay low, but we made almost enough between us to pay for half of what we purchased at the show. We'll probably do it again next year.
26 October - 12 November. With the boat show over and the temperatures dropping it was really time to head south. We moved off the town mooring in Annapolis and anchored a few miles south in the Rhode River, MD. The next morning we caught a strong northerly wind that made for a fast downwind sail to Patuxent River, MD. The strong northerly grew into a gale and we waited three nights at the Naval Air Station marina for it to blow out a bit. Another great downwind sail brought us to Deltaville, VA for a night. There we had dinner with our friends Annette and Peter from "Two Loose" who are refitting the new to them Island Packet 45 they recently bought. With temperatures dipping into the 30's, we continued to Norfolk early the next morning. The strong northerly finally blew out and we motored the last half of the trip into the Norfolk Navy Sailing Center. We spent the weekend in Norfolk taking care of some routine maintenance and restocking "Brilliant". From there we made for the Dismal Swamp Canal and Elizabeth City. As always we really enjoyed Elizabeth City, but another gale blew in and we had to wait for three days to get going again. Did I mention it was getting cold at night, very cold! From there we motored the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to Beaufort, NC with overnight stops at the Alligator River Marina and Bellhaven, NC. With a very good offshore forecast we spent only one night in Beaufort then took off for Charleston, SC. We motor sailed the first 8 hours, but the wind filled in and we had another great downwind sail with 15-20 knots of wind on the stern. We covered the 220 NM to Charleston in 31 hours and arrived at the anchorage at 0200.
13-24 November. We had planned on spending a couple of days in Charleston then going offshore again to make the jump to the St. Mary's River in Georgia, but the weather didn't cooperate this time. With the prospect of waiting for at least another week for a weather window we decided to do the ICW to keep moving. The good news is that we caught up with John and Cheryl on "Windrifter" a couple we met in Maine. Cheryl had worked with our daughter in Portland and they had just started cruising fulltime this summer. Together we made our way south, buddy sailing in the very chilly weather. We timed the tides to cross the many notorious shoals at high water and had no real problems. Four days later we were anchored off Cumberland Island, GA; a good safe passage.
25-29 November. We spent four days anchored off Cumberland Island, relaxing and going ashore to explore the national park. Our next stop was Fernandina Beach, FL for two days where we rented a car to restock the pantry for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving this year for us was in St. Mary's, GA. The town of St. Mary's hosts a Thanksgiving for Cruisers. They provide the turkey and hams and we cruisers supply all the sides. This year there were over 80 boats anchored off the town landing for the feast. The day started with an oyster roast and continued to the main event with more food than even this hungry crowd could eat. There was even enough that we were told to help ourselves to the leftovers. There is nothing better than a ham sandwich for late dinner and then turkey soup the next day. The next morning we had a boat gear swap meet with mimosa's, a nice finish to a great gathering. We departed, once our heads were clear of the champagne, and headed down the ICW for Jacksonville, FL. We made good time, even with the late start. But once we reached the St. Johns River, with a strong current against us, and we decided to stop for the night. Blount Island again provided a convenient anchorage and next morning found us riding the incoming tide all the way to Mulberry Cove, NAS Jacksonville.
Year totals:
Total Sailed 2008 = 3236NM
Total Sailed since retirement =22636
Outside Cape May, NJ to Maine
02 July 2008 | At sea off the New Jersey coast
Brilliant's Log 05-08
22-23 June: Cape May, NJ. Our plans to depart directly for Buzzard's Bay, MA were put on hold pending a better forecast. We took time for a walking tour of Cape May and nice seafood dinner yesterday. Today we've topped up the water tanks and are watching as a series of showers and thunderstorms pass by. Tomorrow it looks like we have a good window to head north. Our landfall in Mass. will depend on the time it takes us to sail the 200 or so miles.
Log 0 NM
24-26 June: Cape May, NJ - Block Island, RI. To go or not to go? We delayed our departure until late afternoon because of the higher than expected morning winds in the anchorage. Without a clear view of the ocean we just weren't sure what we were going to find outside, so waited until 1530 before we got underway. With our courage finally up, we rode a fair tidal current out of Cape May Harbor, turned northeast and set sails in 12-18kts of wind. The flat seas made for a very fast first five hours! As the sun began to set the winds decreased, but we were able to maintain 3-5kts of speed over the ground and kept sailing through the night. Uneventful night watches as we crossed the three major shipping lanes going into New York Harbor. The wind turned SW dead astern and decreased through the next day. We had been really enjoying the slow peaceful sailing, but by noon we found ourselves becalmed and reluctantly started the engine. While motoring, we hooked and landed a small (5-7lb) bluefish and by the time the fish was cleaned the winded started to fill back in. After an hour and half of motoring we had enough wind to sail again. Late afternoon, we were sailing wing and wing with the jib on a whiskerpole making good speed. Next morning found us still sailing, but now against the 1-2 knot ebb tide from Long Island Sound. The ebb slowed our progress but we made it to Block Island, RI by 1315 and anchored in the Great Salt Pond. The wind was a steady 10-15 knots with rain showers in the anchorage, so we decided not to go ashore.
Log 207 NM
27-28 June: Block Island - Cuttyhunk Island, MA. We spoke across the water with another boat near us in the morning. Bob Anderson on "Argonauta" on a Moody 419 (an older version of ours) and he convinced us to try Cuttyhunk Island, MA for our next port. The weather had improved a bit and we departed at 1030. We had a very gentle downwind sail in 5-10kts of wind. Our average speed wasn't much, but we were saving fuel. Arriving at Cuttyhunk Harbor at 1900 we found a spot to anchor in the very small and crowded anchorage near "Argonauta." Bob invited us over for cocktails and ended up serving us a very nice dinner. We swapped sea stories and discussed Moody Yachts until late. We said goodbye to "Argonauta" in the morning and went ashore to explore the quaint New England island. Very nice summer place, but as the weekend crowd arrived the anchorage became extremely packed. Why do we always end up at these spots on weekends?
Log 37 NM
29-30 June: Cuttyhunk Island - Onset MA. Another great downwind sail! We cleared the Cuttyhunk channel at 1030 and set full sails. Rigged the sails wing and wing, and didn't touch them until we arrived at the Cape Cod Canal four hours later. We had a good WSW 10-15kt wind all afternoon and caught the flood tide to help boost us along. We went into Onset, MA and had a bit of trouble getting a good anchor set. After the fourth try we finally had it into the thick mud. We were just in time to get our cockpit enclosure set, before the first rain shower hit us. In the morning we made a dinghy trip into the town of Onset to explore, take care of laundry and ended up having a great pizza at Mark Anthony's Restaurant on the main street.
Log 23 NM
1 - 2 July: Onset - Falmouth/Foreside, ME. Underway from Onset late afternoon to catch the flood tide through the Cape Cod Canal. Timed it right and made it through the 10 mile long canal in just over an hour. From the canal into Cape Cod Bay we had high hopes of continuing our good sailing record. The flat seas and light winds kept us sailing until midnight. Unfortunately, the wind moved behind us and was too light to keep the sails from flogging with the Atlantic swell. A forecast morning wind increase never materialized, so we ended up motoring the rest of the way to Maine. Only excitement on our overnight trip was a USCG thunderstorm warning over Boston and coming our way. With 15NM to Portland we ended up in a race with the storm. We now have a wireless broadband card for our computer that lets us get internet whenever we have telephone reception and it really paid off. We were able to go online and watch the storm's track on NOAA weather radar. The wind did finally fill in but with an hour to go we just used the sails to boost our speed a bit; we really wanted to stay ahead of that storm. We rounded Cape Elizabeth and the Portland Head Light, passed Fort Gourges and Portland's Eastern Prom, then across to Clapboard Island where we picked up a free open mooring ball. 26.5 hours @ 4.8 kts avg.
Log 127 NM
Hampton, Va to Cape May, NJ
23 June 2008 | Horn Harbor, VA "Painted Skies" dock
Brilliant's Log 04-08
15 - 16 May: After arriving at Deltaville we said goodbye to our friend John & Cheryl on "Kloosh" and then met with Carol from Bay Canvas who took measurements for re-upholstering our salon cushions. She told us it would be until the first week in June before she would have them completed.
17 - 20 May: Departing Deltaville we decided to head north to visit Katherine and Lael, "Painted Skies," who have a house and dock on a very beautiful little harbor off the Great Wicomico River called Horn Harbor. En route, just off of Deltaville, we met up with a boat we hadn't seen since Oct 2005 in Gibraltar; "Kittywake" with John and Mary. We invited them to join us in Horn Harbor. It turned out to be a wonderful four days catching up with good friends on Katherine and Lael's dock, with lots of good food and wine. Thanks again for having us all there "Painted Skies"!
21 - 28 May: We sailed up the Chesapeake Bay and stayed at the NAS Patuxent River, MD marina. From there we rented a car and spent a long weekend with Pete's Mom in Maryville, Tennessee.
29 May - 7 June: Southbound towards Deltaville and our upholstery job. We had a great day of sailing after leaving Patuxent River. With a light breeze on the nose, but with the whole Chesapeake Bay to maneuver in, we decided to shut the engine down and beat to windward. After about 4 hours, that took us across the Bay twice, we were finally forced to start the engine for a safe crossing of the Smith Point shoal. With only 5 NM to go and building wind and sea we decided to just motor the last hour into the Great Wicomico River. Not to be. Pete suddenly smelled hot anti-freeze coming up from below. A quick check of the temperature gauge (which we'd just gotten fixed in Pax River) confirmed the engine was overheating. The engine was quickly shutdown, thankfully in time, and the sails were reset. The engine compartment was too full of steam to fix the problem, so with now reefed sails we made our way to Sandy Point on the Great Wicomico River. We had good luck sailing into the anchorage and getting the anchor set under sail. To make a long story short, the freshwater cooling pump had catastrophically failed, dumping all of the coolant into the engine bilge. Pete spent a very frustrating day attempting to install a spare pump that was aboard. We ended up using the dinghy as a tug for three miles and made our way back to Horn Harbor. ( for our long time readers, you may remember that we had to do this same thing when coming into Malta in 2004) Tied to the dock, Pete was finally able to get the new pump properly installed and working. Katherine and Lael's hospitality was just too good! We ended up staying with them for 6 days while we waited for the salon cushions to be completed.
8 - 10 June: We left Horn Harbor and sailed back to Deltaville, spending a night up the Indian River, VA on one of the hottest nights so far. Then the next day we tried to keep cool while anchored in Jackson Creek, Deltaville, VA. At least the sea nettles , jellyfish, were not in evidence, and we were able to go swimming. The following morning we met Carol on the fuel dock at the Deltaville Marina and she installed our beautiful green ultra-suede salon cushions. She was done by noon so we departed to the North, trying to beat a cold front expected in the evening. We made it back up to the Great Wicomico River under sail by 1730 and anchored again off Sandy Point. It was a long night with quite a lightening show and some strong winds that kept us both up in the cockpit on anchor watch until past 0300.
11 June: Next morning we motored back to Horn Harbor for one night to again say thanks to Katherine and Lael for their friendship; and to show off our new salon. They are getting "Painted Skies" ready and hope to depart for the Pacific this fall.
12 - 18 June: We said our goodbyes and sailed to Solomon's Island, MD for an overnight stop. Then continued sailing up to Annapolis the next day. We had two good days of sailing in light but favorable winds; a nice change with the price of diesel now approaching what we were paying for it in the Med. We arrived off the Severn River late Friday afternoon and suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a serious sailboat race. Big fully manned racing boats seemed to be everywhere, but we managed to dodge them without impeding their progress. We anchored in the middle of Back Creek, a true sailing center. Both shores of the creek are lined with marinas and the traffic in and out of the creek seemed to be non-stop. Our decision to stop in Back Creek was to spend time with Annette and Peter of "Two Loose." They had left us south of the Dismal Swamp and had quickly made there way to Annapolis to get their boat sold. When we met up with them they had an offer to buy their boat and were waiting final word. No, they aren't going to quit cruising. The deal did go through and now they have an offer in on a much bigger boat. That treated us royally while we were in Back Creek, with dinner out, shopping, and we won't discuss the last cocktail night. After three nights we moved to Weems Creek on the north side of Annapolis. The US Navy maintains hurricane moorings in the creek for some of their training boats and are available for use by cruisers in fair weather. We picked a mooring and spent three more nights there. This time we actually got ashore and to town for some sightseeing.
19 - 21 June: Time to get moving again! We left Weems Creek with great hope of sailing most of the way to the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. Not to be, the forecasts were wrong. We spent a night on the Bohemia River, MD. The guidebooks led us toward a good anchorage, but the river had shoaled and the charted 7' was really only 6', so we anchored just inside the river entry. Next morning we caught the flood tide and zipped through the 12 mile long C&D Canal and out into Delaware Bay. No wind again, so we made our way to the Cohanesy River, NJ for the night. Nice place once we felt our way over the entry bar and got anchored, but terrible horseflies until dark. Next morning we were off with a rising tide to Cape May. A long day brought us off Cape May by 1600. The charts showed a safe passage around the cape close to shore and inside of the many shoals, but when we arrived at our navigation waypoint it didn't look good. A standing wave told us we needed to change course. We quickly turned to go down the Cape May Channel, a much safer route. Then, to make it more interesting, a large thunderstorm popped up out of the haze on our bow. We did make it safely into Cape May harbor and were very happy to get the hook set. To cap the day, just as we were all settled, a USCG cutter came along side a told us we needed to move closer to shore to keep the channel clear. No problem to move, just hate to have cocktail hour disturbed.
22-23 June: Our plans to depart directly for Buzzard's Bay, MA were put on hold pending a better forecast. We took time for a walking tour of Cape May and nice seafood dinner yesterday. Today we've topped up the water tanks and are watching as a series of showers and thunderstorms pass by. Tomorrow looks like we have a good window to head north. Our landfall in Mass will depend on the time it takes us to sail the 200 or so miles.
Hope all is well with each of you,
Pete & Stephanie
s/y "Brilliant"
Moody 425
Anchored Cape May, NJ
ICW Carolina Beach, NC to Hampton, VA
14 May 2008 | "Brilliant" Pasquatank River, NC
Photo by "Kloosh"
Brilliant's Log 03-08
29 April 2008 Carolina Beach to Mile Hammock, NC.
The foul weather that forced us to change our plans to head inshore, kept us at anchor an extra day. The strong winds and rain would not have made for a good day. On Tuesday with better conditions we departed in company with "Two Loose" and headed north on the ICW. Some of the trouble spots we had encountered last fall, where the waters had shoaled were on this stretch. But passing a large dredge as we cleared Carolina Beach was a good sign and we had no problem with shoaling. It was basically an uneventful day "driving the ICW "Ditch" with the exception of timing our first two bridge openings. This is one of the keys to making good time on the ICW and we managed to goof up the first two and ended up having to idle for over 45 minutes. In the afternoon "Two Loose" needed fuel so we planned a stop at the Beach House Marina. A VERY narrow channel in and a fuel dock way back in a corner was challenging, but we both got alongside ok. We also decided to add a bit of diesel at $4.23 a gallon (ouch) as long as we were there. It also gave Stephanie and Annette a chance to pick up a few supplies at a nearby market. It was getting late by the time we arrived at Mile Hammock and the anchorage was quite crowded. Mile Hammock is a little harbor that is attached to the Marine Corps' Camp Lejeune and they use it for amphibious training. They do, however, allow cruising boats to anchor in the harbor, but we are not allowed ashore. Despite the crowd, by 1845 we had both found spots to anchor and after our experience last fall here we made sure we got a good anchor set before we settled in for the night.
Log 45 NM
30 April 2008 Mile Hammock to Beaufort, NC
We enjoyed a quiet night in Camp Lejeune's backyard. Unfortunately, a breeze did come up in the night and "Two Loose" woke to find their anchor had dragged and the boat was stuck in the mud. They were able to get off easily, but not a good way to start the day. I don't even think they'd had coffee! We decided to do better with the bridges, so carefully planned our departure to make the Onslow Beach Swing Bridge that opens on the hour and we did well. Unfortunately, as they opened the bridge for us the Navy and USCG informed us that the ICW was being shut down for a USMC live firing exercise. So rather than dodging bullets we decided to drop the hook in the middle of the canal, relax and enjoy the sounds of small arms fire and the random howitzer for an hour. After that is was clear motoring to Beaufort. The nasty shoal at Red 61 where we bumped bottom last fall was dredged, so no problem there. We anchored in Taylor Creek, just off the Beaufort town dock, while "Two Loose" when into the marina. They were very nice and shared their key to the showers, so we too could enjoy a long hot shower. After we got together for a dinner out and choose poorly. It was rather late and we ended up going to a gourmet restaurant called Aqua. Pretty typical, big plates, beautiful presentation, elf-food. We went home after and made a sandwich. The only nice thing, besides the company, was that because service was sooo slow, the manager knocked twenty percent off the bill.
Log 38 NM
1 May 2008 Beaufort to Broad Creek, NC
Pulled up our second anchor and then the primary, the mud wasn't too bad, and "Brilliant" was underway to make the little Beaufort Bridge opening. En route to the bridge, as we passed along the Beaufort waterfront, we quite unexpectedly ran aground on an uncharted shoal. Thankfully, the bottom is soft and we were able to quickly back off the shoal. We still made the bridge with time to spare. "Two Loose", who stayed in the marina mentioned after the fact that the dock office had warned about that little shoal. They thought since we'd been here before that we knew about it. Oh well, no damage done. Clear of the bridge and within a quarter mile we were aground again. This time it was a sudden senior moment about which side of a red channel day marker, not on the ICW, to pass. Once again "Brilliant" backed out of the mud with ease, the Captain, red faced, then continued on the right course. The tidal current was against us and we made slow progress to Oriental, NC. We had hoped for a spot on the town's free dock, but no luck. As we turned around and began to look for a spot to anchor we ran aground again. This was getting very old, but again it was a soft stop and with a little more power got back to deeper water where we found a spot to anchor in 8'. The wind had picked and was blowing 15 knots with a bit of a chop coming into the harbor by the time we'd anchored. Pete was uncomfortable with our exposure to a stronger south breeze and checked the weather on-line for Pamlico Sound. With the forecast winds increasing to 20 knots during the night he decided to up anchor and find better shelter. We said goodbye to "Two Loose" who had taken a slip in the Oriental Marina for the night and headed out for Broad Creek about 10 miles further down the road. The nice thing about the decision was that as we cleared the Oriental Harbor we were actually able to shut the engine down and sail. For the short 10 mile run we cruised with a full jib only and had a lovely relaxed two hour downwind trip. The cruising guide's description of Broad Creek made us nervous, it's very shallow and the channel is poorly marked. Worried about going aground for the fourth time in one day we were cautiously inching our way in. About the time we discovered that GPS positions and both the electronic and paper charts had errors larger than the width of the channel (not good), we saw another sailboat moving up fast on our stern. We called them on the VHF and offered them the lead into the creek. It turned out they were a local boat and gladly showed the safe way in.
Log 32 NM
2 May 2008, Broad Creek to Belhaven, NC
We had a quiet night in Broad Creek, the forecast wind never came up. We had a romping sail for the first two hours as we caught up with "Two Loose" just prior to entering one of the narrow canals on the route. As we emerged from the canals north end we found the wind again and sailed across the Pamlico River and up to Belhaven. It was nice to save a bit of diesel. As we hoped we found our friends John and Cheryl on "Kloosh" already anchored at Belhaven. We had met them in Maine last summer as they were just getting ready to start cruising. Cocktails aboard "Kloosh".
Log 35 NM
3 May 2008, Belhaven to Alligator River Marina, NC
Long day of motoring up the 20 NM Albermarle Canal. We were able to use the mainsail while motoring in the narrow straight canal to take advantage of a strong south wind. It helped boost our speed and we made good time. Once clear of the canal and into the Alligator River we brought out the jib as well. The wind and waves were picking up as the Alligator River Swing Bridge opened for us. We cleared the bridge and turned right and into the Alligator River Marina for our first night in a marina since Jacksonville. We topped up our diesel ($3.99), filled the water tanks, did laundry, hot showers for the crew and visited with friends. All we missed was having dinner out, Miss Wanda (the owner of the marina) closes the restaurant at 2000.
Log 46 NM
4 May 2008, Alligator River Marina to Elizabeth City, NC
After MUCH discussion we decided to try the Dismal Swamp Canal. Last fall it was dangerously low and we really couldn't do it, so why not now. "Two Loose" decided that their 6.5' draft was a bit too deep plus they wanted to get to up to Annapolis, so they opted out of the Dismal. We said goodbye to "Two Loose" and in company now with "Kloosh" we headed out for Elizabeth City. We picked the right day to cross the Albermarle Sound. The sound has a nasty reputation for making big waves because of the shallow depths if you have to go against the wind. We had a good southerly breeze and when we cleared the last shoal on the Alligator River we were able to set our sails for a lovely broad reach to cross the sound. Into the Pasquotank River the wind eased a bit but the calm water allowed us to keep sailing. We slowed to less than 3 knots, but it was so nice sailing that we just continued. About 6 miles from our destination the wind finally died on us and reluctantly we started the engine. We were lucky to find a side to berth on the free city docks.
Log 30 NM
6 May 2008, Elizabeth City to NC Welcome Center (Dismal Swamp)
We delayed our departure for an extra day so that we could catch the Rose Buddies and the wine and cheese party they throw for cruisers. The Rose Buddies are a group of men that host a party and go out of their way to make cruisers feel welcome in Elizabeth City. Once again we met the town's Mayor as he was walking the docks and had a chat with him. We also had a fabulous seafood lunch at a little local restaurant/seafood market called Quality Seafood (and it was). We really like Elizabeth City. On the 6th we woke to a very thick early morning fog, that cleared in time for our planned departure. With "Kloosh" in company we motored up the beautiful Pasquatank river and into the Dismal Swamp Canal. With less than 15 NM to the South Mills Locks we could go slowly and enjoy the natural beauty of the winding and narrow river. It was unbelievable how many turtles we saw sunning themselves on the logs along the shores. In addition to the wide variety of birds, we also saw one very large snapping turtle and a snake swimming across the canal. The South Mills' lone bridge tender/lockmaster opened and closed the small bridge for us and the four other northbound boats. Once all were secure in the lock, he flooded the lock and lifted us the 8' then opened the north end of the lock to allow us to enter the Dismal Swamp Canal. The canal has a published minimum depth of 7' in the center and in most places it does. Where it was less, the bottom was soft and "Brilliant" was hardly slowed down. The problem we found was the debris, logs, limbs, junk, etc. that our keel would suddenly bump into. Worried that something might foul our propeller, we really had to slow down. We covered the 5 NM to the unique North Carolina Welcome station safely. We rafted to another sailboat that was already tied up to the Centers free short dock and then rafted "Kloosh" to us.
Log 16 NM
7 May 2008, NC Welcome Center to Navy Norfolk, VA
The Welcome Center is unique because it greets both the cars on route 17 and the boats transiting the Dismal Swamp Canal and made for an excellent overnight stop. It has all the amenities you expect at a rest stop plus it has a lounge, book swap and loaner bikes for cruisers. They also have a new swing bridge across the canal to a State Park, just opened, with a nature center and 16 miles of trails into the swamp. Another nice thing here as that with traffic on the canal controlled by the lock openings, after 1530 no one is moving on the canal. No traffic, no wakes during the night. Waking early we got underway to make the 1100 lock opening at Deep Creek on the northern end of the canal. The 20 NM to the lock went quicker than expected with a bit more depth and a little less bumping. The worse section was near the Lake Drummond feeder ditch where the water as shallow as 5.4'. We draw 6'. Luckily it was very soft. At the deep Creek Locks the friendly lockmaster help us get tied up then entertained us by playing one of the conchs from his collection as he lowered us the 8' into Deep Creek and the southern end of the Elizabeth River. We'd timed the tide perfectly and joined a group of 15-20 northbound power and sailboats making it through the last of the bridges on the ICW. Calling ahead we, were able to get the only transient berth left at the Navy Norfolk Marina.
Log 32 NM
9 May 2008, Navy Norfolk to Hampton River, VA
We spent two nights at Navy Norfolk and hired a diver ($2.50 per ft) to clean the winter's growth off the bottom of "Brilliant". Hopefully, this will reduce our drag and improve our fuel economy. Blustery day with strong winds made getting off the dock challenging. We motored across Hampton Roads and up the Hampton River to downtown Hampton. With the wind trying to push into shallow water, it took us much too long to get two anchors set. That finally accomplished Pete jumped into the dinghy and went ashore to pick up our rental car for the weekend.
Log 5 NM
14 May 2008, Hampton River, VA to Deltaville, VA
We ended up staying in Hampton longer than we planned. A very strong storm hit the Chesapeake Bay and we were glad to be in a protected anchorage. With the rental we managed to take care of restocking supplies aboard and to get Stephanie out for a nice Mother's Day breakfast. But for the most part our time was spent aboard waiting for the winds calm and switch to the south again. Wednesday's forecast was for light southerly winds and we departed Hampton on the ebb tide. With 1-2 knots of current helping us, we enjoyed a great sail all the way to the York River entry where the current reversed and the wind failed. We motored and motorsailed the rest of the very uneventful trip. The narrow winding entry into Jackson Creek at Deltaville was no problem and we anchored next to "Kloosh" on the southern branch. Quiet spot... very nice?
Log 41 NM
St.Johns River, FL to Cape Fear, NC
27 April 2008 | Cape Fear River
Photo by "Two Loose"
Brilliant's Log 01-08
Anchors aweigh at 0610, 25 April 2008. Underway from an anchorage just east of Blount Island on the St. John's River, FL, we had timed the ebb tide right and had a good speed to the sea buoy (a buoy that separates the inland waters from the ocean). We motored out in company with "Two Loose," Annette and Peter, friends we'd met and wintered with at NAS Jacksonville. At the sea buoy we turned to 052 magnetic, our course to Frying Pan Shoal off Cape Fear, N.C. Unexpected light winds meant we had to keep the engines running. We were, however, able to bring the sails out and get a little boost from the wind; just not enough to sail and make it to N.C. before next year. Even with the engine running it was great to be back to sea. To welcome us a pod of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins played around "Brilliant" for at least half an hour.
At about sunset the winds finally filled in and we finally shut the engine down. Stephanie went below for her "off watch" snooze, while Pete enjoyed a lovely sail into the dusk. The wind held through the watch change at midnight, but around 0400 it died and we were motorsailing again. We made 126 NM the first 24 hours.
Peter on "Two Loose" has a satellite phone and was able to get good updates on the weather as we made our way north. Strong winds and higher seas forecast for late Monday had now crept up on our Sunday. We needed three good days to reach Beaufort, N.C. on this passage, so with Sunday looking fowl, we had to start looking at options.
By Saturday afternoon the decision was made to cut our offshore passage a bit short. Conditions were right for reaching Cape Fear (about 90 miles south of Beaufort) safely before the strong winds and high seas arrived. Just before dusk Pete caught a large Barracuda on the line we'd been trolling. Our only strike for the trip, it weighed around 10-15lbs. With worries about Ciguatera (a tropical fish disease that can affect humans) we decided to release it.
Both boats altered course by nightfall to our new destination, Cape Fear, and we made steady progress; motorsailing. The wind had actually filled in enough to sail, but not fast enough to make the flood tide at Cape Fear by 1000 on Sunday morning. So we continued to motorsail through the night.
The night passed with the usual challenges of maritime traffic. Determining courses and speed of other vessel in the dark using their dim navigation light can be difficult at time. Having radar and a second set of eyes in the cockpit makes the task easier. On this trip we never had to request another ship alter course to avoid hitting us. A very nice change. It was also nice having "Two Loose" within a couple of miles of us or the entire trip. Sharing information and ideas for weather and routing over the radio.
0930 on Sunday 27 April we passed the sea buoy for entry to the Cape Fear River for shelter from the strong winds and access to the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW) that will take us the rest to the Chesapeake Bay. New software on our Apple iBook provided us with accurate tidal current information and for a change we actually timed our arrival correctly, enjoying a lovely plus1.5 knot current, helping us as we made our way up the river to Carolina Beach.
We hit a mild counter current as we motored through Snow's Cut (a short manmade canal connecting the ICW to the Cape Fear River), but it wasn't a problem. We then made our way into a heavily developed lagoon surrounded by condos, Carolina Beach, N.C. We'd anchored in the lagoon last fall going south, so it was easy to find a place to drop the hook. Both "Two Loose" and "Brilliant" had anchors set by 1240 and we all took a well deserved naps.
It took us 54 hours to make the trip from Jacksonville, Fl to Cape Fear, NC.
Log 296 NM
Underway from Jacksonville, FL
24 April 2008 | "Brilliant" at sea off South Carolina
Photo by "Two Loose"
Brilliant's Log 01-08
Dear Family and Friends,
After spending our winter in Mulberry Cove Marina at the Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Fl; "Brilliant's" crew is actually underway again! We left the marina on Tuesday and spend two nights in downtown Jacksonville. Not very exciting, but the docks were free.
It's been six years since we moved aboard and started our full time cruising life. During that time we had rather taken our health for granted and decided that while in Florida to have some routine check ups. Our plan for a couple of weeks quickly turned into months as the appointments for the routine procedures stretched out. Our Dermatologist wasn't pleased with our lifestyle and between the two of us we had close to a dozen appointments. Do use sunscreen! Now with a clean bill of health again we are on our way back north.
As I write this, we are anchored off Blount Island, just north of the St. John's River. We seem to have a good weather window to head offshore from Jacksonville, Fl directly to Beaufort, NC and plan on taking it. We'll up anchor tomorrow morning around 6 AM and if the weather holds hope to be in Beaufort by Monday morning. For our family if you get a call from the Coast Guard regarding our EPIRB going off (our emergency satellite beacon) please let them know that we are really out there so they we start the search efforts. We don't plan on that happening, but that's why we carry all that emergency stuff. Please don't worry about us unless you don't hear from us by Wednesday the 30th, you never know we might just get becalmed.
Our plans for this coming season are to quickly make our way to the Chesapeake Bay and explore. There is so much history there that we have yet to see from the water, it should be a fun time. Then we plan on making our way back to Maine for the majority of the summer. Grandbabies you know, not to mention some great seaports to visit.
After that, south again with the seasons. We'll like to continue all the way down to the Bahamas next winter, maybe even back to the Turks and Caicos, but we'll see. I'll try to do a better job with the log this season.
All the best,
Pete & Stephanie
s/y "Brilliant"
Moody 425
Anchored East Channel Blount Island, Florida