At this point we just crossed the border into South Carolina and are well over halfway to Miami from home. We saw our first palm trees this afternoon so the anticipation is building!
We wake up in the morning with the intent of moving at least 50 miles south. That intent has relied on wind, tide and needs of the boat and of us. The best part of all of this is that we are free to decide what and when we should do it. So far it has not been any less labour than it has been all our lives but it is being done mostly when we want to do it. We still get up at 7:00 am, we get our coffee and breakfast the same as always and get to work. Work means that everything is in order to move the boat forward for that day. Fenders and lines are stowed, radio, chart plotter and depth sounder are turned on, binoculars and passage-way guides are put in the cockpit to give us directions that correspond with the charts.

The boat for the most part does not drive itself. It can steer itself when a position is put into it and can be adjusted by degrees, port and starboard. The sails have to be raised and adjusted and there is a constant watch for other boats and for weather conditions and for shallows and snags.

Immediately after hurricane Sandy there has been a steady stream of all manner of craft from 75 ft luxury liners, being delivered for their owners, to regular 45 ft trawlers and power boats. Mainly though, it is the constant stream of sail boats in the average range of 40 feet more or less working their way south at our speed. When we were crossing the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds last week, there would be no less that 20 of us at one time. If we stop for a day we see a constant stream passing by. At any bridge opening, which usually is about every half hour, there are usually 6 or 7 waiting, as we are to go through.

The Good. There are so many good things; we wish them to happen all the time. Seeing the magnificent American eagles spaced out a mile or so apart from each other along the Adams Creek Canal sitting on tall dead trees warming themselves in the early sun. There are porpoises swimming towards the boat in pods of 3 to 5, but a number of pods swimming shortly after each other so that it looks like they are all together. They may come twenty at a time all minding their own business but surfacing just 1 - 15 feet away from the boat. Today we saw a mother, with her calf hugging her side, surface just three feet away from the boat in a perfect arc. We were wondering when we would see our 1st pelican and we did just as we entered the Adams River Canal. Now they are almost commonplace flying inches above the waves as well as inches in front of the boat.

Then there are those beautiful anchorages out in the wilderness, or plunked in the middle of a creek with luxury homes all around. The sunsets we have seen cannot be captured by camera or words, all framed with landscapes natural or manmade, that are varied enough to make us continue to think this must be the very best ever. As we sit and admire these gifts we admire each other, that we are part of this. It is exactly where we ought to be right now and we are blessed.

I can go on about the people we meet, both on other boats and those who welcome us to their town or village. Boaters are a breed of their own, as I have said before, who understand the perils and joys we all share. There are those though, who wander the along the docks maybe walking their dog (never their cat) who will see our Canadian flag, and want to know where we are from, and where we are going. We have been asked so many times what it is we might require, so that they can help us with or can they drive us somewhere or do something; anything for us. Then sometimes you meet a couple who because of their age, want you to know that one day they lived their dream and are re-living it when they see us.

The Bad. The ying and yang of life, the counterbalance to keep us on our toes and teach us, hence we can learn from our mistakes. From recent past blogs you probably can read the frustration of having to replace our alternator, not once but twice in the frame of one week. Both times they had to be ordered in from "somewhere else", and different mechanics had to be lined up and paid. All of this, and the agony of mainly using a Trac-phone which costs .40 cents a minute. Even while you are on hold, while they fetch Billy Bob Jr. who at the time is chewing the fishing fat with his buddy that he hasn't seen for at least a day. This was a time when I wished we were close to our electrical genius, Mike Wheatstone. The mechanics were all were so impressed with Mike's schematics he drew while rewiring Chance's house bank and starter battery system.
We also have spent a small fortune on cell phone calls tracking the shipment on our order for our computer and have become disgusted with the unreliability of its battery. Yes, you know we had to wait a week also after they ordered it from "somewhere else" but I bet you didn't guess now that it has been installed in the computer that the #@&*^! thing won't detect the new battery. I phoned the supplier and they said I could mail it back to them and they would refund our money. Because why?? - It is defective!!!!

Missing a bridge by minutes and having to wait another 30 minutes and having to wait in a narrow space while other boats are milling around doing the same thing, can be bad. But the worst thing we have faced so far is the change in the North Carolina weather since hurricane Sandy. It went from a balmy high 70 deg F to the low 80 deg. F all the down to a high today of 46 deg F. Tonight it is expected to be in the mid 30's and on a boat with a minimum of heat it can get a little goose bumpy. Leroy, no fool, crawls under a blanket and sleeps all day, and at night comes into bed to cuddle with Chrissie. I am left on my side of the bed to avoid frostbite.

The Ugly. There is no real need for any of the ugly to happen, but Murphy's Law applies more to objects on the water than anywhere else. The number of things that can go wrong are in direct proportion to the difficult forces of nature. We kind of expect some of that when we are aboard 8 tons of fibreglass, loaded with groceries, water and fuel. Add to that we are being propelled by square yards of nylon and a 35 hp diesel on an unstable platform of water driven by wind; usually twice as much as forecast.
The Albemarle Sound is a large body of shallow water which is known to kick up a stink in a matter of hours. All of us know this the night before leaving, so we agree on an early morning departure and the conditions were right. I'm thinking these NOAA forecast guys are related to our Environment Canada forecasters or at the very least they all went to the same school somewhere on an island in the doldrums. About a third of the way out the swell, the wind and the waves all turn to Murphy to check the law. To pull in the jib on the furler, it wound so tight that we could only get 70% of it in because we ran out of pull-in line and the 10 knot predicted wind was blowing a gale. We had to leave out the remaining portion until we could get a quiet place to reroll. It flapped so much the leach line on the outer edge ripped a seam about 7 feet long. Some first-timers on other boats were sea sick, and on one boat the crew shed some tears. Chrissie again was at her bravest; her knuckles the whitest, but I gave her an A+ for tenacity. The fear shows in her face, but she grits her teeth and gets the job done.

On the Sunday morning after the time changed we picked up a snag (net or line) and had to get a diver to come out after we spent an hour trying to get it off ourselves. Although it happened in the channel we got blown to the side of the narrow passage in cold Atlantic water with the boat thumping up and down making it feel like the keel was coming through the bottom. The water was too cold to dive myself but we finally did get underway without any damage. They call the water along the Carolina coast "skinny" as its depth is really low and the current in the inlets from the ocean bring sand which causes the shallows. I'll wrap up this paragraph with the conclusion; some things can be just plain ugly.

All and all though, we are fortunate because we are in a good solid boat with all the necessities. We have a head and a shower, a stove with an oven, a full enclosure, a really good bed to sleep in, good heavy anchors with lots of chain, and yes let's not forget we are one of the few boats with a cat! We have lots of fresh water heated by the motor, a sewing machine to fix the sails and a generator that when started can charge up the batteries if required, run the microwave and dry Chrissie's hair. So far this has been a wonderful experience even with the good, the bad and the ugly. I am fortunate I have the very best mate who keeps everything shipshape, and who can still plan and cook the best dinners ever. We seem to continue to dine, at times in luxury by candlelight. And we have all of you sending us your best wishes, updates on happenings at home, and comments of encouragement.

Even with all that has happened to us, every day we have something that is good and better. Mainly we are on our way south.
We are looking to be in Charleston on Saturday, Nov 10th. It is due to get warmer and we can start shedding layers. Just in time.