04/19/2013, Annapolis, MD
Now that we are back in Annapolis we have been concentrating our efforts on replacing our water and fuel tanks. We were able to remove both of them the day after we got home and are now living on the boat without the ability to take a shower, move the boat, or turn on the heat. Bill got the water in the marina hooked up so we can have running water but the pressure is not good enough to be able to use the shower. We've been missing our diesel powered heater a little bit in the mornings but we are making it through. The shower thing is much more of an issue but, for now, we've been able to "borrow" showers from a nearby commercial marina. Above is a picture of where the tanks go. Of course it didn't look nearly that clean after we removed the tanks. Luckily our floor lifts out easily and there is good access to the tanks.
Besides working on our boat projects we have been catching up with family and friends. Right now we are hitting the dinner circuit. We are getting very well fed just for the price of our stories! It's great seeing everyone again. We have driven the D.C. and Baltimore beltways a couple of times so far and we both feel that we were safer in the middle of the ocean!
Now we are waiting to finalize the details of ordering our new tanks and working on fixing some things we've been avoiding on the boat. We are also going on a buying spree now that we have a mailing address we can use and use of a car to get to all the stores we haven't seen in a while.
I did finally get my pictures from the Abacos posted in our Photo Gallery. Please go check them out!
| Sailing |
|
Comments [0]
04/09/2013, Hillsmere Shores, South River, Annapolis, MD
We got back to our home marina in Hillsmere, off of the South River, yesterday around noon. We left Norfolk around 10:00am on Sunday morning and motored up the Elizabeth River, trying to stay out of the way of the tugs and ships that were sharing the river with us. We put our sails up as soon as we got out of the river and sailed, with no help from our engine, until about 6:00am Monday morning. The boat was moving well, between five and six knots the whole way. There was a lot of big commercial traffic on the bay on Sunday night. When Bill and I were changing watches, he was going to bed and I was getting up, a Carnival cruise ship came by. You can't miss them, they have a lot of lights on always. Bill tried to go to sleep but every time he would try and relax another big ship was coming close and I would try to call them on the radio and they wouldn't answer me. Of course Bill didn't end up sleeping too much. We can see the names of all the ships on our AIS system. We could hear them talking about us on the VHF radio. One we were able to make contact with told us we were right where he wanted to be and that we should move out of his way. Of course we did. None of the others really got close enough to worry about.
About 6:00am the wind was starting to die down and all the ship traffic must have gotten where it needed to be on Monday morning so Bill went to sleep and I started the engine. We were still concerned about the amount of fuel we had but if Bill had calculated correctly we had enough to get from where we were when we started the engine, Cove Point off of the Patuxent River, to our marina. I was alone on deck when the sun came up. It's been very rare to watch a sunrise, although we've tried to watch the sun set when possible. Above is a picture of the sun rising over the Chesapeake Bay.
We tried to have the sails help us a bit once Bill woke up but the wind was too variable to be helpful. As it turns out we had plenty of fuel and it was good we were using some of it up. We are going to have to empty our fuel tank anyhow. Turns out we have about 8 gallons left. We could have motored a lot more but we were thrilled we could sail most of the bay.
The first thing we did when we got back to our marina was to go get our car. We had to walk to our friend's house in the neighborhood. She is so wonderful to let us keep our car at her house while we are gone. Everyone in the neighborhood knows Bill since he was the president of the Homeowners Association for such a long time. Someone stopped to pick us up and drive us to get our car. We had heard the car was having trouble starting when our friend would periodically go start it. Luckily we were able to get it started and we've been using it continuously since we got home. We have now replaced the tires which is one of the things we knew we would have to do when we got back. Now I will feel much better about driving all the long distances we will drive to go visit our family and friends during the six weeks we plan on being home.
We have already been to all the marine stores in the area, not to mention McDonald's (twice!!), and had our favorite Papa John's pizza for dinner last night. We still need to sit down and make a list of all the things we need to fix and replace on the boat. I also must finish my pictures of the Abacos - I will post at least one more time to direct you to the pictures in the Photo Gallery when I get them done. We know we will be in Annapolis at least until the first week of June. There probably won't be too many blog entries between now and then but please follow us as we go north again and see the rest of Maine and hopefully Nova Scotia this summer!
| Sailing |
|
04/06/2013, Norfolk, VA
Well we are back where we started, kind of. We are at Mile 0 of the ICW and very glad to be here. Today was even colder than the last four! We had a good anchorage last night but when we opened the doors into the cockpit this morning there were probably a thousand or more bugs all over the boat. We thought yesterday's bug problem was bad but there was probably ten times as many today. Bill couldn't stand it, he had to get our fresh water washdown hose and wash them away. Unfortunately he couldn't get them all, but he got most. Then we had to make more water because he used all the existing water up getting rid of the bugs.
We've been keeping a very close watch on our diesel fuel because we'd like to get to Annapolis with a mostly empty fuel tank. Since we are replacing our water tank we figure we may as well replace the fuel tank too. We bought just enough fuel in Beaufort for what we thought we would need, but we didn't end up sailing as much as we had hoped. We knew we had to buy more fuel today. The first place didn't seem possible because the wind was incredibly strong but luckily we did manage to stop there and buy some fuel. Bill calculated again when we got to our anchorage again tonight and if we hadn't got any today we would have run out before we got here. We hope to sail all the way up the Chesapeake Bay but we should have enough fuel to get us to another fuel dock if we don't.
Today we crossed into Virginia around lunchtime. We had a number of bridges we had to go through, and one lock. Having to manage all the schedules for the bridges and how fast we had to go to get to each one on time made me very happy we didn't go through South Florida again! The picture above is at the Great Bridge Lock. The lock only raised us up about three feet, and it didn't take very long.
Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be beautiful, and much warmer. The wind sounds like it will help us reach our goal of sailing up the Bay. If the wind is as advertised we will go non-stop to our home marina. That should take about 24 hours. If not there are lots of places to anchor.
| Sailing |
|
04/05/2013, South Lake, Alligator River, NC
We knew we were heading south too late when we left Annapolis last November. Guess we didn't think hard enough about coming north too early. We sure have though. Boy it is freezing in this country!! A lot of people were leaving the Bahamas when we did, but they all crossed over to Florida where it is always warm. Not us, we skipped all the warm states and headed right to North Carolina. North Carolina should be warm in April, right? Apparently Not! I am back to three layers top and bottom, not to mention my fuzzy mittens as you can see in the picture above.
When we went south we decided to take every mile of the ICW - that is 1087 miles. We really enjoyed it and are glad we did that. On the way north though we were anxious to get home to see our family, get the projects finished on the boat, and be ready in time to leave for a trip to Maine again in the summer. By taking the three and half, somewhat difficult, days on the ocean we got back on the ICW at mile 200. That is 887 miles of driving we skipped. If you do fifty miles a day, which is a lot, that is eighteen days we saved. We've been averaging about forty miles a day since we left Beaufort and we are just about at mile 80.
We've been really cold!! I think that going from warm to cold is much worse than going from cold to warm! The past few nights we've had nice calm anchorages but last night it was freezing rain and the entry to our anchorage had some shallow water. We dropped the hook before we were in a protected place and we paid the price. The boat hopped up and down all night but at least we were inside it, warm and dry. This morning we are waiting for the wind to die down and then keep going. When Bill opened the door to the cockpit he noticed that there are hundreds of bugs all over it. Just another thing we didn't miss when we were in the Bahamas!
| Sailing |
|
04/02/2013, Beaufort, NC
Sorry we didn't post to the blog last night but there was a lot of excitement with actually being out of the ocean and having Internet!! Oh, and not to mention hot hot showers! Our final day of ocean passage was much better than the day that preceded it. This is what sailing on the ocean should have been. The sea had large waves but the sails were all on the same side of the boat and the wind was pushing us well, no pounding and jumping. I was still very ready to be done, but this was much more doable. We managed to get the boat in decent shape and even found a small pod of dolphins to watch as they played with the boat. The picture above is of American dolphins. We have some other pictures of Bahamian dolphins we will post soon. The rain the day before had helped wash some of the salt away so everything was looking good.
As we got closer to Beaufort, Bill started to see some large ships surrounding us on our radar screen. Only one was on the AIS and it was a military ship. Generally the military ships don't turn on their AIS so he figured the rest would be military also. It was a very cold gray day but we could eventually see all the ships in the distance.
I've discovered in the past few years that going through an inlet from the ocean to a smaller body of water is sometimes very difficult. The Beaufort Inlet was not bad. There was a long channel, well marked with buoys. Buoys, that is something we hadn't seen in a long time. The Bahamas has very few marks and what marks they use are generally just a stick. If you are lucky it is painted green or red on top, if it has a top... The channel was easy though, just stay between the red and the green marks and you are good, as long as you have enough strength to fight against the current that is trying to pull you out. We got into Beaufort and made our way to Taylor Creek right off the downtown docks. We had anchored here on the way south and had trouble finding a place to anchor then too. I'm sure there were a lot more boats the last time. There are lots of boats on moorings here, I think that is probably where they are kept. We finally found a place to anchor. Yeah!! We weren't moving for the first time in four days!!
Of course we used our WiFi antenna to find some Internet to use. Luckily we found one so we could turn our cell phone back on, it didn't seem to want to work any other way. We had turned the US cell service off when we left the country. Luckily Verizon will let you do that. No phone bill for two months, but they tack the time back on to the end of the contract. Flipping a switch on the Verizon web page made the phone work again instantly. We called home just to let them know we were alive and then took showers. I have never needed a shower so badly in my life! Well - that probably isn't true, after all I am a caver, but it sure felt like it.
The next item of business was getting the rolled up, deflated dinghy back out of my berth and into the water. That went well but we are worried about our pump. That is definitely on the list of things that will be replaced when we get back to Annapolis. The dinghy took us to dinner in Beaufort. I've been looking for Mexican food and couldn't find any in the Bahamas. I saw a Mexican restaurant as we were motoring up Taylor Creek so that is where we had dinner.
The best thing about the night at anchor was it was quiet and still. I would have liked that on the ocean but it was not to be had! When we got up we called into Customs. We tried when we got here yesterday afternoon but they were already closed. We called first thing when they opened and they said they would call us back in ten minutes. Of course it was more than an hour later before we couldn't take it anymore so we called them back. We talked to a Customs agent and she took some information down and then told us to have the boat on the main dock in an hour. We weren't prepared for that at all! We thought we would have to go in, we had no idea the boat would. Good thing I cleaned up the night before. We had to get the dinghy back on the davits and straighten up some things. We made it though. We were there in time, even if our docking wasn't the best we've ever done. The Customs agent was a wonderful Southern woman. We had a nice chat while she conducted her business. I sure learned a lot about what to do and not to do regarding food when coming back from a foreign port. Meat, eggs, dairy, and deli meat were their main concerns. Of course there were no fresh fruits left to worry about. We were lucky that we didn't have to dispose of anything.
After our Customs inspection we went out to lunch and bought just enough fuel to get us home. When we get there the fuel tank gets replaced too! Now we are on our way again. We will anchor someplace for the night and keep on going north.
| Sailing |
|
03/31/2013, North Atlantic Ocean
We are now only six to eight hours from our destination port of Beaufort, NC. We had our first storm at sea last night. That, of course, made this experience even richer. I was on watch when I saw the squall approaching on radar. Bill has been wonderful throughout this entire trip. He woke up and together we sat through the heavy winds and rain. He has gone outside every time something has needed to be done. This morning the winds are still really heavy. I went out to turn the engine on even though we don't need it to keep us moving. All our power needs have depleted the batteries so we have to build them back up. We are using the autopilot to drive the boat, the radar to watch for any boats or storms, and the AIS so any ships out there can see where and who we are.
Last night Bill went on deck to adjust the sails and I suddenly hear him yell (or maybe scream). It turns out he reached into the pile of line next to the cockpit and came up with a pretty big flying fish that had landed on the boat during the night. There was another one on the other side too. As we approached Beaufort this morning we were accompanied by a pod of about five or six dolphins. They were swimming next to the bow and jumping out of the water.
We should be in Beaufort by early afternoon. First item on the agenda is taking showers! The boat got one last night so maybe some of the salt was washed off, but it probably has some new salt in its place.
|
03/31/2013, North Atlantic Ocean
Today has been not too enjoyable. Every part of the boat is shaking and moving all around every time a wave hits, which is continuously. At this point we are going outside as little as possible. Luckily no one else is out here to have to worry about. We are between Charlestown and Cape Fear now, about 75 miles out into the ocean. When we use the SSB radio to connect for mail and to send the Blog sometimes the autopilot stops working until we are done transmitting. So we will have to sacrifice to do this. I may have to sit out in this mess to steer the boat if it does. The good news is that this may only last another eight hours and then the wind will start to moderate. If we are really lucky it will get worse before it gets better. I'm doing a bit better but would rather this be over. We should be in Beaufort, NC tomorrow though. We will be very happy to be there.
|
03/30/2013, North Atlantic Ocean
Well, the wind got a lot stronger sooner than we expected. When Donna got off watch at 5:00am the wind was up to 25 knots and we were flying along with too much sail up. We had rolled up our staysail early in the evening and partially rolled up our jib at 3:30am. Now we decided to drop the main. Donna thought we should wait for daylight but we needed to do it sooner. Besides, there was enough light from the moon to easily work and it would just be scarier if we could actually see what the ocean looked like. It took a while but came down easily. Under the mizzen and a reefed jib we were still doing 12 knots at times with an average around 10 knots. A good part of that speed was the current and surfing down the faces of waves.
This morning the ocean is amazingly beautiful. The waves are 10-12 feet and actually come above the stern before we ride up over them. You have to hold on every second when you are not lying down because of the motion of the boat but it's not too bad. Neither of us are sea sick but Donna is not getting much sleep so I don't think she is enjoying this part of the trip. However, we are getting closer to home every minute. We are now about 80 miles directly offshore from Charleston, SC. We should be in Beaufort, NC by tomorrow afternoon.
|
03/30/2013, North Atlantic Ocean
We are still doing well. We are currently about 100 miles east of Jacksonville, FL. We haven't seen another sailboat all day. We've seen a couple of cargo ships, some flying fish, and Bill saw what he thinks were dolphins, but he wasn't sure. Other than a lot of water, we haven't seen much else! We are finally sailing again though. We spent some time trying different sail configurations and once the wind became steadier from the same direction we finally found one that worked for us. We have all our sails up now and are sailing very well. Neither of us have been sea sick at all. That is probably for two reasons. The first is that it hasn't really been very rough yet. The second is that we've been taking the anti-seasickness medication that we bought in the Bahamas. It's called Sturgeon and isn't available in the US. All the cruising sailors think it's the best. It's pretty exhausting sailing all day and night. We've both been taking naps when we aren't on watch. I am back on watch tonight at 8pm so I'm going to go take a nap now. Tomorrow the wind is supposed to get a lot stronger. Hope we are ready for that.
|
03/30/2013, North Atlantic Ocean
All is still going well. We are about 60 miles off the Florida coast just south of Daytona Beach. We motorsailed through the night because there is no wind. It is supposed to pick up again today. We sure hope so because we don't have enough fuel to use our engine for the whole trip. Because we are in the middle of the Gulf Stream we're getting an extra two knots of speed from the current. We are on a three hour watch schedule. Either Bill or I are always up, making sure the boat stays on course and that there are no boats in our way. On my 11:00pm to 2:00am watch a Carnival cruise ship passed by but not too close. There was a cargo ship on my 5:00am to 8:00am watch. Other than that all has been quiet. If we were just going to go back to Florida to head north from there we would probably be there already. We've decided we wanted to try the ocean route this time so our destination is Beaufort, N.C. We may bail before that if the weather gets too bad but that is where we want to head in.
|
