Markus
09-Nov-2011, N33-20.6 W78-00.7, en-route from Beaufort, NC, to Charleston, SC

Slipped our lines at Beaufort Docks yesterday afternoon and are now past Cape Fear, about 30 nm offshore. Recent weather development has played havoc with our plan to depart Beaufort last weekend for a Gulf Stream crossing (more on that in a separate post...). Now it looks that we will leave from Charleston Friday afternoon or Saturday morning and head first East and then South towards the Caribbean. A bumpy ride last night between SE swell and NE wind chop but now seas seem to be sorting themelves out a bit. All is well aboard - stay tuned...

07 - US to Panama

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Markus
01-Nov-2011, Aligator River, MIle 102 on the Intracoastal Waterway

After a windy night at anchor we had a very nice sail today, broad reaching in 20kn N winds across the Albermarle Sound and down the first part of the Aligator River (went for a brief dip despite the threatening name ;-). Watching development of the long-term weather outlook with great suspense, still hoping for a 05/06NOV departure from Beaufort towards the Caribbean.... stay tuned...

06 - US East Coast Southbound

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Markus
31-Oct-2011, Buck Island, MIle 56 on the Intracoastal Waterway

We left Hampton at day break yesterday (Sunday) morning and started our way south towards Beaufort, NC, along the ICW. When we passed Norfolk two hours later it really felt like crossing our own wake from three years ago. At that time we had parted ways with Arearea and went out of the Chesapeake for a 3- day off-shore sail sail up to Cape Cod and then on to Maine. Coming down this year we finally stopped at all the places we missed in 2008 when rushing north, a very different experience this time...

After two very cold nights (5°C/40°F in the cabin this morning...) we have to admit that we are fair weather sailors and very eager to make tracks further south. From Beaufort, we hope to get a weather window early next week to leave for a (hopefully) 9-10 day passage to Jamaica. There currently is disagreement between European and US weather forecast models on the longer term outlook. We hope that the European model (its outlook is less favorable to us) got side-tracked by the Euro debt crisis ... stay tuned...

06 - US East Coast Southbound

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