December 12, 2014
Birthday wishes to Patrick and Bo
Stayed in Marathon, FL for a little over a month waiting for a weather-window to head to the Bahamas. During our stay, we spent 10 days up North visiting family and friends and taking care of miscellaneous business.
Left Marathon on the eighth as our weather guru stated that either we should leave that day when we could actually use our sails or wait until Thursday and motor the whole way; we took advantage of the winds. We also motored as we wanted to beat the next front that was coming through. Both the main sail and head sail were set and stayed set for over ¾ of our journey. Once we hit the Gulf Stream, we took right off and at one point hit 10 knots of speed. The winds stayed pretty steady in the mid-teen range.
This year we decided to bypass Morgan’s Bluff (our usual check in) and head straight to Nassau. Towards the end of our travels, the winds were coming from straight behind us, so Brian tried out our Whisker Pole or Genoa Pole with the head sail. This pole kept the sail perpendicular to the boat to catch the wind – worked perfectly. About 5 hours out from Nassau we started getting into 4-6 foot rollers – no problem; we moved right along and it wasn’t at all uncomfortable. About 1 hour out from the entrance to Nassau Harbor we watched the waves hitting the island to our starboard side – just mesmerizing – they were big and the spray from the waves was huge and the water was a light aquamarine. Then we look to our port side and see 20+ foot rollers coming at us – uh oh! I’ve never been in rollers that large. Also, I noticed a definitely delineation in the color of the water – from the dark blue to a beautiful light aqua, but as the rollers were passing by the trough it looked like we were seeing almost bottom; we thought we were seeing rocks – talk about a freak out! The charts showed plenty deep water. As we got a bit closer, we could see that it was large clumps of sea grasses that were being tossed about; one less thing to worry about, BUT, those rollers! Right at the entrance we had four rollers right in a row; I couldn’t see any of the buoys until each roller had passed. The boat handled the rollers just fine – I don’t think you could have pried my hands off the steering wheel, though. Once we passed the breakwater the seas immediately calmed down and we continued on to a marina. We usually anchor in Nassau, but seeing as the front was going to be a bit nasty with high winds and rain, we opted to stay in a slip. No problem pulling into the slip and tying off with the help of the dock crew. Once tied off and notes were made (31 ½ hours of travel) did it really hit us with what we just came through.
Took care of customs and then met a few of the other sailors that were coming in at the same time – apparently we weren’t the only ones that were a bit freaked out about those rollers.
Left Nassau yesterday and motor sailed to Emerald Rock anchorage near Warderick Wells – this area is part of the Land and Sea Park – no fishing and no taking of shells. It’s a breathtaking area that we’ve visited that last two years.
Our next stop will be Black Point just so I can look for sea glass – we will spend a couple of days there and then head to Georgetown to provision, do laundry, etc. This year we are flying through the Bahamas as our daughter, Caitlin will be spending a month with us in the Dominican Republic starting mid-January. So, it will be our first time beyond Georgetown – we are both looking forward to seeing new places. We heard that Georgetown is called Chicken Harbor as most cruisers stop here for several weeks or months than turn around and head back north.
Reading:
Brian: Ken Follett’s Code To Zero; Marcus Sakey’s Brilliance and also A Better World; Gabi Kreslehner’s Rain Girl; Jennifer Wells’ Fluency (part of a series); and Blake Crouch’s trilogy about the end of the human race – The Pines, Wayward & The Last Town
Lauren: Robert Parker’s Painted Ladies; Mario Puzo’s The Fourth K; Jeffrey Deaver’s Twisted collection of short stories (loved it); Jacquelyn Mitchard’s The Deep End of the Ocean and also A Theory of Relativity; Jeffrey Archer’s The Prodigal Daughter; John Sanford’s Naked Prey and Shadow Prey; and at the moment reading Robert M. Pirsig’s ZEN and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – it’s been a while since I’ve stretched my brain cells this much.


December 19, 2014
We spent a couple of days at Black Point; did laundry, had our rum punch with grapefruit juice (cuts the sweetness) at Scorpios made by the owner, Zhivago, walked beaches in search of sea glass and shells and met other cruisers. Brian found a brand spanking new fender in the rubbish on one of the beaches – of course, we brought it back to the boat. Before we pulled anchor in Black Point to leave for Georgetown, we set the mainsail – motored to just outside the cut to the Atlantic side, then we cut the engine and also raised our headsail. We had a wonderful 9 ½ hour sail right up to about 5 minutes of dropping our anchor in Georgetown. We were hoping to actually sail right to dropping the anchor, but when I turned into the wind to drop the mainsail, the boat literally stopped, so motored to our chosen spot – not bad.
On our sail over, Brian set out the fishing line. We caught a small Mahi Mahi. Brian reset the line again and then took care of the fish. Not long after bagging those steaks, our fishing line zinged again. This time it was a four foot Mahi; a bit more work getting him reeled in, so we let it tire itself out and hauled it aboard. Yesterday after Brian made a dinghy trip across the bay to fill our diesel jugs he somehow didn’t get the dinghy tied to the boat. Neither one of us realized this as we went about our business and then down below to read. Thankfully we had been keeping the VHF on so we could listen to the comings and goings on and any events we may want to check out. Someone got on the VHF and announced that they found a dinghy afloat – “anyone missing one?” Jokingly, I asked Brian to make sure ours was still tied to the boat and he replied that it was, but I insisted that he check. Well, he did and our dinghy was missing. Brian contacted the caller and they graciously towed our dinghy to us; we gave them 4 Mahi steaks; they were thrilled and needless to say, we were too. Boy, we felt like idiots. We spent a couple of days here in Georgetown; made sure our diesel was topped off and picked up some fresh produce. Also found small cans of grapefruit juice (a real thirst quencher for me) and also cranberry juice – ridiculously expensive, but….. Met up again with Lea and Roland from Victoria’s Ghost and Mark and Jo from Truant.

Reading:
Lauren: Robert Parker’s Violets are Blue. Discovered there is a sequel to ZEN and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance called Lila – have to hunt that one down or download it. Year of the Dragon by Robert Daley

Brian: Wilbur Smith’s The Sunbird; The Lost Starship by Vaughn Heppner; The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake by Samuel Bawlf
December 29, 2014
On the 20th we sailed from Georgetown to Clarencetown. We left just before sunrise and were not actually able to sail til we hit the north end of Long Island. The winds averaged 12 knots and we sailed along at about 6.5 knots. We saw a lot of flying fish and a frigate bird; an interesting fact about the frigate birds – their wings have the same rubbery consistency as bat wings do. Not another sailing or motor vessel seen all day. There was only one other sail boat anchored at Clarencetown and two sail boats and two yachts in the marina. The anchorage was a bit rolly, but not enough to make us want to move to the marina. We met Martha and Mike traveling on Layla. Martha actually taught at the same school that I attended; she started there when I was in Junior High – what a small world.
Christmas day we pulled anchor at 6:30 am and headed toward Fortune Island (Long Cay). It was a miserable day to travel – the seas and wind never settled down as predicted. Arrived and dropped the anchor a little after 4pm. The next day we pulled the anchor at 2:30 am and motor sailed to Matthewtown on Great Inagua. Again, the seas did not settle down and even though it was just about a beams reach, we were pounded constantly with 4 – 6 foot waves with a few 8 footers thrown in and the winds stayed a steady 20 knots for most of the day. We arrived about 7pm that evening and so grateful to drop the anchor – another awful day of traveling. Brian didn’t seem to mind it as he was whistling, but I was miserable! We were healed over so much that are rail was in the water even with a second reef in the main sail.
While here in Matthewtown, we met and spent a little bit of time with Henk (from Holland), his wife, Susi and son, Teddy – they are traveling on Windhover; looks like we may meet up with them in Haiti at Ile a Vache in a few days. Matthewtown has a large Morton Salt plant here. Clarencetown and Matthewtown are the first islands in the Bahamas that we’ve visited that must get a bit more rain than the Exhumas as there are actual lawns and fields of grasses on these islands. There is a state park here that is a migratory spot for the flamingos but, the one and only park ranger was in the states visiting family for the holidays, so we were unable to see them – very disappointed, but we still enjoyed are stay in Matthewtown.

It will be early to bed this evening as we will be leaving here about 2 a.m. and making a beeline to Ile a Vache – should be arriving there on Wednesday before sunset – looking forward to a nice protected harbor.
January 6, 2015
On December 30th we pulled anchor at 2:40 a.m. and did a combo or motoring and sailing to arrive at Ile a Vache, Haiti 36 hours later. It was not a pleasant journey as the winds stayed consistently on the nose so we literally pounded into the 4 – 6 foot waves the full 36 hours. Again, the boat handled the seas just fine, but me???? Not so. Even Brian was not liking it so much. Neither one of us could really sleep, the boat banged so much. At times, I wondered if the boat was going to open up like a cracked egg – scary! Pulling into our anchorage at Ile a Vache was such a relief. As we turned into the bay to anchor, we could see the boat boys furiously paddling and bailing at the same time coming out to our boat. They actually surrounded the boat as we were slowly motoring to a spot to anchor – made me a bit nervous, but Brian said, “Hey our boat is bigger than their boats.” Meaning, if they get in the way – oh well. Geesh! I know he was only kidding, but…. As it was, these boys and young men were very adept at staying out of our way while we anchored, but as soon as the anchor was dropped, they started hanging off the sides and back of the boat where I was behind the helm. Brian stays at the bow while the anchor sets. While waiting for backup instructions from Brian, the boat boys started with “Hey Lady”, “Miss”, “You speak French?, Creole?” “Do you have work for us?”, “Want to buy…”, etc. They all had wonderful smiles and just kept chattering away. Once we got ourselves situated, we met each and every one of them.
Ile a Vache is an island off the mainland and has a nice protected cove from all but north winds. We spent several days here waiting for our next weather-window to travel to the Dominican Republic. In the meantime, we’ve traipsed across the island; one to visit the American Hotel to use internet to send out messages to friends and family through Facebook and another hike mostly along the shoreline to the open market. The waters here are not clear as in the Bahamas, but warmer AND I’m comfortable swimming around the boat and not worrying about any critters sharing the water with me. Yesterday, we “hired” Mark – the sweetest, most lovable 14-year-old, to be our guide to Madame Bernard’s Market. Mark speaks very little English and we speak no French, but we managed. It took us about an hour to hike to the market – what an eye opener. The people of Ile a Vache are truly living in the 18th century, no running water, no electricity, though there is a generator on the island which was used for their discos which were used nearly every night and they like their music loud. Then there is the garbage – it’s constantly underfoot. Mark took first took us to the orphanage; we donated food and other items they would be able to use. Representative, Solange apologized because the Sister who has been running this orphanage for 40 years was on the mainland for a few days and we would not be able to meet her. Solange gave us a tour of the orphanage. The property includes a school, an infirmary a large room for therapy along with kitchen, playground, sleeping quarters, etc.
After our tour of the orphanage, Mark walked us through the market. What can I say – we’ve never been to an open market such as this. We watched pigs having their hair burned off and then getting butchered and the meat and insides lying about for the flies to settle on. There was surprisingly quite a variety of vegetables, sugar cane, clothing and almonds. We actually found grapefruit – at least it looks like grapefruit – something new to try if it’s not. Mark told us not to buy any mangoes as the island is covered in mango trees and he would pick and deliver them for us which he did. Later in the day he brought us no less than 15 mangoes for the price of one US dollar. Everything being sold at the market is either set up on crudely made tables or mostly laid out on the ground. There are no “roads” – mostly foot-worn paths, though there are a number of motorcycles used to get around and as taxi service. All food is sold at the open markets on Ile a Vache twice a week and on the mainland every day except Sunday. The people of Ile a Vache are very friendly and speak mainly French; they have beautiful smiles and the straightest posture I’ve seen anywhere. Brian always asked permission before taking a photo. The Haitians think we will take the pictures and then sell them for a lot of money. Last night Brian showed Mark and David, another helper, a collection of pictures he had taken of the island – they both enjoyed the picture show.
Garbage, of course, is a huge problem. The correct way to get rid of it for us boaters is to have the “Mayor” take it and it will get burned, including plastics. Though, it looks like most of the locals just throw it on the ground and it gets trampled into the sand and paths – it is EVERYWHERE, which is so upsetting as the island is gorgeous.
The boys and young men come out to the boats several times a day – actually all day long looking for work. Only one youngster, Clemonson, would beg. We gave him an hour and half’s worth of work, fed him a sausage, egg and toast breakfast and paid him. Two days later, he came back looking to get paid again for the work he did. Clemenson is eleven and adorable looking, but boy can he tell a great sob story in hopes of getting money; even though we were pretty sure he was playing us most of the time, we asked around to verify what he said – yep, total stories.

January 11, 2015
Pulled anchor in Ile a Vache at 5:55 am on the 7th and traveled to Isleta Barharona, Dominican Republic – it took us 32 ½ hours. Again, it wasn’t the most comfortable traveling, but only slightly better than the last several times we’ve had to move on. If it wasn’t for meeting Cait in Boca Chica the end of this coming week, we would have been staying put until we had better weather windows to travel. This will teach us to never, Never, NEVER plan on meeting anyone in the future UNTIL we are at a particular destination and know we will be there for a month or more and THEN invite family and friends for a visit; learned our lesson.

This Blog is an overall of our sailing trip from late December 2013 through May 2014.

December 27, 2013

Middle of the night, Christmas Eve it started raining, so up we jumped to close the hatches. When I crawled back in bed and layed my head on my pillow, it hit something crunchy. After agreeing that we would NOT exchange Christmas gifts, Brian bought me two large bags of peanut M&M's (yum), so Christmas morning I baked him a pumpkin pie - made the dough from scratch without a food processor. The pie was delicious, though I'll have to dig out my "baking beans" and next time par-bake the crust so that the bottom isn't as soft. I had Brian take a nice warm piece over to our neighbor, Hank. Hank had throat cancer several years ago, so any soft food is greatly appreciated. Early afternoon, Barbara and Ted from Rosa came by so that we could travel together over to Dockside for a Christmas dinner and listen to music. I offered them a slice of pie each to "hold them over". On our dinghy ride over to Dockside we stopped by Wayne's boat and gave him a slice of the pumpkin pie as he wasn't sure if he was going to join us. We were able to snag the last table available. Dockside provided turkey, ham, potatoes and a few sides. Everyone else either contributed a side or a dessert and $5. There was a lot of great food and the music was wonderful. We all had a good time and Wayne was able to join us.

Well, our water maker was not working up to snuff, so Brian shipped it off to California for a refurbish - fortunately it is still under warranty. Thankfully, it bit the dust after the tanks were full. The last weather window was too short to head out anyways. We are hoping by the time the water maker gets back to us, we will have a lengthy weather window to leave Marathon.

This morning, we stopped by the office to check for mail and found our notice of our court hearing scheduled for May regarding our "Illegal stay in Florida" because our boat is not registered - again, can't be registered in Massachusetts, because it is Federally Documented in Massachusetts. We are still hoping that fine gets dropped - looks like Brian will be on the phone the first of the year to see if it in fact does. We really don't want this hanging over our heads when we leave here in a few weeks.

Reading: Brian: Ship of Gold - Journey Through History; book about the California
Gold Rush; The Discoverers by Daniel Borstin (about discoverers through
history); Paramour by Gerald Petievich

Lauren: Split Second by David Baldacci; Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch
(Jackie Brown movie); Lisa Jackson's Wicked Lies; Angle of Repose by
Wallace Stegner (winner of the Pulitzer Prize)

Brian and I started exercising; he does crunches and pushups and by hanging off of our companion way, he is able to do pull-ups. I haven't taken a yoga class since I was here in Marathon last year. So, I do a combo of yoga moves and lots of stretching along with pushups and crunches and squats. I am so out of shape, but it feels great exercising again. Practicing the yoga moves is working out pretty well, but when it comes to the yoga poses that you have to hold it can get a bit precarious on a boat, though I find I can actually hold the poses slightly better on a moving boat than on land - go figure.

December 31, 2013

Last night Wayne joined us for dinner; grilled steak with a sauce Wayne made of combined A-1 Sauce, Worcestershire and horseradish, boiled new potatoes then a quick sauté with butter and fresh oregano, broccoli and a store bought coconut cream pie. Before dinner I made an appetizer of smoked salmon on crackers with a dollop of horseradish cream and a tiny slice of red onion - wanted to also put on a slice of avocado, but it wasn't quite ready. Oh, and earlier I made Rocket Bread. Yesterday, I mixed 3 cups of flour, 2 tsps of salt, ¼ tsp of quick rise yeast and 1 & ½ cups of water - just mix and let rise between 12 and 24 hours loosely covered. Then the dough is turned out on a heavily floured parchment paper - sprinkle flour on top of dough and fold over parchment paper and turn package over and let rest about 2 hours. About ½ hour before baking I put my greased cast iron pot (without the lid) in the oven and set the oven for 475 degrees - actually, mine oven only goes to 450 degrees but runs about 10 degrees hotter. After ½ hour of warming the oven and pot, I very carefully plopped the dough out of the parchment paper into the cast iron pot, covered the pot and let it cook for 30 minutes. Then took off the cover to the pot and let the bread continue cooking for another 20 minutes. IT CAME OUT PERFECTLY AND WAS DELISHIOUS!! It was served with dinner and was great for mopping up the steak juices. A wonderful evening!

This morning we were lazy - actually slept in. We are usually up between 6:30 and 7:00 and try to exercise most mornings. This morning we didn't get up to a little after 8. Brian and I did stay up a bit after Wayne left. We sat out on our life raft and looked at the stars and just enjoyed the calm evening. Then we played a game of Rummikub. Sally and Conrad on Its About Time (we met them last year here in Marathon) taught us the game, but we only had played that one time, so we had to relearn it. We caught on pretty quickly and Brian is on a winning streak.

New Years Eve

We borrowed Wayne's jerry jugs for water and filled them up and dumped them into our water tank; I'm sure we will have to do that several times before our water maker is returned. Our plan for tonight was to order in some Tai food (rumor has it, there's a great place across from the marina) and open a bottle of Prosecco I found on the boat. BUT, our plans changed. Wayne drives cabs here in Marathon and one of the drivers that had a run to Key West called in sick. So Wayne recommended Brian to his boss. After getting clearance from the boss, Brian took the job. He left here at 6:00 to be brought to the cab company, pick up his vehicle, go to pick up the 6 people scheduled for the trip to KW, drive the two hours to KW and then hang around while the wench or transvestite is dropped into a red shoe - something like that. He is scheduled to bring the same 6 people back about 1:30a.m. So, he should be back on board by about 4:00 a.m.; don't think I'll be waiting up for him.

So while Brian was away playing chauffer, I did some house work, trimmed my hair, got my laundry ready in case I decide to get up before the crack of dawn to dinghy in to do that (every mooring ball has been taken and even the anchorage has quite a few boats - so during the day the laundry room is rather busy); had a bite to eat (a slice of Rocket Bread with a light spread of horseradish cream, a thin layer of smoked salmon and scant slices of red onion - yum!) and caught up on the blog. I think I may try to figure out how to set up the computer to watch a movie on our TV screen (that is only used for movies) - I'm just to tech savy - not!

WISHING EVERY ONE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!!!

PS: took me a few minutes, but I did figure out how to hook everything up and actually get a movie started on our monitor. I was so excited that I watched a second movie!!!

January 11, 2014

Today started out sunny, now it's pouring; housework and exercises already done, so catching up on blog, though not much to report.

Well, I did get up New Year's day before dawn and hauled the laundry in for cleaning. No problem managing the dinghy, but did pull a muscle flinging one of the bags of dirty laundry from the dinghy to the dock. Had the laundry room all to myself - nice! I swept the floor (couldn't help myself) and read. The laundry was just about done in the dryers before anyone else showed up.

A couple of days ago we had high winds (in the 30's) and a cold front come through and it was cold - in the 50's! We were wearing long pants, fleece and slippers on the boat and then sweatshirts - didn't want to turn on the heat. The locals were going nuts. Brian's brother, Wayne put on the yellow knit ski cap and a winter jacket. My mother-in-law made and mailed to Wayne and Brian the yellow hats figuring they would wear them while sailing and if they fell overboard, they would be easy to spot. Wayne came to our boat for breakfast; pancakes with fresh fruit mixed in (mine on the side) with real maple syrup, bacon, coffee and tea.

Lunch was soup and home made Rocket Bread with butter and dinner was pasta with marinara sauce and hot Italian sausages

Brian and I did not get off the boat that day, but the next day it was slightly warmer and we ventured across the street for breakfast - it was still long pants and shirts and jacket weather. We weren't complaining especially knowing what the weather was like up north. I still can't get use to the humidity, though - I just drip.

Reading: Brian: Get Your Captain's License - A Complete Study Guide; The Barefoot
Navigator by Jack Lagan; Modern Marine Weather, Weather Workbook and
Radar for Mariners

Lauren: Elmore Leonard's Cuba Libre (3rd book of his I read - enjoy them);
Pat Conroy's Beach Music (love his books!)

Most books Brian and I share especially anything to do with aspects of the sailing life. I don't care for Scifi, so don't read any of those. I still have on board the complete set of Harry Potter books from our kids - keep telling myself one of these days I am going to read them. If not, I'll most likely donate them to either a library or school on one of the islands we visit.

The Air Breeze Wind Generator that came with the boat and was not working correctly and was sent to SALT last year for refurbishing is still not working correctly (they couldn't find anything wrong with it - should have asked for our money back). This year Brian sent it to eMarine for them to check it out. We were told there are many issues with the generator and the cost of repair was just less than the cost of a new one. So, we ordered a new Air Breeze; received it and when Brian went to install it, it was missing a crucial part - that should be arriving today. Now just waiting on our refurbished water maker and we will be all set to leave Marathon. Today is the beginning of one of the first lengthy weather windows since we've been here to leave for the Bahamas, but very, very light winds. We are hoping by end of next week, we will be able to leave.

Recently, we met up with Louise and Terry on "Lucy", Pat and Doug on "Sanctuary" all from Canada and Sue and Mick on "Jenny" from England. We met these wonderful people last year - Brian can get them laughing - we enjoy their company. We all sat together last Sunday at a jam session at Dockside; Terry asked what I was drinking (Scotch). He was surprised. He thought I would like a Rusty Nail which is Scotch and Drambuie and went off to get me one. Thankfully, Dockside did not have Drambuie - sounds like a Rusty Nail would have me under the table. Everyone else was drinking either wine or beer - seem to be the drinks of choice til they get to the Bahamas, then its Rum Punches - too sweet for me unless they are mixed with grapefruit juice.

Yesterday we walked up and down the drag doing errands and stopped to watch the Wounded Warriors ride by on bicycles. It was great to see all the people that came out waving flags and cheering them on and thanking them for their service.

Tonight the Patriots are playing - we may go to the Hurricane to watch and have .25 wings. The last Patriots game we watched at the Hurricane made for an interesting evening. The Hurricane is a sports bar - lots of TV's, so there were many football games on for all the snowbirds and locals to enjoy. We snagged the last two chairs in front of a screen featuring the Pats and sat with Walt from a neighboring boat. There was a family sitting right behind us and the wife was yelling and screaming at the TV screen. We both thought it was the husband. My head hurt so bad by the time we left. Everyone kept stealing glimpses at her, but no one would say anything to her. Geesh! I so wanted to say something, but have to say I was a bit fearful of any reprisals. Not one word was heard from the husband (can you blame him?) Listening to the daughter was interesting - her language was rather obnoxious, though she wasn't loud like her mother. Here's hoping the Hurricane has at least two screens featuring the Pats game tonight.


Reading: Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan


HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN (18TH)

January 23, 2014

Still here in Marathon. The weather has been very cold; 50's and 60's. I know, I know - at least we are not up north. Not complaining (too much) just stating the facts. This morning I actually wore the yellow knit hat my mother-in-law made for me. On land it was a tad warmer, but still cold. Some of the locals were wearing winter jackets, ski caps and gloves.

Have been battling allergies for over a month now. Don't know what's blooming down here, but it's wreaking havoc on my sinuses and exacerbating my asthma - not fun.

We may finally have a decent weather window to head over to the Bahamas this coming Sunday or Monday. We've been looking for a 3-day window, but that hasn't happened yet and the winds have been strong and from the north which we don't want - we would be battling winds and the Gulf Stream which travels north, so the winds and waves would be opposing each other - would not make for a comfortable sail.

While out doing errands this morning we saw the blimp. The blimp is used to spy on illegal immigrants and drug boats. Also, here in Marathon there are several radio towers that are used as The Voice of America - spouts U.S. propaganda towards Cuba.

February 2, 2014

Finally left Marathon on January 26th along with Dawn and Roger on "Two Tickets" and Barb and Ted on "Rosa dos Ventos". It was our first decent 3-day window to travel to the Bahamas though not good winds. Decided to just go or we would never get out of Marathon. Left Marathon 7 a.m. and arrived in Morgan's Bluff to anchor next day a little after 1 p.m. An uneventful travel except for one small section before the banks where all boats were bucking quite a bit - difficult to sleep when your body doesn't stay on the bed. We saw quite a few flying fish and man-o-war jelly fish. When we arrived in Morgan's Bluff, we were greeted by dolphins.

Next day, after an easy check in (the guys sat at a picnic table under a tree to do the paperwork) and a restful night, we headed to Nassau. Two Tickets and us anchored while Rosa reserved a slip. Everyone met on land to take care of cell phones, stop for a coffee and chat. Late afternoon, we took a walk over the bridge that goes to Atlantis. Under the bridge are numerous shacks that feature Bahamian food. First we checked to see if Ali was nearby cleaning conch and he was. We met Ali last year. Ted from Rosa bought limes, hot peppers and onion; Ali showed us how to clean the conch and added the additional ingredients. We all shared the dish - just wonderful. Then we sat at one of the shacks (same one as last year) and we all feasted on red snapper - delicious!

Left Nassau the next morning and traveled to Allen's Cay - arrived about 4:30 p.m. We all got together on "Rosa" for a dinner we all contributed to. Next morning, "Rosa" left us. "Two Tickets" and us decided to hang here for a couple of days. Celebrated my birthday by doing laundry by hand (boy do I know how to have fun), cooking and we all went snorkeling. It's the first time I've worn my wet suit that I've had for years (still fits). The wetsuit helped me float (I cannot float) and was able to stay in the water much longer than I usually would. When I'm snorkeling, all you see of me sticking out of the water is the back of my head with the snorkel sticking up and my butt.

Yesterday we sailed to Norman's Cay - it was a great sail for most of the way - had to motor in the last two hours. We walked some of the island (not much here) and today we dingyied around looking for coral heads to snorkel around - enjoyed that. We were able to pick up some mature conch. Roger made Manhattan-style chowder (never cared for that kind of chowder) - it was delicious. I brought along home made bread fresh from the oven.

Reading: John Grisham's Playing For Pizza; Louis L'Amour's The High Graders; Dale
Brown's Dreamland; Iris Johansen's Long After Midnight; Rick Reed's The
Cruelest Cut; Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love

February 10, 2014

HAPPPY BIRTHDAY THIS MONTH TO: ROSE, BONN

Left Norman's Cay after spending several days snorkeling and traipsing around the island. There is a landing strip for small planes on the south end and the north end of the island is private. Cheryl and Jack on Zig Zag arrived and anchored near us. We all went snorkeling for conch. Got enough to have a cookout on the beach; the guys cleaned the conch, Dawn used her tenderizer and smashed the meat and Roger breaded it and deep-fried the conch - yum. I contributed a marinara sauce and brownies. Cheryl also brought brownies and a warm potato salad.

We are at the moment anchored near Emerald Rock at Warderick Wells. Last year, we took a mooring ball on the inside cove of Warderick Wells. This year we opted to try the anchorage area. A fairly short dinghy ride over to the mooring area to snorkel around the coral outcroppings looking for lobster (cray fish down here), a variety of fish, the sea fans, etc. Did not see any sharks until we were heading back to our boat - by then we were already in our dinghy - just as well. There are several remoras hanging out underneath our boat - sucker fish - we always see them hanging off sharks, but apparently our boat works just as well for them.

Yesterday, before snorkeling, we took Dawn and Roger on a hike up to Boo Boo Hill, checked out the blow hole (not much activity), oohed and ahhed over the view both the bay side and Atlantic side; from Boo Boo Hill traipsed down Hootia path to Butterfly Beach - cooled off and had a picnic lunch and then hiked back to our dinghies. When we arrived at the dinghy, there was another couple just arriving on the beach - they looked familiar. Brian, at first thought they were Paddy and John from New Moon, but at a glance I knew they weren't. As they got closer, we exchanged "hellos" and realized it was Sarah and George that we met in Fort Lauderdale. They bought our catamaran, Red Leopard from Dr. Zigoran who bought it from us several years ago. What a small world.

Last night Two Tickets invited us to dinner; Cottage Pie (similar to Shepard's Pie, but with hamburger instead of lamb); I brought along home made bread and home made cornbread.

Listened to our weather guru, Chris Parker at 6:30 this morning and he announced we have some north and west winds up to 40 knots arriving by Wednesday. We could try to get a mooring ball on the inside here or head further south another 6 miles and anchor in a fairly secure cove or continue on an additional 6 miles to Big Majors and tuck into the north side of the cove - it's a bit open here, but the anchorage is very good. Since we have a 73 lb anchor and 300 feet of heavy chain - we will be fine. Two Tickets will be fine too as long as their anchor is set well.

Today, I'm skipping the snorkeling (ear bothering me) and rearrange a few cubbies and check some of the inventory.

February 15, 2014

Two nights ago and during next day we sustained up 30 knot winds with gusts up to 40 knots along with heavy downpours and lightening. Glad we decided to take a mooring ball in the protective cove of Warderick Wells.

Yesterday we motor-sailed from our Warderick Wells to a small anchorage at Fowl Cay. Spent part of the afternoon snorkeling around some coral heads. We are just outside the Exhumas Park, so Brian was able to spear a few squirrel fish - they looked a tad bigger under water. They are a small fish, bug-eyed, lots of bones, not much meat, but still delicious. It was an absolutely beautiful evening. Only four boats in the anchorage, so nice and quiet. The moon was full, so we sat out on our deck on top of the life raft and just took in the evening - so peaceful!

Today it's a bit bouncy here, but not uncomfortable. We may just stay the day and do more snorkeling or head over to Big Majors. This morning Brian got up at 6:30 to listen to the weather channel on the SSB (single side ban), but this was the second day in a row that Brian was unable to receive a weather forecast from our weather guru, Chris Parker. Brian called out for a radio check and was answered, so we know the SSB (single side ban) was working.

I baked oatmeal raisin cookies with walnuts - takes several hours, but yum! While I was baking cookies, Brian let out a yelp and went running out to the cockpit; I followed not knowing what was going on. One of the boats here in the anchorage had dragged its anchor and was within only a couple of feet of hitting us. Brian kept shouting out their boat name and up popped a head from the forward hatch - (reminded me of that game at the arcades - Wack a Mole - lol). They jumped right on getting their motor started just in the nick of time and backed off. The captain only had 20 feet of chain out - we are in about 15 feet of water. Brian told him he didn't have enough chain out. The captain said that is all they were given - must be a charter boat, but geesh! Do these companies think that cruisers only anchor in shallow water? We put out a scope of 5 or 6 to 1 which means if we are in 15 feet of water we would put out at least 75 feet of chain. Even if the captain only had 20 feet of chain, there should be line that he could attach to the chain so that he could let out the appropriate scope. Just glad there wasn't a collision.

Ok, getting a little rocky and rolly here - have to stop typing - feeling a tad nauseous - I'll go out and sit in the cockpit and breathe some fresh air.

Reading: Dales Brown's Dreamland - Nerve Center; Dr. Death by Jonathan Kellerman; A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott; Robert Ludlum's The Ambler Warning

February 20, 2014

Left Fowl Cay anchorage a couple of days ago - just rockin' and rollin' - uncomfortable. We motored out of the cut and then set sail and cut the engine. We sailed the whole distance to Big Majors. We actually sailed right up to the spot we decided to drop anchor - it went very smoothly. Normally after the anchor is down and "set", I put the boat in reverse for a bit to make sure the anchor is truly "set". We didn't this time and the anchor grabbed bottom just fine. It's been several days of fairly high winds and we haven't dragged once.

While here we visited the swimming pigs, snorkeled, walked around Stanley Cay (very tiny island), bought minutes for our cell phone, filled up the gas jugs and checked out another beach that has several games for cruisers to use. We were going to have lunch at the Stanley Cay restaurant, but I had a bad reaction to the bougainvillea that was in vases on all the tables; could barely breathe, my nose wouldn't stop running and I couldn't stop sneezing.

One day we took a dinghy ride all around to check out the area with Dawn and Roger of Two Tickets. We stopped by the Thunderball Cave thinking we could snorkel in the cave, but the currant was too strong. As a matter of fact, there were two couples from Canada clinging to the rocks. After starting to go by, we realized that they seemed to be having some difficulties, so Two Tickets and us swung our dinghies around to them and rescued them. They never even made it into the cave to check out the fish. All of them were wearing life vests which were okay if they were just floating out and about, but they never would have been able to swim under the rock into the cave with the life vests on. They were very grateful for the rescue. Last year when we were visiting the same area with Nina and Adrian from Dolphin, we all rescued several couples that were from Germany. That currant can run pretty fast - have to visit Thunderball Cave at slack tide.

Tomorrow we leave here and head to Black Point. Looking forward to walking the island, doing some laundry (sheets and towels) at the laundry matt, checking out the blow hole and beach for sea glass, having a burger at Lorraine's and maybe stop in at Scorpios for a rum punch (the owner makes them with grapefruit juice).

February 28, 2014

Wow, hard to believe we've been anchored at Black Point for a week now - the time just flew by. One of the first orders of business was to get to the laundry matt, but I waited til the following Monday and got there about 5 minutes after they opened. By the time I got my three loads in and bought my tokens, the place was mobbed with cruisers. It was good to get the bath towels and sheets done. I had wedged a glass jar of bleach in a bag and snugged it in my canvass bag along with the whites. Somehow the jar fell over and unbeknownst to me all of the bleach leaked out. It ate through a brand new shirt, two dish towels, a bath towel and left a baseball-sized hole in the bottom of the canvass bag. Guess its time to look for dry bleach.

We found a wonderful place to snorkel. Brian saw a large nurse shark as soon as he got in the water. I was reluctant to go in, but Brian said the shark was just laying on the bottom a good 15 feet down. I went in and glimpsed the shark and swam in the opposite direction. This is the biggest section of coral we've come across - so many fish. We are getting better about identifying the fish. There were big schools of snapper - several varieties. We saw a porcupine fish with a young one in tow, some good-sized barracuda - they are inquisitive and won't bother you unless you spear a fish, then they'll come right at you and the fish - nasty looking with all those teeth. Oh, and the sharks will most likely hone in you if you spear a fish, though that hasn't happened - yet. There are so many varieties of colorful coral eaters; spotted, yellows, blues, greens, browns, striped , etc.

The second time we snorkeled this area, we came across a trap sitting on the bottom with two very large grouper and a huge nurse shark standing guard - I'm sure he was trying to figure out how to get at those grouper. The shark had to be at least 7 feet long - I stayed far away. Two nights ago, Brian and I decided to go fishing and we dinghied to the same area. I had a blast - I really enjoy fishing. The water was a little choppy, but we were able to catch several snapper and one Porgy. We gave the Porgy to Two Tickets - Dawn said it tasted a bit like crab - they enjoyed it.

That same night the winds started up and we spent the night bouncing around. Actually, I have to say it was a pleasant springy feeling while laying in bed and very comfortable, but I just couldn't sleep. By morning, it got even windier and the waves were really choppy - rather uncomfortable. We got off the boat for a few hours; we couldn't even take our dinghy to the dock it was so rough, so we beached it. After spending some time on land, we headed back to the boat and had an awkward time getting from the dinghy onto the boat. The boat was thrashing around, the dinghy was doing the same, but they were never in sinc, so.... Don't want to fall off and land between the two in weather like that. Back on the boat, we spent most of the early evening sitting out in the cockpit, then we sat on the bow of the boat and watched the sunset and the bow of boat going up and down; the bow never went under, but came pretty darn close. Our boat was about the only one in the whole anchorage that was not thrashing about - maybe because it's a heavy boat. Some of the boats were see-sawing, plus rocking side to side - I'm sure there were a few cruisers feeling a bit queasy or worse. During the night the winds died right down, but before sunrise, the winds whipped back up again and the waves were still crashing into the bay, though the waves were small they were from the south west and this bay is open to the west, so again a rough morning. Most boats left yesterday and we only had one boat near us, so Brian let another 20 feet of chain out and what a difference that made - seemed to be a smoother rocking motion. We sat out in the cockpit this morning and read. I must be getting use to the movement of the boat as I could never have picked up a book to read - even out in the cockpit.

Today we met up with Roger and Dawn on Two Tickets for a pizza lunch (eh). I only had two slices, but felt like I just had a Thanksgiving dinner. We walked it off on a beach looking for sea glass. The skies got black again, so we made a beeline for the boats. It is raining, but the winds have died down considerably and are coming out of the NNW which makes it more comfortable sitting here at anchor.

We did get to Scorpios one night and had our rum punches during happier hour as they would say. Chivago, the owner of Scorpios, made my rum punch with grapefruit juice - it was yummy, but one was my limit. There was an older white gentleman behind the bar helping Chivago and Brian and I remembered him from last year. Last year, during our stay here at Black Point we moved our boat down the coast here on Great Guana Cay to Hetty's Land for a change of scenery. While anchored there, we had taken a walk back to Black Point with Nina and Adrian from Dolphin for one of those rum punches - it was no less than a two mile walk. On the way back, this gentleman was coming along driving a front loader and offered us all a ride back to our anchorage. I still smile thinking about it; us standing on the sides of the front loader and bouncing down the road.


March 4, 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS: NANA, POLLY, PAM, LINDSEY, LAUREN M., SAMM

Reading: Crisis by Robert Cook; Chapman's Piloting and Seamanship; Black Boy by Richard Wright; Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich; The Years by Virginia Wolf; The Boys of 67 - Charley's Company War in Vietnam by Andrew Weist

Yesterday we left Black Point and sailed albeit a really, really slow sail back around the bend to Big Majors (the swimming pigs). The last 2 miles we were directly into the wind, so we motored which I was happy about as it gave us hot water for our shower later that day. Brian and I snorkeled an area and saw a sea turtle, coral fish and a huge school of snappers. Later that evening, we went back to the same spot to fish, but all we caught was bites from the noseeums - nasty critters! Next time I'll have to remember to bring the bug spray.

We enjoyed our stay in Black Point, combing the beaches for sea glass and just walking about the island. We were here last year, so we played tour guide to Two Tickets. Hopefully Elusive will be here either today or tomorrow with our pumps for our head. We've been doing fine without them, but once back in the states......

The last day and a half we had a cold front come through - overall, it wasn't too bad being on the boat - the winds were out of the south and ever so slowly clocking around to the north (this morning). Yesterday morning I was able to get some laundry done (nice brisk winds for drying), made a pasta salad, did some housework and Brian and I played a game of Rummikub in the cockpit. As the day progressed, the winds whipped up into the high 20 knots; we are in a bay that is exposed to the west winds, so not great for when a front comes through. The waves varied from about 1 foot to occasionally about 3 feet. About 3pm I started feeling the effects from the rocking and rolling - not fun. By about 8am, the winds started to die down and our boat had turned into the winds which finally clocked around to the north - much calmer.

Brian has been unsuccessful in getting a hold of Elusive - they have our parts for our head. Last Brian talked to Susan of Elusive, they were in Warderick Wells, so they are not that far from us - just frustrating that we are still in Black Point/Big Majors area. We will give it another day or two here before moving on. Hopefully, we will hear from Elusive. I had recently made a batch of banana bread thinking we were meeting up with Elusive days ago; I put one aside for them keeping it in the freezer.

Brian recently made home made cinnamon rolls - yum! Today, we will get off the boat and dingy over to Staniel Yacht Club and take a walk to the Batelco Office to get minutes on our phone - being Saturday, I'm going to assume they are not open, but we'll get a walk in.

March 11, 2014

Reading: Michael Crighton's Disclosure; Michael Crighton's State of Fear; The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Louis Leveen; John Lescroart's The Suspect; Sandra Brown's White Hot; Honor In The Dust - Theodore Roosevelt - War In The Philippines by Gregg Jones

Several days ago, another front came through while anchored at Staniel Cay - this one was a bit rockier than the last one we went through. I did fine til about mid afternoon and then had to sit out in the cockpit for a while sucking on saltines - felt a bit queasy, but never got sick.

We finally met up with Susan and Robert and their children Quinn and Amelia of Elusive - they had our parts for our head - yeah! Brian started that afternoon working on the head and, of course, had a few problems. After sleeping on the problem, he figured out that there was an airlock in the line to the head. He used our shop vac to force air into the line and voila problem solved! Brian and I along with Two Tickets took a dinghy ride about a mile and half from the Staniel Cay anchorage and went snorkeling. Saw quite a few snapper. If we were staying in the area, we would have gone back and fished the coral head. Made a pumpkin pie and this time I blind-baked the crust (placed dried beans in foil layed on top of the crust and wrapped the crust edges with foil and partially baked it). This worked out beautifully - after making the filling, baking the pie and having sit all day til dinner, the bottom crust was still crisp - not soggy - a success! Used a different recipe for the pie filling and had some of the evaporated milk left, so decided to make some white bread and used the left over milk in that. Bread came out great too!

Found out from our weather guru that another front was coming through and was going to be worse than the last two. Check our charts and plotted our next course for a more protected area. Yesterday we left Staniel Cay and motor-sailed 6 ½ hours to a pretty protective cove between Lee Stocking Island and Leaf Cay. Two Tickets joined us here this afternoon. Brian and I took the dinghy out earlier and snorkeled a couple of coral heads. The first area was about 20 feet deep - Brian swims down with his fishing spear and tries to get grouper, snapper or squirrel fish - all good eating. The second area we snorkeled wasn't as deep and Brian was able to spear several glasseyed snappers; they are all prepped and waiting to be cooked.

March 13, 2014

Yesterday Brian and I dinghied over to the area that we snorkeled yesterday and tried our hand at fishing. I snagged a Red Hind Grouper and Brian caught a snapper. Have to say I enjoy fishing, though after several hours of sitting in a rocking dinghy, my back was hurting. May have to invest in a stadium chair.

March 19, 2014

Said "good bye" to Dawn and Roger of Two Tickets a couple of days ago and started heading north. We had traveled from Marathon, FL with them and gone as far as Lee Stocking Island with them and spent a couple of days there, snorkeling, fishing and walking the island. Two nights before we left Lee Stocking, we all went fishing - I caught two decent sized snappers. The next evening we had dinner on our boat eating the fish we caught, rice pilaf and lemon bars for dessert.

Our first stop on our way north was at Black Point on Great Guana Cay so I could get several loads of laundry done. Left there the next morning and proceeded to Staniel Cay on Big Majors; arrived and anchor down at 9:00 a.m. - bought a phone card and filled up the four diesel cans and back on board and anchor up by 10:30 a.m. We motored sailed for a bit then actually was able to sail most of the way to Emerald Rock anchorage outside of Warderick Wells. Tomorrow we will head to Allen's Cay and the day after that we should be in Nassau.


March 24, 2014

Reading: The Tin Roof Blow Down by James Lee Burke; Christine McGuire's Until We Meet Again

On the 21st we left Allen's Cay and sailed the full 30+ miles to Nassau - a wonderful sail! We stayed in Nassau for only two overnights. Stocked up on a fresh produce and took a walk the bridge to the area of Atlantis and walked around.

After we arrived in Nassau, we received an email from Roger of Two Tickets. He said that a cruiser had jumped in the water at Lee Stocking Island and was attacked by a large barracuda. He was seriously injured and they had to evac him off the island. From what we read, the barracudas are curious, but will not attack unless you spear a fish and don't get it out of the water right away - they will come after it and you. Apparently, the locals will wear black socks if they don't have fins for their feet when they snorkel or dive because the barracuda see the bottoms of their feet and think FISH! We will have to remember that next time we decide to venture into the water for a quick dip.

Had been watching the weather - suppose to have two fronts come through, so we thought we would be anchored at Nassau for about a week; decided last minute to head to Bimini. Left Nassau at 9:15 a.m. yesterday and arrived here in Bimini at the Bimini Blue Water Marina and tied off in the slip by 12 noon. An exhausting 27-hour motor. The winds were higher than predicted and, of course, on the nose, so a rather rough ride. Needless to say, I didn't get any sleep. So as soon as I fixed lunch and made a pot of coffee so I can have my afternoon ice coffee treat, we both took a much needed nap. We will check weather tomorrow morning. It certainly is a treat being tied at a slip - just walk off the boat onto land - no dealing with putting dinghy up and down.

March 28, 2014

Well, this marina is on the small side and it's been wonderful meeting cruisers from this marina and nearby marinas. The winds have been in the 20 and 30 knot range with gusts in the 40's. So glad we are in a slip. We took a stroll the beach on the Atlantic side of the island a couple of days ago and were mesmerized by the waves crashing into the rocks and beach - nobody has the left the marina for a few days. There are several boats wanting to head east to other Bahamian Islands, but the weather has just not been favorable - no sense in beating themselves up in lousy weather. We, are in the minority and heading West to Florida as soon as we get a three-day weather window - looks like next Tuesday is a go if the weather pattern holds.

The last several days, we've been watching a Bahamian woman sort, wash and repack beer bottles WHILE a couple of Bahamian men sit and shoot the s__t. This is a typical site on all the islands - the women work, the men sit. If she comes across a plastic bottle, she just throws it in with the branches and leaves that have been swept up and dumped at the waters edge. Geesh - you would think they would at least throw the plastics in the garbage cans that are everywhere. That's another thing that just bugs the heck out of me about the people and these islands. Just doesn't faze them about throwing garbage everywhere except in the receptacles that are place outside the houses, businesses and along the roads. I just don't get it!! In this same area that the bottles are being sorted is a broken down gas truck - it seems to be a handy outdoor port-a-john and we get to watch that every day. They guys just don't seem to care that we are sitting out in our cockpit and they are the entertainment - at least they keep their backs to us.

Last night we joined a few other cruisers and headed down the street to the "End of the World" bar. The floor was sand; there were about 5 bar stools and the walls were covered with graffiti from cruisers from all over the world - Brian wrote our boat name on the ceiling. Today we visited the Dolphin House - it's a building that was built by hand and is made of concrete with every color of tile you can think of. Ashley Saunders, the owner started the project in the about 1983. He has imbedded mosaic pieces depicting the sea life throughout the inside and on the outside of the building. Ashley scours the island for all of his building material - abandon buildings, the beach, the trash, etc.; he's got quite the imagination and where-with-all to pull it off.

We have bull sharks that swim by our boat every day - at first we thought they might be the nurse sharks, but we were set straight on that - good thing we don't have to get in the water to check an anchor.

Reading: Aesop's Fables retold by Ann McGovern; James Lee Burke's Swan Peak; Castaway Boats by Victor Slocum; Patricia Cornwell's At Risk


March 31, 2014

7:00 this morning, about 7 boats left heading to the Exhumas. Last night we all got together for a cruisers' pot luck - great food. We, along with at least two other boats will be heading to Fort Pierce, FL tomorrow morning. Looks like we will have a good week of great weather for traveling to the states. Our trip will cover 123 miles; we will leave by 9:00 a.m. and arrive in Fort Pierce by mid morning. If we arrive in Fort Pierce earlier than 9, we may just continue up the ICW to Melbourne - where we will be looking at a Catamaran. If we can cruise up the ICW at about 6 knots, then it will take us about 7 hours to get to Melbourne. We may want to just stay put in Fort Pierce for the day and start out the next day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: MEGHAN, WAYNE, PETE,

April 4, 2014

Well, we left Bimini on April 1st. We discussed how to back the boat out of the slip the night before as the water behind our boat was rather shallow and we certainly didn't want to go aground. The port bow line and our starboard spring line were taken aboard. Another cruiser held our starboard bow line until I had the boat backed about half way out of the slip then threw it on board. Another cruiser held our starboard aft line and played it out as I finished backing out - this allowed the bow of our boat to start swinging to port - once the bow the cleared the piling; our aft line was let go as I put the boat into forward gear and off we went. We were rather proud of ourselves as the whole process went very smoothly and without any mishaps and go enthusiastic thumbs ups from the volunteer dock hands.

Other than motoring away from our slip and out through the channel, we actually sailed to the next channel getting into Lake Worth. We were heading towards Ft. Pierce, but the winds started dieing and then we were fighting the current - wasn't comfortable. We decided to head into Lake Worth even though it was dark, but we've gone into this anchorage before in the dark, so we were familiar with it. Anchor was down about 9:15 p.m. - 13 and a half hours of travel. It was good to stop.

The next morning we left Lake Worth at 7:00 a.m. and motor-sailed to Ft. Pierce and anchor down by 3:40 p.m. Brian trolled and caught a Little Tunny or False Albacore - the meat was ok. Next morning we left our anchorage a little before 7:00 a.m. and motor-sailed to Cocoa, FL. We had just the genoa sail up, but boy did it boost our speed - winds peaked at 20 knots and we hit a speed of a 7.8 knots tops. Took us about 9 and a half hours to get to Cocoa. We stopped here last year for an overnight stay - had a Mother's Day breakfast and then went on our way. This year we are here to look at a Catamaran and maybe spend a day or two exploring the town. Before we met the broker, we had breakfast out and went to a hardware store - The S F Travis Company. The building consists of 30,000 square feet of everything you could possibly want or need for projects. Pretty impressive! Met with the broker this morning and got back to our boat about 5:00 p.m.

April 7, 2014

Reading: Jodi Picoult's The Tenth Circle; Surviving the Storm by Steve and Linda Dashew

Well we made an offer on the Cat in Cocoa, but it was not accepted. The owner is asking way too much for it with all the work it needs. Left Cocoa mid afternoon on the 5th and anchored outside of Titusville on the Jay Jay RR Causeway River. After getting situated, we noticed a small pleasure craft with five people on it paddling and getting nowhere. Put the binoculars on them - looked like they were having engine problems. We put our dinghy in the water and Brian went to see if they needed help. Saw Brian tying up to them and then started towing them back towards Titusville - a mile and a half away. Dinghies are not made for towing, so it was slow going, but apparently the five people on the pleasure craft were thrilled they were getting help. When Brian deposited them near a boat ramp, they wanted to give him money - he, of course, refused, but they still dug into their pockets and gave him a few dollars. We felt pretty good being able to help them out. They would have never made it to the ramp by just paddling against the current and they didn't have any radio or phones with them (not good).

Left our anchorage next morning and motor-sailed 84.5 miles to an anchorage on the Mantanza River just off the Mantanza Fort - long day - 12 hours. Reading about this anchorage made me a tad nervous about getting to it, but we had no difficulties at all and it was a really nice quiet anchorage.

At the moment we are on a mooring ball in St. Augustine. Lousy weather coming in later today and staying with us through Wednesday. If weather permits, we will leave Thursday morning and head out to the ocean and sail up the coast doing an overnight to Charleston.

April 12, 2014

Reading: Don't Know Much About History by Kenneth Davis; The Gate House by Nelson DeMille; State of Wonder by Anne Patchett; John Sanford's Rough Country

We enjoyed our stay in St. Augustine. The day before we left, there was a pod of dolphins churning up the water near our boat - they were mating - one dolphin kept jumping clear out of the water - he must have been the lucky one. Left St. Augustine this past Thursday at 6:45 a.m. and motor sailed all day and into the overnight. Our destination was Charleston, but the winds picked up and we were moving along rather nicely, so we decided why not continue for another overnight onto Beaufort, NC? I even did well with my overnight watches. Though on my second watch, there were quite a number of freighters I really had to keep my eye on. Only one of them made me rather nervous, so I woke Brian and he stayed up with me and contacted the pilot of the freighter to make sure we wouldn't collide (I think I can handle that next time). Brian offered to alter our course, but the pilot told us to stay on course and he would alter course and he did. Other than that it was an uneventful night sail. It was great having the moonlight and the seas were pretty settled. Unfortunately, the next afternoon, we heard a strange noise coming from the engine compartment. Brian discovered one of the motor mounts had broken, so we significantly dropped the RPMs and limped our way into Charleston. Once we hit the harbor entrance, the winds just whipped up to 23 knots, so we had a fast sail to the Cooper River Marina. We called ahead to see where we could get in, but it is race weekend here, so most marinas were full. This marina was several miles in from the entrance, but it has all the amenities, a clean facility and the staff is friendly and accommodating. The downside would be that it is far removed from downtown Charleston. But, if the staff isn't too busy, they will give you a ride to the downtown which we did today. We spent a good part of the day walking around Charleston.

Cooper River Marina use to be a degaussing station for submarines. Degaussing is a form of demagnetizing. The Navy turned the facility and land over to the county for Parks and Recreation and now it is a nice little marina for recreational and transient boaters. We are not in a slip but on the inside of a face dock. We get to watch sailboats, pleasure crafts, tug boats, barges and freighters go by. It's rather intimidating when you see a freighter up close, but when it's packed with containers front to back about 5 containers high, it's downright thrilling and scary as all get out - you wonder how they freighters actually stay upright with all those containers on it.

Our new motor mount won't be in til Tuesday, so this delays our trip north a bit, but we could certainly be in worse places. Think I'll catch up on laundry when they work on the mount.

Yesterday we took a walk off the marina property down the road a piece. Brian brought his camera and tripod; we found a couple of alligators and birds for him to take pictures of. Today, the weather has turned - it's rather chilly, overcast and it just started raining.

April 27, 2014

Started to leave Cooper River Marina on the 23rd, but when we started up the engine, again there was a racket coming from the engine compartment. We just replaced one of the engine mounts and now discovered another one broken. Thankfully, the mechanic was able to replace the mount and the next morning about 7:30, Brian and I smoothly pulled away from the dock and headed towards the outlet of Charleston.

Brian check 4 different weather sights before determining it was good to travel on the outside instead of the ICW. It was suppose to be 10 - 15 knot winds coming from the NE and then turning SE and the waves were suppose to be between 1 to 3 foot. Well, it was choppy getting out of the channel as the winds were on the nose and the waves were against us. We were ok with that knowing once we were out the channel and make our turn, the waves would lay down a bit. Well, the winds were sustained at 25 knots from the NE (all day) and the waves averaged 6 to 8 feet with occasional 10 footers. Needless to say, it was awful - uncomfortable and we were layered to the hilt 'cause it was very cold. We made hardly any headway and about 6 pm decided to skip the overnight to Beaufort, SC. I was feeling nauseated most of the day and Brian didn't want to crash around in the night. We headed to St. George Inlet. We came in at night still fighting the waves in the channel which was several miles long. On the upside, there were plenty of navigational lights to guide us through the channel, though when you are looking at constantly blinking red, green and white lights in pitch black on a meandering channel - your depth perception is all off. Thankfully, our nav chart easily guided us along. Finally put down the anchor a little after 11:30 p.m. We were totally exhausted! The next morning our boat glistened with the sea salt from the waves that we had been crashing through.

From St. George Inlet, we decided to continue on the ICW and had an uneventful motoring day. Anchored in Little River; the anchorage description lead us to believe it would tricky getting into, but we had no problem and a nice quiet night.

Left anchorage at Little River and traveled 97 (yep) miles up the ICW - we sailed and motored - a really, really long day. We anchored at Mile Hammock - an anchorage we've used before. We were surprised at how many boats were already there. We came in just as it got dark, but were able to get our anchor down without incident. Except, as Brian was working the anchor, one of boaters next to us was pointing a flashlight at us. We thought there were helping us because it was pitch black. But after the anchor was down and everything was settled, our neighbor still continued to use her flashlight on us. Brian finally yelled over to call us on the VHF. They did - they thought we were anchored a bit too close to them. We were anchored in 15 feet of very calm water (and not expected winds over 10 knots during the night), so Brian put the usual scope of 7 to 1 plus a bit extra. This guy had out 125 feet of chain which is overkill. If one was anchoring in inclement weather, then yes, you would want to put out quite a bit extra. Anywho, Brian relayed that we had a heavy duty anchor and all chain out and that our boat wouldn't be swinging about or dragging. Our neighbor sounded skeptical and resigned that we were not going to move. All went well during the night - no mishaps of any kind.

This morning we were actually going to sleep in a bit (right), but we were up and on the ICW before 7 am. We stopped in Moorehead City for diesel and to have a mechanic to look at our port tank looked at - he seems to think we may have a small leak in the fuel tank - gosh hope not.

Reading: Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Revenge; Sue Grafton's I for Innocent and J for Judgment. (actually I scored her I - S series minus the N book); Rainwater by Sandra Brown; James W. Hall's Red Sky At Night

April 29, 2014 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEG!!

Left Moorehead City yesterday morning about 7 a.m. Getting off the dock was rather tricky. We had both the current and the wind pushing us against the dock. We were actually on an L shaped fuel dock. Another boat was on the dock perpendicular to us and their boat stuck out a bit impeding us from getting the boat away from the dock. Brian unhooked the bow and spring lines and kept the stern line in place. I put the boat in gear and gently brought it forward bringing the bow towards the dock so that the stern would pop away from the dock. It worked, but when I started to back the boat up the back end kept swinging back into the dock. We waited a few minutes and the other people from the boat on the same dock helped us out. We actually gently ran into the back end of their boat, but between the wife pushing our boat away and Brian pushing off from their boat, we safely made it off the dock - boy, that was a bit nerve wracking.

Traveled the ICW til about 5 p.m. - a short day for us. While traveling the ICW, the Coast Guard came along side of us with their blue lights flashing and boarded us. We didn't even have to stop, though I slowed to a crawl while they did their safety inspection - they were very pleasant and we passed with flying colors. We found a lovely, quiet anchorage on Upper Pungo River North of Belhaven.

Up this morning at 6 a.m. and anchor up and on our way 6:20. It was overcast and chilly and sprinkled on and off. Traveled through Alligator River and again this year did not see one alligator. Uneventful travel on the ICW for the most part until we hit the Albemarl Sound (about 11 miles long). All of a sudden the winds whipped up with a peak of 33 knots. So up went our head sail and we booked right across that sound in no time flat, though it was cold and damp. Glad to get out of it. Found a small anchorage behind Buck Island. We may be anchored here for a couple of days as the weather will be most unsuitable for traveling, unless you have a trawler and are in an enclosure where it's dry and warm. It's suppose to rain and have high winds in this area. We'll just hunker down. Looking forward to the break.

April 30, 2014

Undecided if we should leave this morning because of the weather forecast - decided last minute to just go for it and see how far we get. We pulled anchor just before 7 a.m. and had an uneventful day traveling the ICW until we had to start timing the bascule bridges before we arrived at the Great Bridge Lock. There were several yachts and sailboats vying to get through. On top of that, a barge arrived and had priority getting into the Lock. So the majority of the boats had to jockey around in a fairly confined area for an hour waiting for the Lock to reopen for the rest of us. When it was our turn, we started to get in line, but the "captain" of the sailboat, Aliva yelled at us - "What's your hurry?" We were just getting in line in the order we arrived to enter the Lock. Just before the lock is another bascule bridge that is timed with the Lock system. As we were going through the bridge, the "captain" of Aliva yelled at us again - "Que Sera Sera, get going!" Apparently we weren't moving fast enough for him this time and then he started passing us (unbelievable!) as we were going through the bridge - brother! We tied our boat off on the opposite side of the Lock from Aliva and when it was time to untie our lines and leave the Lock, I asked the Lock tender to have Aliva go before us. I didn't want to listen to the "captain" harass us again. I was a tad worried about getting off the Lock wall as the wind was pushing us against it. When it was our turn, I ran forward and took in the bow line, ran back and grabbed the stern line and held it while I manned the wheel. I put the boat in gear and gently moved forward and slightly turned the boat to port (left) while at the same time letting the bow line feed out. Brian stood towards the middle starboard (right) side of the boat ready to push holds off the wall so we didn't scrape. We also had to watch that our arch system that holds our solar panels and our dinghy did not catch on the concrete pillars (that would have been a catastrophe!) and cause major damage. As we started forward I then turned the boat slightly starboard so that the back end would pull out a bit, then turned the boat slightly port again - did this a few times and we got off the wall and out of the lock with no problems - yes, I was rather proud of myself, especially when you have several boats behind you watching your every move. Whew!!!

Rest of the trip went smoothly and all of the boats that were traveling our way turned off into marinas. We kept going heading for an anchorage by Fort Monroe. About 4 p.m. it started raining, some lightening and thunder. Dropped anchor about 6 p.m. and then it poured. We were the only boat in the anchorage - nice quiet night.

Reading: Tom Clancy's Locked On; Vince Flynn's Extreme Measure; Steven King's Bag of Bones; Mario Puzo's The Fortunate Pilgrim; found Sue Grafton's W for Wasted, but don't want to read it before I can get my hands on her T, U & V books; Dean Koontz' Face of Fear; Tim Dorsey's Florida Road Kill - looking for the sequel - Hammerhead Ranch Motel

MAY: HAPPY BIRTHDAY - LISA, KELLY

May 1, 2014 Again, undecided if we should leave our anchorage because of inclement weather. Why not - left about 6:45 a.m. and had long day on the ICW. Dropped anchor about 9 p.m. on the Pax River NAS. We were the only boat anchored and it was dead quiet. The next morning we pulled anchor and arrived a little after 1 p.m. at Pier 7 Marina in Edgewater, MD. We will try to sell our boat here and are looking for a catamaran. Met up with Michele and Sid (our broker) on El Camino. Getting into our slip was rather precarious. Sid wanted us to back in - our boat doesn't back up well. It backs up, it just doesn't go in the direction you would like it to go. We pulled into our slip (it's a finger slip) which was at an angle. Between the 20 knot winds and current I ended up snagging our dinghy on the dolphin (pole sticking out of the water to tie up to). One of the straps holding the dinghy snapped - thankfully, that was the only damage and mishap. The only way to get off of our boat is from the bow onto the finger pier (really short) and when the tied is up it's a bit of a drop to jump down to. It could always be worse. The day after we got here, the marina changed hands, so we are not sure where Sail Away Catamarans will be relocated. The new owners sell a different brand of Cats then Sail Away Catamarans does and Sid and Michele are pretty sure they will have to move their Cat from here as they are live-a-boards and the new company will want the dock space for their boats.

May 21, 2014

This will be my last entry til we most likely head out again in the Fall with Brian's brother, Wayne as our guest for a couple of years. We've looked at a few Catamarans here in the marina and have made an offer on one. The owner wants way too much for it and of course, it needs work. Brian and I have been walking a lot - grocery store, West Marine (always), plenty of places to choose from for eating out, though it's a treat as we still eat 90% of meals on board. Yesterday we walked three miles to the Cinema; haven't been to a theater in quite a while. The other day we walked to K-Mart - a five mile round trip - we did that twice in one day. We may actually have someone interested in our boat - should know in about a weeks time. We will be heading up North beginning of June to see family and friends and again in August for appointments and our niece's wedding.

October 18, 2013

Today, Brian took me to the Stuffed Pig for breakfast; then a walk to West Marine. Back on board, I gathered our laundry - Brian dropped me off to take care of that and he went to run errands. Got all of our cold-weather clothing washed and packed away - yeah!!! Gave the inside of the boat a thorough cleaning. The outside could use a good wash down - get all of the sea salt off, but that will have to wait - hoping for a nice downpour. It is really hot and muggy here - not complaining, just will take some time to acclimate. We will most likely stay in Marathon for about a month. We are moored next to Wayne, so hopefully, even when he starts back at work, we will get to see him a bit more than the last time we were down here. On our trip down from Newburyport, Brian stated that, that's the most time I've spent with Wayne these past several weeks since Wayne left home at the age of 18.

Lots more boats here in the marina than I had expected even though it's considered the slow season - will get busier and busier here during the holiday season. Hopefully we will be off to the Bahamas before Christmas. It would be nice to see some of the cruisers that we had met last year.

Reading: Brian: Vince Flynn's Transfer of Power, Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff;
The Economist and Cruising World

Lauren: Vince Flynn's Act of Treason; The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson; whipped through two Dean Koontz
books that I hadn't read before - The Good Guy and Breathless; When
I'm 164 by David Ewing Duncan; The Short Forever by Stuart Woods;
Sandra Brown's Exclusive; and a book I'll keep on hand that I
occasionally peruse through, is Jean Carter's Food - Your Miracle
Medicine

October 26, 2013

Having freezer problems - can't get the freezer to hold temp, so it runs constantly and is draining the batteries. We hemmed and hawed about it for a while; went and looked at installing separate fridge and freezer units (cost was ridiculous!). BOAT stands for Break Out Another Thousand or BOATI - Bend Over and Take It. Really, the costs for repair jobs are ridiculous! Decided that we should just raise up the floor of the freezer about 4 inches or so and insulate it. The freezer is so deep that Brian can barely reach the bottom and I have to literally hang into it (feet off the floor) if I have to retrieve anything from the bottom or when I'm defrosting it. Anyway, after talking to a few other boaters here in the marina we got the name of a gentleman that does fiberglass work - came highly recommended - Fiberglass Dave. There are so many 'Daves' in the area that their moniker is whatever their livelihood is. We borrowed a couple of coolers and picked up some dry ice to store our food while Dave worked on the units.

Brian and I decided to run errands while Fiberglass Dave was working as he would be at it for several hours. As we were getting into our dinghy, my sunglasses fell off, hit the dinghy - one of the lenses popped out and the lense along with the frames fell overboard. Brian immediately hung over the side and, unbelievably was able to snag both before they sank. Thank God, as that was my one and only pair. While he was rescuing my glasses, I was standing in the dinghy still holding onto the sides of our boat; the winds were whipping and the current was pushing me further away from the boat. Sooo, I was stretched out so far that I almost went for a swim. I still can't believe I was able to reach out my foot to the ladder (just barely) and jump onto it WITHOUT getting wet. Once on the ladder, I just couldn't stop laughing - must have been that adrenaline surge.

This morning Dave finished the job and we should have our food back in by noontime. We are very pleased with the work he's doing - very meticulous, price was great AND he does a thorough cleanup job - yeah!!!!

We had a cold front come through the other day - winds were mid 20 knots and up; it's suppose to last about a week. Brian and I are still walking around in short sleeves while locals were wearing long sleeved shirts and jackets. It's probably in the 70's here - very comfortable. The first night the winds started, it began raining about 2 a.m. I was excited as the boat was still crusted with sea salt. I got up and grabbed a small flashlight - held it in my mouth aiming it into the lazarette and started emptying it out looking for the long-handled brush used for scrubbing the deck. The lazarette is deep enough for Brian to stand in. Out came fenders, lines, pails, etc.; couldn't find the brush. While I was searching for the brush, I was thinking that if anyone was up and saw the flashlight moving about on our boat, they may have thought someone was on our boat looking to pilfer something - it's been known to happen. I got discouraged and stuffed everything back in and went back to bed. Once back in bed, it really started pouring, so back out of bed and this time I just grabbed a rag and crawled around on the deck scrubbing the topside, handholds, hatches, etc.; that was about 2:30 a.m. Back in bed again a bit after 3 and I felt so much better that that job was done; slept great after that. Now it won't feel so gritty every time we walk on deck and grab any handholds. Once word got out about what I did, I was asked if they could borrow me - real funny!

Last night we joined a few other boaters for a potluck dinner (breakfast food). There was quite a variety of food. Besides the fruit salad that I donated, there were frittatas, bacon, several varieties of potatoes, a swirl bread, breakfast sausage, quiche, etc.; also Bloody Marys. We enjoyed ourselves and met some new people; there is so much to learn from other boaters AND someone ALWAYS has a worse horror story than whatever you may have gone through while traveling.

Reading: Lauren: John Sandford's Phantom Prey; Iris Johansen's Eight Days To Live

Brian: Dean Koontz' Breathless and The Good Guy and he's thoroughly enjoying reading The Economist


October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween! Last night Brian and I joined a few other boaters for a couple of games of bocce ball - it's been a while since either of us have played - we had a good time.

Today we have Gary and Kurt from Keys Rigging tuning our rigging - it will make it a bit easier bringing in the Head Sail. The other day we took an eight mile walk up to the old 7-mile bridge and across it to Pigeon Key which was a postage-sized stamp of a piece of land. Neither Brian and I have done that much walking in quite a while, so it was a workout especially since we are not use to the Florida heat.

Our nephew, Eric will be here beginning of week visiting his father, so we will plan a day or two for all of us to get together.

November 6, 2013

Freezer seems to be working fine after having the bottom insulated and brought up to make the box a bit smaller and much easier to reach the bottom. But, the fridge doesn't seem to be as cold as it has been. Brian turned on the fridge controller (which we've never had to use) and it helped a bit. After a few days, Brian drilled a few holes in the new divider that was rebuilt by Fiberglass Dave, so that we will get the spillover from the freezer to the fridge - that worked.

Yesterday, Brian and I joined his brother, Wayne and his son, Eric for a trip to Key West. Eric had a rental and Wayne rode shotgun and played tour guide. Took some side streets we most likely would never had taken and learned a bit more about the Keys. We saw Key Deer - very small; went to the Blue Hole - an area about the size of an acre that was excavated for the fill and now is home to wildlife. The hole has fresh water layered on top of salt water. We saw two alligators, turtles, an osprey, several really small fish and an Anhinga which is a rather large bird. The head is similar to a cormorant's, but that's where the similarities end. The Anhinga is also known as a snakebird, Darter, water turkey, etc. It has an average wingspan of 46 inches and a body length of 33 inches. It often swims with only its neck above the water which is apparently how it came to also be known as a Snakebird.

Down another off the beaten path, we came across a huge wooden structure. Wayne was pretty sure it was erected in the '30's and used as a bat house to combat the hordes of mosquitoes when the Keys were being developed in that area. Pretty neat structure - too bad there wasn't a historical plaque on it. After the builder completed the structure, he put thousands of bats in it from the Midwest. That night they all disappeared and never returned. The legend is that the local mosquitoes ate the bats.

For lunch, we stopped at the No Name Pub for pizza - the pizza was delicious, but just stopping in to see the interior of the Pub would be a highlight for anyone. Every square inch, and I mean every square inch, of the inside is covered in several layers of one dollar bills.

Once in Key West, we toured the docks looking at all the boats - I took a picture from quite a distance of Chuck Norris' boat. There was another very, very sleek looking yacht that we were told was Kenny Chesney's. This week, Key West is hosting high-powered speed boat races. We got to walk around and ogle the boats and the trucks that transport them - $$$$, $$$$$, $$$$. We walked quite a bit of the downtown. When we left Marathon in the morning, it was raining, but we had a good day in Key West - a few sprinkles, but the cloud cover was nice, because it was warm.

This morning, Eric gave me a tutorial on downloading pictures to Facebook so that I can create photo albums. Evan had also shown me, but I'm not a quick learner when it comes to computers. It will take me a while to get comfortable with that. I thought by using Facebook, I would most likely reach more people about our travels. There won't be a running blog, but a few pictures and a very short commentary should suffice. I'm thinking about just keeping up the blog for myself as a diary.

Eric left shortly after helping me heading to Titusville to meet friends and to go skydiving. He's never been; looking forward to it, but a tad nervous - who wouldn't be? He will be back late Thursday evening and hopefully we will be able to spend a little bit more time with him before he heads back home on the weekend.

This morning, Brian has been taking stock of all of our pumps on board, making sure we have duplicates and if not, ordering back ups. Let's see, there's two electric bilge pumps plus one manual bilge pump, a water pump, shower/sump pump and an a/c pump. He also found a roll of gasket to place on the inside of our hatches to keep any driving rain or crashing waves out of the inside of the boat. Even though the gasket has an adhesive, it didn't stay up, so he bought some type of glue and redid them - hopefully this time they will stay in place.

Reading: Lauren: finished a trio of fluff books by Kasey Michaels - Dial M for
Mischief, Mischief Becomes Her and Mischief 24/7 - not my usual read, but
they were given to us, so now I can pass them on. Next up is John Grisham's
The Rainmaker.

Brian: John Ringo's Claws that Catch (scifi); Cruisin' World

November 7, 2013

Last night Brian and joined several other couples for bocce ball - my team lost both games, but we had a good time. This morning I cooked home fries, eggs, English muffins and bacon then finished the last coat of varnish on all of the bright work. Today is our first day of winds less than 20 knots, so we are thinking about taking a dinghy ride up the creek out towards Sombrero Beach.

We have an elderly neighbor (Hank) that leaves his boat at first light for a bit and then once back on board he sits ALL day in his cockpit either reading or napping. Last time I baked banana bread, I had Brian drop off a loaf to him - he was tickled pink. Several days ago, we noticed that we hadn't seen Hank for a couple of days, so we stopped by the office voicing our concerns. Thankfully, Hank is ok and had taken a trip to St. Petersburg for a bit. Every once in a great while you hear of someone that has passed on and it takes a while before someone notices.

November 10, 2013

This past Saturday the plan was to walk to the City Marina Park for the Arts Festival that we had seen advertised all week. Then we were going to back track slightly to the American Legion to check out their weekly yard sale and we also heard the "Cheese Man" was back in town. At the same time, Marathon had a parade scheduled, so we would see that while we were either perusing the yard sale or the arts festival. One, there was not one tent set up for the arts festival, though there were several soccer games being played by youngsters; two, there were maybe a total of four tables set up at the American Legion including the "Cheese Man" and three, the parade consisted of about 10 vehicles (mostly flatbed type trucks with people either sitting or standing in the bed of the trucks) adorned with red, white and blue banners, lots of flags, some of the men were in their uniforms AND they drove by at about 35 mph - no kidding - that was the parade. So, we decided to continue our walk to IHop for lunch and we waved at the parade of vehicles as they zipped by. On our way back to the marina we stopped to purchase cheese from the "Cheese Man" - Brian chose an onion cheese and mine was a hot pepper - yum.

Eric came back from his trip up north to Titusville to skydive. He was so nervous about the skydiving, but ended up having a blast. While his father was at work, we taught Eric how to play Mexican Train (dominoes). He seemed to enjoy it and we enjoyed his company.

Today, Brian and I decided to take another dinghy ride to Sombrero Beach before the rain started; practically no one on the beach at 8 in the morning. We swam a couple of laps hugging the shore and just enjoyed the quiet. Bought myself a better quality mask (the Costco brand just didn't do it for me - too many problems). Tried it out and works great! Walking the beach, I found a piece of blue sea glass - it's not quite "ready", but to me, it's a keeper; the blue glass is so hard to find. The other day when we were here, I actually stumbled across a Hamburger Bean (it actually looks like a miniature hamburger). The whole time we were in the Bahamas, I never found any. These beans originate in tropical regions of the world. They are also known as "sea beans" as they are carried by rivers into the oceans. Mid afternoon, the heavens opened up and it just poured and the winds whipped up - almost lost our beach towels - had them hanging out so the rain would rinse out the sand and salt, but the winds were a bit much.

I have mastered getting the dinghy started, driving it and bringing it to the dock and getting it tied off to the cleats - freedom!!!!! Lol Probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is. Still working on learning my way around Facebook.

November 12, 2013

Last night we invited Wayne over to discuss traveling with us after we leave the Bahamas. Wayne seems excited about it and there were quite a few issues to discuss. Brian would still like to circumnavigate - me, not so sure about that still. So, having a third person aboard would ease my mind. Though, do we want to give up our privacy for the next couple of years? Will we be able to stand each other day in and day out? I am willing to travel beyond the Bahamas this year; it would entail some overnights, but only one or two overnights at a time - rest would just be day hopping to the Virgin Islands.

Read: Brian - Cruisin' World Magazines, Passages South (The Thornless Path to Windward)- 10th Edition by Bruce Van Sant

Lauren: Plum Lucky by Evanovich, Malice by Lisa Jackson

November 18, 2013

Not much going on. Yesterday, Brian and Alex from Kay-tee took down an old storm sail track. Brian hoisted Alex up the mast so Alex could take out the screws that were difficult to get out, but Alex used an impact driver and it made the job less difficult. Brian is also thinking about adding a strong track to our existing slot on the mast for our mainsail. That sail is very difficult to raise and bring down and I can't handle it at all. The mainsail never comes down more than ¾ of the way, so Brian has to stand on the Sissy or Granny bars to finish taking it down and when we are under way, this can be a bit precarious. I'm always behind the helm pointing the boat into the wind to make it easier bringing the sail down, but I'm watching to see if Brian is going to slip and fall - THAT is a tad nerve wracking and would not be so great if one of us got injured. Adding this strong track should make handling the mainsail much easier. I need to be able to master the sails if Brian is down for some reason.

Last night, we sat out on our top deck - actually sat on our rescue pod (emergency raft) as other than the cockpit there is no place else to sit. We were discussing the constant maintenance of our abode. It's not like when we were C.L.O.D.s (cruisers living on dirt) - this is just constant maintenance. Because of the boats constant motion, moisture in the air, the corrosion from the salt, the wear and tear of the lines, sails, etc., there is ALWAYS something that needs to be maintained almost on a daily basis. So for those that think we are out here just sipping sundowners and lazing about, well.....we are sort of. And the dust and dirt - where the heck does that come from??? Tho, I suppose I wouldn't be happy unless I had a rag of some sort in my hand or a dishtowel (my crutch) hanging over my shoulder.

Another issue that NO ONE wants to discuss is cockroaches. We were playing a game of Mexican Train recently when I saw the biggest cockroach ever walking across our ceiling. I wanted Brian to use the fly swatter (wouldn't kill it) to stun it, making it easier to grab (he was also closer). Have to say, these cockroaches don't freak me out, but I'm disgusted if I even think we have any on board which apparently is so, so common on boats. So that's one reason for the CONSTANT cleaning, wiping, putting down Boric Acid everywhere, etc. Anywho, Brian didn't use the fly swatter (he tried to catch it), missed and now we have no idea where it is. We are assuming it is still on the boat. They only come out at night and we discovered they not only crawl extremely fast, but they fly. We think that's how we got this one - just flew onto our boat and made it self comfortable - yuck! One cruiser we talked to, mentioned they have been battling cockroaches for 4 years - she has an immune system problem, so cannot use any chemicals to battle the little suckers, but she did discover accidentally, that they like Kaluha - she had left a small amount out overnight and there were about 5 floating in the glass in the morning - hmmmm. To me, that is NOT a waste of good liquor - lol. These cockroaches are crafty little buggers.

November 21, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATTY AND COREY

Since we have talked to Wayne about joining us next Spring to travel with us after we leave the Bahamas and he has excitedly accepted, Brian decided it was time to go through his tools, spare parts, hardware, etc. and consolidate. We needed to make some room for Wayne's things. The boat looked like a bomb went off. I spent all morning sorting tapping screws, flat head screws, nuts, bolts, washers, etc. (can never have enough). We came across a small can of white paint - not much, so I decided to paint the insides of a couple of bins while they were empty - used up the paint and made the bins look better. This morning everything was put away.

Last night we met up with other cruisers and played a couple of games of bocce ball - my team finally won a game.

Brian has decided to go forward with the Storm Track for the mainsail. Tomorrow, we unhook from our mooring ball and head up a canal to Sombrero Beach Marina to have the work done. Brian and his brother, Wayne took down the mainsail and took off the boom (saving us a few dollars). On our next calm day, Brian is going to hoist me up the mast (first time) so that I can plug the holes that were left behind from taking out the old storm sail track. We found aluminum putty that we were told will work better at filling the holes than using rivets and last forever.

This morning we took a 2 mile walk to the Wooden Spoon for breakfast and stopped at Home Depot (again) on the way back. Back on board, I decided to finally tackle washing the third screen panel for our cockpit that I've been putting off and then I scrubbed our four float cushions and took up the floor grates in the cockpit and scrubbed the undersides of the grates and the floor. Again, it's absolutely amazing the amount of dust, dirt, hair, etc. that gets caught underneath these grates. I always feel so much better after giving something a good scrubbing.

December 1, 2013

Wow, hard to believe it's already December. We had a quiet Thanksgiving; met up with Brian's brother, Wayne and had dinner out.

Last week we took our boat to Sombrero Beach Marina to have it outfitted with a Strong Track for our mainsail. The day before this was scheduled, we dinghied over to see exactly where we had to take our boat - the slip was narrow and not much turn area as the water was rather shallow. So, of course, that night I didn't get much sleep fretting over getting the boat into the slip. Fortunately, I got the boat into the slip without any mishaps; another boater saw us coming in and came over to lend us a hand with the lines. I was such a nervous wreck about the whole thing, but kept it under control. Once the engine was off, I had to sit for a bit. I'm hoping one of these days I won't get so worked up about maneuvering the boat in and out of slips. Thankfully, it's rare that we do this, though grabbing a mooring ball in high winds and choppy waves can a bit difficult. Even anchoring has its problems at times, though we have picking up a mooring ball and anchoring down pretty good.

The last two days Brian has been shoring up our galley floor as it was a bit "soft". Wayne hooked us up with "Welder" Dave. After meeting with Welder Dave and deciding how to fix the problem economically and hopefully do it ourselves, Dave procured for us two pieces of 6 foot each aluminum bars. Brian was able to cut and bend the bars and use them as braces; a bit time consuming, but worked like a charm. I got to help by holding the bars in place while they were marked for cuts. I also handed tools and screws to Brian and I vacuumed up all the metal shavings and fine metal dust. Another job done!

Tonight the Marathon City Park will be turning on the Christmas lights. We will first stop by the Hurricane to see how the Patriots are doing, maybe have a few .25 wings and then head to the Park.

Reading: Lauren: John Grisham's The Last Juror; Mario Puzo's The Last Don; Jodi
Picoult's The Pact (I've read 3 of her books now and all 3 have been
engrossing); Lisa Jackson's Cold Blood

Brian: Bareboat Cruising; Grisham's Rainmaker and anything he can get info
regarding our cruise beyond the Bahamas

December 5, 2013

Two days ago, we got up fairly early, took a 2 mile walk to the Wooden Spoon for breakfast and on our walk back stopped for a few groceries. The winds were light, so I suggested to Brian that why didn't he hoist me up the mast so that I could plug the holes left behind from when we took off our old storm track? So I was put into the harness and then attached to a bosum's chair that has two side pockets. In one pocket, I placed a damp rag and a jack knife tied to a string attached to the seat; the other pocket contained my camera and the aluminum putty to fill the holes. On the first tug up, I internally started to panic, thinking "What the heck am I doing?" But I just concentrated on holding onto the stays as I was hoisted upwards. Once I was at the top of the old track area which was more than ¾ of the way up the mast, I took out my camera (hoping I didn't drop it - my hands were shaking quite a bit) and took a few pics. Then I started working on plugging the holes. The damp rag was to wipe off any excess, but it didn't work very well. I discovered that using the Jack Knife worked much better at scraping the excess putty off whether the putty was still pliable or even after it hardened. The work was a bit time consuming. I actually started enjoying myself up there.

Next thing I know, the Fisheries and Wildlife patrol boat was along side our boat. The officer in charge told Brian that we were here illegally because we did not have registration numbers showing on the boat. NOT TRUE. Our boat is Federally documented in the state of Massachusetts which is one of several states that DOES NOT require the owner of the boat to register the boat. Actually, if the boat is federally documented out of Massachusetts, you CANNOT register your boat. Some states that require your boat to be federally documented also require you to register your boat, but not Massachusetts. Brian tried to explain that to the officer. Anywho.... He wanted our papers and Brian said he wasn't going to leave me unattended up the mast. The FWC guy told Brian to "Get her down." Geesh!!! I was liking it up there. So down I came and sat on the deck while Brian had it out with this guy. Brian was CRIMINALLY (yes) charged for not registering our boat here in Florida. One; we can't - we are not residents of Florida and two; again we are federally documented - we don't need to. Not so according to this guy - he was not kind and gave Brian a difficult time. He actually told Brian he could handcuff him now and cart him off to jail - GOOD GRIEF? So, now instead of leaving in about the two weeks as we had planned, we have to stick around til early January to go to court. PS: Brian, of course, researched the ticket and the F&W guy actually cited us incorrectly - so hopefully, this will get thrown out of court. HMMMM, I was wondering what Brian would look like wearing bright orange jumpsuit. He said he would rather do the 60 days then fork over the $500. He would be fed, be in an a/c building, laze around and watch TV and on Saturdays, he may be let out to do community work - told him I would wave to him on my walk to the grocery store. And since I just learned how to run the water maker and flush it out and take down all the pertinent info for out water maker log, I should be ok being alone. I have plenty of food, propane tanks are full AND I can now operate the dingy - lol. He said it won't come to that, but......one can only hope.

Yesterday, we took our boat papers and our ticket first to the Marathon Tax Office - they are on our side. They did some research and printed off a couple of documents for us. From there they sent us to see the supervisor over at FWC. The guy we met with gave us a difficult time; left there and stopped by the county clerk's office to see if we could move up our court hearing - we weren't even in the system yet - that could take up to 30 days (according to the ticketing officer), tho we found out they have 5 days to get the paperwork in. Later in the afternoon, Brian took a walk to the Attorney General's office, but couldn't get past the secretary. There are at least two other boaters with criminal charges pending. The FWC has been a bit heavy handed lately and the cruisers here in the marina are in an uproar over the way they are being treated. Apparently, every three years, the FWC graduate students and take them out and wreak havoc in the marina. One boater got ticketed for having a small and I mean small hole in his throw float and was charged $78. Ridiculous! Another guy was out fishing in his dinghy and FWC was going to cite him for not having a throwable in his dinghy. If your dinghy is less than 16 feet you are not required to have a throwable float. He had the required whistle, light and life jackets. He asked FWC, "What happens if I fall overboard? I'm alone - who is going to toss me a throwable?" He didn't get a ticket. What FWC is going to do is run off boaters. This marina is probably the biggest money maker for the city of Marathon and it's a great marina - clean, plenty of showers, decent laundry facility, nice huge common room for reading, TV, games, working on computers; they even have rooms so that cruisers can work on large projects for their boats such as fiberglassing, sail repair, sanding, painting, etc. AND the people who run and work at this facility are wonderful. We boaters spend a lot of money here, between the grocery stores, the cabs, shuttles, renting vehicles, West Marine, Home Depot, Kmart, movie center, the theater for plays, the dolphin center, the turtle center, museums, restaurants, etc. Some of the boaters are already saying that they don't need the hassle and won't come back. What a shame! Quite a few of these cruisers are retirees and trying to enjoy their time here. Most of us are here for a few weeks to a few months getting ready to move on to other areas and it's a great place to re-provision and take care of other essentials.

Shawn, who I believe is in charge of the Marina is trying to schedule a meeting with the Director of FWC and the cruisers - that could be a pretty rowdy meeting. Brian also has a call into our Massachusetts Senator - still waiting on that return call.

December 13, 2013

Update on the FWC issues. The FWC refused to come and meet with the boaters here at the marina - well, that, of course, did not go over well. So after telephone calls to the Mayor's office and city council members and writing emails to get the message out there as to what's been going on, we cruisers have now been invited to speak at the City Council meeting and the Mayor and FWC has scheduled a meeting here at the marina to hear our complaints and review the regulations that are required by the FWC.

For us personally, after getting no where here with the local agencies, Brian contacted the FWC headquarters and a Major in the FWC returned his call and listened to Brian's grievance. After doing some research, the Major got back to us and agreed with us. We should have not been charged criminally, but he said we still had to pay a fine (less than originally cited). Brian thanked him profusely, but also let him know that it still wasn't fair that we were getting fined for something totally out of our control. There is no way for any boater from any state that federally documents their boat, but cannot register the boat, to legally be here in Florida waters. We couldn't register the boat here even if we wanted to because we don't live here. According to Florida law, you need a permanent residence here and if you sign Under the Pains and Penalty that you live here, it is perjury and Brian, being an attorney, could lose his license. Brian relayed this also to the Major. The Major has called us a couple of times and is genuinely concerned about this issue and agrees that the regulations need to be addressed - maybe he could eventually get our fee dropped.

Now that our fine has been dropped from criminal to a civil fine, Brian went to the clerk's office of the court, to see if we could move up our hearing so that we could hopefully argue our case and get the fine dropped. First we found out the date of our hearing was actually an arraignment date - good grief! Thankfully, the criminal charge was dropped and the court already had it in the system, BUT the first available date to be heard was in May - great!!! We could mail in an affidavit to the court along with the fine fee and then it would be looked at - we may or may not get the money back - my guess is not get it back.

Brian and Corey from "Thin Line" were asked to represent the marina at the city council meeting - they did last night. They each got 2 minutes to speak. Corey outlined the numerous complaints regarding the treatment by the FWC towards the cruisers and residents of the marina and Brian outlined our dilemma. Brian from "Sea Mist" is a writer/reporter. He came to our boat and interviewed us and took our picture and pictures of the boat. He will have the article published in Boat US and/or maybe another boating magazine - our 15 minutes of fame.

After last night's council meeting, several of us cruisers from the marina stopped at the Hurricane for .25 cent wings and to commiserate - it was a fun evening. When we got back to the boat, we played a game of Mexican Train - I'm on a winning streak.

Cold front came through last night - great sleeping weather. Still "cool" this morning, so a great morning for baking cookies while working on the blog. Also prepared a potato salad, cooked hardboiled eggs and made egg/ham/cheese sandwiches for breakfast. Never made it out of the galley til after noon.

December 15, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATRICK

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BO (17TH)

Last night we watched the boat parade from our boat - about 10 boats total. Beautiful evening to sit out in the cockpit. We are ready to leave Marathon; waiting for a weather window. Brian has decided to skip town without paying the imposed fine for being here "illegally". At least it's not the criminal fine still that would follow us to Kingdom Come. Will probably do laundry and grocery shopping before we head out. Our friends Ted and Barbara from Rosa are here at a nearby marina having work done on their boat. They are hoping to leave this week. It would be nice to be able to travel with another boat over to the Bahamas.

We got our Air Breeze Wind Generator back from EMarine and low and behold their WAS something wrong with it. Thankfully, even though it is now out of warranty, they did not charge us for the repair. Brian worked on putting it back together and then I helped him put it back up on the arch - that sucker is h-e-a-v-y! Regarding the wind generator that came with the boat; we never knew if it was putting out any amps, so Brian bought an analog amp meter and NO, it was not producing any energy. EMarine said they would look at it, again, we have to ship it out - expensive and then there's the cost just to have them look at it let alone fix whatever is wrong with it. Last year we had SALT (Sea, Air, Land Technology) check it out. They couldn't find anything wrong with it, but charged us quite a bit just to check it out. They did say that it may not be plumb on the arch - LOL - good grief, it's a sail boat and always moving. It's NOT going to be PLUMB unless we are sitting on the hard. Anywho, Brian took it upon himself to try and figure out what the heck was wrong with it. He retraced the wires and found numerous problems, so he rewired the unit AND IT WORKS - YEAH!!! So, now between the two wind generators and the two solar panels, we are good to go.

This morning while Brian was futzing with the computer, I mailed out a few Christmas cards. I guess I should really learn how to send cards via computer. I'm just not tech savy, but I'm learning. Have to say it's been interesting perusing Facebook.

December 19, 2013

Last night the marina had their big meeting with the FWC, Mayor and City Council Members. Brian was one of the first to speak about our dilemma and asked if our civil fine would be dropped. We were told "no", but later during a break, Brian talked to a Captain FWC and said most likely our civil fine would be dropped, but he didn't want to announce it to the room, just in case..... WHEW! Didn't want that hanging over our heads. The meeting actually went rather well. I think the FWC "heard" us cruisers about their harsh treatment with the cruisers. We get that they have a job to do, but it's the way they were going about it. Left the meeting with a major headache.

Looks like we have a very short weather window Sunday through Tuesday if we want to leave for the Bahamas. We want to sail over, not motor, but just because you have winds, doesn't mean they are from the right direction for sailing - could make it rather rough. We may just chance it or we could spend more time here and wait for the next weather window. We are good to go - just catch up on laundry and a bit of grocery shopping. This will be my last entry til after we get either to or through the Bahamas.

WISHING ALL A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON AND A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

September 15, 2013

Here in Newburyport, we were never able to haul the boat out as scheduled. The day started out with black skies and rain; we had to wait for high tide anyways for the haul out, so we sat on the mooring ball for a bit. When we were able to start out, we called the nearby bridge tender to open the bridge for us. Weather started to clear, the tide was high and made it through the bascule bridge just fine. Up the Merrimack River we traveled; about a mile to the haul out area. That did not go well. The tide was still running a bit and the haul out area was so, so narrow to get into. Brian took control of the helm while I ran up and down the decks of the boat holding a fender between our boat and any other boats and or docks while trying to get in. The owner of the marina actually wanted us to back our boat into the haul our area. As I’ve quoted Brian before, “Our boat doesn’t back up worth sh_t!” We were able to maneuver the boat ever so gently near the haul out area, I threw the bow and stern lines to two guys helping us, they turned the boat around and THEN we were aground – REALLY! After all that?? We were both a tad upset as Brian had called several marinas for the haul out; did they have the equipment to handle our boat, the dept of water, pricing, etc… So, here we are aground at high tide – geesh!! So, as we left the marina and headed back, called the bridge tender for another opening, Brian called other marinas in the vicinity, but being Labor Day, no one was available to take our calls. We picked up the same mooring ball and took off clothing and work materials and headed to my mother-in-law’s home. The next day, Brian went back to the boat to continue the prep work so that he can get the deck painted. He was able to talk the Harbor Master into letting us leave our boat on the town dock; got a great deal for the month we would be off the boat. Evan was in the area, so he was able to help his dad for two days prepping the boat. Brian really appreciated it and I’m glad they had father/son time.

Met up with Nina and Adrian of “Dolphin” from Clinton. Had a wonderful time visiting with them and playing Liverpool, of course. Now that Nina is back to work, Adrian told Brian (several times) that he would be glad to crew with us if we wanted the help and or company. Have also met up with Gail and Glenn to see their newly refurbished swimming pool and landscaped area and dinner (Glenn is a wonderful cook). Also met with Pete and Judy for cards, of course.

Had my sinus surgery this past Tuesday; have to “take it easy” for a couple of weeks (I’ll probably give it almost a week – it’s hard to do nothing). Brian took off the wooden screened frames for the hatches from the interior of the boat and sanded them down. I have got them stained and two coats of poly on them – they look great. Yesterday, Brian was able to get his first coat of primer on the deck. Prior to that, he’s been repeatedly filling and sanding all the dings, scratches, holes (we inherited them all). It was time consuming. Then he’s been taking off all the hardware and filling those holes with a silicone to keep out any rain. The whole of the deck including all non-skid areas have been sanded and EVERYTHING has been taped off. Today he left early – it’s going to be a long day for him; wipe the deck dry, re-sand all of it, clean all of that up and then apply another coat of paint. Another one of my jobs will be to polish all the stanchions before they go back up. Before my surgery, I helped my mother-in-law with some work that I would not have been able to do after the surgery; met up with Meghan at Costco and did a major re-supply.

Yesterday, Caitlin hosted a birthday celebration for our grandson, Colin. He recently turned two – what a cutie!!!! Today, Meghan and Caitlin are taking me to Boston for “High Tea”. It was nice just the three of us.

October 6, 2013
Well, we’ve been back on board since September 29th. Prior to leaving Newburyport, Evan, Wayne and I spent a couple of days getting the boat back in order. Brian hoisted Evan part way up the mast to tape off some fittings – Ev took a picture from his perch of the topsides of our boat – neat picture!

Motored, sailed and motor-sailed to Plymouth and dropped anchor mid-afternoon. Brian’s brother, Wayne is joining us for a couple of weeks. From Plymouth, we sailed to Vineyard Haven on Martha’s Vineyard – Wayne was able to touch base with friends he hasn’t seen in two years. From Martha’s Vineyard we sailed five days, four nights on the outside and came into a slip in Beaufort, NC. I am always at the helm when we get on and off our anchorage, mooring ball or bringing the boat in or out of a slip. I did just fine bringing the boat in and did especially well getting it out of the slip when we left, but I am such a nervous nit about it – especially bringing it in – between wind and current, boat traffic, all the spectators, etc. Sometimes, after docking the boat, I just feel like I’m going to have a meltdown – don’t look at me, don’t talk to me, don’t touch me, etc… GEEESH!!! Think I have a problem????? Brother!!!!! Each time I am put through this process, though, I have to say I gain a tad more confidence; you would never know it looking at me. It’s been a year doing this – one of these days, I might actually feel good about doing a decent job. The boat was in desperate need of a wash down it was so crusted with sea salt. The three of us couldn’t wait to hit the marina’s showers. Our passage was actually pretty uneventful – two nights were a bit bumpy, but we really lucked out on the mild weather and fairly calm seas. Unfortunately, not much for sailing as the winds were always on the nose. It is wonderful having a third person on board to help with the night watches – what a difference it makes in all of us getting a decent amount of rest on our down time. Our goal was to make it to Charleston, but because we used so much fuel, we only got as far as Beaufort. Still it was wonderful to rest up. We actually had a couple of hitchhikers – a couple of sparrows flew in and traveled with us for a bit. Walked the small town and had dinner at a Mexican Restaurant (eh) and back on board we were entertained with music played along the wharf while we sat in the cockpit. On one of my morning watches I did see a pod of about a dozen dolphins swimming along with the boat – quite a few young ones that would leap out of the water – mesmerizing!

Because of inclement weather coming in, we decided to continue our travels for a bit on the ICW. We left Beaufort late morning and got off the dock without incident (when we pulled into the slip, it also went very well. At the moment we are anchored in Mile Hammock Bay (the heavens opened up just we were anchoring), Camp Lejeune which covers a lot of territory. Not sure if we will be leaving tomorrow – will have to see what the weather has in store for us – apparently we are getting hit with remnants of tropical storm “Karen”.

October 9, 2013

On Monday, we motored all day to Carolina Beach; several hours before dropping the anchor it started raining – saw one flash of lightening and heard lots of rumbling. Once anchor was dropped the rain really started coming down and the winds were whipping up. (last year we were anchored here, the weather was the same). Monday evening I had a difficult time getting to sleep. By 6 a.m. I was having pains in my right side that very quickly turned excruciating and along with dry heaving and feeling feint, it was not looking so good for me (I thought maybe appendicitis or a bowel blockage). Brian called 911 and the police came out to pick me. I had to crawl from our forward berth to the cockpit – so, so very painful. Once in their boat, I was transferred to a waiting ambulance. The attending was absolutely wonderful – she was pretty sure I was having a kidney stone problem. She set up an IV and gave me anti-nausea meds along with a painkiller. Brian got to ride in the front seat and had a lovely chat with the driver about our living on a boat. I was taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center. There was a much larger hospital in about the same vicinity, but the attending said it was already crazy there in the emergency room. So at the Hanover facility, I was taken right in and hooked right up an IV. After drinking a special dye drink, I was given a scan to make sure it was a kidney stone. Come to find out, one of the reasons I was in so much pain (though, kidney stones can be very painful), was because I was very dehydrated. We left the hospital about 3:00 p.m. and went to see a urologist. He said the stone was a bit too small to operate on and it had traveled quite a ways; he said the stone was near the end of its journey, though it could be up to seven days for it to pass – whoopee! Stopped for a couple of prescriptions and picked up some burgers for a late dinner – got back to the boat 7:00 p.m. – long day!!

Today, feeling much better and fixed blueberry pancakes and bacon for the guys and tonight since we will still be anchored, I will make chicken parm. The rain looks like it may finally end today, but the winds are pretty strong still. We will stay on the ICW when we leave tomorrow; one, because of me (in case I have to see a doctor again) and two, because the seas will still be rather rough from this storm). I am suppose to drink tons of water – that’s one thing I just never do, but I’m doing as told which means I’m in the head a lot.

PS: passed the stone – can’t believe such a little barb can cause so much pain – hope I never go through that again!

Books Read: Lauren: Vince Flynn’s Transfer of Power, Jack Higgins’ The President’s
Daughter and Robert Ludlum’s The Osterman Weekend; also
whipped through 3 Janet Evanovich’s books – Plum Lovin’, Plum
Spooky and Finger Licken Fifteen and Pieces of my Sister’s Life
By Elizabeth Joy Arnold while recouping from nasal surgery

Brian: Vince Flynn’s Act of Treason, The Secret Agent; In Search of
America’s Greatest Spy by Stephan Talty; The Complete Guide to
Digital Photography – he also downloaded the magazine The
Economist to his Kindle; Frozen in Time by Michael Zuckoff


October 13, 2013

We arrived at Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina after an all day sail and an overnight sail from an anchorage just north of Charleston. We tried to get into Charleston, BUT every slip, even the mega dock was full. So we anchored in a nice quiet spot surrounded by dolphins – a very quiet and restful night. Left the anchorage before sunrise and headed down the ICW towards the outlet to the ocean only to go aground twice. Thankfully, a local stopped by and gave a couple of wakes to jar the boat off the sandbar. It worked and soon after he left, we went aground again, though this time we were able to get off of the bottom ourselves. This area apparently is known for shoaling which is not made known to boaters. I was at the helm and after the first going aground, I did not take it very well, BUT when we went aground the second time, Brian was at the helm, so….. didn’t feel so bad after that.

On our sail to Fernandina Beach, Brian and I saw a few rays jump completely out of the water – neat!!! We did troll for fish, but the only thing that caught the lure’s attention was a couple of seagulls. I normally do the sundowner and sunrise watches. Still not fond of overnight watches though with Brian’s brother, Wayne on board, it’s been great – having a third person on board makes such a huge difference in the overnight watches especially when it’s consecutive overnights. When we got to our slip, I maneuvered the boat into the slip just perfectly according to Brian and Wayne and I have to say I wasn’t so worked up this time and also felt I did a pretty darn good job. First thing we did was gather two weeks of dirty laundry and headed to the showers and Laundromat. Even though there was AC in the building, I had that hot water running for a long time; it looked like I was in a sauna by the time I finished the shower. Yeah, I know – what a waste of water, I’m sure some of you are thinking, BUT when you haven’t had a decent shower in two weeks time – need I say more???? Yes, we have the cockpit shower, but it’s just not the same.

Took a walk about the downtown after our dinner – so quaint and so much history here. It would be tempting to spend another day or two here, but we are working on getting Wayne back to Marathon for work even though he could easily take other transportation from here, but we can always stop by here again. I’m looking forward to getting to Marathon and just STOPPING for a few weeks before heading to the Bahamas. This year we are thinking about traveling to the Virgin Islands after the Bahamas. We’ll see…..

October 19, 2013

Ended up staying at Fernandina Beach Marina for two nights as the tail end of Tropical Storm Karen decided to linger. When we left, got off the dock with no problems and motored to the fuel dock and came in nicely between two yachts. Fueled up and off we went – out the channel to the ocean – a bit lumpy with 6 foot swells, but a good deal of wind so we were able to sail. Wayne was due back in Marathon on the 18th, so we didn’t dawdle and also used our engine. We traveled for 3 consecutive days and picked up our mooring ball in Marathon 9pm on the 18th. Booted Wayne right off – lol. Actually, he couldn’t wait to sleep on his boat, not to say his accommodations here on our boat were so bad – I do think he might miss all that home cooking, though. Since we had great traveling weather overall from NH to Marathon, I was able to prepare something delicious and nutritious (as I use to tell my kids whenever they asked “What’s for dinner?”) for every meal. Used Wayne’s shower card and then sat out in the cockpit for a bit to reflect on our travels from Portsmouth to here. We really lucked out on the weather, except for the few days we had to hold up because of Karen.

July 1, 2013-07-09

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM AND GLENN

July 9, 2013

Back on board. Left Annapolis in mid-June and headed to Tewksbury, MA and stayed with Brian’s mom for a week helping her out with chores and such – she appreciated it. Got to see our children, our grandson and friends. It was great seeing everyone and being able to spend time with them. While there, Brian worked on re-screening our hatches and making new hand rails that were missing from the topside.

Headed out to NY and stayed with my sister, Lisa and her family for a few nights and helped with some prepping for the reunion. My parents knew about the reunion part, but didn’t realize the extent of the get together. Lisa had tracked down our mom’s remaining high school graduates and all were able to attend plus there were old friends and acquaintances and cousins that we haven’t seen in years. The 80th birthday/60th anniversary/reunion was a big hit even though we had a couple of torrential downpours during it. Tons of great food, of course and plenty of leftovers, so no cooking during the week we stayed with my parents.

Brian spent part of the week finishing up the woodwork for the boat. Took my parents out and about: toured antique tugboats at the locks in Waterford, took them for a ride to Lake Champlain to visit one of my dad’s brothers who was unable to attend the celebration; checked out a few antique shops, ice cream establishments, any errands they needed done and housework and weeding; took them to Five Guys (they had never been) and they enjoyed those hamburgers. The weather was rather oppressive the whole week – even with thunderstorms every afternoon, it didn’t abate the heat - we were thankful for my parents’ pool. Sad to leave, but…..

Left my parents’ house on the 8th about 7:30 a.m. and arrived in Annapolis about 4 p.m. Met with Chris from Portside Marine to go over the job done on the shaft and some more issues they discovered, but that’s finally done. Tomorrow Chris will replace our decrepit water muffler. Marine Tech out of Hilton Head is still refusing to foot the bill for their blunders, so still fighting that. Today we have numerous small jobs that we will work on plus grocery shopping, return the rental and then leave tomorrow morning heading north.


Reading: Lauren: House by Dean Koontz, Prey by Michael Chrighton, started Chrighton’s The Great Train Robbery, but couldn’t get into it – will most likely try again.
Also read several others – just can’t remember them as I left them behind for someone else to read. Currently reading Sandra Brown’s Unspeakable which will get finished today

Brian finished Dante’s Inferno and is currently reading a lengthy book called An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa by Rick Atkinson


July 10, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVAN, ANNIE and JEFF (always in our thoughts)

Left Bert Jabin’s Boat Yard in Annapolis and motored around the point to downtown Annapolis. Was sprinkling but got off the boat anyways and decided to take a tour of Annapolis Academy – wonderful tour – the facility and all that it encompasses covers 338 acres. Impressive! The sun came out along with the humidity. We stopped and enjoyed a buffet lunch at one of the two eating establishments open to the public on the grounds – took our time and enjoyed the a/c. From there, Brian and I enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the downtown; window shopping and checking out the various artists exhibited. Back on board late afternoon – watched sailboats coming in from a race and then parading their boats around the harbor – hopefully some of my pics came out half- way decent. Just as the last boat came in, the winds picked up, the sky turned black and it started pouring. We turned on our instruments and the wind speed reached 37.5 knots. The storm didn’t last too long. Played a dominoes game of Mexican Train – Brian beat me again at this game, but this time only by a few points.

July 12, 2013

Left Annapolis 8:45 (late for us) yesterday – we’re watching the weather – it was cloudy and drizzly, but we decided to head out and see how far we got. We got further along than we had anticipated as they skies cleared, though, again, so muggy. No wind to speak of and what there was, was on the nose, so we motored all day. Made it to the C&D Canal (Chesapeake and Delaware); passed a freighter going the opposite direction – they are just huge and it never seems like there’s enough room for you and them in the channel – my stomach was in knots til I realized we were ok – thankfully the channel is deep out beyond the buoy markers, so if I had to, I could have given the freighter a wider berth. We motored only two miles in to the first fixed bridge and found the one and only place for boats to anchor when traveling through the canal. Started heading into the mouth of the anchorage when we ran aground – the charts show 10 feet of water at low tide. Apparently with all of the heavy traffic of freighters, the bottom shoals up in places. We were able plow through it and anchored among four other boats. Don’t you know, right where we ran aground, there was a restaurant at the water’s edge (it figures), so they were entertained for a bit. Watched as another boat coming in and did the same thing. Talked to the people next to us and he gave us advise of which side of the mouth was best to enter and exit – duly noted for when we leave. While anchoring, Brian discovered a problem with the roller for our Rocna Anchor – this is the anchor we always use – a heavy duty anchor. The nut on the end of the bolt apparently had worked itself loose and fallen off. Thankfully, the bolt did not work itself loose or we would have lost that along with the roller the anchor chain rides up and down on. Our backup anchor was already rigged, so we anchored with that. We are in a nice little hidey hole – so shouldn’t have to worry about any current dragging us about. Just another job for Brian.

Raining today – we may still head out later and travel the rest of the canal – another 12 miles and then hole up in an anchorage beyond it as we would not make it to Cape May before dark. Keeping busy with housework (always), updating the blog, etc. Maybe even a rematch of the Mexican Train.

Lauren: Dan Brown – Deception Point
Brian: Kurt Vonnegut – The Sirens of Titan

July 14, 2013

It’s 8:15 a.m. Just getting over a miserable migraine (are migraines anything but???). Well Brian and I did have that rematch of the Mexican Train game and I finally won a game – woo hoo!!! The night before we dragged three times – our Danforth Anchor just couldn’t hold in the silty mud – so we were out there in the pouring rain resetting the anchor; on the 3rd time we dragged, Brian decided to pull the Danforth and put the Rocna Anchor down – he had tied seizing wire around the bolt and that held it in place while he lowered the anchor and when he pulled it up again, thankfully it was still in place. Once we get to Cape May, we will find either a hardware store or a West Marine to replace the lost nut. Left our little anchorage and got out into the canal without running aground. The current was running with us – which is great – but we took it off autopilot because there was so much movement of the boat – back and forth, back and forth adjusting to the current. I felt more comfortable actually taking control of the helm. The next issue was hoping we wouldn’t see any freighters – it’s a bit scary watching one of them come at you in a channel. We lucked out and didn’t see one freighter the whole twelve miles. The trip was mostly uneventful – we saw several pods of dolphins – haven’t seen them in a while and we ran into three rain storms – the first one was accompanied by thunder and lightening, but thankfully didn’t last long and the last two were just rain and there was no gusts of winds or build up of waves with any of them.

Our original intention was to get through the canal and then drop anchor another couple of hours out as Cape May was just too far – don’t like getting in anywhere in the dark. Turned out we actually made it just outside of Cape May and anchored near a beach and dropped anchor just as it got dark. Got up in the night (always) to check on the boat – to see if we had drifted, etc. The first time I checked, we were good; the second time I could hear the lapping of the waves on the shore, so I knew which way we were facing and I swear I could hear dolphins – wish I could have seen them – never get tired of watching them.

Today we will motor around to Cape May – should take us about an hour and half.

July 16, 2013

Well, we didn’t stop in Cape May; truly disappointing as I’ve wanted to visit this area for many a year, but things happen, so we are booking it North. Just outside of Atlantic City, Brian saw about a 9 foot Great White jump clear out of the water. We heard that they are the only shark to do this – to check to see what’s around – scary!!! We also saw two good-sized sea turtles. Sailed and motor sailed all day, through the night and all the next day to New Harbor (Block Island) – 22 hours. I’ve decided that if we can get away with traveling overnights, I’m all for it; just way too stressful for me. I always seem to get sick which means I don’t eat hardly a thing for all those hours and I just can’t sleep when I’m suppose to – always frazzled to the point, that I just don’t want to be on the boat. We traveled through several large fishing vessels – they were spread out a long ways. It’s not like we intentionally plotted our course to end up in the middle of their fishing grounds. One of them kept going back and forth in front of us – Brian kept adjusting his course to stay out of the vessel’s way and when we got closer, the fishing vessel did an about face and almost hit us. Brian repeatedly tried several times to hail the captain on the VHF, but no response.

There must have been several hundred boats in New Harbor. Finally found a decent place to drop anchor after tooling around the harbor for a bit; dropped anchor, got it set, wrote in our log book the weather conditions, engine hours, any problems or interesting sites, our position, etc. – this is done at the beginning and end of each day). We just sat down to chill out when I pointed out to Brian that the people on the boat behind us were at the bow of their boat taking pictures of our boat. We thought maybe they were looking at our arch system as we’ve gotten quite a few compliments on the structure (thank you Charlie!!), so Brian stood up to say “hello”. Well, they were not very kind – they were upset because they thought we anchored too close and that our boat was going to do a lot of swinging on it’s anchor. She was taking pics just in case we dragged anchor and hit their boat. Brian tried to reassure both of them, that one: we were over anchored and had the appropriate amount of chain out for the depth we were anchored in, our boat is heavily built and does not “swing” and also the weather was predicted to stay mild; basically no winds and being in a protected cove, there would be no major current pushing the boats about. They wanted us to move, but the only other place to anchor was in over 50 feet of water which would have meant that all of our chain had to be put out – Brian does a ration of 5 feet of chain for every foot of water depth, so…. We were very confident in our choice to anchor and that we were not going to hit anyone. Maybe they just didn’t want anyone near them. A little bit of wind did kick up and guess whose boat was swinging? Not us!

Next morning, we were still in the same place. We pulled up anchor at 5:45 and started out. We were out of the bay making our turn north, when Brian decided to wipe off a bit of sea water that was crusting up on the engine, when all of a sudden his paper towel got sucked in the air intake valve which Brian didn’t realize was just below the part of the engine he was wiping - ooooops. He immediately shut off the engine and thankfully we were not near anyone or anything so that we could drift about while Brian started to dismantle the new engine to see if he could get the paper towel out. It came out in one piece from the air intake compartment – whew. Like we needed another headache. On our way again. Got to sail for a bit, but the winds didn’t last so we motor sailed and then just motored. Saw a few freighters up close, but none in the Cape Cod Canal as we traveled through; anchored in Plymouth Harbor. Tomorrow should be a fairly short travel day to Salem, MA.

Reading: Lauren: Finished Dan Brown’s Deception Point and Jay Bonansinga’s Perfect Victim; starting the trilogy The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Brian: Deception Point and Sole Survivor by Dean Koontz

Arrived and stayed in Salem, MA for almost a week. Got some jobs done on the boat. Brian replaced two winches that worked, but are not compatible for our boat. We walked about Salem a few times and also took the train into Boston for a day. Got to visit Brian’s mom and our kids.

July 22, 2013

Motored sailed to Isle of Shoals. We saw either a young or small whale. Also saw a huge seal with a large flounder (we think) in it’s mouth flapping it around in the water. Picked up a mooring ball.

Next morning we were fogged in and then it rained all day, so we stayed put.

July 24, 2013

Left Isle of Shoals 6 a.m. heading to Portland – weather looked promising. Half hour out and we hit fog. Re-programmed our navigational equipment so that half the screen was radar, so that we could tell if we would be traveling near any fishing vessels. Our visibility for four hours was about a half mile plus peeling our eyes out for lobster buoys created a bit of tension. About 10 a.m. the fog lifted – yeah – and made traveling a bit more comfortable. We dropped anchor on the back side of Cliff Island – looks like a large area for anchoring, but between outcrops of rock in the bay, there is not room for very many boats. Thankfully, we were the only transient boat – there were a couple of other boats, but on private moorings and in shallower areas. The anchorage was a bit rolly, but very quiet. We dropped out dinghy and went looking for mussels. It’s been quite a few years since we’ve been in this anchorage, but the last time we found tons of mussels, so we were really looking forward to collecting a few. We found exactly one – thousands of opened ones – must be either sea gulls or maybe seals??? Disappointing to say the least, but it is still nice trolling around the area in the dinghy. We did come across a headless seal floating around – guess it got too close to some fisherman’s pots.

July 25, 2013

Made an appointment at Gowan’s working marina in Portland to have our final inspection done on our new engine. There’s been quite a bit of vibration again with it – don’t think that is normal. The marina is definitely a working marina – lots of fishing vessels – large and small. There was only one other sail boat here getting serviced. There will be no charge for us to be on the dock since they will be servicing the engine AND we are steps away from downtown Portland.

The mechanic stopped by at 7:45 the next morning – wow! After starting their inspection, they noticed some issue yet again with the install. Will this never end???? The mechanic could not adjust the height of the engine to realign the shaft (it was vibrating more than it should have been). As the mechanic says, “It was vibrating the peanut butter right off the bread.” The mechanic that installed the engine (Marine Tech) had made the aluminum mounts the wrong size, hence the engine cannot be adjusted up or down. The mechanic also found that the original installer had reversed the rear and front engine mounts. One of the studs on the engine mount had sheared off, SO, yet again, we are sitting here waiting for new aluminum mounts. On the upside, we do not have to pay dockage fees and there are tons of restaurants and shops to peruse.

July 27, 2013

Today, Brian installed new chalks at the bow of the boat – these chalks are used to guide any lines used to tie up at the dock – there were none previously on board. I did a major cleaning inside the boat and then worked on polishing and waxing the stainless steel on our arch system – worked up quite a sweat. Today was our first good weather day in several days. Tomorrow it will be in the 60’s and rainy – I think the week is supposed to be cool and rainy.

August 2, 2013

The engine job is done and we took the boat out for a trial run – there is now a minute vibration with the shaft and all looks good. We discovered that the original installer did not register the engine as they should have when the job was initially done, so Yanmar did not have any records on file for us – that would have been the start of our warranty period. Took care of that. I’m sure Marine Tech of Hilton Head is just going to be thrilled with the bill they get for the latest work that was done because of their muck up and Yanmar won’t cover the cost of one of the engine mounts that broke (it was installed on the wrong end of the engine and with all the vibration that was going on, it broke) because it was “an install problem”. The weather is messy today, so unless it clears up this afternoon, we have permission to spend the night. Good time to catch up on the blog.


Brian: Finished Jay Bonansinga’s Perfect Victim and almost done with Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown (an Indian history of the American West)
Brian has his scuba diving license from way back so he’s brushing up on that through PADI doing online study session and testing.


August 3, 2013

Weather looked like it was going to clear yesterday, so after lunch we left Gowen’s Marina; stopped at the next dock and filled up with diesel. It’s definitely a diesel dock heavily used by the fishing vessels. The dock hand said that when some of these boats fill up their bill is between $30,000 and $40,000 for diesel and ice. On top of that, there is maintenance of the boat, insurance, employees, etc. You wonder how they can make a living? We motored out and once we were beyond the harbor we cut the engine and hoisted our main and head sails and had a nice sail all the way to within a half hour of our anchorage. I was so excited to actually spot two loons and one of them was singing out his call; I just love that sound. I actually really love listening to birds that make that mournful sound – owls, loons, morning doves, etc.

We picked up a mooring ball several miles short of our intended stop; Sebasco Bay. We had stopped here years ago when we had Evan with us on a sailing trip; it was his 16th birthday. I remember a dinner/play we had attended. We had also signed up for a kayak trip; the day we were scheduled to do that, it was pouring – the rain was coming down at a slant, wind blowing and rather chilly, but we were game and our guide was pleasantly surprised that we still wanted to go out. I recall that we all had a wonderful time! This time, we just spent the night and left mid-morning towards Boothbay Harbor. Found a place to anchor and took our dinghy in and walked about town.

August 8, 2013

Left Boothbay after spending a day and a half . From there we sailed to Tenant’s Harbor (actually Long Cove off of Tenant’s). It was a cold sail – raw and windy and it’s August in Maine….. and so, so many lobster buoys to navigate around. Last time we were in this area, there were no mooring fields, no lobster buoys to contend with and even on land there were many more houses. Spent one night here anchored and then onto Rockland.
Spent a couple of days here – lots of walking – laundry, groceries, home depot… Walked around town a few times – again so built up from our last visit.

At the moment we are on a mooring ball in Camden – Cait and Bobby are coming for the weekend – yeah!!! Again, so crowded – it’s all mooring fields – we were hoping to anchor – and mooring balls are not cheap – geesh!!! Brian’s on land checking us in while I cleaned up lunch dishes and readied the boat for Cait and Bobby.

August 18, 2013

Well, Cait and Bobby came to spend a weekend with us in Camden, tho the evening they arrived, it was pouring, cold and the swells in the harbor were rocking all boats. Bobby started feeling uncomfortable within a few minutes. He felt it would be wise to get a room at an Inn. Next day, we met them for breakfast on land, stopped at a pharmacy for Bobby and then walked around town for a bit for the meds to kick in before heading back out to the boat. This time, he did just fine. The swells were finally down, no rain, but the wind was up which made for a great sailing day. Bobby was game, so off we went for about an hours sail – both Cait and Bobby enjoyed it.

Brian and I left Camden and motor-sailed to Swan Island; the winds were really flukey; up then down all day long and from different directions. Saw a few seals and ton and tons of lobster buoys to navigate around. Nice quiet bay – three other boats came in to bay to anchor – nice quiet night.

Arrived in Bar Harbor on the 12th and anchored outside of the mooring field among lobster buoys – kind of hard to anchor among these buoys and not expect your boat to rub against them; anchored next to Gary and Jodi and their dog, Reo from Country Dancer. Jody is a three-time world country dance champion – impressive! Our boat got rocked quite a bit between the lobster boats and tour boats going in and out all day, but hey – anchoring is free!! While in Camden we perused the downtown; did the three mile walk around Jordan Pond and then stopped at Jordan’s Restaurant for their famous popovers and a cup of chowder – perfect for such a grey and damp day. We also walked a tiny portion of the 45 miles of historic carriage roads that are open for biking, walking and equestrian use. Mt. Desert (pronounced Dessert) Island offers free use of their shuttle busses to connect the park with surrounding communities and we took advantage of them. It would have been nice to have more time to spend here to explore all the hiking trails, etc.

Left Bar Harbor this morning and did a ten-hour motor-sail (wind mostly on the nose) to anchor in Tenant’s Harbor. It was cold, overcast and damp – not a great day to travel on the water especially when our cockpit is open to the elements – brrrr!!!! We did notice that when we looked up towards the sun, it was surrounded what looked like to be a huge soiled cloud-like disc which in turn was completed surrounded by a rainbow – pretty neat – could only see if it you were wearing sunglasses. From here we will do another long day to Portland and spend at least a full day there before heading to Provincetown.

Reading: Lauren and Brian: J.F. Freedman’s Above the Law & Lauran Paine’s Open Range (we’ve seen the movie starting Robert Duval and Kevin Costner)

Lauren: Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman and also The Angels Command both by Brian Jacques

Brian: Jack Higgins’ The Killing Field, Vince Flynn’s Kill Shot

August 20, 2013

Anchored in Portland Harbor and after dinner sat out on our life raft at the bow of the boat and watched all the comings and goings of lobster boats, tour boats, tiny rental sail boats, etc. Almost a full moon – so bright!

Someone interested in our Yamaha 6/hp outboard that we’ve been trying to get rid of for quite a while, so we will pick it up from the consignment shop here in Portland and bring it back to Mass for pickup. Took a walk about town and stopped at Hamilton Marine. Nice big marine store and much less expensive than West Marine. Picked up new lines for our dinghy davit (actually they were remnants, so an even better deal!). Once back on board, Brian changed these lines out while I did a load of bucket laundry – nice sunny, breezy, warm day for hanging out laundry.

Dinners: Have gotten away from writing our meals down, though, hard to believe, people really like to read about what we eat.

Chicken thighs in red wine sauce - Basically, sautéed chopped bacon with onions, mushrooms and garlic – brown chicken skin side down – add wine and chicken broth – cover and simmer

Cheeseburgers – used the left over mushroom mixture from above to top the burgers along with chopped jalapenos, etc.

Cheesy potatoes (added roasted red peppers) and pork chops

Cut way down on the baking, but do occasionally bake cookies

Home made hummus with the last of the roasted red peppers added in – seems to be a big hit – this time we served it with a cut up baguette

Chicken salad – always cook extra chicken to use in other dishes

August 26, 2013

Our good friends, Pete and Judy came and stayed on the boat with us this past weekend here in Portsmouth. We had a wonderful time! Since they had a vehicle, we took a ride to the Kittery Trading Post and checked out a few of the outlets. We toured downtown Portsmouth, poking around in the shops; went to a Brew Pub and Pete, Judy and Brian tried a few of the beer samplers (I stuck with the Scotch); toured Strawberry Bank (flower gardens); played cards and just had a great time being with each other.

We are scheduled to have the boat pulled and dry-docked for most of September in Newburyport and we tried to get in early, but they have no slip space for us right now, unless we want to stay on the town dock, but we’ve done that before there and anyone can walk by the boat and/or sit on benches practically right on top of the boat – so really, no privacy at all. We will stay here for a few days and then anchor a mile back in Pepperell Cove before heading to Newburyport.

At the moment, we are actually at the Prescott Public Town Docks here in Portsmouth, but on an end dock, so we have some privacy. We sat out in the cockpit and listened to the musical “Annie” – the actors did a wonderful job. Tuesday evening, the Park featured The Avengers on a large screen – we were able to hear and see it from our boat.

August 29, 2013

Discovered Newburyport Harbor Master had a few mooring balls available, so we reserved one instead of heading back to Pepperell Cove to anchor out for a few days. Left Portsmouth late Wednesday morning and got off the dock unassisted and without incident – yeah!! As we were motoring out of the channel, I happened to glance to my right and about a half mile out there was a bridge. Behind the bridge, it was either smoke from a large fire or fog rolling in; it was fog. As we cleared the last buoy out of the channel, the fogged just about enveloped us. Brian put on the radar screen overlapping the chart plotter – it was a big help – actually showed us all the lobster pot buoys plus all of the fishing boats. We did fine, but there were quite a few fishing boats of all sizes plus some pleasure boats crowding the mouth of the channel getting into Newburyport. We proceeded slowly and just as we were looking for the Newburyport Harbor Mooring balls the fog started lifting – as soon as we snagged the ball (on the first try) the fogged dropped around us again.

Today, it is windy and raw. A great day for puttering. Brian has been prepping the topsides for painting. He is going to tackle this very complicated, detailed and time consuming job. He started by filling in any holes or cracks with the West System – once it’s dry, it’s then sanded down and sometimes refilled a couple of more times. He’s been on his knees for day crawling around the deck filling these holes and dings (not from us) and I went behind him today and taped over any fillings that were on corners or upright sections, so that the filler wouldn’t run out. The boat looks like it’s got a lot of boo boos – so many pieces of blue masking tape all over the boat – I should take a pic – it looks ridiculous. This poor boat was neglected in so many ways for a lot of years. One reason for doing the paint job is because Que just needs a face lift and the other reason Brian is doing it himself is because the cost for someone else to paint the boat is astronomical – really!!

It’s getting way to darn cold to be taking our showers in the cockpit, so Brian took off to find some plumbing parts and odds and ends to jimmy the faucet in the bathroom (head) so that we can shower in there – it would be way warmer though will have to figure out how to retro fit a shower curtain so there would be minimal cleanup afterwards. While he was gone, I thought it would be a great time to take inventory of our food supplies – that was fun; crawl, squatting, lifting, pulling out, putting, back (quite the workout) and then update my excel sheet. Well, Brian’s back and his trip was a complete bust.

We are scheduled to have the boat hauled out on Saturday, but we discovered there is a Riverfest scheduled here this weekend, so we rescheduled the haul out to Monday. That gives us a bit more time on the water to get things squared away for the haul out and to dinghy in to enjoy the festivities.

Dinners: Cheesy Potatoes with roasted chicken thighs and carrots
Steak tips with couscous mixed with sautéed onion, garlic and spinach
Chicken Schnitzel with left over cheesy potatoes
Judy’s sausage and peppers on rolls
Left over sausage and peppers mixed with rice
(rest of S&P will be mixed in marina sauce)

Reading: Brian finishing Dean Koontz’ Sole Survivor and lots of material on how to
paint the deck of the boat

Lauren – Ken Follet’s Fall of Giants

THE STATES:

Arrived safely at Fort Pierce – picked up the ICW to get to the marina and boy was getting to our slip at the marina a bit confusing! Instead of saying “hook a left off the ICW at marker such and such, take a right into the marina and at first dock take a left and your slip number is …., but NOOOO we got this whole rigamarole that just confused the heck out of us (apparently also “Dolphin” didn’t understand their directions either). Anyway, we missed our dock and had to turn the boat around in a very crowded marina – it was a bit nerve wracking as; one, the boat does not turn on a dime (though, if we had a bow thruster, …. one can only dream) and the boat does not back up “worth sh_t” as Brian would say. We managed to get the boat turned around without hitting any other boats or docks and made it into our slip without incident. We’ve never been at a slip that we’ve had to tie off at pilings (basically a telephone pole stuck in the ground); we were not quite sure how to lasso the pilings as you are also handing off lines to the dock hand while trying not to plow into the pier in front of you, or scrape the boat sides, but we managed albeit not the smoothest operation, though the dock hand said we were doing just fine – it definitely helps when you have dock hands that are calm and can give precise info as to the how’s of it all. Asked the dock hand if anyone was watching – he said “no and that you did just fine”. He lied – come to find out, we were so absorbed in getting the boat docked that not even 150 feet away there was a restaurant with a large outdoor section that overlooked the marina – SOOO, everyone was watching! Geesh!!! We celebrated that night by going out for a pizza – the first one since we started our journey.

Brian met with a mechanic regarding our engine – we were all set to go forth and replace the engine by the time we got talking with him, but his boss couldn’t guarantee that the new engine would be shipped by no later than next Tuesday. We want to get North and staying a night or two at marina is a treat for us – we can’t afford to stay here for two weeks, (we were willing to spend a week to get the engine replaced) though the showers were wonderful, the laundry facility is brand spanking new, the facility is very clean and neat and we are meeting cruisers that we’ve met on our trip throughout the Bahamas.

Went to leave the marina, but our draft is 6 feet and we were in 5 feet of water – couldn’t budge the boat – got to stay another night for free.

We were able to leave the marina next day – nervous about backing the boat out of the slip – I was at the helm while Brian took care of all of the lines. Thankfully, it was calm and early in the morning, so we didn’t have an audience. We did just fine.

May 12, 2013

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Have been motor/sailing the ICW. Hit a couple of rain squalls with thunder and lightening, but no high winds – they didn’t last long. Long days!

Reading: Lauren – finished “Galilee” by Clive Barker and onto “Dracula” by Bram
Stoker
Brian – finished “Snowman” and is catching up on his Cruising World issues

Dinners: Pork chops with left over potato salad
Pasta with asparagus
Left over pizza
Pasta with peanut sauce and broccoli

From Fort Pierce we’ve motored the ICW to Cocoa, FL – Mother’s Day breakfast out, then off up the ICW rest of day and anchored just south of New Smyrna Beach Bridge.

Next day a 12 hour motoring day as the wind was on our nose all day – anchored on the Matanzas River, 7 miles just shy of St. Augustine – long day!!! Onto St. Augustine and picked up a mooring ball for a couple of days. While in St. Augustine, we walked the town and found another restaurant that offered pizza – way better than we had in Fort Pierce.

From St. Augustine, we motored, motored-sailed and sailed all of 28 and ½ hours to a marina in Hilton Head, SC so that we could have the engine looked at and hopefully replaced. I took first watch from 8PM – 11PM. Brian and I opted to sail several miles (about 10 miles) out from the mainland – “Dolphin” sailed along the coast. The sunset was beautiful. Saw some fireworks about 9PM – even as far out as we were, they were still pretty impressive and kept me occupied for a bit. Don’t like doing the night watches. The sea was fairly calm, so that alleviated some of my apprehension. Still, our cockpit is not comfortable – no cushions – it’s open to the elements which means it gets cold and damp. I played some scrabble and just kept an eye out for other cruisers, freighters/tankers, constantly watched the monitor to make sure we stayed on course and that we had plenty of water depth – it actually was pretty shallow for being about 10 miles out – average depth was about 40 feet; didn’t have to call Brian for anything. Second watch for me was 2AM – 5AM. After that shift though, I only slept for a half hour. Went above and kept Brian company. Early morning, the waves calmed down even more, so we opted to take showers. The water was nice and hot from running the engine and I didn’t have to worry about any peering eyes as we were still out quite a ways, though getting closer to land and our entry to the ICW towards Hilton Head. Boy, did that shower feel wonderful!!!

Reading: Brian: The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria
Lauren: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (have read before – excellent!)

Dinners and lunches on the ICW/and on the outside – anything I could get made up ahead of time and eat cold, because 1) depending on the weather – I don’t do well in the galley when it’s unsettled and 2) after traveling non-stop for 2 days – who really wants to cook let alone eat – we just want to crash

Talked to the mechanics today regarding our engine – we have decided to stay here and get it replaced. We said our goodbyes to Nina and Adrien of “Dolphin”. They anchored out and will be moving on tomorrow. Hopefully someday we will be able to meet up with them. We have been traveling with “Dolphin” since we met up with them the second time in Warderick Wells, Bahamas – we will miss them. Tomorrow we move from this marina to the working dock. Brian is going to break down the engine and do as much as he can to cut down on the cost of the job. We are going to rent a vehicle while here and do a bit of site seeing once they start working on the engine. We are hoping that all of the work will be done before next weeks long weekend – can’t believe it’s almost Memorial Day Weekend! Our friends, Gale and Glenn are here at Hilton Head for two weeks and we have tentative plans to meet up with them on Monday afternoon.

May 26, 2012
The last couple of days, Brian has been dealing with the mechanics. We have to install a new shaft for the propeller as ours will be too short for the new engine – the boat will have to be pulled from the water for this. One of the mechanics ran wire to two negative terminals of the two battery banks and Gary, who will install the engine, came and took several measurements so he will have everything in order for the install. After the engine was pulled, Brian and I spent the afternoon with Gail and Glenn. Late afternoon, Brian and I cleaned out the bilge; what a mess, between the sludge, grease, the sweat (it was so humid) and the non-latex paint we applied to the bilge, we looked like we hadn’t showered in a week – we were rather gross. Gail and Glenn generously let us stay at their time share for the night so we wouldn’t have to smell paint fumes – nice!

Yesterday, we took a ride to Savannah and walked around for the day. There was an actual chill in the air – almost felt like Fall – refreshing! We had a wonderful walking tour of Savannah.

This morning Brian worked on putting together and installing his hot water manifold that runs to the bathroom and kitchen sinks and also to the cockpit shower. It took all morning, but went rather well. Running the new hose went much smoother than he had anticipated. Of course, there was quite the clean up afterwards – always is. In order to do any work on the boat, the boat has to be torn apart – literally - and then find places for all the stuff that has to be moved so it’s not in the way. When the work is done, we make sure the areas are thoroughly cleaned before closing all compartments back up and then everything else gets put back in its place – this is done for EVERY job! I did go and do one load of laundry just so I wasn’t underfoot all of the time.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day – Hilton Head does not have a parade, but there will be some speeches and singing – we may attend.

June 1, 2013 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

Spent Memorial Day in a “Doc in the Box” – nasty sinus infection and migraine – was there for almost three hours – very busy place (actually we beat in the crowd, but there were a couple of emergencies – which I didn’t understand why they weren’t at a hospital). My initial wait wasn’t long, but once in the examining room, well….. The doctor actually stopped in after an hour and profusely apologized and “Do you mind if I take care of the emergencies?” Really??? Jimminy Cricket!!!! Told him to please, please go ahead – I was ok. When he finally got around to me, he couldn’t stop apologizing (told you the Southerners were so polite). He even called me the next day to check up on me.

June 3, 2013

This morning knowing it was going to rain all day and waiting for the marine tech (we are expecting him at 10), I decided to make us our version of Egg McMuffins – they were yummy! Yesterday, being Sunday, knowing I wasn’t going to be disturbed by having floors taken up for work, I baked oatmeal raisin cookies – that’s an all morning diversion. Very frustrating that we are still here at Hilton Head as it’s been one thing after the other with the engine install. There are always delays of some sort, but geesh, it’s going on our third week here!!! Today we are hoping the work will finally be done (we are assuming it will take all day ((very slow)), then there is the test drive, so maybe leave tomorrow????, though it’s suppose to rain all week, so since we are already on the monthly payment schedule here at the marina, we might just stay a few more days til the weather clears. Brian has laid out our route for the outside (weather permitting) and if and where we can duck into the ICW if need be. Nothing exciting going on here as the rental was returned on Saturday ‘cause we thought we were leaving that day. Brian and I take daily walks. Hilton Head comprises of many gated communities; the marina we are staying at is one of them, so in order to get back in we have to have a pass (and remember to take it with us when we go walking). I’m not sure I would want to live in a gated community. Downsides are the fees associated with it and so many rules and regulations that are strictly enforced. On the upside, there is no yard maintenance (yah, I know – me, who loves to garden), everything is nasty clean and neat and I suppose there’s a bit more privacy from the public, though the houses are literally on top of each other and the access to so many of the bike and walking trails, though you would have to have a pass for each gated community. Also, if I was to live in the South, I would most definitely have a pool. Swimming pools here seem to be almost non-existent. As in Charleston, here at Hilton Head the techs move at their own pace, even though they assured us we would be on our way a week ago; can’t even get too upset with them as they are so darn polite. Today is so humid that we actually plugged in to the dock and started our a/c – figured the techs would appreciate that.

Spent one morning (waiting for the tech) and defrosted our freezer and cleaned that and the fridge out. Doing lots of reading and catching up on emails. Also, as everyone knows, I really enjoy playing Scrabble on my IPad – me against the computer. I started making a list of words that the computer comes up with and looking them up in our Oxford dictionary – ¾ of these words are not listed – hmmm can the computer cheat??? Think I’ll have to invest in a new dictionary. If I look up the words on the Scrabble dictionary, it just tells you if it’s a useable word – doesn’t give the meaning of the word.
Brian got some great pics at the marina; a heron that came in each evening and beautiful sunsets with an old dock system in the foreground.

Dinners: Tuna noodle casserole and corn
Pasta with sautéed onion, bell pepper and tomato (starting to go) mixed in with left over spaghetti sauce
Home made nachos with lots of jalapenos
Fish tacos
Pork Chops with sautéed asparagus

Reading: Brian – finished the Jack Reacher series that he downloaded, then Tom Clancy’s “Changing Of The Guard” and is now onto “The Emporer’s Bones” by Adam Williams
Lauren: Started the Jack Reacher series, jumped to Karin Slaughter’s “Undone”, then Lisa Gardner’s “Live To Tell” and then just finished Vince Flynn’s “American Assassin”

June 8, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDY!!!

Well, this morning at 6:45 we were finally able to leave Hilton Head; three weeks to get the new engine installed, then we had to negotiate their fee down – it ended amicably, thank God. Headed out to sea, but yet again, the waves and winds were not what was predicted – we persevered and motor sailed (have to break the new engine in – for the next 50 hours we actually have a schedule to run the RPMS). We were doing fine til I had to go down below, then I ended up not feeling well. Our plan was to travel all day, overnight, next day and another overnight. Just before Charleston, the bracket for the end of the outhaul on the main sail busted; Brian temporarily fixed it in place with heavy duty line, but didn’t want to use the sail in case the line chafed. That was about the time the sea sickness got the best of me, so we opted to head into Charleston and up the ICW for a bit. The Charleston area seems to be a jinx for us. When we initially started our journey, it was at Charleston and if you remember it was the trip from hell. Anyway, dropped anchor at 8:15PM – cockpit shower and leftovers for dinner; reviewed charts and bed.

June 9, 2013

Traveled the ICW – 2 knots of current against us for the 12 hour trip, so a lot slower than we had planned. Saw an alligator partially submerged near the shore, quite a few turtles and some huge osprey nests. Brian took some pics of the trees along the shore that had their roots exposed. One thing about traveling the ICW is that I can go below without getting sick, so am able to cook; even though it’s slower travel there are some upsides. The water we traveled through all day looked like the color of tea. We had lots of company of enamored dragonflies (they were flying all over the boat in pairs ((actually they were mating as they were flying)). Also, Brian was kept amused for several hours trying to fly swat dear flies – they were so annoying. Pulled off the ICW in a Cypress swamp; it actually has a large cut through for boats. We anchored and sat out and ate dinner just listening to the quiet. Saw a family of ducks swim across the channel; lots of bubbles surfaced – don’t know if they were turtles or alligators, fish jumping, etc. So quiet and peaceful here. Tomorrow we will try to have anchor up by 6:00 and get a long day of travel in.

Reading: Lauren: Whipped through Lisa Gardner’s “Live To Tell” then onto Vince Flynn’s “Consent to Kill” (love those espionage stories). Now reading Ken Follet’s “World Without End” follow up to his “Pillars Of The Earth”

Brian: “The Inferno” by Dante

Dinners: Hot dogs with potato salad
Leftovers
BLTs
Chicken with pasta salad
Spaghetti with marinara meat sauce

June 10, 2013

Just before pulling up anchor at 6 a.m. and meandered to the other end of the Cypress swamp then out to the ICW, Brian saw an alligator swim across the bow of our boat. Did well today – tide was not against us all day like yesterday – we motored sailed 86 miles. All went well til we grounded and hit pretty hard at Shallotte Inlet, SC – I instantly got upset as I was behind the wheel – we were in the channel where we were suppose to be. We first tried backing up, then plowing through it, but we were stuck. Called Sea Tow and sat waiting for them – it was going to be about 45 minutes. The wind was blowing pretty good (too high for our mail sail), so I suggested we put our head sail back up again; we did and it tipped the boat enough for us to use the engine and work our way off the shoal. It worked!!!! Called Sea Tow back to let them know we did not need their assistance. The next area that gave us a bit of worry was Cape Fear River, NC. It was so windy (again, too windy for our head sail and we still can’t use our main sail til that bracket gets fixed – the main sail would stabilize the boat in the washing machine waves) and an incoming tide with an opposing current, which made it a bit uncomfortable for many miles; also a storm was brewing and we certainly didn’t want to get caught in that. We made it safely to an anchorage at Carolina Beach, SC before the storm hit. We are the only boat in the anchorage, though we are literally surrounded by houses, condos, apartments, and tons of boats – so guess we are waiting til dark to take our cockpit showers.

June 12, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERRY

Well, we are still at Carolina Beach. Pulled anchor yesterday just before 7 and headed up the ICW – followed my cookie trail out of the anchorage and grounded even though we were still in the channel – got off easily enough and continued on. Didn’t get a half mile when it felt like we were hitting bottom again, but the chart plotter showed us we were in 12 to 17 feet of water, then the boat made a funny noise – actually it scared us as we just put in the new engine and we shouldn’t be having any problems. Brian opened up the bilge while I stayed behind the helm with the engine running to track down the noise (it was a rather loud squeal); I yelled down to him that we had stopped moving forward – he looked out and said we were still moving – nope that was the current taking us. The shaft had come loose from the engine. I put the boat in neutral and let the current take us to the edge of the ICW and Brian dropped anchor; called Sea Tow and sat for about an hour. Phillip from Sea Tow turned us back around and took us to the first fuel dock. The dock hand called a mechanic for us and we were told they would be right out (this is mid-morning) – the mechanic arrived at 3. Anyway, he went over the problem with Brian. Well, our new problem is that the coupling for the new shaft was not properly attached; there is suppose to be a keyway that holds the coupling to the shaft – it was cut off when the new shaft that was ordered. It was a bit too long and when it was cut, the keyway was taken off with the excess. So, only two little set screws were holding this unit and they sheared off gouging the shaft as it was trying to turn in the coupling instead of with the coupling. The next hour Brian spent on the phone going back and forth between Bearing Marine’s boss and Gary from Marine Tech that did the work in Hilton Head – it went well enough – the engine is still under warranty (Mack Boring) and MB has say as to where the shaft should be fixed and, of course, they wanted us towed way off our route (hours off of our route), then wanted the boat hauled, then….. &&**&^^%%$#$. Gary from Marine Tech did not want to pay for that and okayed the local company, Bearing Marine that is certified by Mack Boring. He requested that they drill a hole through the shaft and coupling and bolt them together as the fix solution. Bearing Marine had wanted to pull the engine, take the shaft off, re-taper and re-key it. Marine Tech would not allow them to do that. We were not asked for our input on this. End result is they will be able to fix the problem here on the dock but not til tomorrow morning and then hopefully we can be on our way again. At this rate, not sure if we will make it to NE with the boat for the family reunion. Will have to ditch the boat along the way and rent a car to get there.

Was able to do several loads of laundry last night and we went for a long walk after dinner to blow off some steam. This morning Brian tried to saw off the broken main sail outhaul car bolt but his blades just started melting – does anything ever go smoothly??

Ate 7oz of peanut M&M’s last night - stressed?? or I just can’t stop at 10 (they are a favorite) – lol.

June 13, 2013

The Bearing Marine mechanic drilled a hole through the coupling and the shaft and bolted it all together, though he went through several drill bits doing it. Ran the engine through its gears and all sounded and looked good. Left the fuel dock about 12:30 and headed up the ICW and this time we made it to Wrightsville Beach 2:15pm without incident. We sat and watched all the goings on; jet skis, paddle boarding, kayaking, tubing, water skiing and then quite a few smaller motor boats buzzing around – very busy place; mostly really young adults and plenty of young women showing quite a bit of skin – Brian was enjoying himself. We both took a catnap in the cockpit, then discussed our next route – do we go outside or continue up the ICW? Of course, it ALL depends on the weather. We looked at all the weather and wind APPS and decided to make a run for the outside; took my seasickness pill, had dinner and pulled up anchor at 7:30pm. The winds were about 12 knots and we decided to sail even though we only averaged about 3.5 knots. The waves were only 2-3 feet, so it was a nice relaxing and a quiet sail. We actually did our cockpit showers while under way. I stood first watch at 8:30 – all went well til just before Brian’s watch at 11:30 – I got seasick – not just queasy (that always happens and lasts for a while) – this was ooops – sick. So, I lay down while Brian did his watch, but I felt so miserable, I couldn’t sleep, so I kept Brian company for a while. I eventually got a 2 hour rest and felt much better. Made it to the entrance to the ICW after sunrise and turned on the motor several (wanted to beat the high winds and waves that were predicted) miles out from the ICW to continue traveling for the rest of the day. Jumped on the ICW about 8:30am and dropped anchor on Pantego Creek in Belhaven, NC at 5:55pm. We were exhausted. We kept getting storm weather alerts – we knew the winds were suppose to get worse and we did see 33.4 knots and the waves really kicked up so we were heeled over quite a bit a few times; getting use to the heeling especially if the boat stays heeled to one side for most of the sail – it’s the swaying back and forth over and over again that is so uncomfortable – it’s hard to not get knocked around and if your behind the wheel, the legs and abs get a great workout, but I don’t think it’s worth it. The area that this occurred in was wide open and probably on the same square footage as Lake Champlain – there was no where for us to run and hide. We persevered and several hours after finally dropping anchor a storm did come through – the sky was a mass of angry black clouds and the winds whipped through at 40.4 knots (we turned on our instruments to check the wind speed); some thunder, lighting and a few sprinkles – it passed over pretty quickly; just glad we were done for the day.

June 15, 2013

Yesterday we did another 12 hour run. Brian had a difficult time getting the anchor up – he thought it was stuck on something. He actually dove on it (again – this water is so brown, you can’t see an arm’s length in front of you). Anyway, the anchor was not stuck on anything, it was just buried so deep in the silty mud. I put the engine in gear and drove forward over the anchor to dislodge it – that worked. Sailed across another very large open bay – winds bounced between high teens and 20 knots – it was actually a decent sail, except we kept hearing a low rumble, but mostly felt vibrations in the floor of the cockpit every time the waves pushed us from the side. Brian opened up the bilge to make sure the shaft was ok. Of course, everything looked just fine at a glance. We were just hoping to get across the bay and out of the rough weather. Finally out of the bay into Alligator River for quite a few miles and, no we didn’t see one alligator; had to drop the sail as the river was bordered heavily by large trees that cut the wind.

Today we actually got a great sail in across part of Pamlico Bay before having to turn on the motor, though once the engine was running, we could still feel that vibration that just doesn’t seem “normal”. The most interesting part of the day was when we reached Norfolk, VA – it was mile upon mile of battleships, carriers, a medical ship, submarines, destroyers and cargo ships – absolutely impressive! Dropped anchor after 11.5 hours in Phoebus/Old Point Comfort anchorage area – we are the only ones anchored here – nice!!!

Continued on to Annapolis – Brian called Mack Boring to get the name of a marine tech that could do the 50 hour service on the new engine. We found the marina after traveling 12 hours. It was after hours, so we had to dock the boat ourselves and, of course, I started worrying about it miles before we got there. It was a pretty narrow channel passing by several other marinas - so many boats. The wind was down and current pretty calm; Brian walked me through what had to be done to dock the boat; we did just fine. Sometimes, I have to shift the boat into reverse for a couple of seconds to stop it from going forward, but I didn’t have to do that. Brian was able to just step off the boat onto the dock – I threw him the lines and he tied off the boat – a perfect docking and no one to see it – it figures – lol! We got cleaned up and went for a ½ mile walk to a restaurant. Then we walked another mile and ½ to a grocery store and picked up a few items.

The next morning we met with Chris, the marine tech scheduled to do the 50 hour service. That’s when he discovered that the “new fix” on the shaft was broken. The new hardware was lying in the bilge – the bolt had sheared right off and the set screws had gouged the shaft even more. That may explain the vibrations we were feeling. Chris was so upset about how the “new fix” was done; not done properly which would have been to haul the boat and redo a new shaft with the keyway – NOT drill through the shaft and the coupling and attach it with a bolt (this is actually how Bearing Marine at Carolina Beach wanted to do it (the correct fix), but Gary from Marine Tech wouldn’t approve it because they didn’t want to pay for the more expensive fix even though it was the proper way for it to be done and their responsibility. Chris stated that if at anytime we had shifted into reverse, the shaft would have shot back and major damaged to the prop which would have rendered our boat useless. Needless to say, Brian and I were a tad upset. Chris absolutely will not fix the problem any other way but the way it should have been done the first time. So here we are again back and forth with Gary from Marine Tech and our new tech, Chris Oliver of Portside Marine trying to resolve the problem. Gary, at this point is taking no responsibility stating that it was Bearing Marine’s problem – not true – Marine Tech “hired” Bearing Marine to fix their mistake. Brian told him that wouldn’t fly, so now Gary is saying we are at fault. Hello????? How could we possibly be at fault? We aren’t techs. We hired Marine Tech to install the new engine and to do it properly – not take shortcuts. Instead of taken a week to week and ½ to do install the engine, he held us up for three weeks. He sent us on our way with the instructions to make sure we get the 50 hour service done on it and signed off on the trial runs – which is why we were in Annapolis. Gary is upset because he doesn’t want to pay for the fix yet again, but that is his responsibility, not ours since he mucked up right at the start. Now our boat is being hauled and will be out of the water for three weeks. We rented a car and unloaded stuff on the boat that we didn’t need and headed to Tewksbury to stay with Brian’s mom for about a week. We will get to see our children and friends. We received an email from Marine Tech, they are taking no responsibility for the shaft. They say it is our problem. Then next week, we will head to NY for my family reunion. Our boat is scheduled to be put back in the water about July 8th. Guess we will not be heading to Maine as originally planned. That’s okay, there will always be another time for that.

Received a call from Chris letting Brian know they hauled the boat and discovered that the shaft that was installed was still the wrong length – way too long! This was probably the cause of the vibrations we kept feeling. Brian called Mack Boring (the engine manufacturer) to discuss with them what has been going on. The engine works perfectly; the problem is that Marine Tech who is a Mack Boring rep botched the original install and will not make good on the job. So now we are basically homeless, unless Marine Tech steps up to the plate and makes good on their installation. Brian called the credit card company to dispute the payment to Marine Tech.

Staying with Brian’s mom; helping her with odds and ends, cleaning, gardening, etc. Running around doing errands, seeing our children and friends. Thoroughly enjoying ourselves, but the engine issue has definitely put a slight damper on our time away. Brian took our screens off the boat and replaced the damaged screens, sanded all the woodwork and is in the process of varnishing them. He also cut out new hand rails for the top side of our boat that were missing when we purchased it. Heading out to New York next week for my family reunion and celebrate of my parents’ 80th birthdays.