When last we wrote we were in South Carolina and we are now in Vero Beach, Florida. We traversed the miles slowly without incident other than lots of shivering. A four day stay in St Augustine was a very welcome respite from constant traveling and gave us time to catch up on laundry, provsioning and exploration. They have a wonderful cruiser's shuttle which will take you anywhere you want to go for $5.00 and provides a great atmosphere to meet folks and share tales. It also gave us time to connect with our old neighbors who we shared our woods and dogs with for 25 years. They came out to Kanga for a very enjoyable dinner and plans were made to meet again in the spring.
The weather remained cold and while our home in Churchville was getting 31" of snow we were stuck on an anchor bouncing around for 3 days in Melbourne, Florida. The second day we were sitting below working on a puzzle when we heard "help, help me" and after a few puzzled seconds we ran on deck to see a man drifting by us in his dinghy. His motor had quit and he was furiously trying to paddle into the wind with one small paddle. Have no fear Greg was there. We quickly worked to lower our dinghy and put the engine on while he drifted further and further away. After what seemed like an eternity Greg went into the waves and wind to rescue him and tow him back to his boat where his wife was waiting with no idea he was in trouble. Another day in the life of a sailor!
Now we are sitting on a mooring in Vero Beach waiting for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas. It appears this weekend may provide the right winds and seas as if it all doesn't line up when crossing the gulf stream it can be uncomfortable and dangerous. This is our first time here and it is very pleasant. Yesterday we walked many miles on the beach and today we rode the free bus around town for groceries. I can see why they call it "velcro beach" for cruisers as everything is easy and all the cruisers are friendly. There are numerous folks here who we met last year, this year and from home which makes it even more fun. Yesterday we ran into our favorite dog from last year, Rudder on S/V Sanderling (sorry Hatch) and were able to stuff him with biscuits! It appears there is a dog in our future possibly sooner than our return as Dale on S/V Driven is going to look for a potcake for us once we get to the Bahamas so stay tuned.

Our time in Beaufort was very enjoyable once again and warmer than in the past so we were able to explore the town a bit more. There are many beautiful houses and flowers are still blooming as they haven't heard it's cold. We even heard from friends in the keys today who say it's only 70. It is slightly warmer at night and this morning we couldn't see our breath when we got up.
Yesterday was another adventure. We were happily motoring along past Hilton Head Island (inside the channel) and the depth sounder was reading 13' when at the same instant we hit bottom it read 5'. As our keel needs 5 1/2' we knew we were in trouble. It should also be explained that Kanga has a "winged keel" which means there's a big bulb on the bottom making it very difficult to get unstuck! To make matters more interesting the tide was going out. We tried unsuccessfully to free ourselves and then called tow boat U.S. which is like AAA for boats. He arrived quickly and tugged and pulled with his two 200 hp engines and on his last try before giving up we were freed. He reported that they call wing keels "plow keels" making us all the happier he was able to free us.
The above adventure occurred around 4 pm so we continued on to the most beautiful anchorage among the marsh grass. It was low tide so there were dolphins feeding all around us as the sun set. A good ending to a long day.

Touring through the low country of South Carolina includes lots of birds, dolphins and hunters. It's fascinating to watch them all. The pelicans fly together and coast along riding the breeze without any apparent effort while the dolphins do the same in the water. Egrets and Herons are wading in the marshes and the hunters are disguised in their boats that look like marshes. Unlike the eastern shore of Maryland where hunters hide in blinds these hunters cover their boats in marsh grass and just anchor them in the creeks surrounded by decoys.
Prior to leaving Little River Greg gave my phone a bath while filling the water tanks. How does water always find the one thing on the boat that can't tolerate being wet. We buried it in rice and hoped for the best but by Georgetown we realized it was hopeless so ordered a new one to meet us in Beaufort. This left us without internet as Greg has an antique flip phone and open wifi is rare despite our booster.
While in Georgetown we learned about the impacts of the October flooding and enjoyed the history and architecture. A dinner out and long walk are always welcome when living on a boat and we were able to enjoy both.
Thankfully we have the "little buddy" to keep us warm. It is a small indoor propane heater which we agonized over buying and storing before leaving in October. Thank you Al and Betty Caffo s/v Summer Semester for turning us onto this life saving device. We love it!!
Our hope is to do an overnight sail from Beaufort to Fernandina Beach, Fl. but if the nighttime temps don't get out of the 30's we'll be meandering through Georgia once again. Georgia is a very nice place but the ICW takes about 200 miles to go 100 miles. A long slow ride we would rather not take. We'll see what the wind gods have in mind and plan accordingly.

It's been quite a long time since I wrote anything but that isn't due to nothing happening but rather a failure to take the time since arriving back to the boat on 12/30/15. We knew there were a few things to do but were hopeful to be back on the move by 1/2/16 but when do things ever go as planned?
Prior to leaving for the holidays Greg discovered a small crack in one of our lower spreaders but we were lucky that our friend Chuck on s/v driven (aka Capt Ron's boat) for reasons unknown even to him, had a complete set of catalina 42 spreaders which he gave to us...problem solved, of course not. When our boat neighbor Jeff s/v manatee hauled Greg up the mast he discovered the spreader was about 4" too short and of course it was New Year's Eve and no welders would be open until Monday. Delay number one.
While we were waiting for a welder the temperature dropped from 82 to 52 so we pulled out the warm clothes and turned on the heat. Monday morning the welder opened and Greg was on his doorstep. Took him less than an hour, back up the mast, spreader attached and ready to leave but it was too darn cold so we decided to wait.
The two days of waiting included a chili dinner and haircut with Ms. Jill "Beaner" (aka Hendrickson) and a seafood pasta dinner with Jeff, Sandy and Hatch the dog on manatee. Wish we could get people to cook for us every night!! Finally dropped the lines on Wed. morning and headed south to the Cypress Swamp.

after arriving at myrtle beach yacht club in little river, s.c. on 11/9/15 we settled in for a few weeks of cleaning, waxing and projects. we still had plenty of time to see old friends, make new friends and enjoy the sunny weather.
on 11/23 we tucked kanga in for the holidays and headed north without her. we are now at home until after christmas and will be able to enjoy the season with family and friends before heading off to the bahamas in 2016. we will continue to report on our adventures then but until that time enjoy your holidays and love to all.

the past week has found us exploring the small towns of eastern north carolina. we have spent time in elizabeth city, belhaven and oriental. these towns are all very welcoming and in belhaven we were even greeted at a local restaurant by a chamber of commerce member. it feels so much better to spend money in these places than the big cities like charleston where our money may not be helping the restaurant survive another season. we also were able to get a new windex in oriental as ours was lost to a tree in the dismal swamp (thankfully the captain was at the helm).
we've been motoring along and had hoped to pop out into the ocean and sail when we reached morehead city but that would have meant waiting 5 days so we opted to move on. in morehead city we were able to tie up at a restaurant with another catalina 42 from md so we had dinner together and shared tales. the next day we saw our first dolphins as well as increasing numbers of pelicans. they are both fun to watch as they soar and leap.
an anchorage in camp lajeune allowed us to watch military manuevers overhead as we listened to lots of firing. the base provides training but also allows many birds to have their habitat so it seemed we saw every heron and egret in the state. the following day we completed the transit to wrightsville beach which included passing topsail island. i had heard much about this place from a college friend so was excited to finally see it in living color.
as i write this we are riding out a front in carolina beach with about 10 other boats. the temp was 88 yesterday and is 56 now, quite a change. soon we'll be at our marina in myrtle beach where the boat can rest for 2 months while we head home for thanksgiving and christmas.the past week has found us exploring the small towns of eastern north carolina. we have spent time in elizabeth city, belhaven and oriental. these towns are all very welcoming and in belhaven we were even greeted at a local restaurant by a chamber of commerce member. it feels so much better to spend money in these places than the big cities like charleston where our money may not be helping the restaurant survive another season. we also were able to get a new windex in oriental as ours was lost to a tree in the dismal swamp (thankfully the captain was at the helm).
we've been motoring along and had hoped to pop out into the ocean and sail when we reached morehead city but that would have meant waiting 5 days so we opted to move on. in morehead city we were able to tie up at a restaurant with another catalina 42 from md so we had dinner together and shared tales. the next day we saw our first dolphins as well as increasing numbers of pelicans. they are both fun to watch as they soar and leap.
an anchorage in camp lajeune allowed us to watch military manuvers overhead as we listened to lots of firing. the base provides training but also allows many birds to have their habitat so it seemed we saw every heron and egret in the state. the following day we completed the transit to wrightsville beach which included passing topsail island. i had heard much about this place from a college friend so was excited to finally see it in living color.
as i write this we are riding out a front in carolina beach with about 10 other boats. the temp was 88 yesterday and is 56 now, quite a change. soon we'll be at our marina in myrtle beach where the boat can rest for 2 months while we head home for thanksgiving and christmas.