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.