Freilassen

To Set Free

Vessel Name: Blue Heaven
Vessel Make/Model: Sabre 386
Hailing Port: Eastport, MD
Crew: Chuck & Ann
About:
Retirement officially begins for both of us March 1. Married with two amazing daughters. Seeking adventure, good times with family and friends, and God's steady presence, especially when things get a little too exciting. [...]
Extra: A boat is just a house on the water with no address!
27 November 2016 | Charleston, SC - City Marina
07 November 2016 | Bellhaven, NC
06 November 2016 | Winn Bay
05 November 2016 | Coinjock, NC
03 November 2016 | Portsmouth, VA
02 November 2016 | Doziers Deltaville, VA
01 November 2016 | Solomons
26 July 2016 | Atlantic Highlands
10 July 2016 | Green's Harbor New London
01 July 2016 | Manhasset Bay
29 June 2016 | Atlantic Highlands, NJ
28 June 2016 | Kammerman's Marina Atlantic City
28 June 2016 | Henlopen - Lewes, DE
23 June 2016 | Summit Marina North - Chesapeake & Delaware Canal
06 June 2016 | Pittsburgh, PA
10 February 2016 | Pittsburgh, PA
Recent Blog Posts
27 November 2016 | Charleston, SC - City Marina

Sailing Alone Around the World

The title of this book published in 1900, "Sailing Alone Around the World", doesn't apply to us. Joshua Slocum launched a small boat from Fairhaven, MA and became the first person to ever sail around the world single handed (BTW he couldn't swim!). I found a small marker commemorating his adventure [...]

07 November 2016 | Bellhaven, NC

Southern Cooking

How do you know when you are really in the south? Its when you can get real southern cooking. You can suddenly buy the best peanuts in the country, hush puppies are mandatory, there are whole dried hams in the stores, black eyed peas and collard greens are side dishes with a hamburger, and shrimp n' grits are on many menus. We left Winn Bay to spend two days in Bellhaven, NC to rest. Not knowing what to expect we came to a town with one stop light and one of the best restaurants we have ever encountered. The restaurant Spoon River came out of nowhere and is in the most remote place I could imagine. We hadn't seen a house for about 100 miles of the ICW till we reached Bellhaven. We had no cell service. Doesn't matter, you need to find a way to go to Spoon!

06 November 2016 | Winn Bay

Perfect Day

Successfully transited the much feared Albemarle Sound from Coinjock without any issues. Used a triple reefed main to control the boat in high winds. Great run but very cold. The picture is sunset in our anchorage in Winn Bay. Perfect end to a perfect day.

05 November 2016 | Coinjock, NC

ICW

The importance of our coastlines to the military and defense of our country is evident in the history of the intracoastal waterway. In 1763, a young George Washington first proposed connecting the Chesapeake Bay to the Albemarle Sound via a canal subsequently to be known as the Dismal Swamp Canal. [...]

03 November 2016 | Portsmouth, VA

Nuclear Submarines as Hazards to Navigation

Another beautiful run of 57 miles. In fact Ann and I took turns taking naps. While underway we heard an announcement by the Navy that they were commencing "A Live Fire Exercise". That got our attention and we made sure we weren't near their location. We are headed to Hampton Roads home of Norfolk [...]

02 November 2016 | Doziers Deltaville, VA

Cubs Win!

We have never been this far south on our boat before. We arrived in Deltaville, VA after 53 miles in 80 F temperatures. We left Solomons into a beautiful sunrise and turned south. Great day, no complications. Doziers marina in Deltaville was fantastic and they had a captains lounge that was perfect for watching the Cubs win the world series! In reality I passed out about 11 and Ann at midnight when they were tied 6-6. We woke up to baseball history.

Sailing Alone Around the World

27 November 2016 | Charleston, SC - City Marina
Chuck - Yes, it is finally beginning to get warm!
The title of this book published in 1900, "Sailing Alone Around the World", doesn't apply to us. Joshua Slocum launched a small boat from Fairhaven, MA and became the first person to ever sail around the world single handed (BTW he couldn't swim!). I found a small marker commemorating his adventure and where he launched his boat in Fairhaven, MA while we were visiting this past summer. The only passenger he ever had was a goat that began to eat everything on the boat and he had to get rid of the goat. Sailing has a lot of romanticism associated with it and this usually involves escaping the hustle and bustle of modern life to a quiet place somewhere out on the water.
Surprisingly, since leaving Nov. 1, we have spent time with an amazing array of family, friends, and new acquaintances. Other than Thanksgiving day, we haven't been alone much. We spent the week of the boat show with good friends Mike and Ivy. We buddy boated for about the first week with Bob and Gail (MV Friendship). Great dinners and memories in Coinjock and Bellhaven. Dinner in Southport with John and Pam (MV Compass Rose). Four days with friends and former coworker, Jim and his wife Alice (plus Dudley the dog) in Wilmington. Thanks to them for driving us all over the place and showing us Wilmington (what a cool southern town). It was good to catch up after 11 years. And we'll be back in time for the Azalea festival to see Jim's finished trawler! We visited our daughter Liz for a day at Duke University. Visited with our neighbors daughter Michelle in Myrtle Beach and had a great time. We all enjoyed dinner and a James Bond movie on board. Brandon dived our boat and confirmed we hadn't damaged our boat when we went aground (that's another blog story). Thank you Brandon! And now we are about to eat our way across Charleston with my college roommate Mike and his wife Mary Lee for a week.
And this doesn't begin to describe the many new friends we made on the way. Why would anyone want to sail alone anyway!?!?!?!?
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Blue Heaven's Photos - Main
No Photos
Created 28 June 2016
Photos from Annapolis to the Sassafras river to C&D Canal
4 Photos
Created 23 June 2016