Bucket List Sail

We started this journey six months ago today. Alas, we are not quite home. After two grueling days of windy and cold sailing, we are holed up in Annapolis waiting for the wind to abate. This means we plan to arrive back home tomorrow! We are excited to get home and pleased that we undertook the Bucket List Sail. It surely has been a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

So, to back up a bit. We had to tackle the familiar Chesapeake Bay, 200 or so miles long, before we can complete our task. After fueling up, we headed out of Portsmouth/Norfolk on Tuesday morning. We found ourselves in better shape than one the way down—no warships hailing us for instance and no cargo ships nearby. Still, the vast number of military vessels is impressive (the photo is of a flat top or aircraft carrier).The waves were big and choppy, but once we headed north, around noon, we were able to put up both sails, turn off the engine, and SAIL. We had a great time, and reached 10 mph of speed. It was really quite pleasant even with no more playful dolphins to see. We found a lovely spot to anchor that wasn’t listed on the chart, but it was so nice with deciduous trees in their fresh new coats of foliage, and a perfect view of the Bay from our cockpit. We had sailed 68 miles.

The weather and wind prediction for the next three days didn’t look at all promising. And we so want to return home. So for Day #1, we left the anchorage even before breakfast and everything was as calm as it could be. The high winds and small craft warnings weren’t to happen until the afternoon. But they did happen. The winds picked up and we only used a reefed (shortened) headsail which we needed for both speed and stability. Betty had a bit of a meltdown when her perception of a tug and barge caused her to think he was headed towards us. Al knew better as the two vessels were merely parallel, but to soothe her (me), he hailed the tugboat captain to discuss it. We would be fine, except for this crazy wind. The speed was probably in the high 20s and low 30s for about 2 ½ hours, but there was one blow that came through and we clocked it at 39.8 knots which is about 45 miles per hour. Ouch. Al believes it is the highest wind we have ever sailed in. And to add to our misery, the nearby naval station decided to conduct jet bomber-type plane flyovers. The noise from the jets, one after another, was just a bit unsettling. We made it safely into a nice harbor, one of our favorites on Solomon’s Island after sailing 62 miles. We did get rewarded with a beautiful rainbow after the rain storm.

The very next day was more of the same. We set our sights on Annapolis, but did have a bail out option. The winds were to be high again, just not as bad as the day before. Indeed, we had no real incidents but 4 or 5 waves were so high that they crashed right over our dodger and soaked the Captain. The winds were high for at least the last three hours of sailing, but we persevered and made it to Annapolis. Highest wind that day was 35 knots, but we traveled 56 miles. A long nap was in order after we hooked a mooring right outside of the Annapolis harbor.

And importantly, we both decided to stay put for the 3rd day of high winds. To our surprise, our visit here coincided with a boat show. So today, Al had some fun attending the show while Betty decided to shop for a “girly” frock for herself.

And so, we have checked the weather, checked the tides, checked the currents, and we are optimistic that we will arrive in Havre de Grace sometime tomorrow. We do want to thank you all for your support of us through your nice notes, reading of the blog, and probably a few prayers. We met people who plan to do this again and again, and we surely have had a wonderful time; but we think we will dream up a different next adventure.

Not in the Tropics Now
North Carolina is always cold! Not really, but we practically froze on our trip down in November; and on this return trip, we had to dig out fleece sweaters, hats, and even gloves. It was in the 60s or so, but on a boat in the wind, it gets pretty cold. We also had no sun from Saturday afternoon until Friday. Happily, our spirits weren't as gloomy.

It was time to attend to a couple of boat problems. In Southport, Al had an electrical consultant on board to discuss our battery charging/ alternator issue. The guy confirmed that the system was wired correctly, perhaps the age of the batteries is a problem, and he suggested a couple adjustments for Al to make. The other problem is a water leak from the engine. Betty watched each day as Al drained out the water--starting a week ago with a cup full and gradually increasing until he would pump it out. When she saw the pump tank full one day, we had a discussion. Al had ordered a seal but had it shipped home, knowing he'd have to fix the problem. But on this particular day, we decided to call somewhere and order another seal, getting it delivered to a town up the way. So at Oriental, Al picked up the part and installed it. Voila! Problem resolved.

One day this past week, we were tense much of the day because of three shoaling problems on the intracoastal waterway. It seems especially bad in North Carolina where the problem spots are marked but no dredged. So we heard of boats going aground and having to be towed off. One large power yacht basically ruined his propeller. We were very careful entering each area, and we never had an issue. But it does cause some anxiety for sure. We even passed by the area in Camp Lejeune where we hit bottom in the fall, and we did great.
We wondered whether the traditionally choppy waters of the Neuse River and the Pamlico would cause us problems. They didn't, and we enjoyed some of our best sailing there. Each day this week, we traveled 50 or more miles a day (we know, you'd do that in less than one hour in your car, but still...). We continued to see lots of dolphins and loons, two of our favorite wild life.

The one really dicey incident we had involved three tug boats, all hauling the same 200 feet of large pipes. We were on a straight river when we could see we were going faster, so we hailed them that we would pass them to their port side. No problem. As we got closer, we saw that it took three tug boats for this one load of cargo. As we started our pass, just barely faster than their boat speed, the river curved. We were committed. We put out the jib in the midst of all the action so we could speed up. Then the water depth went to 8 feet (we need over 5 feet to stay off the bottom). Tension was really high. When we finally got ahead of the tugs, we realized our mouths were dry from the stress!

We made it to Virginia at 10 a.m. yesterday. As I write this, and as of Sunday afternoon, we finished the ICW. We are in the Norfolk area (Portsmouth side), having traveled 965 miles in the last 19 days. That is about half the time it took us going south in the fall. We are feeling pleased and relieved. Now, for the last trek home. But first, we are facing big storms with lots of wind, so we are staying put until Tuesday. We know that the Chesapeake Bay can be unfriendly at times--especially in the southern part where it is wide open. Our aim is to complete this journey in the next week or so.

Well, we are putting the throttle down these days in an attempt to get home before May 1st. But first, we needed to spend a little time with our pals, Anna and Pat, in Beaufort. They made the hour drive to go out to dinner with us at a great restaurant, Saltus, where we all enjoyed both the ambience and our food. Two highlights were the soft shell crab entrée and the rich chocolate hazelnut dessert. We had such a nice visit that they asked about coming again the next night, and we agreed. After provisioning the boat for the trip north and doing a few projects, we were all about another good dinner NOT prepared by Chef Betty. We found a northern Italian restaurant where we feasted on a Barbera wine, anchovies, kale pasta to die for, and cannolis. Really tasty.

We pushed on to Charleston the next day, putting in a sweet 67 mile day. A stop at Charleston City Marina was in order because we really needed fuel. A great discovery in the marina was the actual 1915 sailing schooner, Mariette. You see, we have a very large framed photo of her hanging from our loft at home. We were so excited to see the real deal. After a quick assessment the next morning of the wind conditions, we decided to stay put and enjoy a bit more of Charleston. Betty scored a hair cut, her first normal one in over 4 months. We strolled the streets, learned about sweetgrass basket weaving and supported the local economy by buying one. Then on to an early supper which was extravagant--did I mention this was our third dinner out in a week? Roasted beet salad and shrimp and grits were huge hits.

Then on towards northern South Carolina, hopefully Georgetown. But the weather wasn't so great and the wind such that we decided to call it a night at an anchorage in nowhere, USA. We had to put out two anchors due to the strong currents in this part of the world. But we were completely alone, other than a number of mosquitos, and we enjoyed our evening there. On Sunday, more wind was predicted and it looked like an uncomfortable day on the water. It was. But still, we sailed more than 60 miles and the scenery included the Great Cypress Swamp which was now very lush with spring foliage. Interestingly, we encountered so many local power boaters that day, just out for a good time in spite of the rather gloomy weather. And we were thrilled to get all the way to Myrtle Beach and a nice little marina--just before dark.

That was our last stop in this state, and today we ran smack into North Carolina at 11:30 this morning. We had no adventures really, but we had done our homework and successfully worked our way through two dicey inlets which included many warnings about shallow water. So here we are in Southport, NC, a quaint little town. From here we plan to launch our Cape Fear(ful) River trip; to even try this river, we just have to have favorable current. We learned our lesson in the fall, so we won't even start out until after noon tomorrow. We just came from a nice and free seminar here at Southport Marina about the wind forecast as well as issues we are likely to face on our trip farther north.

Highlights from South Carolina: so many dolphins, and many of them coming right up to the side of the boat and swimming with us; the Nina and Pinta Columbus replicas; visiting with our dear friends; the food; not going aground with our boat even once.

So we kind of figured we were done with the big adventures, but not so quick. We decided to do an overnight ocean passage that would take us from the northernmost spot in Florida--St. Mary's Inlet, completely bypass Georgia and its horrific tides and currents, to Beaufort, South Carolina. This would entail a 24 hour trip, complete with an all-nighter, on the big, intimidating ocean. But our other trips during the day, or overnight with additional crew, had gone very well so the first mate was up to the challenge. However, we were to do it just after the 60 mile ugly trip to Fernandina so we were not at our best mentally.

We left the dock at 10:15, after fueling up and a quick jaunt to a grocer for milk and orange juice. The weather forecast promises calm seas and benign wind conditions. Indeed, we had no trouble leaving the inlet because we had timed the tide. And for a few hours, we were able to simply sail north in a nice breeze and no engine. Silence. Betty decided to make homemade tuna casserole for supper, but by that time, the seas had grown with fairly big swells. Going into the cabin in those conditions isn't always the best. Seasick! Ugh! It did not cause her (me) to get really sick, but just "off". Lunch was the last food I had until 8:00 the next morning. And Al had to finish supper prep as well. He liked the tuna dish, remarking it was special to have something like that in the middle of the ocean.

The evening was beautiful, though, and we kept pondering what a privilege to be in this spot. We only spotted one other sailboat the whole time, and we had a couple of radio conversations with them. The moon rose at around 10 p.m., giving us better visibility for our 120 mile sail.

More drama came with Betty at the helm and Al dozing in the cockpit. I kept seeing a white light in the distance and knew it would be a boat. After awhile, I could see both a red and a green white which meant he was headed our way. But I had no idea of the distance and the boat wasn't registered on our automatic identification system (AIS). There was a possibility that it was a commercial fishing trawler, the only big boats not required to have AIS. Then I saw just his green light which told me he would pass across our bow. I still awoke Al, and before we knew it, just the red light shined. That meant he changed direction. As he got closer, quite near us, I again saw both the red and the green--this guy was coming right at us! I gave the helm to Al, and we could then actually see the boat and it was a huge fishing trawler. Al decided very quickly to try to go in front of it in case it was dragging fish nets off the stern. Betty gunned the engine. This boat was not more than 200 feet from us! And if that boat reacted to our move with the wrong decision, we were toast. We did ok. We kept wondering why he kept changing direction and not letting us know. We will never know. But even as we write this, we are still traumatized by the near hit.

The second challenge involved a cargo ship (BIG) which our chart said was headed north to Norfolk. The ship was 982 feet long! But this boat also altered his course towards us. Betty tried three times to hail him on the radio to ask his intentions and to let him know in case he was blind, that we were in front of him. All this in the dark. Al kept looking at the chart and seeing his heading, Betty watched the color of the lights. Although the information told us he was to pass in front of us, Al decided to turn around and go to the guy's stern. As he did, we saw this ship up close. We were rattled and we called the officials to ask if we were trying to hail him on the wrong radio channel. We were correct and the man couldn't explain why we didn't get an answer. It was beyond frustrating.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, thank goodness. We picked up speed after about 12 hours of negative current and we were actually early to our first entry mark for Beaufort. We heard several loons calling to us, and after we entered the sound between Hilton Head and Beaufort, we saw many dolphins as well. And finally, with calm waters, Betty went below and cooked up a batch of oatmeal. We arrived at our marina just shy of 24 hours on the water. Now for showers and a nap. And a chance to visit our friends from Bluffton, Pat and Anna Roche.

With more than 1,000 miles to travel and with interest in getting home before May 1st if we can, we ramped up our energy level a week ago and took off. We anchored out or grabbed a mooring ball (still a quiet way to go) for 8 days. The towns of Melbourne, Daytona, Titusville, St. Augustine, and Fernandina were on our list and we got to each place. It meant about 50 miles a day compared with 30 a day on the way down in the fall. And our two-night stay in Titusville was worth it since we had the chance to have Nathan and Tiki and boys out for a quick sail to get a taste of our cruise.

The last day, however, was harrowing. At 60 miles, it was our longest trip on the ICW. But the first half of the day was really pretty, as we passed through areas of dense foliage, lots of birds, a few dolphins, and lovely homes. We had to make due with Bible readings and music for our Easter service, but the serenity of nature was quite fitting. However, this region also has many areas of shallow water and strong current so we quite relaxing around noon. We tapped bottom when I had miss read an online caution that caused Al to veer left when he should have done right. As he said, “no problem, no foul”. But later on, we were quite tense as we skirted our way around bends with very shallow water. Added to that, we had a high wind of 27 knots with a strong current which made the boat hard to maneuver. Captain is generally cool as a cucumber, but he was REALLY focused and I knew he was stressed. But wait, just when we were in sight of the anchorage at Fernandina, BAM! We went hard aground in less than four feet of water. We went into action, but I secretly thought we’d be there until the next high tide. But little by little, Al worked us through.

Our final challenge was to pick up a mooring, usually an easy thing to do. But with this wind and equally strong current, Betty kept firmly saying from the bow, “I CAN’T do it, I CAN’T do it”. But she was able to hold on to the mooring, the line to thread through it, and the boat hook. Super cool. And while we wanted to go out to eat, the thought of a dinghy ride this evening was more than we could handle. Home cooked roasted chicken sounded way better. On to the next challenge. And a happy good-bye to Florida.

The night of our landing, we reached out to both sons to let them know we were safely on American soil. Nathan called with interesting information. He, Tiki, and boys were in Orlando on spring break, and in two days, we would be about 50 miles from them. So our California kids were going to see us in Florida! It doesn't get much better.

We had two good days of sailing north and arrived in Titusville where the Caffos West joined us for lunch and a sail. We demonstrated for Murphy the conch horn blowing technique used to celebrate sunset in the Islands; he picked it up and immediately mastered the technique. His trumpet lessons were paying off. We couldn't resist giving the conch to him while extracting a promise that he would not drive his parents nuts with it. Jasper seemed contented to receive some Bahamian coins we had collected along with Revolutionary War paper dollars we had bought for him way back in Yorktown in November. Both boys seemed impressed with the manatees and dolphins we saw. We also took a little spin near Cape Canaveral space launch grounds.

Now, on April 3rd, we are on our way to Daytona Beach. We are seeing many, many manatees and dolphins along with herons, eagles, ibises, and white pelicans. Florida has it all over Bahamas in terms of wild life.