Celebrating One Year On Board
13 August 2010
Pokey
PRIM is still PRIM, to us.
Almost a year to the day that we left West River we are headed south again. We're doing it on a new PRIM but this one is missing that big stick in the air and Pete doesn't have to sit in the rain to drive.
It was a wonderful year and we have slips from our doctors to prove it. But we decided mid-trip that instead of traveling for a few months and going home again, we want to live aboard for several more years. So, we opted for the trawler life. We settled on a Defever 44 and to me she is to the trawler world what our Freedom was to the sailing world; nice lines, comfortable, steady as a rock.
We drove up from Florida to commission her and took her to West River. Spent six weeks there and it was a blast to see our friends and neighbors, Greg and Mo, the old house, and of course a round of doctor's appointments. My sister, Sue, celebrated her 70th birthday July 12th and we had lunch in Old Town Alexandria. My cousin Pat's husband, Jerry, also had bypass surgery in July and came through with flying colors. We're so grateful for that.
I have wanted to do a recap of our year's cruise and a Best of the Best and All the Rest. Here goes..........
Fun with Family and Friends:
Pete has to add lots of pictures to our album but I can give a written account of the fun we had with family and friends
Starting off, we had visits in Deltaville from Carole McCullough and her friend, Greg, and Linda and Francis Miko. Had a blast eating and gabbing.
Had a fun time at Blackbeard Sailing Club in New Bern and spent a wonderful 10 days with my sister and her gang in Folly Beach, SC. Neat beach house, fun fishing and can't believe both Emmy and John are in med school. Luke, her youngest, is a doll and a talented fisherman and athlete.
Were thrilled to have another visit from Carole in New Smyrna Beach, FL and spent lots of time with my sister, Sue and her husband, Bob. Spent the holidays with them, went shopping and enjoyed some great lunches and dinners out.
January found us in a condo in St. Augustine while the boat was in the yard. It felt like we spent two months down below in freezing weather in February and March but by Easter we were out and about again.
We traveled by car to the west coast of FL to visit Pete's uncle and a cousin. Drove to Ocean Ridge in late March to visit Pete's sister Karen, husband Lou and son Patrick, wife Katie and their two kids Aidan and Delaney. Patrick and Katie are wonderful parents and the two kids are too cute for words. Karen and Lou's ocean front condo is fabulous and we even got to spend an afternoon of surf fishing on the beach.
Sailblog friends Al and Jennifer on 'Close Knit' stayed in Palm Coast while we all attended the MTOA gathering in St. Augustine. Not only are they a great couple, they're doxie lovers. Need we say more? We, including Blackie and Red, got to meet the beautiful Miss Bridget. We'll be seeing them all soon at Dowry Creek.
While driving down A-1A one afternoon, we happened upon Martha and Al on 'Journey' as they passed Matanzas Inlet. The yellow dodger and bimini were a dead giveaway. They had a harrowing experience in squall shortly after that but we hooked up that night in St. Augustine for dinner at the Columbia.
Martha, this is for you: we did some more yelling, waving and screaming when we welcomed Vicki and Tom on 'Osprey' at Palm Coast Marina. We had a good visit and got to see their beautiful boat up close for a change. Vicki has the distinction of finding Red's stuffed ring in her laundry. Red is forever thankful. He was a wreck all day looking for it
Blog followers Terri and Larry Howard stopped in on their way to the Keys. It was nice to see them again after they hosted us last fall at their home in Jacksonville. It was also good to see their loveable pooch Charlie again.
It turns out a lot of our friends from Maryland love Florida as much as we do. We had surprise visits from Dave and Rachel Dawson, Russ and Margo Zink, Mike Edwards, one of our PrimRoses, Michele, and her friend Dirk and we hope they all get south again this year.
The Best of the Best:
Keel side cuisine:
-Chesapeake Bay has it for crabs, hands down, but once you cross into the Carolinas, the shrimp is out of this world. In fact all of the seafood from Maryland to Florida was fabulous.
-Best crab cake - Toby's in Deltaville. Not to mention the unbelievable tomato pie.
-Best hamburger - the Hilton in New Bern.
-Best shrimp & grits - Beaufort, NC
-Best breakfast - good old standby Denny's in Palm Coast.
-Best potato soup - Barbara Jean's in Palm Coast
-Best steak - Johnny's in Orlando
-Best hot dog - Pete's cousin Lynn's in Bradenton. She shipped in Zweigle's from Rochester.
-Best salmon - grilled with Teriyaki sauce - Flagler Fish Company, Flagler Beach
-Best all around everything - The Riverview in New Smyrna Beach, FL
You know, there isn't enough space to list all the great meals we've had. Suffice to say, the food was delicious the entire way. We can't think of a single place we stopped that we didn't like. We should be el Tubbo's by now but we're not.
-Best marinas:
Maryland - Tilghman on the Bay, Tilghman Island
Virginia - Fishing Bay Harbor, Deltaville
North Carolina - Dowry Creek
South Carolina - Barefoot Landing, Myrtle Beach
Georgia - Brunswick Landing
Florida - PALM COAST MARINA, our new home port
Although we anchored in many of the most spectacular little holes in the wall along the way, and they were truly beautiful, we, the Admiral in particular, came to enjoy the marina life. The captain admits it is nice to be secured to a sturdy pier when the weather is the pits and being hooked in, A/C or heat running, having the capability to run to a hardware store whenever he wants or just hanging out with the local liar's club. Almost all of the marinas go out of their way to meet your needs. The local restaurants and grocery stores, even in the smallest of towns, often provide rides to and from their establishments and are most gracious in making pit stops at drug stores, post offices and beauty salons. Cabs are inexpensive when necessary. It was even easier after we decided to have our car brought down but we sort of miss the nice folks that gave us rides.
We averaged about 40 miles a day and with the help of Skipper Bob, planned our stops accordingly. Skipper Bob, Dozier's Waterway Guide, and Kettlewell's ICW chart books were the mainstay of our reading material. Everything you need to know is in one or all of these.
Many of the marinas offered BoatUs discounts and the most expensive ones were not necessarily the best. For longer stays, we opted for weekly or monthly rates. A weekly rate usually equaled about four days worth of regular day rate so anything after that was gravy. While not all are working marinas, good help is always nearby and the marina office will point you in the right direction. In Myrtle Beach, the manager at the local West Marine actually delivered parts to our dock saving us a sixteen mile round trip cab fare.
What really works:
Damp Rid - hang it in a locker, set an open container in the main salon - puts a stop to mildew.
A diffuser for the propane stove top.
Any product by Terro for little crawly things.
Best overall general cleaner - Windex
No-see-um screens - absolutely a must have - tip: anchor and get the screens in place well before dusk or you'll be hopping around the foredeck.
Plain old flypaper - be careful where you put it!
Mr. Clean Magik Eraser for vinyl
Tide Bleach sticks
'Purex 3 in 1' Laundry Sheets - no more jugs or boxes of detergent
Downy wrinkle remover - who needs an iron?
Hill's Science dog food - the Boyz are on W/D to watch their weight. Two bonuses: the results don't stink and they're dry in five minutes.
Frontline, Comfortis and Interceptor kept the Boyz flea and tick free
Dollar General stores - stop in when you see one - inexpensive paper goods, canned goods, odds 'n ends
English muffins - they stay fresher and store longer than bread
Best Hardware Stores (and there is one in every small town)
Hurds's - Deltaville, VA
Mitchell's - New Bern, NC
Best Line:
Approaching Alligator River Marina the dock hand yelled, "You can park it anywhere, just don't hit that Hinckley"
Worst experience:
Making a sandwich one day, the bread tasted funny. After I ate it, I told Pete - he took a look and told me it was covered with fruit flies. Yuk!!! So, I don't recommend a fruit fly bologna sandwich but it was all protein. (Oh, there was that other thing about the concrete wall in Sisters Creek, but we aren't talking about that anymore.)
Funniest: I got my hair stuck in fly paper - took a while to get free -but it added some body for days. Also, dockhands rushing to help us dock with duct tape on the bow!
All in all, it was a grand experience and we're starting it all over again. We will add some new places and more new friends to this trip and look forward to another great adventure. When last I blogged, we had just left dry land in St. Augustine and returned to Palm Coast for the rest of the winter. It is our "assisted living marina" and we will be making it our permanent home base. We can't say enough about the staff and people at PCM, the facilities, the town, the weather, and the Early Bird Specials. So, it's flowered shirts, white sox or most likely none at all, and handicapped parking spaces galore for us. Looking forward to the gorgeous sunsets once again. I'll leave the sunrises to the captain.