Florida at last

We made it. Sort of. Crossing the state line last week to Florida was a biggie, for us that is. Running from cold weather, traveling day after day that wore on nerves and made for some small mutinies and insurrections that were quelled only with a long stopover in Beaufort, SC.

The new prop and all the work done has made moving along much better. We even managed to do an offshore passage one day... A bit too rough for our liking that day, but we made it nonetheless. No pain no gain, right? Load up on the Dramamine next time.

The time in Beaufort was excellent. What a nice small town atmosphere, truly friendly people, and all the free laundry you could do made for good times. We did holiday activities three nites in a row, including the street festival, parade with Santa on the fire truck, and the boat parade one nite. We had a local family that are members of a family cruising group act as our official hosts, which made it even better. Truly a big thanks to you, and to Beaufort for the great times.

Moving southward, we crossed into Georgia and had to watch ourselves as the tides and tricky shallow spots made it interesting. A stop over on Cumberland island to visit the Carnegie family's former estate of Dungeness was great and included wild horses.

Onward to Florida, where we are now in St Augustine enjoying the warm weather, holiday cheer and lots of cruisers meeting up and discussing plans to move south. Happy holidays, we'll tune in after the new year from somewhere further south.

How to have fun on a boat

Homeschooling on a warm day in December

Sunset over Charleston, SC

By Anne

When we were in Masonboro marina, there wasn't a lot to do. So we asked the dock master what a fun activity would be and he said we should motor to the islands in our dinghy. So, we did. At first, my mom and I went. I thought it was going to be boring but then I found a whelk. I picked it up and found a small animal inside. We thought it was a clam but then, we looked at it more closely and realized a mollusk was inside. I wanted to keep it but the mollusk would die so I left it there.

After ten minutes passed, my mom and I motored back to the boat and picked Alex up. Then, we went to the other island. When we got there I jumped into the cold water and pulled the dinghy to shore. Once five minutes past a small dog came running over. Then, two people came. My mom talked to them for a while and then the owner found a stick and showed us how high the dog could jump. The dog was able to jump at least four feet high.

While my mom was talking to the same people, Alex and I walked around. Alex also found a whelk but it had a mollusk in it too. The mollusk was angry when we picked him up so it spat water at us. After Alex put the shell down, we raced to the end of the beach. Alex won. I almost stepped on a HUGE jelly fish. I was disgusted but Alex didn't care. We kept on walking and then turned around. My feet were sore from walking on the sharp shells. Even though I thought it was going to be boring I had a lot of fun looking for shells.

Thanksgivikkah?

See the two blade prop?

Happy Thanksgivikkah... The melting of Thanksgiving and the start of Hanukkah. Look it up, it's even a trademarked term now.
We've been holding at Carolina beach for a few weeks to have...wait for it...boat work done. Yes, better to get it done now before it got worse or we were in a remote place.
Seem the point where the propeller enters the boat, the stuffing box, was becoming more and more leaky. We knew this from the last survey but it was on the "eventually" list. Which is now. The mechanic we are using is excellent, and noted other areas that could be done that would save headaches later, such as a prop shaft( the original is pitted and worn), coupling and 3 bladed prop. Seems we weren't getting good use of our current two bladed prop and it was not the proper size for our engine output and transmission. Which could do harm down the road and uses extra fuel. Plus, we've noticed that we never had a lot of get up and go, which is more important now with getting through bridge openings, battling currents and tides.
We have not been suffering, as the off season rates are very reasonable for the beach condos. And after being on a boat, even a one bedroom condo is huge. And it has hot water. And laundry. A a 40 inch flat screen. I could go on. We've gotten soft, but are launching the boat tomorrow we hope, to check rpm's and alignment and get on the road.
South Carolina is next! Sounds good, it has the word south in it and the promise of warmer temps. The trip from Beaufort to here was good, with 3 bridge openings on the second day that was a bit of a mad dash but worked well. We saw first hand our get up and go prop issue as we tried to keep up with other boats and not get run over by ones behind us. Loads of dolphins as we moved south, a few playing in our wake and others coming near the boat to see what we were up to. We did hunker down in a marina the last day we got here for a few days with a strong cold front blowing up to 40 knots. Again we met great folks and had a good time. Big thanks to David at Masonboro marina for all the help, and to Charlie and Barbara for loaning us a spare heater during the cold spell which they insisted we keep! We are hooked on the heater now and any cold front will soon see its appearance. Thanks all!

Beaufort, NC

A short trip to Beaufort with nice weather started our weekend. We're adjusting to tides and currents now that we're next to the ocean. We visited a kite festival last week while work was being done on the engine, and there were some really cool kites that were huge (a full size whale!). This weekend we did the local scene in Beaufort, including a visit to the island that has wild horses, a visit to the maritime museum to view Blackbeard's pirate artifacts, and the usual window shopping. Tomorrow it's off south, with a cold front coming mid-week that will,test our entire wardrobe to stay warm.

Engine for dinner?

The work is done. The folks at Sailcraft Service in Oriental get an A+ in my book. New aluminum stringers, clean painted bilge, lots of side projects done while the engine was out. Oh, did I mention the engine that lived in our main salon for a day or so. We vacated the boat while they did the initial work of removing the engine and old stringers, but still had about a day of overlap till the engine went back in. So we are all in top physical shape after the advanced gymnastics of climbing over, around and by the engine.
We did the bilge cleaning and painting as well as hooking up the engine once it was back in which saved a fair amount of dough. That's one great thing about this boatyard is they let you do as much as you feel able, will loan you tools, provide solid advice and lend a hand when you need it. The bilge cleaning was especially a treat. 30 years of crud in the bilge, and we found another area beneath the water tank that had 15 gallons of water and diesel mixture from who knows where and when that had to be hand pumped out. Nobody said this was a pleasure cruise and I've yet to have a fruity drink with an umbrella in it.
We're waiting on a part for the engine which is an easy fix and we'll be off to Beaufort in a day or so. Ready to on the road (water) again!
The photos show old and new (can you guess which is which) as well as our attempt to cook the engine in the oven which failed.

Oriental NC

We're settled in Oriental to have our last bit of engine work done at Sailcraft Service. They are an excellent yard and we'd like to have had all our work done here. In the pic below you can (barely) see the slippage the engine has done as it settled. The lower left arrow points to the temporary fix I did by placing a stainless steel pole beneath the wood block that the engine mounts rest on. The mount is the red circle, and you can see the washers underneath that are a temporary support. The whole thing has sunk the engine down about a half inch on the left side. This is bad, as it throws the engine out of alignment with the prop. Anyway, it all comes out and gets new supports, engine room painted pretty white and secured like Fort Knox.
In more fun news, we've really enjoyed Oriental. A nice town that is definitely a sailing town, and the Halloween party last Sat was a lot of fun. We'll be off to Beaufort next week, and ready to blast south.

Elizabeth City

We departed the dismal swamp canal in good spirits (pun intended) and went through the south lock to continue on in North Carolina. Our next stop would be Elizabeth City, where we really got into the full swing of the cruising community headed south. We've met interesting people (in many ways) during our stay, including resume guy who continues to tell you his past experiences and how you need to do everything. We enjoyed hot showers at the local fitness center (thanks fitness warehouse!) and a birthday dinner with our French Canadian friends. The kids all had a blast running around after being cooped up on a boat all day, and the language barrier wasn't even noticed as they played frisbee.
We departed and made our longest day yet across the albemarle sound and down the alligator river (none sited) to a remote anchorage at the south end of the river. It was so quiet and just a few lights to remind us of civilization. We managed to sail for almost half of the trip, making very good time.
We continue to move south, spurred on by cold fronts biting at our heels. It may be one more trip to the engine doctor for our boat to resolve engine mount issues once and for all in the near future at Beaufort NC, so that is our destination with a few stops on the way.

On the move

We finally got the boat fixed well enough to move on. We spent two weeks at big sisters house waiting for the work to be done and had a great time. Thanks big sis for the hospitality!
We left the boatyard this morning and made it out of the industrial zone and to the quieter waters of the Dismal Swamp. We went through the locks and motored about 20 miles to the visitors center for the nite. Strange and interesting motoring down the canal, with one water pump failure to add some spice to the trip. It took longer to find the spare pump than it did to replace.
We are now rafted next to a French Canadian family enjoying the company and scenery. Onward tomorrow further south.

Summing up

Time for a little reflection. We've been at this for three weeks or so, and completed the Chesapeake part of the trip. The spectrum of emotions has crossed from "I want to quit right now" to "this totally rocks and I could do it forever". It all ends up with being about 80 percent positive overall, so we'll press on. Besides, it's early in the season as one coach said.
We've been off the boat for a few days while some engine work is underway, and we're itching already to get back and continue the journey. When I look back over the people we met, the places we visited and the experiences logged it has been great - amazing really. Adjusting to a new pace of life, letting go and not having as much control over basic things that we take for granted on land has been eye-opening to say the least. We're on land right now, and having hot water, endless wifi and plenty of arm space is soooo cool. Who'd of thought?
We're planning now for the next phase through North Carolina and further, and itching even more to get back to moving on. The picture shows our major stops so far for the Chesapeake portion.

Portsmouth

We've been settled in Portsmouth for a few days, rented a car to go see family, and are still here awaiting some engine work. The trip down from Deltaville was good, and we saw our first dolphins. They're in the picture, just squint a little more... A little more...
Passing through Hampton Roads was busy. Lots of Navy and commercial ships going to and for at a rapid clip. All hands on deck and all that, keeping an eye out.
This afternoon was a trip to the beach, which was a nice break. We stopped at the store for some planting material for a home schooling project (yes, we're famers too) and tomorrow is a tour of the power plant that makes electricity by burning waste which is also another homeschooling project.
Hopefully we'll be out by the end of the week, once the transmission has been touched up a bit. Until then...

Fishing Bay

We're nestled into Fishing Bay, prepping for a run to Hampton tomorrow.  A front came through the last few days so we caught up on projects, schooling and groceries.  Staying in Deltaville marina for one night proved to be a great idea. We did laundry, used the courtesy car for a produce run and took advantage of the hot showers.  The plus was that The previous evening was the slip holder picnic, which included crabs and beer. We were invited to attend even though we were not staying until the next nite....ummm, ok, crabs and beer it is.  What nice people at the marina and the boat owners were a fun group to talk to. The extra plus was the following day when we did stay in the marina there was still leftover beer.  And it was Sunday.  Which means football.  A great day, and the kids camped in the lounge for a wifi session that would make the Olympic wifi team.

We did some dinghy sailing today, and enjoyed the protection of the bay.  On the road tomorrow for our last long sail before the intercostal waterway.  The bike picture is from Solomons, on our way to the museum.

Now the words for the pictures below...

> We've had the full experience the last three days, to include a blustery day, a visit to Solomons Isle and then another great sail to Tangier Island.
> We departed to Solomons on a day that promised a nice north wind and a front coming through, but with 5-10 knots of wind. Great, lets go! Well, by the time we hit the bay proper, the winds were 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 we think, some rain and cloud cover, and 4-8 foot waves. The toll on the boat was one bent stainless steel rod that held our dingy, one broken cleat (made of plastic, and not worthy of keeping anyway so no big loss) and a broken wisker pole (again, old and too small for our boat and we knew it). The toll on the crew were a few frayed nerves as the autopilot could not keep up with the following waves and downind blast we were on. We did make record time to Solomons and the crab dinner erased all the day's woes (with help from a few pints as well).
> We spent a fabulous day in Solomons at the maritime museum, biking there and to the store for fresh produce. The hot showers removed all memory of the previous day's sail, and so the next day we departed for Tangier Island, something always on our list of places to visit. We sailed 35 miles on a perfect day of sun and a good wind for half the trip.
> We settled in Tangier for a day or two to explore and take in the sights. We've already had the required crab dinner one evening at Hilda Crocketts. The dinner was served family style, and we were the last to arrive before closing. We were seated with three others couples, one of whom were newlyweds. Food was served from big bowls and passed around to all for an endless supply of crab cakes, clam fritters, corn pudding, green beans, slaw, pickled beets, fresh bread, applesauce and pound cake. All washed down with tea. Needless to say, we're full. burp.
> The photos above are from Tangier. Lots of cats around, even at the firehouse. The birds also enjoy the use of the island, and the tourists invade for a few hours when the ferries arrive. It's nice in the evening when they've all left and you can listen to the locals talk to each other in their dialect.
> We departed Tangier and had another nice sail back across the bay to Deltaville, Va. We're still adjusting to walking great distances for things after the nice closeness of Tangier.

Solomons Isle and Tangier Island

Departure

Well we made it out today. It finally happened, and it was a good sailing day as well. Nice 10 knot winds, clear and cool. It was a clean departure, and thanks to our boat neighbors for the photo of us leaving the dock. The sunset is in full showmanship right now, so I added a pic of that as I sit here typing. We're moving on again tomorrow and then may take a day or two to relax. More in a few days.

Farewell Party

Wow, what a great day! We had our farewell event and all our neighbors and friends were there to say goodbye. The weather was fine, the company great and an overall success... except for the cut finger during the renaming ceremony. Yes, we had a renaming ceremony to make it complete and appease the gods of the sea and wind and all went well until I smashed the 18 year old bottle of our wedding champagne on the bow and glass managed to find itself everywhere. It was just a flesh wound...

Thanks so much to all our great friends. A special thanks to Angie, Betsy, Tim, Hank Billy and Rod for the helping hands. We'll be shoving off in about a week and will take the great memories with us.

Provisioning Complete

We loaded down the car and then the boat with a load of food today. All of it is canned, boxed, dried and thus not fresh. But it will last awhile. Turns out the ziplock bag is an amazing invention and a friend to the cruiser. We have hundreds of them from snack to ten-gallon size. Yep, ten gallon, just like the cowboy hat.
One side note to provisioning, filling up fuel and water tanks is that the boat sits lower. Gravity or sumpin... Anyways, our waterline is right to the edge of the anti- fouling paint that covers the in the water part of the boat. Next time we paint the bottom were gonna have to raise the waterline ..... Or eat a lot less.

New Crew Member

The crew took a vote and decided we needed another crewmember, mainly to help steer. Sadly the current crew will still be doing dishes, but the new member has been hired as a helmsman.... introducing our new autopilot:

Staying cool

We’ve moved onboard full time, and staying cool (physically!) is important.  We made this sun shade, which seems to be standing up pretty well with a breeze.  The amount of shade is incredible, and the fact that you can move around with some ease is good on the back.  Now if we could just get the boat sorted out so we could move around below.  For anyone attempting to go cruising, take what you need and then cut that amount in half and save yourself some headaches.  Still, we’ve managed to find room for it all… barely.

Crazy time

So we finally got out for a quick trip across the bay.  Its been busy cleaning out the house, getting the boat ready, trying to keep sane.  You know, the usual drill.  We put the name on the boat a few month ago, and will soon have a “naming” ceremony complete with the requisite champagne.  My only concern is the champagne is so old and cheap it may remove the finish on the boat!  Once we get closer to moving south we’ll post more often.  Until then, a few pictures….

 

Climbing Everest

If you can name all the gear here, you win a big prize.  This is about 1/8th of the gear we've got.... Seriously.

"So we're getting serious...."that's the quote I heard the other day when all this stuff keeps showing up at our house.  The sherpas of Everest would have a hard time with the load of gear we're accumulating for this "expedition".  We've also become good friends with Craig.  He has a list.  It's posted on the internet.... we've posted our household "treasures" on his list and are starting to sell some of it to fund the expedition.



The prop shaft and stuffing box... and it's really easy to access, really.....


Also got some boat work done the last few weeks.  New starter, alternator, cooling pump for the engine.  Stuffing box (where the prop shaft goes out the boat to the water, with the propellor on the other side) has been repacked to keep the water out.  Lots still to do, but it's getting serious.... look
out Everest, here we come....