Phoenix, AZ - Happy Holidays

Wow, didn't realize how long it had been since the last post. We locked up the boat, boarded the cat, and headed out to Arizona to visit the family for the holidays. So far it has been a busy trip -- we've been running around getting last minute shopping done and visiting friends and family. We stopped by the office to see some familiar faces, and we also drove up to Flagstaff to visit my brothers and sisters (who are attending Northern Arizona University). Kids these days -- they've spent the last couple months without heat bc they thought the furnace was broken. Of course with all the system break-downs Kevin has had to deal with on the boat, he was able to troubleshoot and get the heat up and running within 45 minutes. My husband rocks. Hope everyone has a great holiday season!

Titusville, FL - Shuttle Launch

[Kevin's Post]Well, I guess the photos eliminate any chance of suspense in this post. We saw the Space Shuttle Discovery launch. It was originally supposed to go up Thursday night but was scrubbed due to weather. Today was the second attempt and they were anticipating only a 30% chance, again due to weather. But in the last few hours before the launch the skies cleared up and the wind stopped. At 8:47 PM we were staring at the launch pad waiting. Then all of a sudden we could see the flames and smoke and night became day. Smoke billowed out to sides of the launch pad and the shuttle lifted off. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. The flames were so intense it was like staring at the sun. After a few seconds we could hear the rumble of the rockets. We were able to clearly see the shuttle ascend from the launch pad all the way to orbit 9 minutes later. By the time the main engines cut off the shuttle looked like a bright star.

Our boat is docked at a marina in Titusville only a few miles from the launch pad, and we were able to watch the launch from the dock. Every parking lot up and down US 1 was charging at least $20 for parking. I think the parking lot owners must hope the launch scrubs, because then they get to charge everybody again the next day. An enterprising boat owner could have probably charged $100 a head to view the launch from the water. Maybe next time.

Titusville, FL - Thirsty Manatee

Today I was cleaning out our shower sump (a job that is exactly as glamorous as it sounds) when Kevin called me outside to look at something. He was standing on deck spraying the hose into the water, excitedly saying "look at this!". I had no idea what he was talking about until he said "it's a manatee". It was confusing because at first all you could see was its snout, which looks like a weird alien-head. But when it stretched out behind the boat you could see the whole body and it was huge, about 500 lbs. Kevin had been cleaning the boat when it showed up and started slurping up the freshwater that was running off the side -- I guess manatees love freshwater. Kevin just kept letting the hose spray into the water and the manatee actually rolled over on its back with one flipper on the transom, enjoying the free drink.

So we were looking forward to watching the shuttle launch this evening, but the weather had been iffy all day so we didn't have high hopes. NASA kept counting down until the last possible minute when they finally decided to scrub the launch due to low cloud cover. Because the launch window is only open five minutes per night we will have to wait until tomorrow, hopefully the weather is better then. So the closest we came to seeing a shuttle in the air was this shot of the cheesy christmas light display on one of the boats on the next dock.

Titusville, FL

Sorry for the lack of posts. Kevin wrote a post while we were in St. Augustine and we sent it to the website via email but didn't realize that it didn't show up, so I've put it on there now. We spent the past week in Daytona, FL watching boats run aground trying to get into the anchorage. In Daytona, the ICW becomes a narrow channel in the middle of a shallow river that runs pretty much straight north and south. There is an anchorage off to the west side of the channel but there is a huge shoal running parallel between it and the anchorage. To anchor, you have to motor south until you are clear of the shoal, and then you can make a right-hand u-turn to get into the anchorage. We saw four or five boats run aground trying to come straight in. Despite the fact that I got on the radio and tried to tell them how to get into the anchorage. But when they don't have a radio on, what can you do, other than sit back and watch the show? It was like they saw some boats anchored and figured they could just head right on over without consulting their charts or anything. One guy who was singlehanding ran aground a couple hundred feet from us. While he was waiting for high tide, another boat came up and ran aground about 20 feet away from him. We could see them talking to each other from their boats, and then the second guy managed to use his engine to get himself back afloat, did a 180, and proceeded to run himself hard aground again. Yeah, that's it, take navigational advice from the guy who's run himself aground. We ended up hopping in the dinghy and helping the singlehander (an older gentleman whose charts were so old they did not show the shoal) by sounding out the depths around his boat to help him find deeper water.

On Tuesday we continued south to Titusville. I had never heard of Titusville before but I had heard of Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. Titusville is directly across the river from the NASA launch site. Kevin specifically chose to time our visit so that we could watch the shuttle launch, which is supposed to happen on Thursday night. From our slip we can see the shuttle sitting there on the launch pad, waiting to rocket off into space. So we will have the best seats in the house.

We will be at this marina for about a month since it's close to Orlando and about the same price as the moorings in our usual December spot (Stuart). We have already met some of our neighbors, who seem very friendly. The website made the marina out to be a paradise complete with jacuzzi, fitness center, raquetball courts, wi-fi and a sauna. We couldn't believe the monthly rate would be so low with all those amenities. Unfortunately they haven't updated their website in a long time. Seems they are under new ownership so the fitness center equipment has been sold off, the raquetball courts no longer exist and the jacuzzi has been filled in with dirt and turned into a planter. Kevin is especially disappointed that the wi-fi signal is too weak for us to pick up at our boat. So I guess the moral is: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But it's not all bad; the sauna still works.

Where we are:
Location=Titusville, FL
Lat=28 33.258 N
Lon=80 47.709 W

Daytona, FL

We waited out the weekend at Cumberland island so that we wouldn't have to deal with all the weekend boat traffic on the ICW. Just as we are getting ready to get going, it starts raining. Great. The anchorage at Cumberland island has a pretty strong current, so we had two anchors out. Our boat had spun around several times over the weekend so our two anchor rodes were wrapped around each other. After about an hour of work in the rain we had both anchors up and were underway. We crossed the border of Florida pretty early on and the skies cleared up. We had a favorable current almost all day and could have made it all the way to St. Augustine, but decided to stop at a place called Pine Island about 10 miles to the north. As we pull into the anchorage, we see another catamaran, a Manta named Caribbean Call.  They hailed us on the radio and complemented us on our boat. As it turns out, they are hull #14. We are hull #17, so their boat is only a few months older than ours.

Tuesday we headed into St. Augustine and took dockage at the city marina. We stayed here last year and really liked it, but this time, the bridge adjacent to the marina is under construction and they were working on it all night making a lot of noise. It was a little disconcerting watching them hoist these massive steel structures about 50 feet in front of the boat. I guess they weren't too worried about dropping them though since there were guys standing under them as the crane moved them around. We really like St. Augustine, but were glad to get away from the construction. Tonight we are anchored in Daytona Beach where we plan to stay for a few days to go ashore and look around a bit.

Where we are:
Location=Daytona Beach, FL
Lat=29 12.040 N
Lon=81 00.387 W

Cumberland Island, GA

We left Golden Isles Marina Thanksgiving morning and headed down to Cumberland Island. Cumberland is a national park (a National Seashore, in fact) and has miles of hiking trails, wildlife, and ruins to explore. The last two times we anchored here it was too rainy to go ashore so this time we were determined to check things out. When we got to the trail we discovered that the armadillos were out in full force. Or is it "armadilloes"? Either way, the little guys would ramble across the trail right in front of you, completely oblivious as they foraged through the leaves for food. I don't think they are native, the brochure just says that they were first seen on the island in 1974. How did they get here? The only way to and from the island is via boat so maybe some guy from Texas smuggled them over in his backpack. We'll never know.

Farther down the trail are the ruins of Dungeness, a sprawling mansion built by Thomas Carnegie (not to be confused with his wealthier brother Andrew, or the very popular and influential writer, Dale) for his family. The building was consumed by fire in the 1950's but the stone ruins are still very impressive. You aren't allowed to wander inside the buildings since they've been taken over by diamondback rattlesnakes. But there is a herd (posse? troop? gaggle?) of wild horses that roam the island and we saw plenty of them munching grass near the Dungeness ruins. They were so intent on eating they barely even noticed the tourists creeping up close to take photos. There are a bunch of private residences on the island and I guess the horses keep everyone's front lawns in pretty good shape.

Anyway it's been a quiet week - hope everyone had a nice turkey day!

Where we are:
Location=Cumberland Island, GA
Lat=30 46.008 N
Lon=81 28.288 W

St. Simon, GA

[Kevin's Post]We left Port Royal Saturday morning before sunrise and headed out the inlet to the open ocean. As the sun came up we saw just one other sailboat, they were coming down the ICW from the opposite direction toward the inlet and converging on our course. As it got closer we recognized it as another Manta. It is bizarre how frequently we see other Mantas considering how few there are. They were going a bit faster than us since we were only running one engine (no wind)and they were out of sight within a few hours. In the afternoon we saw our first real whale. We saw pilot whales last spring, but I don't count those since they are barely bigger than a dolphin. Amanda spotted it and we both saw it spout water 10 feet in the air. Then as I ran to get the camera, it flipped its tail in the air and disappeared so we didn't get any pictures. The new fish lures were a disappointment. They are designed to dive down and stay under 20-30 feet without a downrigger, but at the speeds we cruise at they pretty much just skip along the surface. The fish didn't show any interest, but given enough time I think I could have caught a bird. Birds were circling the lures all day and a few even dove down and tried to pick them up. We went in St. Catherines sound to anchor for the night in Walburg Creek.

Sunday morning we left before sunrise again to make the most of the short day. We had made reservations at Golden Isles marina in St. Simon for Sunday night as the weather forecast was starting to look ugly. The NOAA weather synopsis kept ominously referring to a 'significant marine event' for the beginning of the week. In this part of Georgia all the anchorages have really strong currents and very little wind protection so we decided to hole up at a marina. They are currently forecasting 50 knot winds for tomorrow.

Where we are:
Location=St. Simon, GA
Lat=31 09.972 N
Lon=81 24.892 W

Steamboat Creek, SC

[Kevin's Post]We had planned to leave Charleston on Monday but unfortunately our boat and our vet had other ideas. We had taken Boris (our cat) to the vet in Charleston last Thursday because he has lost a lot of weight over the last few months and we wanted to get him checked out. The vet said it was probably hyperthyroidism, but they would have to do bloodwork to be sure. So they take some blood and say they will have the results overnight. So Friday morning we call them and they say to call again Saturday morning. Saturday morning they tell us Monday morning. Monday morning they tell us Monday afternoon. Monday afternoon they won't return my calls. Tuesday morning they have the results and sure enough it is hyperthyroidism and they prescribe some medication for him. Hopefull Boris will respond well to the medication but we'll have to have his blood tested again in a month or so when we get to Florida.

While we were waiting for the bloodwork results we had a plumbing issue with the boat. Over the weekend we had noticed the port bilge pump had been coming on periodically. It would come on for about 2 seconds and stop a couple times a day. Usually that means you are taking on water, i.e. sinking. Most boats that sink at marinas have some sort of slow leak and a failed bilge pump. So Monday morning I am tearing apart the boat checking all the through hull fittings for leaks when I shine a light at the back of the engine compartment and see a slow drip of water coming from the shelf where the rudder quadrant is. Last summer we had a problem with our port rudder bearing leaking and it took me 3 days to dismantle it, fix it and put it back together. So I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I take apart the bed so I can get at the rudder and I am ecstatic to see that it is a plumbing fitting above the rudder leaking and not the rudder bearing. As soon as I touch it, it explodes spraying water everywhere. But I don't care, I'm just glad it's not the rudder bearing. Ironically, when I went to West Marine a few days earlier, stocking up on spares, one of the things on the list was spare plumbing fittings. And of course they didn't have the right kind so I didn't get any. Luckily we still had a rental car and I found what I needed at Lowes. $5 and 5 minutes later the leak was fixed.

We finally left Charleston yesterday morning and motored down the ICW 30 miles to Steamboat Creek. A front came through last night and it has been blowing really hard, 20-30 knots, ever since. So we took a day off and are waiting out the front here in Steamboat Creek. Hopefully on Saturday conditions will be good for us to go outside from Port Royal to St. Catherine's Sound which will allow us to avoid some of the worst parts of the ICW. And I bought some huge lures in Charleston that that I want to try out.

Where we are:
Location=Steamboat Creek, SC
Lat=32 36.632 N
Lon=80 16.747 W

Charleston, SC

So we are back in Charleston. It was the perfect place to stop for a few days and fly my sister Margaret in for a visit. We are trying to get south as fast as we can, but our insurance requires us to be north of Savannah until November 15th, so this will be a nice little stopover.

Margaret arrived on Friday morning and trooper that she was, stayed awake all day (with the help of some java) and she and I went on a carriage tour of the city while Kevin did boy-stuff like running to West Marine and Home Depot. That evening we had a fabulous BBQ dinner at Sticky Fingers.

The next day we headed off in the rental car to Boone Hall Plantation. Not only did we want to tour the plantation and grounds but also that weekend the plantation just happened to be hosting a real live Civil War re-enactment: "The Battle of Secessionville"! You hear about these things but you have to see it to believe it. First of all, it is sort of like the Renaissance Festival, only with cannons and artillery. Not only are the battle participants and vendors dressed up in period costume, but it seems like many of the locals dust off their hoop skirts and sabres and drape themselves in the confederate flag before heading out to enjoy the show as spectators. You have to admire the soldiers because they take this stuff

SERIOUSLY. They put up authentic style tents and actually spend the weekend encamped with their fellow soldiers. They march around in formation to get to and from the battlefield to the camp, and there was no laughter or goofing off among the ranks at all (although I did hear one soldier ask another about the point spread on some football game). We watched a cannon fire demonstration and even though they were firing blanks (ie no projectiles), they treated those guns with respect and had the drill down to a science, so you know that while other guys are sitting around on the weekend watching ESPN these guys are out there drilling and practicing their firing technique. I don't really do justice to this whole re-enactment thing, but if you want to read an account of the same re-enactment from a few years ago, check out this link: http://www.awod.com/cwchas/sfight.html Anyway, although there were lots of women dressed up, I think re-enactments are essentially a guy thing, what with all the guns and fighting. Also it would seem they are a Southern thing -- the old adage that the South is still fighting the Civil War is in some way true -- note that they choose to stage a battle that was won by the Confederacy. But for those of you reading this in Arizona, don't despair! Every March, Picacho Peak State Park hosts a re-enactment of the Battle of Picacho Pass. Although that was a smaller skirmish involving some Union soldiers attacking a rebel scouting party, I guess every year they have so many people wanting to be involved in the re-enactment that they end up with more soldiers than there were at the original battle. So next year, skip the nancy-boy Rennaissance Fair and head down towards Tucson for some fun with guns, horses, and American History.

Click on the third picture to see a video of the artillery demonstration.

We said goodbye to Margaret on Sunday morning and were so glad to have her for a visit, even though it was brief. We are really looking forward to spending some more quality time with our families and friends when we come home next month for the holidays.

Where we are:
Location=Charleston, SC
Lat=32 46.510 N
Lon=79 56.942 W

South Santee River, SC

Well we had an interesting time today. After staying several days at Thoroughfare creek we decided to get a move on and head 30 miles south to Minim Creek. The wind was blowing a bit today, gusting up to 20 knots, but we motored down the ICW without incident. But once we started getting ready to anchor it was a different story.

We have anchored in Minim Creek before and we know that the current runs pretty strong in that area. Last time we anchored in the creek there was no wind. But this time we had the wind pushing us from the north and the current pushing us from sort of a southerly direction. Our normal routine (without current) is to point the boat into the wind, drop the anchor, fall back as the wind pushes us back, and then back down on the anchor with our engines in reverse to get a good set. But with wind and current opposing, we did a little trial and error. We first did our normal routine but after dropping the anchor, the current pushed us forward and past the anchor, so that didn't work. We hauled it up and tried again, this time pointing into the current. After dropping the anchor the wind gusted and we started looping around in drunken circles. It was impossible to get the anchor directly out in front of us to back down on in and after several minutes of trying, Kevin just gave up and said "well it's probably set enough for us to stay here one night, go ahead and shut down the engines". We were in the middle of the creek and the anchor seemed to be holding so I shut the engines down and went inside to grab the cruising log and the instrument covers. I walk through the door a couple minutes later and hear the depth alarm going off (it is set to go off if we are in 2 feet of water). Kevin is at the helm and we are up against the bank of the creek. What? In just a few minutes we had gone from anchored to aground. Guess the anchor wasn't set after all.

So we start the engines and go about the process of getting ourselves floating again and hauling the anchor up. No easy task since the wind is now steady at 17 knots and the current has increased as well. Easing ourselves off the bank is no problem, only the tip of our bow was just barely aground. But trying to get the anchor up is another story since it is behind us between the hulls and we have to be careful about putting the engines in reverse so the propellers don't get fouled on the anchor chain. We finally have the anchor partway up but as I put the starboard engine in reverse it starts making this horrible sound. We realize that our prop must've gotten fouled on one of the several crab trap floats in the creek. We were fortunate because I put the engine in neutral right away and used only the port engine and I think somehow the trap worked itself loose because sure enough when I looked over, there the float was, floating about 100 feet away from where it originally had been (we had picked it up and moved it). We were really lucky because usually if something like that happens someone would have to get in the water and unwrap the line from the prop (in the conditions we were in it would've been next to impossible).

In the end, we gave up on Minim Creek and motored another 10 miles south to the South Santee River, where the current was still strong, but the river was wider and aligned better with the wind. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong in Minim Creek, but the anchoring gods gave us a break and we were able to set the anchor on the first try in the Santee.

Where we are:
Location=South Santee River, SC
Lat=33 09.018 N
Lon=79 19.312 W

Thoroughfare Creek, SC

[Kevin's Post]Yesterday, we left Southport and crossed the border into South Carolina. There's really only one anchorage on this 70 mile stretch of the ICW, and when we anchored there last year, another boat hit us at 2am because of the reversing current. So, we decided not to even try it this year, and instead went on to Myrtle Beach and tied up at a marina called Dock Holiday's. We had cable TV for the first time in months. For some reason, the cable at the marinas never work, even when they advertise that they have cable. So of course we wasted a lot of time watching tv, did a few loads of laundry, and had burgers and beers at the marina bar. A cold snap is going through the area right now, so we were glad to be able to run the heat too. This morning we got up and the temperature was in the low 40s with a 15kt wind putting the wind chill in the 30's. As we were motoring south we heard the coast guard repeatedly try to hail a vessel named Moonbow. A while later the coast guard issued a 'Pan Pan', which is an announcement typically regarding a vessel which is missing or otherwise in distress. A sailboat named Moonbow had turned on their EPIRB (emergency satellite beacon) somewhere between Cape Fear and Charleston. Conditions were supposed to be pretty bad out on the ocean today with winds 20-25 knots, which is why we are motoring down the ICW instead of going outside like we did on the way north. The Coast Guard never said exactly what happened to the boat, but about an hour later they issued another Pan Pan stating that the boat was adrift and the location. Presumably the crew had been rescued by the coast guard and forced to abandon their boat. We also heard a Securite saying that a bridge between us and Charleston is not working and so we are stuck north of Charleston until it is fixed or conditions are good enough to go outside the rest of the way to Charleston.

Where we are:
Location=Thoroughfare Creek, SC
Lat=33 30.862 N
Lon=79 08.662 W

Southport, NC - The Eagle Has Landed

Another day on the ICW. We left Wrightsville Beach around 8am; most of the boats in the anchorage had already left and were well ahead of us. On the VHF radio we started hearing chatter about a boat aground about 10 miles further, near Carolina Beach. One by one, we heard all the other boats hail this boat ("American Eagle"), asking "are you aground?" and "which side should we pass you on?". As we approached the area, we realized why so many boats had been worried about the grounded vessel -- it wasn't just a boat, it was a 160-foot cruise ship! The ICW channel at Carolina Beach is only about 120 feet wide and here is this behemoth turned sideways and stretching nearly across the entire channel. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that the waterline at the bow of the ship is at least a couple feet higher than it should be. As we got closer we could see that one other poor sailboat had misjudged where to pass, and tried to slip by the American Eagle's bow. Yep, they ran aground too. We heard the boat ahead of us radio the ship and they were told to pass behind it, so that's what we did, although the water got pretty shallow. We passed close enough to talk to one of the passengers on deck, an elderly lady who seemed to find the whole situation pretty hilarious. Strangely, the cruise ship was keeping kind of a low profile about the whole thing -- they didn't radio the coast guard, they didn't respond when TowBoat US hailed them on the radio. Normally, a vessel that big would periodically announce a "Security Call" on the VHF, to inform other boaters of what had happened and to use caution. But maybe the captain thought that nobody would notice, and they'd be able to get going again as the tide came in. I'm sure it was embarassing, but he's lucky a tug and barge wasn't trying to transit that section of the ICW this morning, or there could've been real trouble. I'm sure the Coast Guard was pretty irked when they finally found out what was going on. Some other boater must have called them because about two hours later, as we were heading south on the Cape Fun And Games River (Cape Fear River), we finally heard the Coast Guard issue a Security Call warning on the VHF, and they didn't sound too pleased about it.

Where we are:
Location=Southport, SC
Lat=33 55.238 N
Lon=78 02.666 W

Wrightsville Beach, NC

[Kevin's Post]Happy Halloween! Today we got up at 4am in order to make the 83 mile passage outside from Beaufort to Wrightsville Beach. There's only a few places we can go out on the ocean and still get back inside before sunset with the days being so short and this was one of them. There was virtually no wind so we ran one engine the whole way. In the afternoon the wind piped up out of the south to 10 knots so we could at least raise the main and get another half knot on top of the engine. We trolled a line most of the afternoon. I tried a few different lures, starting with my smaller lures and working my way up to my biggest lure changing it out every two hours. I finally caught a fish on my largest lure. Briefly. It escaped before I could reel it in. It was so small that I'm not even sure when I caught it. Usually the reel make noise when there is a fish on it, but this one just bent the rod slightly. It somehow managed to wiggle off the hook as I was reeling it in, but it is just as well, I don't think the fish was much bigger than the lure. I think I need to get a 3' lure so I can catch a 3' fish. Anyway, we made it to Wrightsville Beach about an hour before sunset and are anchored with about 50 other boats just below the bridge.

The picture was taken at the Norfolk maritime museum and I have been saving it for Halloween. Don't ask me why the maritime museum had an exhibit on bones.

Where we are:
Location=Wrightsville Beach, NC
Lat=34 12.380 N
Lon=77 48.043 W

Cape Lookout, NC

Boy, am I annoyed. I am annoyed for two reasons; one reason being that today is the first day that we have been underway since daylight savings time started. DST is the stupidest concept I can think of. I can understand that it made sense back in the days before electricity, and supposedly it cuts down energy costs and has many benefits that I'm sure make it worthwhile for millions of people to have to remember to simultaneously reset their clocks. But for cruisers like us it means that on Saturday we had until 6:30pm to get to our anchorage safely, but on Sunday we now have to be done by 5:30 (or earlier as the days get shorter). And what's worse is that in order to make the most of the daylight, we now have to get up an hour earlier. Damn you, Benjamin Franklin!

The second cause of my annoyance is the railroad bridge in New Bern. Yes, the same one we were stuck waiting for on our way in! This morning we wake up and have the anchor up well before sunrise (remember, we are Saving Daylight!) We know that the US 70 highway bridge (the one after the RR bridge) is restricted due to rush hour and only opens once between 6:30am and 8:30am. So we want to get to the US 70 bridge at 6am and get on our way. We motor up to the railroad bridge and, sure enough, it's closed. No VHF response, no response to horn signals. We can see the lights on in the little bridgetender house but can't tell if there's anyone inside. So we wait in front of the bridge for half an hour, maneuvering the engines to keep ourselves in place. Finally at 6:30 we turn to the side and re-anchor, since no train has come and the guy is clearly ignoring us. Kevin put it this way: "he has the easiest job in the world -- keep the bridge open unless a train is coming. But obviously he figured out that his job is even easier if he just leaves the bridge closed ALL THE TIME." I am royally ticked off, so I actually plug in the PC, get on the internet, and look up the phone number for the Norfolk and Southern railroad to register a complaint. By 7am, just as I am speaking to the right person on the telephone, we finally hear the telltale whistle of a train and the bridgetender walks down the train tracks to the bridgetender's house. So all this time he wasn't even there! Where was he? Who knows? Maybe in his car with the heater turned on, or getting a latte at Starbucks. But he sure knew the train schedule well enough to know exactly when to walk out across the bridge on the tracks. You'd think if he knew the schedule so well he could've left the bridge open and just came out ten minutes earlier to close it for the train. Details, details.

So it's the longest train ever, and we are on the VHF to the next bridge asking if they'll hold the 7:30 opening for us because otherwise we will have to wait an hour til 8:30 when rush hour traffic clears. Luckily the train passes and the railroad bridge slowly opens and we race through it just in time to catch the next bridge and we are on our way. Phew! That's the last time we anchor in New Bern!

So it's been a long day but now we are at Cape Lookout. It is a fairly protected spot with pretty sand dunes and a lighthouse. The anchorage is actually outside the Beaufort Inlet. Since we are planning to "go outside" tomorrow to Wrightsville Beach, this means we can get up before dawn and within a few short minutes be out on the open ocean and on our way. The best part of going outside? No bridges!

Where we are:
Location=Cape Lookout, NC
Lat=34 37.298 N
Lon=76 33.048 W

New Bern, NC - Southbound Cruisers Rendezvous

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are in New Bern to attend the Southbound Cruisers Rendezvous. We wanted to see what a gathering like this was all about, and so far we have really enjoyed ourselves. There have been discussions on weather, safety, internet/wi-fi antennas, etc. Some seminars have been more useful than others but it is always interesting to hear other people's experiences and opinions. Cruisers are an opinionated bunch and even on the rare occasions where there's a general consensus there always seems to be a few dissenters. So you can ask a simple question, such as "Will I find wi-fi access in the out islands?" and you will invariably get answers ranging from "it's not reliable, and you have to have an expensive high-powered antenna to pick up a signal" to "great -- I have never had a problem finding a free connection with just my internal PC antenna". So while it is nice to hear someone else share their information, no two cruising experiences are the same so you just gather the info and make your own decision. We are planning to head south in January and work our way through the Caribbean islands down to Grenada, so we wanted to hear other people's experiences, good and bad. We still plan to hit each island (within reason) and form our own opinion, but sometimes it is so useful to hear firsthand information. For example, we met a wonderful couple (John and Jenny from Al Shaheen) who have been that far south already and are heading back down this season. We had previously read that it wasn't worth spending too much time in Puerto Rico so we had just planned it as a provisioning stop, but they offered a different opinion and recommended renting a car to see all of the island. So now we are planning to spend a little more time there and rent the car for more than just provisioning. We have met many other couples who have also given us sound advice based on their experience. So the side trip up the Neuse River to New Bern has been well worth it.

The town of New Bern has been a nice stopover as well. Did you know that New Bern, NC is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola? No? Well, now you do. Some of the local cruisers have volunteered to shuttle people back and forth to Wal-mart, and a few trusting souls are willing to just give you the keys to their car. So this morning we and several other cruisers piled into a van driven by a soccer dad who lives here now but has sailed with his family (including three boys all under the age of 14 and a dog they added while in Puerto Rico) throughout the Caribbean. After hearing how they all lived pretty cozily for several seasons on a 42-foot (I think) monohull, I vowed never to feel cramped on our boat again!

This evening we headed to a restaurant run by a local Mennonite family. The food was simple but inexpensive and, after being welcomed personally by the owner, as a bonus he and one of the traditionally-dressed waitresses serenaded the dining guests with an a capella spiritual hymn. It was very moving and an interesting change from the waterfront pubs that we usually head to. Of course a drawback is that Kevin now wants to grow a Mennonite-style beard (no mustache). I told him to go for it, but I'm not going to wear a lace hat.

New Bern, NC - Train in Vain

Another long day on the ICW. We woke up well before dawn and had the anchor up by the time the sun rose. Our plan was to make it from Belhaven to New Bern, NC. This week the Sheraton in New Bern is hosting the Southbound Cruisers Rendezvous, which is a three-day get-together with information sessions for cruisers who plan to go south for the winter. It starts on Wednesday but the weather on Monday and Tuesday is supposed to be kind of iffy so we wanted to try to make it all the way there today - 70 miles. Luckily today's route included lots of rivers with deep water so we could use the autopilot and just set it and forget it. (It's much less stressful when you don't have to worry about staying inside a narrow channel.)

So at the end of the day, around 5pm we are approaching New Bern. To get to the anchorage, you have to pass through a highway swing bridge and then a railroad swing bridge a couple hundred feet apart. We hail the first bridge and the operator opens right up for us. The next bridge is a railroad bridge. Typically the RR bridges are left open all the time except when a train is coming. However most of them are not manned and they operate automatically. Just our luck the railroad bridge is closed. We try hailing the bridgetender (in case there is one) and the other bridgetender answers and says he doesn't know what the train schedule is for the railroad bridge but it always opens up after the train comes through. So we wait. It is fifty minutes til sunset, but the bridge was already closed when we got there so surely the train will come soon, right? We can see the anchorage which is literally a few hundred feet away on the other side of the bridge. Ten minutes pass. No train. Another ten. For a brief instant I see someone at the door of the bridgetender's shack on the bridge. I yell to Kevin to get the binoculars but it is too late, whoever it was went back inside. Nothing on the radio. A guy dinghies by and we wave him over and he says, sure, the bridge was open a couple of hours ago. So now we think the train must be just around the corner. We are a little nervous because if the bridge doesn't open it means we have to go back through the other bridge and find some other, less ideal, place to anchor. In the dark. We have now been waiting for thirty minutes and sunset is twenty minutes away so Kevin goes below to look up the correct sound signal for bridge openings (the plan being to blast the guy with the air horn), when the train guy peeks out the door of the shack again. We frantically wave at him and he waves back. Kevin shouts to him to find out when the bridge will open. He shouts back something unintelligible. I maneuver the boat closer to the bridge so we can hear what he's saying but he ducks back inside. We hear a loud mechanical clank that might be the bridge. Nothing moves. Five more minutes pass. The guy walks out onto the bridge with some tools. He goes back in the shed. Slowly the bridge begins to swing aside. And when I say slowly I mean it takes a full ten minutes for it to open. The guy peeks out the door and waves for us to hurry on through. We look at each other and wonder if he is supposed to even be opening the bridge for us, what if a train really is coming? Regardless, we want to get anchored so we go through and hope that a train doesn't come barrelling down just as we cross. We get to the anchorage and spend another twenty minutes trying to find a decent spot (there are already several boats parked in there). It is fifteen minutes after sunset when we finally shut down the engines and then, only then, does the train appear. If the guy hadn't opened the bridge for us we would've waited for almost an hour! But at least we got through and are anchored and looking forward to spending the next five days in one spot.

Where we are:
Location=New Bern, NC
Lat=35 05.849
Lon=77 02.552

Belhaven, NC

[Kevin's Post] 75 miles! Today we crossed Albemarle Sound motorsailing with light winds out of the north. Last fall when we went south we motored the whole ICW with both engines cranked because we were worried about how long it would take to get to FL. This time around we are trying a bit harder to conserve fuel and use the engines less. Running both engines burns twice as much fuel, but you only go about 10% faster. Of course that 10% made us faster than everybody last year, this year we are slower than everybody. But we don't care too much, running on only one engine means fewer fuel stops and fewer oil changes, etc. So today we ran on one engine, sails up as long as we could use them and were pretty pleased with the miles. We literally motored through the Belhaven breakwater at 2 minutes past sunset and got anchored just as it was getting dark.

Where we are:
Location=Belhaven, NC
Lat=35 31.741 N
Lon=76 37.219 W

Broad Creek, NC

[Kevin's Post]We only made another 30 miles today since the wind was a bit too strong to cross Albemarle Sound (for us anyway). The forecast was for 15-20 knots, but we saw winds 25-30 with a few gusts to 32. So we are anchored at the last anchorage north of Albemarle Sound and plan to cross it tomorrow. From Norfolk south, there are two routes you can take: the Dismal Swamp route and the Virginia Cut route. We've always gone the Dismal Swamp route before so decided to try the other one this time. The Dismal Swamp is too slow for all the big motor yachts, so they all come this way. Every hour a parade of massive motor yachts would blow past us all bunched together due to the bridge timings. You would think that in 20 miles they would spread out, but they don't. I guess one of them decides to go 25 and the rest want to go 26 and they tailgate just like they were in cars. Most of them slow down when they get close to us, but even going slow they throw up huge wakes. And when a bunch go by in succession the wakes seem to build on each other and today we got hit by some big ones. We're in North Carolina now.

Where we are:
Location=anywhere
Lat=36 12.050 N
Lon=75 57.227 W

Blackwater Creek, Va

[Kevin's Post]We actually set an alarm to get up early this morning since we wanted to be waiting for the first drawbridge south at 8:30. One look out the cockpit door and we knew we weren't going anywhere anytime soon. The fog was so thick we could only see about 150 feet. We haven't seen fog like that since New England last summer. So, we went back to bed. The fog finally broke around 11:00 and we got moving. Today was a slow day, we went through 1 lock and 7 drawbridges having to wait for each, and only covered about 30 miles. Some of the bridges open on request, and some of them only open on the half hour or hour. So if you don't time your arrival at the bridge, you have to maneuver around and try to hold your position against the wind and current. Tonight we're anchored in some marshes just north of the VA / NC border.


Where we are:
Location=Blackwater Creek, VA
Lat=36 35.888 N
Lon=76 04.011 W
#end

Norfolk, VA

[Kevin's Post]When we originally got to Hampton they said we had to leave by this morning as lots of boats were scheduled to arrive for the Caribbean 1500. The Caribbean 1500 is a race of cruising boats from Norfolk to the British Virgin Islands, a 1500 mile trip taking 8-14 days. It starts in early November, but boats are starting to arrive to provision and get their boats ready. We left Hampton this morning and traveled 12 miles down the Elizabeth river to downtown Norfolk, VA and anchored off Hospital Point. The Norfolk piers are packed full of Navy vessels, including a couple of aircraft carriers. In fact if you look on Google Earth and follow the Elizabeth River north looking to the east side you'll probably see a bunch of big Navy warships. The last two times we went through Norfolk we didn't stop so this time we were determined to go ashore. We dinghied across the river and tied up at Waterside marina. There is a pretty cool naval museum (I know we said we weren't going to go to anymore, but we did anyway) which is worth going to. The museum has an actual battleship, the USS Wisconsin, that you can walk around. This particular battleship was used in WWII through Desert Storm. They said it is still in reserve and can be redeployed if necessary. The Wisconsin had retired navy volunteers aboard, some of which had served aboard it as far back as the 1950's. After the museum we went to see the movie 'Departed', and then to Outback for some beers and a bloomin' Onion.

We're anchored at mile 0 of the intracoastal waterway, which as we've probably already explained, is an inland waterway of rivers, bays, and dredged canals stretching from Norfolk to Florida allowing you to travel the entire distance without ever going out to open ocean. This time we hope to go outside some of the distance from Beaufort to FL, weather permitting. 987 miles to go to Stuart, FL.


Where we are:
Location=Norfolk, VA
Lat= 36 50.729 N
Lon=76 18.068 W

Hampton, VA - Man At Work

So this past week we have been at a marina in Hampton Virginia. We usually try not to spend so much time at marinas but this week was an exception for two reasons: 1. we wanted to have our rigging inspected, and 2. Kevin did some remote computer programming work for Starwood (our previous employer).

The rigging inspection was set for Wednesday. Basically since the boat (and its rigging) is ten years old, we wanted to have it inspected before we leave the country in January. When we first bought the boat over a year ago we had the rigging inspected and the inspector recommended having it replaced within 1-3 years. So we figured we'd have it re-inspected by a different company and if they recommended to replace it we would have time to do that before we left the US. So the guy goes up the mast and looks at all the standing rigging (which are the wires that support the mast) as well as the running rigging (which are the lines that raise and trim the sails, etc). They also inspected other stuff like our lifelines (which run around the boat and -- hopefully -- stop a person from falling overboard) as well as our dinghy lift/tackle system (which helps someone as wimpy as me lift our couple-hundred-pound dinghy). We were pleasantly surprised when they said there were no problems and that they couldn't see any reason to replace the standing rigging. They did say we should replace a few of the lines (ropes in the running rigging), but that is going to cost much less than replacing the standing rigging would've been. So we are happy.

The other reason we wanted to stay at a marina was to use the wi-fi access so that Kevin could do a little programming work for Starwood. Of course the minute he agreed to start on the work, the wi-fi access stopped functioning, so he ended up having to use our cell phone to dial in. Since our cell phone charges 45 cents a minute if we go over our minutes, Kevin was working nights (between 9pm and 9am) and all weekend (when our calls are free). He worked like a fiend and finished everything, but I think he got a total of eight hours of sleep over the past five days. Two words: grumpy bear. But now he is well-rested and back to the normal, non-grumpy, Kevin I married.

Where we are:
Location=Hampton VA
Lat=37 00.443
Lon=76 18.982

Hayes, VA - Severn River Marina

[Kevin's Post]After leaving Fishing Bay we made our way south to Mobjack Bay where Severn River Marina is located. Our plan was to get dockage for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night, crank out some boat projects on Wednesday and Thursday, do some provisioning, then rent a car and go to Busch Gardens on Friday. That was the plan at least. On Wednesday, we pulled all our anchor chain out on the dock so that we could rotate the chain end to end and put some more zinc galvanizing on it. It's kind of like rotating the tires on your car, the galvanizing on the chain doesn't wear evenly, so you are supposed to rotate it periodically. On Thursday we dropped off some parts we needed modified at a local machine shop and went to Sam's Club and Walmart in our rental car. Back at the boat, we re-marked the chain, hauled it back onto the boat and reattached the anchor. Then, Thursday night we go to check the weather for our day of Busch Gardens fun and see that it is probably going to rain. We decide to wait and see, sometimes they are wrong, you never know. Then Friday morning we check the forecast and see this:

GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH LATE SATURDAY NIGHT

TODAY
NE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT EARLY THIS MORNING...INCREASING TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 KT THIS AFTERNOON. WAVES 3 TO 4 FT EARLY THIS MORNING...BUILDING TO 4 TO 6 FT. RAIN WITH VSBY 1 TO 3 NM.

TONIGHT
NE WINDS 25 TO 30 KT. GUSTS UP TO 45 KT...DECREASING TO 35 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WAVES 4 TO 6 FT. RAIN WITH VSBY 1 TO 3 NM.


(BTW, for you non-nautical types 45 KT is 52 mph)

It hasn't rained in about 10 days, and now we get a full blown Nor'easter. No Busch Gardens for us. The weather deteriorated throughout the day. We were able to make a run to the video store at low tide. Shortly after we got back, the finger pier next to the boat disappeared under the water. The strong winds are causing a storm surge and tides which are several feet above normal. The main dock here is typically 4-6 feet above the water and then there are finger piers which stick out from the main dock and go between the boats. The finger piers are supposed to be 2-3 feet above the water. High tide came at about 9:20 PM and at this point 2-3 foot waves were coming over the dock and through the marina. The boats in the slips on either side of us were bucking wildly against their dock lines. The water level was so high that the pilings were only sticking 3 feet out of the water and didn't even go up to our rub rail. We listened to the wind howl all night and wished we were at anchor instead. At least then we would be laying with the wind. This morning high tide came again at 9:40. The main docks were underwater, the parking lot was underwater, the marina office and ship's store were flooded, the power was out, and the only way to shore was by dinghy. And of course, the rental car was due back by noon. I dinghyed to shore thinking that maybe the roads would be ok. Before I even got to the car, I ran into the marina manager who said the roads were 2-3 feet underwater and he barely made it through in his full size truck. My Hyundai wasn't going anywhere. He also said that this was the worst storm surge they have seen since Hurricane Isabel. We called the rental car company and told them what the situation was and they said to try to return it after the water went down. So we waited for low tide at which point the water level was low enough to return the car and hurry back before the finger pier disappeared again. The wind has started to subside and we think it will be ok to leave tomorrow.

The picture shows the marina floating docks 2 feet above the fixed docks which can be seen just above the waterline. They are typically 3-4 feet below the fixed docks and are used by smaller boats and skiffs that would be too far below the fixed dock to climb off. Our rental car is the blue one in the background.


Where we are:
Location=Hayes, VA
Lat=37 18.238 N
Lon=76 27.249 W

Fishing Bay, VA

[Kevin's Post] After spending 3 nights tied up at Jack and Jo's dock we left this morning to continue south. Not much wind today so we didn't bother to even take off the sail covers, we knew we were going to be motoring. Recently the boat hasn't been motoring as fast as it used to, so I swam down to check the propellers while were at Jack and Jo's and found that the propellers had a pretty good growth of barnacles on them. The antifouling paint that is on the rest of the boat underwater doesn't stick to the props, so stuff can grow on them, especially if you sit for a long time like we did at Solomons. I scraped them all off, and it seemed to make a difference. We were going about 1/2 knot faster today at the same engine speeds.

We motored south out the Rappahannock and into Fishing Bay. As we entered Fishing Bay, we noticed a very large sailboat that appeared to be anchored off the channel. As we got closer, we could tell there was no anchor rode, they were aground. I looked at them through the binoculars and they were waving at us trying to get our attention, apparently they didn't have a radio. We motored over as close as we could get without going aground ourselves, the charted depth was 4 feet, and it was exactly low tide. They said their draft was 9 feet, so they were just on the edge of the shoal. We said we would anchor and try to haul them off with our massive dinghy which probably has more horsepower than their primary engine. We were in the process of anchoring, and fortunately they managed to get off the shoal under their own power without our help. So everything worked out.

Where we are:
Location=Fishing Bay, VA
Lat=37 30.486 N
Lon=76 20.807 W

Lancaster, VA - Fugawee Wharf

Earlier this week, we emailed our friends Jack and Jo on Maggie Rose (we met them last November in Myrtle Beach, SC). They live on Myer Creek, which is a tranquil spot off of the Rappahannock River. They invited us to tie up to their dock behind their house, and we took them up on the invitation. Their home (which they designed themselves) is on a beautiful spot, surrounded by shady trees, with lots of windows and a view of the creek out back. The first night they had us over for dinner and drinks and we had a great time catching up on each other's respective trips south (us to the Bahamas, them to Florida). Over the next couple of days we hung out and ate lots of good food (including Jack's awesome fried chicken and Jo's delicious sweet potato pancakes -- not at the same meal, of course!). Both Jo and Jack are such personable people we had a great weekend with them and by the end of it we felt like family. It was such a pleasant visit and so nice to see some friendly, familiar faces.

Where we are:
Location=Myer Creek, VA
Lat=37 41.703 N
Lon=76 29.469 W

Sandy Point, VA

[Kevin's Post]A front came through last night with torrential rain and northerly winds behind it. We like northerly winds because now that we are heading south it gives us better odds that we'll be able to use the wind to get some decent sailing speeds. Today did not disappoint, the forecast was for 15-20 out of the NW and we went faster than we have in a long time. We sailed about 20 miles down to the mouth of the Potomac with the wind directly behind us, then turned south after Smith Point Light for another 10 miles, then west up the Great Wicomico river. With one reef in the main, we were doing 8-9 a lot of the way and occasionally saw the speed in the double digits. We outran several monohulls. We passed about 5 miles east of Reedville, and even as far away as we were, the stench of the fish processing plant was unmistakable.

Where we are:
Location=Sandy Point, VA
Lat=37 49.345
Lon=76 18.896

Kinsale, VA

[Kevin's Post]We crossed the Potomac to the south side which means we have left MD and are in Virginia now. There was no wind so we just motored the 15 or so miles. We anchored off the Port Kinsale Marina because we had read they had a good restaurant and we were ready for a meal off the boat. They did not disappoint, we had beers, crab dip as an appetizer, I had a big cheeseburger, Amanda had a prime rib sandwich. We were stuffed.

At 3AM this morning we woke up to a loud noise which sounded like somebody climbing over the lifelines onto our boat. I jumped out of bed and flicked on the deck light which is a big flood light half way up the mast that illuminates the entire exterior of the boat. I figure if anybody was out there, that would give them a scare. I took a walk around the deck of the boat in my flannel pajamas, pepper spray in hand, just to make sure there wasn't a anybody on a skiff or anything. Nobody was there though, it must have been a big bird or something.


Where we are:
Location=Kinsale, VA
Lat=38 01.678 N
Lon=76 33.557 W

St. Mary's City, MD

[Kevin's Post]We left Solomons after topping off our water tanks and headed south for the Potomac. Another good day of downwind motorsailing. Just across the Patuxent from Solomons is a naval air base and there are constantly military aircraft flying around the area some of them low enough that you can practically see the crew. There is a target range in the water that they use for bombing practice and the navy range boats hail every boat going by on the VHF warning them to stay 1/4 mile from the range. Well, I figure that if they need practice, I'm going to stay more than 1/4 mile away. We overheard the navy say to one boat "They're fairly accurate most of the time". We turned up the Potomac to go to St. Mary's City which was the original capitol of Maryland. The Governor's cup race goes from Annapolis to here so we figured there must be stuff to see/do. Other than the college, it was pretty much a ghost town. In order to preserve the historic nature of the town, they have banned all commerce within a mile radius.


Where we are:
Location=St Marys City, MD
Lat=38 11.556
Lon=76 25.909

Solomons, MD

[Kevin's Post]Yes, we are embarrassed to admit it, but we are back in Solomons. We needed to hit a marina to refill our water tank, and Solomons was just the most convenient place to stop without going farther north. We had a nice sail over from St. Michaels, it was about 40 miles and we had a good wind most of the way. It's always nice when the wind allows you to go faster than the engines. At Solomons, we went up back creek towards the Spring Cove fuel dock because we got a good wifi signal last time we anchored there. We had just dropped the anchor and started to let out the chain when a trawler pulls up about 50 feet off our beam and drops his anchor. Now this would have been way too close even if we were done anchoring, but we hadn't even let out all our chain yet! So, I stand on the bow, giving them the stink eye, he's on his bow looking at us like he's waiting for something. This goes on for a few minutes. I go back to the cockpit, we back down on our anchor to set it, they do the same. I neutral out the starboard engine, leaving the port in reverse just for fun. Our boat starts to swing over toward the trawler. Amanda says, 'Oh, don't do that'. She never lets me have any fun. We've only asked people to move a few times, and most of the time that we do, they pick up, re-anchor, and end up in the exact same spot anyway. So, this time we just picked up and moved to a different spot giving them a second stink eye in the process. The proximity of the grocery, west marine, etc, makes this a pretty popular anchorage and it gets pretty crowded. Even after moving, by the end of the day we had a small flotilla of boats directly upwind of us. It's always nervewracking to have boats so close upwind because if they drag, they're going to hit you and you probably won't have time to do anything about it. And the forecast for the weekend is 25 knots gusting to 30.

Saturday was my birthday and Amanda made me delicious apple cinnamon pancakes for breakfast. As forecasted, the wind pipes up in the afternoon. I look out the window and see a boat about 10 feet off our bow. We run outside in a panic thinking that we are about to get smacked. It's the green boat in the picture (in the picture it is about 40 feet away). And of course there is no one on board. We stand there and watch it for a while, a few people from other boats are enjoying the show. After watching it for a while it appears to not be getting any closer. We decide they aren't dragging, they probably just have more anchor chain out and are swinging a larger circle than we are. With them directly in front of us, there is no way for us to haul up the anchor and move. So all we could do is let out more chain and hope that they aren't in fact dragging. It all turned out ok this time, the wind shifted after a few hours and they floated away from us. By the time they returned they were several boat lengths away and they had no idea how close they came to hitting us.



Where we are:
Location=Solomons, MD
Lat=38 20.232
Lon=76 27.592

St. Michaels, MD

Technically, we are still in San Domingo Creek, so the boat hasn't moved. But for the past three days we have gone ashore and wandered around St. Michaels which is a popular tourist spot on the East Bay. Saturday it rained all day but then right around dinnertime it looked like it was going to clear up so we got in the dinghy and headed to shore. Of course the skies opened up just as we were landing the boat, so we got soaked but the sun came out a few minutes later and we were able to explore and grab a bite at the local saloon. The town is the epitome of small-town America -- one main street with shops, restaurants, etc. Most of the shops sell knick-knacks, bric-a-brac, and various other hyphenated-type craftwork. We window-shopped until it started to get dark, then headed back to the boat to discover a minor flood. We had left one of the ports open in the bathroom to keep airflow going through the boat (kind of a stupid thing to do when it's RAINING OUTSIDE) and the water just trickled in to the bathroom filling it with about an inch of water. Of course that is one of the few compartments in the boat that doesn't drain directly into the bilge, so I waded in there and started sopping things up with a towel. It was dry in no time, so it wasn't too big of a mishap. Lesson learned.

Sunday was a sunny day so we hit the local Maritime museum (pretty much every small town on the Bay has one) and oohed and ahhed over the (now very familiar) exhibits on crabbing, oystering, and fishing that seem to be the staple of all of these museums. We have promised each other that this was the last, the absolute last, maritime museum we will visit for a while. You can only look at so many pairs of antique oyster tongs before enough is enough. On our way back to the boat we also hit the local grocery store, "Acme", a name that for me conjures up images of Wile E. Coyote strapping on Acme brand rocket roller skates in a vain quest to catch the Roadrunner. Meep-meep!

Today was more of the same, looking in at some of the shops, picking up a few more groceries, and having dinner at one of the waterfront restaurants. It's been a pleasant couple of days but we are in for more rain this week. This time we'll remember to keep the ports closed during the downpours.

San Domingo Creek, MD

Tuesday was a pretty nice day, weather-wise. We decided to load the bikes up into the dinghy and go for a ride. Kevin had programmed the local streets into the handheld GPS so we wouldn't get lost, I packed a lunch and off we went. This part of Maryland is really pretty. It's mostly farmland and tiny towns. Our eleven mile trek took us past tobacco (or at least a green leafy substance that we thought was tobacco) and corn fields as well as a few picturesque farmhouses. At the end of the ride we stopped at a park and ate lunch while watching sailboats on the Tred Avon river.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was mostly rainy and the wind shifted from north to south, which usually isn't a big deal but because of where we set our anchor we ended up aground. We didn't drag of course, but when the tide went out we discovered we were in only 3.5 feet of water (we need at least four for the boat to float). No problem. We decided to just wait until the tide came back in and then move the boat to a better spot. But in the meantime Kevin scrubbed the transom steps which are usually awash in dingy brown water. So in a way being aground was a good thing.

Today we decided to move the boat up the peninsula a ways to San Domingo creek. It's close to a town called St. Michaels which is supposed to be kind of a tourist destination on this side of the bay. It rained most of the day today so we haven't been able to go ashore yet, but hopefully this weekend it will clear up a bit.

Where we are:
Location=San Domingo Creek
Lat=38 46.333
Lon=76 13.869

Oxford, MD

We are now on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay, on what is called the Delmarva Penninsula. "Delmarva" sounds like it could've been the name used by Native Americans, but it's not -- it's something people around here made up because the peninsula has parts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Clever people, these chesapeakans. As we were heading into Oxford yesterday, a lady on another catamaran ran up to the front of her boat and started waving frantically at us. We weren't sure what was going on but we turned our boat toward them to see if they needed help. Turns out that the couple also owns a Manta catamaran down in Florida. Yesterday they were sailing their other boat, a 34 foot Gemini catamaran. They were waving just to say hi and introduce themselves. We ended up anchoring in the same creek and they invited us over for drinks. Leo and Betty have owned two Manta catamarans -- the first one got gored by a tanker while they were at anchor in the Bahamas; it put a hole right in the side of their boat a few feet from where they were sleeping. Luckily, when the tanker backed off the hole kind of closed itself up and they were able to save the boat -- no one was hurt. Mantas are tough little boats.

It was interesting to hear them talk about their sailing adventures. They have been all over the place -- Belize, Mexico, Bahamas. They are planning to sail their Gemini up the Hudson River and through Canada over to the Great Lakes area. Whenever we meet older retired couples on boats, it never ceases to amaze us how much more adventurous they are than us. This couple was in their sixties and we felt like old fogeys in comparison.

Today we walked around Oxford a bit. There's not much going on in these sleepy little towns, but it's nice to get ashore and stretch your legs. They did have some nice bike paths though so we are going to try a bike ride tomorrow if the weather is nice.

Where we are:
Location=Oxford, MD
Lat=38 41.488
Lon=76 09.907

Hudson Creek, MD

[Kevin's Post] Well, the rain finally let up on Wednesday, so we left St. Leonard's creek and went back to Solomons to take care of a few errands. I had ordered some metric box wrenches which hadn't arrived before we left, but they came while we were gone. Also we wanted to pick up a few things from West Marine and the grocery store before heading across the bay. As we motored through Solomons past our old slip at Beacon marina, we were shocked to see that a boat had sunk at the marina just a few slips from where we were. We had walked past this boat 5 times a day for the last month and immediately recognized it from its mast and rigging (which was all you could see above the water). The marina had put a ring of floats around the sunken boat to try to soak up any oil and fuel leaking from the it. It was an older boat, and we figure it must have had some leaks that allowed rain in, or a clogged cockpit scupper that wouldn't allow the rain out, and Ernesto was just too much for it to take. We felt bad that we had left just a few days earlier, if we had been there, we may have noticed it going down and could have done something. As we left Solomons this morning, we saw that they had managed to refloat the boat. This is not a simple thing to do, requiring divers, a couple barges and a lot of people. Getting the boat out of there no doubt cost more than the boat was worth in the first place. They had tied it to a barge and were pushing it out to the Patuxent. I'm not sure what they were going to do with it, but if we ever see Jerry the dockmaster again we'll have to get the rest of the story. They say that most recreational boats that sink, sink at their docks.

Today we cruised about 25 miles across to the East side of the Chesapeake to a place called Hudson Creek. We're anchored in a cove with a half dozen other boats. Pretty busy for a Friday afternoon, but I guess it is a popular spot. The weather has really cooled off, getting down to the low 60s at night and high 70s during the day. I've started wearing socks again for the first time in about 6 months.

Where we are:
Location=Hudson Creek, MD
Lat=38 32.464 N
Lon=76 14.702 W

St. Leonards Creek, MD - Ernesto & Vera

Well Ernesto came and went on Friday. We were deluged with rain all day and saw wind gusts as high as 35 miles an hour. As the Black Night in Monty Python's Holy Grail said: "I've had worse." So it wasn't too bad, and definitely less severe than predicted. The storm surge raised the water level so that some of the private docks in the creek were underwater, but since we were at anchor it didn't affect us.

On Saturday, the sun actually came out a little in the afternoon, so we headed up the creek to a restaurant called Vera's White Sands Beach Club. We had read an article online (http://www.citypaper.com/special/story.asp?id=6635) describing it as a tacky, tiki getaway run by an eccentric old lady (Vera). Apparently, in her heyday she was a "hollywood starlet" (or so she claims) and built this tiki resort back in the 60's. So we had low expectations for a kitschy establishment with (hopefully) decent food. But it appears that Vera's health has been in decline, so the new management has revamped and remodeled. We were a little disappointed and yet at the same time relieved. It still has the tiki theme, but it now has chic-tacky decor, complete with leopard print chairs and barstools and beaded-curtained alcoves instead of booths. All tables had a fantastic view of the water and sunset, and the food was excellent. While the inside of the restaurant seemed somewhat upscale, at least on the exterior some of the tackiness has survived, since they have fake palm trees on all the grounds and the outside patio is still shaped like the bow of a ship. Did I mention they had an Elvis impersonator? Classy.

St. Leonard's Creek, MD - On the move again!

[Kevin's Post] Yes, it's true we have finally departed Solomons. After almost 6 weeks of going nowhere, we still remembered how to drive the boat. We really liked it there, it was great being so close to a west marine (and grocery store, and post office) which allowed us to really knock out a bunch of boat projects. But we're definitely ready for a change of scenery. The forecast is for temps in the 70's and low 80's for the next week or so, exactly what we've been waiting for. Unfortunately, the forecast also is for rain and strong winds due to Ernesto. We can take the wind and the rain, but the heat is the real issue, so hopefully it will stay cool. We cruised up the Patuxent about 9 miles to a lovely place called St. Leonard's Creek. The creek has high banks with tall trees so should provide very good wind protection in the event Ernesto is worse than forecasted. Right now, they are forecasting only 20-25 knot winds, which is nothing extraordinary. But things can change. We'll probably stick around here for a few days until the rain lets up.

Boat Projects completed at Solomons
Genset: replaced raw water pump, cleaned heat exchanger, replaced coolant, changed oil, improved ventilation ducting, repaired hatch scupper leak
Port Engine: fixed steamy exhaust problem by replacing exhaust elbow, cleaned heat exchanger, swapped tachometers
Stbd Head: replaced joker valve
Port Head: replaced shower sump float switch
Galley: replaced leaky drinking water faucet, repaired main sink faucet, defrosted freezer
Outboard: replaced impeller, replaced gear oil, replaced trim tab zinc, rehubbed prob and reinstalled.
General: rearranged locker storage to stow bikes, reorganized fwd stateroom storage (junk room)

After completing all that work we thought we were good to go for at least a week as far as things breaking, but as soon as we left the dock we noticed the onboard GPS is completely dead. Not a big deal since we only use the chartplotter GPS anyway, but another thing that we need to fix eventually. But not today.

Where we are:
Location=St Leonards Creek
Lat=38 24.302 N
Lon=76 29.009 W

Solomons, MD - Lost Verizon

"We never stop working for you". At least that's what they claim -- until they do, in fact, decide to stop working for you. The other day Kevin noticed that our Verizon broadband card (that gives us fast internet access anywhere we get a cell phone signal) had stopped working. He called customer service to see if they could fix it and was transferred to the fraud department where a very angry, very rude woman informed him that the service had been discontinued because he had "violated the terms of service". Kevin politely asked how the terms had been violated, and approximately when, and what specifically he had done. Rude lady then snapped back that Verizon did not have to tell him any specifics, only that he had violated the terms and that he'd been cut off and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Kevin was appalled at her attitude, and told her so, but she still would not give out any details. So if anyone was considering using Verizon broadband cards: buyer beware! Apparently they have an unadvertised usage limit on their 'Unlimited' broadband service that we exceeded. We do still have the cell phone service, and whenever we are near wi-fi we will have internet access, but the days of surfing the internet from remote anchorages are gone. Sigh.

Today UPS delivered two huge packages for us -- our new folding bikes. They are pretty neat -- they fold right in half and the handlebars fold down as well to make a neat little package. They don't look like your average ten-speed, but they get the job done. We took them out of the boxes, made a few adjustments, and took off for the grocery store. It's nice to have a new way of getting around. Kevin found the perfect place to store them, they both fit right in front of the genset with room to spare.

Solomons Island, MD - Amanda in DC

You can tell things have been quiet around here by the lack of posts. However, last weekend I did go into DC to visit Carrie, Dan, and four-month-old Sammy which was great. My day started at 5am on Friday, taking a cab to the next town to catch the commuter bus, which put me in DC at around 7am, way too early to see any sights. So I hung out at the Old Post Office (which is now a cafeteria) and at 9 am I wandered over to the Ford Theater, the site of Lincoln's assassination. Then I meandered around some of the Smithsonian galleries until it was time to catch the metro to visit Carrie.

Their house is adorable, and it is located near just about every possible shopping outlet and chain restaurant you could dream up. The house is huge -- especially to me after living on this boat for so long -- and they have a nice back porch where they've got Dan's latest purchase -- a massive bbq grill. So for dinner on Friday he grilled up some delicious steaks and portabella mushrooms. Then Saturday, Carrie and I got to work on covering the bright orange wall in the kitchen with a more sedate white. For some reason, the previous person had settled on a color scheme of sky blue and tangerine (!?) so Carrie has been slowly working to bring that color scheme to a more neutral tone. The orange had to go. With two people working, we had it done in no time and it was a big difference. It makes me wonder what my renters think of my "high noon" (desert brown) accent walls in my house. Oh well, too bad.

Dan kindly volunteered to babysit Sam while Carrie and I indulged in a chick flick -- "The Devil Wears Prada". I had low expectations, it is a fashion movie after all, but Meryl Streep never fails to deliver so it was actually pretty good. Of course the quality of the film was only secondary to the real reason for being at the movies: an excuse to indulge in movie popcorn with extra butter. The next evening, Carrie and Dan hosted a dinner party with another couple, Sean and John. Sean is an adventure traveler and has been all over, including a trip where she followed the route of the Tour de France while Lance Armstrong was riding in it. So hearing her

stories was really interesting.

I had a jam-packed weekend, got to catch up with Carrie, was able to hold, feed, and play with little Sam to my heart's content. He is so smart and such a good baby; it didn't even phase him to have this strange person making ga-ga eyes at him all the time -- he just went with the flow. You can tell he will be a real people-person, just like his parents. On the way back I realized that neither Carrie nor I took ONE SINGLE picture, even though we talked about it many times, and even left the camera out at one point to be sure to take photos. So I have manufactured one of Carrie, me, and Sam in front of the tangerine orange wall. That's the beauty of photoshop.

On the way back from Carrie's I stopped in at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History to have a look at the Hope Diamond (enormous 45 carat blue diamond). I wandered around the rest of the jewel exhibit, checking out how my engagement ring stacks up against the worlds biggest gems. I think it looks okay, especially when I "jedi-mind-trick" the photo so that it looks about the same size.

Solomons Island, MD

[Kevin's Post]Over the past few weeks I have been overhauling the genset cooling system. I replaced the raw water pump with a new one with a higher capacity. I took apart the heat exchanger and discovered that the coolant side of the heat exchanger had so much scale built up that it was actually restricting the coolant flow through the heat exchanger. Also, a coating of mineral deposits doesn't do much for your heat transfer either. So, I soaked that in acid for a few minutes and it is good as new (see the before and after pictures). I probably could have stopped right there, but after reading about antifreeze, I learned that antifreeze is actually a pretty bad coolant. It's primary job is to not freeze (hence the name anti-freeze). It is actually a much worse coolant than plain old distilled water. By a lot. In fact, if you can guarantee you'll never see freezing temperatures (which I can) you don't even need antifreeze. But you do need the corrosion inhibitors that the antifreeze provides. So I am now running straight distilled water plus a product called 'water wetter' which provides the corrosion inhibitors (and reduces the surface tension of the water to make it an even better coolant). After all this, the engine on the genset is running about 35 degrees cooler. I don't even think the thermostat is opening up completely at this point.

I have discovered the physical law of 'Conservation of Brokenness'. This law states that upon fixing one thing, something else will either break, or reveal its true state of brokenness. It's uncanny. Every time I declare victory over one problem, within a few hours a new one of equal significance appears. For example, I replaced the water pump on the genset, and the SAME DAY the float switch on the shower sump dies. I replaced the genset coolant, and within a few hours I go to change the oil and oil change pump impeller has stripped all it's vanes and won't pump. Now that the diesel on the genset is working great and can handle a 30 amp load without any effort, the generator (the part of the genset that is attached to the engine and converts rotation to electricity) is overheating and shutting down. So, now that goes to the top of my list of major boat issues. Stay tuned.

Anybody tried out the Google Earth stuff? We haven't heard from anybody who has actually tried it yet.

Editorial Note - Google Earth

We've added a cool new feature to the blog. If you look to the left, you'll see a map which contains a link to our current position using Google Earth. Google Earth, for those of you who haven't heard of it, is basically an electronic globe which uses satellite imagery covering every inch of the planet. The amount of detail is incredible. By clicking the map on the left, you'll be able to see a birdseye view of our exact location. You can zoom in, zoom out, and look to see what else is nearby. Before you try it for the first time, you'll need to download and install the Google Earth Client which you can get by following the link below the map on the left. It is free. After it is installed, click on the map to the left, it will launch Google Earth.

Solomons Island, MD

[Kevin's Post]When we were in the Bahamas, our outboard propeller hub got damaged rendering it unusable. There is this rubber part in the hub of the propeller which is designed to fail if you hit something (or several somethings) and protects the engine and the transmission from damage. In our case, ours failed just from throttling up too fast (we were in 20 feet of water). But most likely it was already damaged and just finally gave out. It is supposed to be easy and cheap to fix, but nobody in the Exumas could do it so we broke down and bought a new one. We waited 2 weeks and paid $265 for an $85 propeller that wasn't even the right pitch. That's boat maintenance in the Bahamas. The reason I am bringing all this up is because last week I shipped the old prop to get it rehubbed (to Kansas of all places). They rehubbed it and shipped it back to me the same day they received it. They charged us $33 and it is good as new. I could have fedexed it from the Bahamas, had it repaired and shipped back cheaper and faster than what we did. Another expensive boat maintenance lesson. Anyway, the silver lining is that at least now we have a spare prop for the outboard which is a very good thing to have. We met lots of other boaters that also damaged their prop hubs, one of them even resorted to buying a whole new outboard (faster than getting a new prop). If you ever need a propeller repaired, I highly recommend Midwest Propeller Service in Olathe, Kansas. http://www.midwestpropeller.com/

Amanda abandoned ship this morning to go spend the weekend at Carrie's new house and help paint their kitchen. I am staying with the boat babysitting the air conditioning strainer. There is a commuter bus that runs from nearby to DC and she will take the Metro from there. It only runs Monday-Friday so she won't be back till Monday.


We finally got our professional wedding photos recently (also on Bahamas time) and uploaded them to snapfish. So, if you wanted any prints but didn't want to pay 6 bucks, you can get them now for 12 cents. Or, if you want a pillowcase with my picture on it those are $19.99. The wedding album link on the left is updated to go to the new snapfish album.

Solomons Island, MD - Sammy the Sailor

This morning my friend Darlene said, "Write a post already." I know, I know -- the posts are few and far between, but honestly some days nothing exciting happens. So if you want to see entries like, "Hot outside. Watched TV." then that's what you'll get. CBS comes in really well on our rabbit ears and we are hooked on the American Idol rip-off "Rock Star: Supernova". Exciting, huh? See, Dar, I told you -- be careful what you wish for.

However, this was a pretty eventful week for us. First we ran into our old friends on Paragon (who we met down in the Bahamas and seem to run into fairly often). During the two weeks we've been here at the dock, they passed through Solomons, raced up to New York City, toured around there for a week, and got back again. Meanwhile, what did we do? (See the above paragraph...) Anyway, we had a nice dinner with them before they had to take off and continue down to Virginia.

The highlight of the week was seeing our friends Carrie and Dan and their new baby, little four-month-old Sammy. It was the first chance I'd had to see little Sam and he is adorable! Of course, we had to take the requisite "sailor hat" photo. The five of us went down to the boardwalk area to have lunch and walk around a little bit. I loved getting the chance to hold the little guy and seeing him smile his little toothless grin. I think Kevin was a little worried there that I might start campaigning for a munchkin of our own but rest assured I can't imagine having a baby on board a boat. It was great to have a chance to see them and the baby, thanks so much to Carrie and Dan for making the four hour round-trip.

Solomons Island, MD

[Kevin's Post]Not much to report here. We're still at the marina in Solomons Island enjoying the facilities. It is brutally hot here this week, it is supposed to get to 100 today and tomorrow. The water is so thick with jellyfish that the air conditioning through-hull is getting clogged on a regular basis. At night the water looks like something out of a horror movie there are so many of them. Luckily the through-hull is on the outside and not between the hulls, otherwise it would be impossible to clean without getting in the water. As it is I can reach it with a brush on a pole since it is only a couple feet below the waterline. There is a grill over the through-hull which keeps big stuff out and a strainer inside the boat that catches the smaller stuff. THe jellyfish are getting sucked against the grill and blocking the water flow. I'm having to clean it several times a day, but it is a small price to pay to keep the air conditioning running.

When we're not battling the jellyfish, we read, watch movies/tv, surf the internet, balance things on the cat's head, and occasionally do some work on the boat. I've dismantled the entire cooling system on the genset and have finally tracked down the correct parts manual for the genset diesel. So now I can actually order replacement parts. Its tough to get up the energy to do any projects outside with it being so hot, and we don't have too many inside projects.