St. Augustine to Vero Beach and Jeff Arrives

St. Augustine to Vero Beach and Jeff Arrives

Tuesday, February 18, 2014.  We fly into Jacksonville today and are back at Riverside Marina in St. Augustine by 4:00pm.  We have dinner at Hurricane Patty’s.

Wednesday, February 19 through Friday, February 21, we clean, by supplies and get the boat ready to move south.  There is a farmer’s market right next door to the marina, so we are stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables.  We have a diver clean the bottom and change the zincs. Friday, we take a taxi over to “the island” to meet Kyle Goodwin at his studio.  Kyle does glas carving (as does Lisa), so it was interesting to meet another artist who works in the same medium.  www.goodwinglassworks.com .  If you haven’t seen Lisa’s work  www.lisajeansglasscreations.com  We lunched at the Gypsy Cab Company – just down the street from Kyle’s (all the locals say it is the best in St. Augustine) – great sandwiches! That night, we go into town with Paul Walsh (the Dockmaster at the marina) and his friend Laurie.  Nice evening, but we a back at the boat relatively early as we plan to leave in the morning.

Rivers Edge Marine, San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, FL  29° 53.17’ N 081° 18.32’W

Saturday, February 22, 2014. It was foggy and rain overnight.  Depart Rivers Edge Marina at 8:45am.  It is slack tide and we manage to get out of the slip and underway with minimal effort.  We travel along with a trawler “Night Heron” for a good part of the day.  We anchor in Rock House Creek, New Smyrna, FL, at 6:30pm (dusk).  There are 4 large power boats already here, 3 of them in a raft (tied together and on a single anchor).  This is not a large anchorage, but it is well protected. Partly cloudy, wind N @ 7.

4 bridges today, all on request.

29° 03.66’N  080° 55.92’W  65SM, 52NM, MM842

Sunday, February 23, 2014.  Anchor up at 8:20am. Sunny, 75 degrees. The aft refrigeration is not working properly this morning. We made the Coronado Beach Bridge at 8:40am.  We call Pete Brocker (diver and jack of all trades at Vero City Marina) and ask if he know a good refrigeration guy.  He gives us a guy named Ty Cobb (really) (772-388-5966).  We also called the Hedlunds and they suggested Helseth Marine Services (772-567-9552).  We will be in Vero by Tuesday, so we call and make an appointment with Ty Cobb for Wednesday.  In the meantime, we will do it the old fashioned way by putting block ice in the unit.

We arrive at Cocoa Village Marina at 4:45pm, just ahead of a front pushing through.  See the pictures for some pretty spectacular cloud formations.  Rain and thunder overnight.

Three bridges today – all on request.

28° 21.47’ N  080° 43.55’W  55SM today, 44NM, MM897.

Monday, February 24, 2014.  Layover day.  Lisa’s Uncle Franny and his wife Virginia come by and take us to see Lisa’s grandmother’s house, then shopping at Walmart and then over to see their house.  We lunch with them at Kay’s Bar-B-Que and Steaks and then head back to the boat.  George and Bev Major come by for dinner and we walked over to Cocoa Village and have dinner at a very nice Thai restaurant (Thai Thai). This was their first time for Thai food and we think they enjoyed it.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014. Hazy sun 70 degrees, little wind.  Off the dock at 8:00am.  At 1pm, Sebastian, wind NE 10-12, foresail out.  3:30pm, sunny, 80 degrees, Vero Beach Municipal Marina on a mooring.  No bridges today.  27° 39.32’N  080° 22.24’W  55SM today, 44NM  MM952.

As soon as we got settled on the mooring a couple comes by in their dingy.  The dingy has a cover on it.  I said to Lisa the only other dingy I have seen with a cover like that belongs to Jim and Judy Foster on Tug-a-Long, who we traveled with for a time last season.  Guess what!  It is Jim and Judy!  They left their boat in Vero last May and it is still here in a slip!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014.  We bring the boat into the dock for the refrigeration technician, Ty Cobb.  Yes his ancestor was the famous baseball player.  The verdict on the aft refrigeration is that the compressor is gone (dead short).  Ty will order the new unit.  In the meantime, we will continue to use the forward refrigerator and put ice in the aft one. Dinner tonight at the Southern Comfort Grill.  Home Cooking and reasonable prices.

Thursday, February 27, 2014.  The new refrigeration won’t be in until Wednesday or Thursday.  There are certainly worse places to be stuck than Vero.  We are supposed to pick up Jeff on March 8 in Fort Lauderdale, so we call Southwest and change ho destination to West Palm Beach, closer to Veru.  Dinner tonight with Stan and Judy Hedlund at the Disney Beach Resort in Vero Beach.  I did not even know there was one!  The food was great and Stan had a discount coupon, even better!

Friday, February 28, 2014. The Fosters leave for Maryland (by plane). 

Saturday, March 1, 2014. Lisa and I walk to town to the Farmer’s Market in Hummiston Park.  Lovely place.  Seems much larger than last year.

Sunday, March 2, 2014.  Stan Hedlund come to visit and we go to breakfast at the Southern Comfort Grill. Judy (Hedlund) is not feeling well as her back is giving her significant pain. Later, Lisa and I walk to the beach.  On the way, we meet a couple on bicycles.  At lunch, at Casey’s, we meet the couple on bicycles again.  They are from Maryland and we tell them we are at the marina and give them one of our boat cards.

Monday, March 3, 2014.  Jim Foster lends us his car, so we run errands, go to the thrift shop hunting bargains (found a couple of books and some wine glasses for the boat (plastic), and then grocery shopping.  While we are out, the couple we met on Sunday, come by the marina looking for us.  They leave their names and phone and when we get back we give them a call.  His name is Peter Stifle and hers is Ginny Hall.  They have a house in Vero and invite us to dinner on Wednesday. 

Tuesday, March 4, 2014.  Today is our son James’ birthday, so we call and sing him Happy Birthday.  He is home watching the dogs and watching it snow!  Peter and Ginny pick us up at the marina and we go to their house. I work on the blog most of the day (I know, it doesn’t appear so) and Lisa goes kayaking.  Her friend Anne (in NH) gave her a blow up kayak that we have been carrying with us.  Lisa is really pleased with it and says it is more stable than a regular kayak and easy to paddle.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014.  Very nice about a block from the beach.  Turns out they are good friends of Henry and Gale Petronis, who are good friends of Pam and Jerry Jana.  All of them have residences in Easton, MD.  We left the boat at Oxford, MD for the summer, because the Jana’s are close to the boat yard and are sailors and we have known them maybe 20 years now.  Small world.  Peter’s family home in Maryland was used by James Michener as the model for the house in the book “Chesapeake”.

Ty Cobb also called today and said our refrigeration would be in on Friday and he would come out on Saturday and install it.  Great!

Thursday, March 6, 2014.  Mainly boat chores today, but Lisa and I did take a dingy ride.

Friday, March 7, 2014.  Ty called and said the refrigeration came in!  I called Southwest and changed Jeff’s flight from Ft. Lauderdale to West Palm Beach.  We also called Hertz and rented a car for the week-end.  That’s cheaper than paying a limo service or taxi to pick him up.  Jeff is coming on March 8 for a week (his spring break).

Saturday, March 8, 2014.  Ty shows up at 9 and by 11:30, we have a new refrigeration unit installed and working.  One nice feature of the new unit is that it is much more efficient than the old one.  I leave at 6pm to drive to West Palm to meet Jeff.  We are back at the boat by 10pm.  Nice to have him with us once again.

Sunday, March 9, 2014.  Today is shopping day to provision.

Monday, March 10, 2014.  We return the rental car, make sure the boat is full of water and fuel.

We meet Stan and Judy for dinner at Sake, a Japanese and Thai restaurant next door to Mr. Manatees.  We can get there by dingy from the marina.  Judy’s back is still an issue and she gets and MRI on Friday.  After dinner, we load the dingy and get everything ready to depart in the morning.

Click here for pictures of St. Augustine to Vero

 

The Repair and onward to St. Augustine

The Repair, then on to St. Augustine

Wednesday, December 11, 2013.  Today the machine shop said they can repair the rudder and we got the final estimate for the total repair job and sent it to BoatUS Insurance.  They approved the estimate within 2 hours! Jon and Marguerite on Quicksilver arrive at the marina.  Great to see familiar faces. 

Thursday, December 12, 2013.  Today, George, the fiberglass guy, began working on the keel.   the end of the day, it looks as good as new.  Jon and Marguerite went with us to the local Farmers’ Market and then we rode out to St. Simons Island and walked the area around the stores and the lighthouse.  Then we all went up to Darien to eat shrimp at BJ’s.  A nice day.

Friday, December 13, 2013. The rudder arrived back at the yard this morning and George began the fiberglass work.  This guy is really a wiz!  By 4 o’clock the rudder is re-installed in the boat, the autopilot hooked up, and the boat is in the travel lift headed back to the water.  At 5:30 we are in a slip next to Jon and Marguerite.  Dinner and drinks on board.

Saturday, December 14, 2013. The weather today is supposed to be a bit “iffy” and Quicksilver decides to stay in Brunswick for at least another day.  We leave the dock at 6:30 am – still dark.  There is a dredge working across the entrance to the harbor and the only way to get around it is 50 feet of clearance between the dredge and the docks.  At 7:00 am we pass the new bridge at Brunswick as the sun rises.  7:35am we pass “The Jetty” where we went aground.  It is high tide and we have no issues with this passage.  9:00am we hear Gari (George and Richard) on the radio.  At 9:30am we actually catch up to Gari.  11:20am the wind has built to 20 knots on our nose. At 11:30am it is raining.  At 11:55am it is sunny again.  We passed through Cumberland Dividings and had no issues, saw 10feet at the minimum.  At 1:45pm we arrive at the dock in Fernandina Beach and refuel.  We decide to stay at the dock tonight. Gari is right in front of us on the dock.  Nice to see them again! The weather is now really starting to close in – storm clouds and wind, finally rain.

030° 40.185’ N  081° 28.01’W.  44 SM today, 37NM, MM 716.

Sunday, December 15, 2013. Today is the day we were originally supposed to fly home for the holidays. We changed our reservation to December 18.  We hope to get the boat to St. Augustine and then fly home out of Jacksonville.

There were thunderstorms and wind overnight, and they are continuing this morning.  It begans to clear around noon, but the wind is howling and the tides are against us also.  We had lunch in town at Lulu’s and then back to the boat.  We moved to a mooring for the night.

Monday, December 16, 2013.  Clear and cold this morning.  The wind has shifted into the north @ 10, but now the wind and the tide are going with us. 7:00am.  At 3:30pm, we make the opening at The Bridge of Lyons in St. Augustine.  Just past the bridge, we stop at the City Marina to take on fuel. 4:15pm, we are tied to the dock at Rivers’ Edge Marina, which is up the San Sebastian River, “behind” the old part of At. Augustine. The marina is kind of quaint and homey and there are lots of live-a-boards.  This is where we will leave Rhiannon while we travel north into the snow for the holidays.

29° 53.13’ N  081° 19.36’ W  66 SM today.  52.5.NM  MM 780.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013.  We spent today cleaning and packing and getting the boat ready to leave.  Walked into town and had dinner at Hurricane Patty’s at the Marina.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013.  Taxi picked us up at 8am and we drove to the Jacksonville airport for the flight home.  We arrived at the house at 4:40pm.  Lots of snow on the ground.

 

Pictures of the repair and onward

More images of St. Augustine

The Wreck of Rhiannon

December 8, 2013 Sunday.  Foggy, murky, 57 degrees, wind NE 10-15.  We talked with Nite Cap and decide to wait until 8:30 to lift the anchor.  This should still give us plently of tide to make Cumberland Island.  The fog is lifting as we enter Saint Simons sound.

As we make the turn into Jekyll Creek, we miss the channel and run into the rock jetty, which is invisible under the water on the red side of the channel.  BANG!  We are up on the jetty and then fall off the starboard.  The rudder is hung up on the rocks and between the engine and the tide, we manage to get off.  The steering is frozen and we can only turn the boat by putting all our weight against the wheel.  We are still afloat!  We are dealing with a 2 knot current, so we drop anchor and call TowBoatUS.  They arrive 45 minutes later and tow us into Brunswick Landing Marina and tie us up in the well of the travel lift.  We sit there until 9:30 the next morning.  No one is hurt, so we are lucky.  We called BoatUS insurance and reported the accident.

Grounding on Jekyll Jetty 31° 05.63’ N  081° 26.48’W  MM680.5  10SM today

December 9, 2013 Monday.  At 9:30 the boat gets hauled.  The damage is less than we expected.  The hull, prop and shaft are undamaged.  The keel is scraped and gouged, but the repairs needed are relatively minor.  There do not appear to be any stress cracks in the hull, stringers or in the joint between the hull and the keel.  The rudder is another story.  The bottom of the rudder is torn open and the shaft is bent.  I worked all afternoon with the yard mechanic Wayne to get the rudder disconnected and out of the boat.  Tomorrow it will go to a local machine shop to see if it can be fixed. 

31° 09.78’ N  081° 30.02’ W

We rent a car and stay in a hotel tonight.  Dinner at Capt. Bill’s Seafood.

December 10, 2013 Tuesday.  This morning, the rudder went to Dominey Machine and Propeller.  These guys do props, shafts, rudders, in addition to other precision machine shop work.  Dominey said they shaft can be repaired and will provide an estimate for our insurance.  I talked to the yard service manager (Jim) and he promised a complete estimate for the insurance as soon as he gets the numbers from the machine shop.  By the end of the day we do not yet have the estimate.  Hopefully tomorrow morning so these guys can get started on the work.

Lisa and I went over the St Simons Island and walked the beach as a cold front approached - see the pictures.  Wayne (mechanic at the boat yard) suggested at seafood restaurant in Darien, so that's where we had dinner - BJ's Steaks and Seafood.  They have a huge trophy for the best fried shrimp in coastal Georgia, so that's what we had - it was great.  The place is a concrete block hole-in-the-wall on Route 17 in Darien, but if you're in the area, it's worth the stop!

Click here for pictures from Brunswick

Minim Creek to Frederico River 2013

December 3, 2013 Tuesday.  Beautiful sunrise over Minim Creek.  Anchor up at 7:15am.  Tide high. Coyote here too.  Sun Sport on the creek on the other side of the ICW.  Partly sunny 50 degrees.  No wind.

10:45am just before Green 57 – pushed sideways into shallow water (aground) by inlet while giving way to a barge – nice guys get what they deserve.

12:46pm touched bottom at Red 89 – dead low tide – be sure to stay in the center!  MM450.  Sunny 60s no wind.

Cool Out and Half Nelson (large power yachts) stopped in channel by 2 sail boats aground.  This is the same spot we saw folks grounding on the Green side last spring, but now it appears the shoal is all the way across the channel.  It is a new moon and the tide is very low.  By 4:30 pm the sail boats are off as the tide comes in, but now we have missed the opening at the Ben Sawyer Bridge (into Charleston Harbor).  It won’t open again until 6pm.  We make that opening, except now it is night!  We motor across Charleston Harbor in the dark and anchor across from the City Marina at 7:40pm.  Deep water 30+ feet and lots of current – fun!  58 degrees, showers, but no wind.  MM469.  53SM  43NM today. 

December 4, 2013, Wednesday. Sunny and 60 degrees no wind.  Decided not to get up and try to make the 6:30 opening at the Wappoo Creek Bridge leaving Charleston.  The next opening is at 9am.  Coyote called about the 6:30 opening and was told it was a 6am opening before rush hour.  Glad we did not get up.

Weighed anchor at 8:15am and made the 9am opening at Wappoo Creek.  WE approached the Ashepoo/Coosaw Cut at low tide and were told by other boats there was only 3 feet of water at the south end of the cut.  Coyote and us opted to head down the Ashepoo River to the ocean and then back up the Coosaw towards Beaufort.  We had no issues, but Coyote ran aground at a spot where the charts say there is 20 feet of water.  It was just sand and they got off OK.  We saw several spots of 10 feet where the chart said more, but no groundings.  I later read an article on the internet that said a lot of the inlets have changed significantly since Hurricane Sandy and the Coast Guard has not gotten them all remarked yet – or the charts updated.

We made Ladies Island Bridge at Beaufort at 6pm and were tied up at the city docks at 6:15PM.  32° 25.78’N  080° 40.46’W  MM536  66SM  52NM today.  Another long day getting in after dark.

We had dinner with Darrell and Ruth (Nite Cap II) and Lynn Hersfield and Beth Holdane (Coyote) at Panini’s (Italian).  Showers – nice end to the day!

December 5, 2013, Thursday.  Fog this morning, which is common in this part of the country.  It was foggy when we left here last year.  20 gallons of fuel brought on and water tanks filled. 60 degrees no wind.  We depart with Nite Cap II.  Coyote is going on up river to Lynn’s brother’s where there is a community dock where they will leave the boat for the holidays.

Uneventful day.  Stopped just short of Field’s Cut.  We ran aground at each end of the cut last year and will wait for the morning tide.  Anchored in the New River at 3:15pm.  Sunny and 65 degrees.  Wind SW at 10.  Lots of current as this river empties directly into the ocean.  32° 04.70’ N  080° 54.57’ N  MM570  31.4NM  34SM today.

December 6, 2013, Friday.  Anchor up at 7am.  Clear and 60 degrees wind S 5-10.  Tide rising.  Made Field’s Cut with no problems.  Hugged the Green side close to the shore on the North end and the Red side by the range marker on the South end.  The crossing of the Savannah River here is confusing, but as long as you keep the Reds to the right, you are OK.  Made the Causton Bluff Bridge for the 9 am opening.  The next bridge (Skidaway Narrows) has now been replaced with a new high fixed bridge – no waiting!

Noon.  Sunny, 70 degrees,  wind S-SW @ 10.  Beautiful day on the water!

We passed through Hell Gate about an hour past high tide and had no issues.  Anchor down in Wahoo River at 4:30 PM.  MM 630  59SM  48NM today.

31° 36.15’ N  081° 12.92’W

December 7, 2013, Saturday. Fog and 60 degrees. We waited until 10am to depart.  Fog clearing.  10:30am fog clears at Saint Catherines Sound.  10:45am we hit something under water – log? piling? Maybe we were a bit too close to the red marker 36?

We made the Little Mud River at 1:30pm, 1 ½ hours after high tide and passed through with no issues.  Buttermilk Sound at 1:45 and passed through again with no issues.

4:30pm anchor down in the Fredrico River, Saint Simons Island, GA.  77 degrees, sunny, bugs are out in force, wind NW at 6.

31° 10.81’N  081° 24.77’ W  MM673 43SM  36.5NM today.

The shaft seal is leaking and needs to be tightened.  However, I can’t break the locking nut loose.  Darrell tried with his wrenches, but couldn’t get it done either.  Called First Mate Services in St. Augustine.  They will meet us at the dock at City Marina to tighten/repack the packing gland.

click here for pictures Minim Creek to Frederico River

Morehead City to Minim Creek 2013

November 28, 2013 Thanksgiving. Sunny and cold when we awoke.  30 degrees and ice on the dock!  Wind NW 10-20.  This slip is 60 feet long, but we managed to get the boat out with the wind directly astern.  Marguerite (Quicksilver) help us out of the slip.  We could not get turned around in the fairway, so we backed all the way down the fairway to the channel – about 300 yards!  Quite a feat!

Underway at 8am.  Saw 2 pods of porpoises by the bridge between Morehead City and Beaufort.  Slow going against the tide this morning.  11am, foresail out – wind NW 7-10.

This is the same date we left Beaufort last year.  It was cold and windy that day also.

Noon – Grace is aground at R38 (MM223).  They are out of the channel.  They had moved over to let another boat go by.  We offered assistance, but they said they would just wait for the tide.  Later, we heard they had to call TowBoatUS. 

3pm, Onslow Beach Bridge.  3:55pm, Mile Hammock Bay (Camp Lejeune) with Quicksilver.  There are 2 other boats here when we arrive.  3 more show up a daylight ends.  One of them is Grace.

Talked to Darrel and Ruth Richards on Nite Cap.  They are in Carolina Beach and we will see them tomorrow.  Darrell had to have some emergency dental work and they have been there a few days.

For dinner we had turkey tenderloins, sweet potatoes, broccoli.  Hope you had a great holiday!

Beautiful sunset.  Wind N at 3.  temp 44 degrees.  34° 33.11’ N  077° 19.49’W  34.4NM  41SM today.

November 29, 2013 Friday. Cold this morning. 6am 28 degrees.  Brrrr!  Oil in the bilge.  The oil filter is loose and dumping oil into the bilge.  Tightened it down and refilled the engine with oil. The throttle linkage on the generator is off also.  Work for tonight.

Anchor up at 7:15am.  Luds of gooey mud on the anchor and the chain.  Uch!  10am Surf City Bridge with 6 other boats.  Gracie, Grace, Ocean Cowboy, Quicksilver, Amaicus, and a blue sailboat with no name or hailing port (maybe Rhapsody in Blue we have heard on the radio???).  12:30 Figure 8 Island Bridge – missed the 12 noon opening by 5 minutes – we hate when that happens.  2pm Wrightsville Beach Bridge.  Sunny wind NW @ 10.  10 boats at the opening – 7 sail and 3 power.

4pm – on the mooring at Carolina Beach.  Nite Cap is here and Quicksilver.  Getting cold as the sun goes down.  Yelled hellos to Darrell and Ruth.  We will have drinks with them tomorrow at Barefoot.

 November 29, 2013 Friday. Cold and windy overnight.  7am 33 degrees wind NNE @ 13.  Depart with Nite Cap and Quicksilver.  The tide is against us through Snow’s Cut, but with us as we reach the Cape Fear River.  7:35am through Snow’s Cut.  8:35am MM 305 tide pushing us at 3 knots, make 8.5 knots over ground.  The push is lost completely ay we turn back into the ICW at Southport.

11am Lockwood Folly Inlet, pretty much low tide.  Stuck to the middle of the channel and made it through OK.  One reading at 6 feet.

12:25pm aground  on right side of the channel at Green 71 as we moved over for a oncoming barge.  Floated right off again.

12:45pm Shallots Inlet – hugged the reds 7 – 71/2 feet all the way.  Dead low tide.

4pm Brian greets us as we dock at Barefoot Landing Marina along with Nite Cap and Quicksilver.  Cloudy 50 degrees.  Many boats here including Lo Que Sa who we mat last year and last saw here in Barefoot.  33° 48.13’ N  078° 44.71’ W  44.2NM 50SM today.  MM 354.

Dinner at Dirty Dons at the marina with Darrell and Ruth.

November 30, 2013 Saturday.  Today is a layover day.  Darrell and Ruth dart early.  Quicksilver is taking a day off too.  Jen and Nick (Lisa’s cousins) come to visit.  Lisa goes shopping with Quicksilver.  I rebuilt both head pumps, cleaned the oil out of the bilge, repaired the linkage on the generator.  Lisa gave the boat a much needed bath and washes a bunch of the caked on mud from Mile Hammock Bay off the anchor and chain.  Diane and Lauch McKay (our concierge doctor) came for dinner and we ate at T-Bonz at Barefoot Landing.  Nice visit.  We moved the boat to the fuel dock and loaded up on fuel and water.

Monday December 1, 2013 Sunday.  We depart Barefoot at 7:30am.  Cloudy 50 degrees no wind sprinkles.  The tide is with us and we are making 6.8kts over the ground.  Quicksilver is with us this morning.  12:05pm  MM385 The sun is out, still making 6.2 kts over the ground.  Lots of stuff floating in the Waccamaw River as we head downstream (logs, islands of water plants, sticks) and the river is very muddy.

4:30pm anchored in Minim Creek with Quicksilver rafted alongside.  Nice anchorage.  Lisa made pasta for all.

33° 11.125’ N  079° 16.23’ W  62SM  49.6 NM  MM 416.

Oxford to Morehead City 2013

November 11, 2013, Veterans Day.  We rented a car in Meredith and drove to Easton, MD.  The boat is in Oxford, MD (close by) and we will stay with our friends, Jerry and Pan Jana, while we get Rhiannon ready for the trip south this year.  We have had the bottom painted, new injectors put into the generator, a six hundred hour service done on the main engine, a new pulpit installed, and the cockpit enclosure completed.  The are lots of smaller items we will complete before departing.

We are about a month behind on our schedule.  Our original plan was to spend a couple of weeks cruising the Chesapeake and then be in Norfork on November 1.  Instead, Lisa had appendicitis, was in and out of the hospital 3 times and needed time to recoup.  She is much better, but still not 100%.

November 13, 2013, Wednesday.  On the way back to the Jana’s from the boat I hit a raccoon who dodged the same way I did on the highway.  He managed to break the front bumper on the rental car.  Bummer.

November 15, 2013, Friday.  We turned in the rental car and spent the night aboard.  Departed Oxford Boat Yard at 7:20am. Sunny, high thin clouds.  40 degrees.  Wind WSW @10kts.  We watched fighter pilots maneuver over the Solomon’s from Patuxent River Naval Air Station.  We arrive at Calvert’s Marine, Solomon’s Island, MD, at 1:35pm.  38°19.83’ N 076° 27.33’ W.  37 Nautical Miles today.  When we were here in the spring, the marina had an OLD Mercedes diesel as their courtesy car.  It is still here and still running.  We went to the hardware store to get propane.  We had dinner on board.  It rained overnight.

November 16, 2013, Saturday.  Departed Solomon’s at 6:15am.  Dreary, drizzle, wind S @ 3kts.  8am, YC bell buoy, firing range for those fighters we saw yesterday.  Wind still south at 3kts, but moving with the tide we are making 7kts over the ground.    11:30am, Smith Point, we see three pelicans.  This is the same spot where we first saw pelicans last year.  Wind east @8kts.  Put up the main and the wind dies out completely.  Dropped anchor at 3:50pm in Fishing Bay, Deltaville, VA.  37° 32°.3” N  076° 20.18” W.  56.9 NM, 67.4 SM today.

Talked to Darrell and Ruth Richards today (Nite Cap II).  They left their boat in Deltaville for the summer and went home to Nova Scotia.  They are ahead of us and currently waiting on a weather window to cross the Pamlico.  We also heard from Dean and Sue Perry (Autumn Borne).  They are just entering Charleston Harbor.

No wind at all overnight and a full moon.

November 17, 2013.  Sunday.  We weigh anchor at 7:30am.  Heavy fog.  We follow a motor-sailer out to sea.  Once out beyond the land, the fog begins to clear.  12:50pm making 6.5kts over the ground.  No wind, Chesapeake is like a pond.  We see a Northern Gannet.  They look like a cormorant, but a white with black wing tips.  We arrive at Tidewater Marina, Portsmouth, VA, at 5pm.  This is where we spent time last year hiding from Sandy.  Quite different weather this trip.  30° 50.51’ N, 076° 17.96’ W.  51.6NM, 62SM today.  Officiall Mile Marker 0 of the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway.  A few more boats here headed south late this year like we are.  Nice to have company.  Refueled – 23 gallons.

November 18, 2013, Monday. Departed Tidewater at 8:45am.  Rain and wind overnight, but 60 degrees and fair this morning.  Wind W @ 10kts.  We make the Gilmerton Bridge opening at 9:30am in spite of the fact that to old Norfolk and Southern RR Bridge was down – even though the guide book says it is always open!  We arrive at the Deep Creek Lock to the Dismal Swamp Canal at 10:30am with 5 other boats.

The locks at Great Bridge (Virginia Cut Route) is closed.  There is a problem with the main valve, so they can only operate at low tide.  I guess there is a lot of boats waiting because they are to large to go the dismal swamp route.  Today, the corps of engineers has divers in the lock to assess what repairs are needed, so the lock isn’t available at all.

We make it through the Deep Creek Lock at the 11:30am opening and make the Dismal Swamp Visitor Center at 3pm.  There were already 5 boats on the free dock.  The dock really only hold 3, so other have to raft to boats already there.  3 of us rafted – the raft now three deep – and the other headed for the next lock to tie up to the wall.  We are tied up to GARI, an Island Packet Cat 35 with Richard Mansfield and George Gould aboard.  George had a stroke a few years back and yet still travels the waterway with Richard’s help.Weather had been beautiful all day – 60-65 with sunshine – wind W 5- 10kts.  It was supposed to be blowing 20-25, according the weather experts.  36° 30°.39’ N, 076° 21.35’ W.  23NM, 28SM today.  MM 28.

November 19, 2013, Tuesday.  Up at 6:30am and gone from the raft at the Visitor’s Center at 7:15am.  Made the South Mills bridge and lock at 8:30am.  Sunny and 45 degrees.  Arrived at Lamb’s Marina in Elizabeth City at noon.  High winds in Abermarle Sound today and tomorrow.  Lamb’s is $35 a night, including electric, they have a courtesy car and laundry, showers, etc.  It is a small marina and a tight fit for us, but they put us on their gas dock, which is getting new pumps.  GARI, Gypsy, Samjac (a Black Lace 40 we met in Tidewater) and Mariners Dream are in this marina.  Others are tied to the wall before the bridge in Elizabeth City, anchored behind Goat Island or tied up at the visitors center in Elizabeth City.  With the winds howling out of the east, the docks at the visitor center will be very uncomfortable.  36°19.35’ N, 076° 10.65’ W.  MM46.  Only 18SM, 15NM today.

GAR I(Richard and George) and Samjac (Pat and Ron Brodie) join us for dinner at  Track One, which is right across the street from the Marina.  Great food!  Good Prices!  Prime Rib dinner special $13.95 and it was great and enough for two people.

November 20, 2013, Wednesday.  Winds are NE 15-20kts out on Abermarle Sound.  We stay put.  Went shopping for groceries and clothes for Lisa utilizing the free courtesy car.  Lisa made a stew using veggies and the left over prime rib and we took it over to GARI.  The stew was terrific and the evening done in pleasant company.Samjac left today and we received a text that they really had a rough crossing of the Abermarle and the Alligator River.

November 21, 2013, Thursday. We departed Lamb’s a 7am.  Cloudy and wind N @ 6kts.  We managed to leave our large (expensive) piling fender (bumper) tied to the dock at Lamb’s.  We tried to contact Mariner’s Dream to see if the would retrieve it for us, but they, too, had departed.  We considered going back, but Lamb’s is very tight and the tide was out so there was very very skinny water at the marina entrance.  We called the marina and the dockmaster, Dave, met us a the dock in Elizabeth City with the fender.  We gave him a nice tip so he could go to Track One for prime rib!  The folks a Lamb’s are some of the friendliest and most helpful we have encountered in out travels.

GARI made the 7:30am bridge at Elizabeth City.  We made the 8:30am opening with Norne Gaest (who we met the first time in Vero last May), Mariners Dream (Cathy and Derek Day, Alberta, Canada, a 36 foot converted lobster boat), Outlaw (cabin cruiser), and two other sail boats. There was also a sailboat headed north through the bridge (don’t see a lot of that this time of year).

Abermarle Sound was flat and calm until we got to the other side and the Alligator River Bridge.  Must be the geography, but the wind was NW 15-20 kts at the bridge!  Once in the river, the wind eased to 10 kts and now we have drizzle.  We hear at least 6 boats on the radio who are ahead of us.

We decide to anchor off Tuckahoe Point at the north end of the Alligator-Pungo Canal.  There are three boats already anchored off Deep Point and GARI is anchored off Tuckahoe.  5 more boats anchor off Deep Point and 2 more anchor where we are before dark.

3:50pm, our anchor is down in 8 ½ feet of water.  The sun is peeking out and there are rainbows!  35° 40.38’ N, 076° 05.97’W.  45.3NM, 54.3SM today.  MM 104.

Dinner on board and early to bed.

Mosquitoes tonight – the first we have encountered on this trip.

Some boats in the anchorage:

Sea Major

Oh Hana

Quicksilver

Amber Sea

Mahina

Second Mates

Outlaw

November 22, 2013. Friday. Up at 6am. Anchor up at 6:30am. No wind.  Sunny. Beautiful sunrise and the sound of shot guns as the duck hunters are out.  A bunch of the boats are already gone.  As we traverse the Alligator-Pungo Canal, the shore is lined with huge cypress stumps, some 6 –8 feet in diameter.  They have been here awhile and are deterioting, but at one time, these must have been huge trees.  Strangely enough, there are no cypress trees here now.  8:30am we passs a large tug and tow headed north.  10:30am Richard (GARI) called.  George is seeing double and they are pulling in at Dowrey Creek Marina to have George checked out.  We asked if there was anything we could do or anything he needed, but he said he was all set and would keep us informed.

4pm Anchor down in Braid Creek, north of Oriental, NC.  70 degrees and sunny. Wind W @ 6 kts.  There is a big resort marina (River Dunes) just to our south and three more marinas farther up the creek.  35° 05.38’ N, 076° 36.6 W  57.3NM, 68SM today.  MM 175.

We anchored on the north side of the channel next to R4.  There is supposed to be 8-9 feet of water at least halfway to the south shore.  A trawler comes in and anchors in that spot at dark.

November 23, 2013, Saturday. The wind came up a coupel of time overnight and there were showers when we awoke at 6am.  Underway @ 7am,  60 degrees and cloudy. Lots of mud came up with the anchor and chain, but good holding for the anchor. 8am, some clearing. Wind W @ 8kts.  On our nose – again.  11:30am – south end of Adam Creek Canal.  Misty rain.  Wind N @ 13kts.  12:30pm we arrive at Morehead City Yacht Basin.  Very protected, nice floating docks.  Several other boats a holed0up here also as the next few days are supposed to be stormy.  We tried to get into Town Creek Marina, which is where we stayed and had work done last year, but they are full.  Samjac is there for a couple of weeks.  34° 43.3’ N, 076° 42.27’ W.  28.4NM 34SM today.  MM 204.

Fuel 26 Gallons

The wind builds over night and is blowing 25+kts Sunday.  Monday turns out nice, but high winds and a winter storm moving in from the Midwest for Tuesday and Wednesday cause us to stay put.  We did some shopping and Lisa and Marguerite (Edwards) (from Quicksilver) have been playing cards and board games.  Also on board QuickSilver is her husband Jon and 20 year old son Aaron.  They brought dinner over to our boat on Monday and Benny made George and Susan Barlow’s chicken and pear curry for dinner with the Edwards on Tuesday.

Tuesday night we had gusts in the slip to 45kts and a tornado touched down just two miles from the marina.  We are fine and the boat is fine, but what a night.  At one point there were air-raid sirens, then all the electricity everywhere went out.  Scary.

November 27, 2013, Wednesday. Today is windy and rainy, but it is supposed to clear off and hopefully we will get out of here and head south tomorrow.  We had hoped to get to Myrtle Beach to have Thanksgiving with the cousins, but we’ll be late getting there.

We had dinner tonight at the Ruddy Duck, a tavern, which is walking distance on the Morehead City waterfront.  The food was very good and reasonable.

There are several other boats here waiting out weather, Quicksilver, Aisling, atleast 3 other sailboats and two large power boats.

Click here for pictures of Oxford to Morehead City

Last Leg of the Trip

Saturday, May 25, 2013. It is sunny and cool this morning, but the wind is down
significantly. Timing through the Dismal Swamp is critical, as the bridges and locks
open on a specific schedule - and only about 4 times a day. We plan to leave at 10:30am,
clear the bridge at Elizabeth City and then make the lock and bridge at South Mills at the
1:00pm opening. As we prepare to leave, we notice that there is a farmer's market going
on at the park next to the marina. Not large, but a very nice selection of veggies, plants,
breads, cookies, jellies, etc. Lisa bought a basil plant and we were given a jelly to use as
a marinade.

We are away from the dock at 10:15am and make an opening at the Elizabeth City Bridge at 10:30am. The wind is NW @ 10-15 and it is only about 45 degrees. This area of the Pasquotank River above the bridge is a very pretty area, not over-built like a lot of areas we have seen. The river gets narrower and is very winding as we head north to the lock. As we approach the lock, we are overtaken by Eagles Wings, a Morgan Out Island 40, with Dave and Joan aboard. We follow them from the lock to the Dismal Swamp
Visitors Center, where we stop for the day. The last opening of the lock at Deep Creek is
at 3:30pm, and there is no way to make that opening. These two locks raise and lower the boat 8 feet.  This is interesting, because there is only one lock on the Virginia Cut Route and it only raises the boat one foot.

The Dismal Swamp Visitor Center is unique. There is free dockage for boats - and it is a
rest area for autos on US Route 17. There is a visitor center, museum, rental kayaks and
canoes, walking/nature trails, and exhibits. A nice stop. There are four boats here -
Rhiannon, Alexia (HR42, William and Francis from England), Eagles Wings (who we
are rafted to), and Utopia (Caliber 40, Frank and Diane Albani).

We have dinner on board and then drinks aboard Alexia with the other three boats. Nice.

19.3NM 23SM today. 1 lock and two bridges. Mile Marker 28.
36°30.40'N  076°21.36°W

Sunday, May 26, 2013. We are up and away from the dock at 7:30am with Utopia. It is
chilly, but the wind is down to NW@5. This part of the Dismal Swamp is a very narrow
ditch - and only about 6 feet deep. Lots of flowers in bloom, Magnolias, Honeysuckle,
and others -like cruising through a florist shop - very fragrant. We arrive early from the
11am opening of the Deep Creek Bridge and Lock, and then have to wait almost an hour
until 11 :45am. We also arrive early for the Gilmerton Bridge opening and have to wait ½ hour for that opening as well.

This Memorial Day Week-end and there are lots of people on the water- especially in
small motorboats.

We arrive at Waterside Marina in Norfolk at 3pm. This is right on the Norfolk waterfront
and is very nice. The area has all been redone and would remind you of South Street
Seaport in NYC, or Baltimore. Restaurants, shops, a mall, a park. This marina is right
across the river from the Tidewater Marine in Portsmouth, VA, which is where we waited
out Hurricane Sandy last October. As you might expect, Norfolk is a very busy port, especially with the Navy. 

When we lived in Massachusetts, we used to see the ship “Energy Enterprise” come into Salem Harbor to deliver coal to the local power plant.  We saw that ship in Norfolk being loaded at a coal loading facility.

In addition to Utopia being here, Tinteán - pronounced tent-on (I think) - (Island packet
40, Ken and Sarah Aiken), and Daisy May (Ranger Tug 29, Bob and Bonnie Martin-
their dog is also Daisy May) are here. We last saw both in Elizabeth City. Bob and
Bonnie are doing the great loop. They purchased the boat in Florida. We walked around
town with Bob and Bonnie and then they went to find ice cream and we had dinner at
Hell's Kitchen. Interesting decor. We had seafood nachos that were great.

21.4 NM 28SM today. Mile Marker 0. 36°50.65'N 076°17.58'W

Monday, May 27, 2013. Memorial Day. Our plan was to spend the day in Norfolk, but
everyone is leaving headed north. We helped several boats off the dock and then helped
Tinteán on and off the dock to pump out. At 10am we, too, leave the dock headed north
and shortly catch up to Tinteán and travel with them the rest of the day north to Gwynn
Island (Deltaville, VA). As we left Norfolk, it is 70 degrees and sunny and no wind. At
2pm it has turned cloudy and the wind has gone South 10-15 and we have the genoa out.
At 6:30pm, we are actually rafted to Tinteán for the evening and Ken and Sarah came
over for dinner. Lisa made a lovely vegetarian lasagna for dinner.

47.9 NM 56SM today. 37°30.7'N  076°18.35'W

At 2am, the wind shifts SW and gets a little bumpy in the anchorage. There are now 4
other boats in here and Utopia and R&R are farther up the river. At 5:30am we are up
tending lines as the wind has now built up to 15+.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013. At 7:15am, we drop the lines and head north to Solomon's
Island (Patuxent River). It is cloudy and the wind is SW @ 15+. At 7:45am, we pass
Stingray Light and are making a steady 6-7 knots over the ground with only the headsail.
At 9:30am, we pass the mouth of the Potomac River and get attacked by small black
biting flies - hundreds of them! -  and we are at least 3 miles off shore! The sport of the day is swatting flies and there are at least 100 of them dead in the cockpit and almost as many below. We have run into this once before on Cape Cod Bay and the explanation we got at that time from the locals was there was probably a dead carcass of something large in the water that we passed close to.

At 2:30pm, the wind goes SE and the flies disappear. At 4pm, we are tied up at Calvert's
Marina at Solomon’s Island. Utopia and Daisy Mae are here as well. Everyone who comes in today has piles of dead flies onboard. We have dinner on board and then a walk around the area. There is not much to see or do on this side of the harbor and it is a very long walk around to the other side.

At 9pm, there is lots of lightening and thunder, but not too much rain. It looks like the
storms are passing to our north.

Tinteán is going overnight to Annapolis. We talked to them and they are still south of
Solomon's with the storms ahead of them.

59.9NM  72SM today. 38°19.93'N   076°27.42'W

Wednesday, 5/29/2013. We elect to spend the day here. The weather is questionable
and the anchorage the previous night and yesterday's long day has left us not ready to
face another day of high winds on the Chesapeake. We spend the day cleaning the boat and getting stuff packed, as we have only one more sailing day before reaching our destination for this trip - Oxford, MD.

Calvert’s Marina has a courtesy car and we use it to go to the hardware store for storage bins, then brunch at Happy's Diner. This courtesy car is the oldest living Mercedes on the planet, but it runs and the price is right.

The generator has been acting up again, same symptoms as before - starts, runs, shuts
down. I replaced the fuel solenoid and tightened up the linkage and it now runs as it
should. The injectors will need to be changed over the summer too as we are getting black, icky smoke.

We had dinner at the Black Creek Bistro at the marina. Food was good and a great view.

http://www.calvertmarina.com/gallery.php

Thursday, May 30, 2013. We left the dock at Calvert's at 9:15am. It is sunny and 75
degrees. Wind SW @ 5. The weather folks are predicting small craft advisories for the
Chesapeake, but it is a beautiful day on the bay and the winds never do materialize.

You see military aircraft close by all the time here because of the air station at the mouth
of the Patuxent River. Today, however, we see at WWII B25 doing "touch and goes".
My Dad flew in one of those as a photographer - sitting where the bombardier would
normally sit in the nose.

At 11: 15am, the wind is SW @ 10 and there is not a cloud in the sky. We arrive at Mears
Marina in Oxford to refuel at 3:00 pm. We want the tanks full when Rhiannon is stored for the summer. At 3:30pm we are tied up at Oxford Boat Yard, where Rhiannon will spend the summer having some maintenance done and just being stored until fall.

We meet Mitch (owner), Graham (manager) and Jason (service) and begin the discussion
of the work to be done.

Dinner is at the Tavern at the Robert Morris Inn. Walking distance from the boat. Very nice and the food was delicious. The Scottish Highlands Ice Cream Shop is right next to the marina and they make their own home made ice cream.  I imagine we will be visiting it many times while we are here.  We spend the night aboard.

33.5 NM 40SM today. 38°41.63'N  076°10.14'W 

Friday, May 31, 2013. Our good friends Jerry and Pam Jana, who live nearby in Easton,
MD, pick us up and give us a ride to Hertz. We are renting a car to drive home. We
spend the next 3 days meeting with folks at the marina and cleaning and packing up the
boat. We remove the headsail and will have it re-stitched again.

Oxford is a very pretty town and is somewhat of an artist colony.  Local artists paint sections of picket fences, then they publish a brochure with all the locations of these.  In the fall, they are auctioned for charity.  This week-end, there is a huge quilt show and sale at several venues around town. There is also a charity bike race going on.

Click here to see this week's pictures

Click here for more info on Oxford

We are staying with the Janas and Thursday night we clean out the fridges on the boat and have a bar-b-que with steak, chicken, potatoes, salad. Friday night they barbeque Ribs. Sunday night seafood at The Docks. Monday we drive home to New Hampshire. Now the work and planning begins for the next trip!

Trip Stats:

Shakedown Cruise, July 11 – 16, Georgian Bay, Ontario

Depart Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada, August 4, 2012

Arrive Oxford, MD (via Marathon), May 30, 2013

Leg 1 - Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada to Buffalo, NY

Leg 2 – Buffalo, NY to Brewerton, NY

Leg 3 – Brewerton, NY to Catskill, NY

Leg 4 – Catskill, NY to Beaufort, NC

Leg 5 – Beaufort, NC to Vero Beach, FL

Leg 6 – Vero Beach, FL to Marathon to Myrtle Beach, SC

Leg 7 – Myrtle Beach, FL to Oxford, MD

106 travel days

98 Ports-of-Call or anchorages

4426 Statute Miles

3728 Nautical Miles