Where did we leave off the narrative???

At the risk of repeating stuff, here goes. After leaving Swansboro we anchored in Adams Creek at Cedar Point. The wind was up ( 20 knots or so) so we snuggled in close to shore and had a good night’s sleep. Next morning it was off to Ocracoke Island. As we entered the Nuese River the wind was on the quarter and up went the sails. WOW! We flew down the river with our best average speed since leaving the Sea of Abaco. As we had to head up for the entrance to Ocracoke the wind came around too much on the nose and we had to motor for 45 minutes. Possibly the hardest passage since Brunswick, GA back in January. Green water crashing over the bow. No real problem just intense concentration.

Silver Lake the anchorage in Ocracoke is really neat. Almost round with good holding and room for 20 or more boats. You can only get to the island by free ferry or boat. The next day friends from Richmond came down to ride with us to Mateo. Long day. Another clousy day with green water coming over the bow the whole time. We were lucky that there were no touchy stomachs in the crowd! Fun; with a great dinner waiting for us at the end of a long day.

Sunday it was off to Elizabeth City,N.C. across the Albermarle Sound. Another wonderful sunny day as we could sail to within a couple of hundred yards of the city docks. The problem with that sound was that there were so many crab pots it looked like kids had sprinkled sprinkles on the water. No straight lines between them. Pass three then stear to right; pass three stear to the left! Now, in Elizabeth City the docks are FREE. The hospitality is second to none. The places in the USA that stand out as cruiser friendly are Elizabeth City, Vero Beach and Marathon’s Boot Key harbor in that order.

We arrived in the middle of a hydroplane regatta, yeah noisy. I stopped  a Coast Guard patrol boat and they told us to wait 5 minutes and they would have a 15 minute break in the action and we could cross to the city docks. We got in and watched the last three heats of racing before it was all over. Just about enough noise for us.

Beyond free dockage Elizabeth City, The Harbor of Hospitality, has cruiser’s wine, beer and cheese on the dock nightly hosted by the mayor. The tradition is over 25 years old, started by Joe Kramer and Fred Fearing the original Rose Buddies. Fred and Joe would meet the cruising boats and offer a rose to the ladies from Joe’s garden. After Joe’s death the rose bushes from his yard were brought to the city dock and replanted. Fred carried on the tradition until well up into his nineties. We knew Fred from previous trips and were very sad to hear that he passed away a year ago. The good news is that the city is keeping the Rose Buddies tradition alive.

They have a wonderful art gallery here and today we will explore the Museum of the Albermarle and tomorrow we plan to leave to go up the Dismal Swamp canal.

I am having "post coital depression" as my effing vacation comes to an end. I will miss all of this and it is only looking forward to seeing our family and friends that keeps us heading north.

Coming home, J & A

We now expect to arrive home a couple of weeks early. Life sometimes interferes with plans in paradise.

Well that sucks!! Actually it does not suck. The water cooling side of the engine that is. Late yesterday while heading for the anchorage in Dutchman’s creek we blew both fan belts on the engine. We immediately turned around to head back for a marina we had past two miles back. It does not take long for a diesel to overheat. So Alois jumped into the dink(we never tow the dink with the motor on it, but had today???) started the motor and pushed the boat two miles back. We docked with out a problem to assess the damage if any.

This morning I replaced the bad belts with two new ones I had on board and the engine has been running for half an hour with no overheating or other problems.  You have read before where cruising is boat maintenance in beautiful places and Southport meets that criteria.

Cape Fear is three miles away and we can see the lighthouse doing it’s job above the trees.

When Alois gets back from the shower we will head for the anchorage in downtown Wrightsville Beach. All is well.

Jack and Alois

We left the saga in St Augustine and we left the rain there as well. The final tally was well over 30 inches and 4 days. Animals were lining up two by two on the dock. WOW! Driving down the Waterway, in flood stage, there are no banks to navigate by and no yellow & white lines in the water. It becomes a challenge at times.

Brooke and crew (three girls) rode with us for a week and left this morning. We  loved having them with us! She wanted experiences for them so we tried several things. We took the waterway from St Augustine to Fernandina Beach. We walked all over both cities exploring them. Had lots of fun! From Fernandina we went outside in the ocean over night  to Charleston. We took two hour watches (each of us steered for two hours) but we mostly babysat the other one for a while also. Not much sleep that night.

The ocean is incredible; always. The ocean swell is a gentle roll. In this case 8 to 10 feet with a 2 foot wind blown chop on the surface. There was no moon and the stars put on a show. There are no yellow or white lines on the ocean so it is an experience driving the boat at night. No point of reference at all. Just the compass to watch and as you roll with the swells, the course changes with each swell. You have to be constantly on the alert to make sure you are going in the correct direction! We went 35 miles or so out to sea to miss the onshore fishing fleet. Shrimp season just came in and every boat with a license was out there.  About 3:00 A.M. I (Alois) was at the wheel and I noticed two tiny lights off to my right. I confirmed them with Brooke and we watched them for a long time. Suddenly, the lights were getting bigger and further apart from each other. Then a green light showed up. I realized that we were watching a container or cargo ship of some type and we were on a collision course. I slowed my speed, made a 90 degree turn to the right and he passed by with no problem. That’s why you don’t go to sleep on your watch! While Brooke was at the wheel there was a snorting noise at our side and she looked over and there was a dolphin playing in our bow wave. She couldn’t see it often but we could hear it when is surfaced. The dolphin left a wake in the phosphorescence. 

We missed all of the other container ships and made it in to Charleston at noon the next day. During Jack’s watch he kept hearing a thumping on deck but couldn’t identify it. He smelled fish at times but not often. When I arrived on deck he asked if I smelled fish. When it got light, I looked out and there was a 12" Ballyho flying fish dead on the deck. It jumped a little high (4′) to keep from being eaten! 26 hours at sea and we made the equivalent of five days on the ICW and missed Georgia all together. Georgia can be awful with 8 foot tides, 5 knot currents and sands shoaling up to four miles off shore. NO THANKS!

We never made it ashore in Charleston. The harbor was too rough for the dink, so the next day we headed for Georgetown, South Carolina. Along the ICW the girls made lists of all the birds and animals they saw which could fill a book. We saw an alligator crossing the ICW. Swimming anyone???

We picked up a free mooring ball in Georgetown,S.C. and explored the town. Sadly, today, Rick picked them up and drove them back to Richmond. Alois and I are just south of Myrtle Beach which is not a favorite of ours but the Waccamaw River is our favorite.

The Waccamaw is a pristine wilderness of abandoned rice plantations and cypress swamps. Bald eagles, ospreys and every other type of wading and fishing bird you can imagine.

A different kind of paradise.

Jack and Alois

In 8 days we have received 30" of rain. This low system has set a record that has stood since 1949. The wind gusts have been over 50 knots. To day it is 15 to 20 South East with clouds but no rain.

Brooke and her three young un’s arrived here last night and will spend a week with us traveling up the water way. St Augustine is great place to walk and shop. They have the best job I have ever seen of protecting their heritage and the buildings. The walking tour of Old Town is enhanced by historical markers giving the history of the various houses and buildings. We have spend two days walking all over this town.

I will be glad to leave this anchorage though, as there is a lot of current which is against the wind and the boat is rocking and rolling.

We will leave in the morning and head for the George’s River near Jacksonville.

THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OUT OF ORDER1

We are lying 3 miles above the beautiful Mount Pleasant Bridge in North Charleston SC. Alois and I flew back in last night after and nice visit home in Richmond to see family and friends. The holidays are always rushed and we only wish we had had time to visit with more of you. I, Alois, flew home the day after the accident to be there for Jay’s graduation. It was a surprise for him and the surprise on his face when he saw me and then the grin that spread all the way up his face, was enough to make any mother’s heart feel good. His girlfriend gave him a very nice family party afterward. We were all sorry that Jack couldn’t be with us to celebrate this wonderful accomplishment with him.

All repairs are complete and the boat is literally better than new. Today we are off again on the trek south. We will catch up on a little laundry and leave late morning. This next section of the waterway is through the low country and we are excited to see it. The next community of any size is Beaufort (Bofort SC not to be confused with Buford NC). More catching up later. A&J

The wind has been blowing 20 to 25 out of the north north east for several days which keeps us pinned down here in the harbor. Our friends Jon and Shawna on "Beausoiel" have managed to catch up. They plan to do what we just finished ( Key West, Dry Tortugas et all.) It would have been fun to have them with us. Rudy and Marilyn from Lighthouse Point joined us for a couple of days , which was great fun. So why don’t you come down???

I am itching to cross over to the Bahamas. It takes at least a two day window of weather to make the crossing safely. When the wind is blowing with any north element to it the waves in the Gulf Stream get huge and are dangerous to boats and people. Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week look great. Dave, on "Cats Paw" a catamaran, is interested in crossing together. They have two kids, a cat and a dog for crew. What fun. The plan is to sail up to Rodriguez Key off Key Largo to start our crossing. It is shorter and we get a better angle on the Gulf Stream. The 3 mile northerly current  will give us a great boost. It is about 73 miles of open ocean to the Bahamas bank. We can check in at Bimini or go on to Nassau. I don’t much care about Nassau but it is easy to check in and Shannon may come to see us and Nassau is at the top of the Exuma island chain. It will be easy to go over to Highborn Key to hide out for a couple of days and then go back to get Shannon.

That’s  the plan, but as Bobby Burns said "the best laid plans of mice and men gang glan astray". OK so my Gallic needs work. I’ll jump right on it after my course in quantum mechanics.

ANOTHER OLD ONE!

If you feel that you have heard of this place before you are right. We have sailed back to the area of Key Biscayne. It is lovely here and it is the shortest trip to Bimini. The weather windows have been short and not so sweet. We have a chance to get over to the Bahamas on Sunday. We will be stuck in Bimini a couple of days but we will suffer through it.

We have two other boats lined up to go. Howard a single hander on a Morgan 33 and Greg and Anita on "Whisper" a Freedom cat ketch. Sunday looks good with light south to westerly winds (I hardly know what that term is or how to use it since we have not seen light winds in months).

Once in the Bahamas the plans are to go south to the less populated islands the Exumas known as the out islands.

THIS WAS NEVER POSTED AT THE CORRECT TIME. ENJOY

But it is hard. A trip like this one can change your life. We have gained confidence, independence, and  a new found mutual respect in these last few months. For those of you who never thought we could make it confined to less than 300 square feet,  I am here to attest to the fact that we get along better on board than we do at home and we get along great at home. So who ever had the pool going that she would have thrown me overboard by now, you all lose.

Leaving what we had dreamed of for so long was harder than either of us thought it would be. As excited as we are to see our family and all of you again, leaving paradise is hard.

Many people thought we would never go. It was just talk. Not to us.  It is the dream and we are living it.

Enough of that.

We crossed the Gulf Stream by ourselves. None of the other boats was quite ready to leave. We sailed from Powell’s Cay to Great Sale and on to the Little Bahamas bank and into Fort Pierce. Then it was up to Vero Beach which is one of our favorite places. The first night in Vero we had fresh grouper, conch (Alois caught) and red snapper (Jack caught) with friends from the Deltaville area and Jack and Susan from Vero.

We spent time with our friends Jack and Susan, who have cruised since 1987 and have a home in Vero. We helped each other with some projects and they showed us several of the local places. We love those guys and hope they come to Richmond so we can introduce them and show them the town.

From Vero Beach it was north to Coco Village. We lucked into a local art fair in down town Coco. Also in Coco is the best hardware store I have ever seen. It was built around the turn of the last century and has some of the original inventory in stock. Seven connected buildings of unbelievable stuff.

Yesterday was a long day. I had promised myself, no more 75 mile days but what can I say. The weather blew in and we had to find a safe place. Back to Rockhouse Creek north of New Smyrna Beach. We have back tracked two miles to the downtown marina. The weather for the next two or three days is awful with 30 to 50 mile squalls forecast. 

We will leave here on Thursday morning for Saint Augustine. Brooke and her girls will meet us there on Saturday to travel with us for a week and then our friend Pam James is coming to ride with us for a while. Anyone else want to join us? Do come. We’d love to have you!

Life is Good!!

Well, yesterday put the icing on the cake for us as far as prime experiences in the Abacos are concerned.

At Manjack while Jack was fishing, I picked up some shells. Lots of small ones for the children. The next morning my "shells " were walking all over deck! They were full of tiny hermit crabs.

Wednesday we moved from Manjack up to Powells Cay harbor. When we anchor, we hop into the dinghy and go exploring the Cays. The great undercut rocks form the waters edge on many of the Cays with no access to the land. Powells has a beach so we went over and walked it. We found lots of shells; conch, sand dollars, sea biscuits. This pleased me bunches because the shelling had not been very good on other beaches. There was a cruisers tree on the beach where cruisers decorate a dead tree with stuff they have picked up on the beach. We also walked across the island to the ocean side. It was awful. Apparently the way it lies lots of dead sea grass piles up on the beach. It was at least two feet thick, black and ugly!

Yesterday around noon I suggested that Jack put his trolling line in the water (we completely forget to do this). After lunch I noticed that the pole was bent. Jack went out and started reeling the line in, thinking that so much line was out that he must be snagged on the bottom. The poor fish was so tired from being towed that he didn’t put up a fight until he saw the boat. Then the fun started in ernest! He had caught a 28" long red snapper! It was truly beautiful and brilliantly red! Now it is fish fillets in the fridge! Jack had a grin on his face that you wouldn’t believe!

We have motored all day today, Friday, from Great Sale to Memory Rock which puts into position to cross the Gulf Stream and be back in the USA on Saturday evening. We are both very excited to get back and very sad to leave Paradise.

This is just a couple of miles north of Green Turtle Cay. There were 12 boats anchored in this ’secluded’ harbor last night. The harbor is so large we are 300 yards from the nearest boat.

We did some dinghy touring yesterday to get the lay of the land. Today we did some maintenance early and went to the flats at low tide. Alois found a conch which we will clean for dinner and I hooked a bone fish but lost him. That spooked the rest of them. Oh well. I found another group and could get them to follow the fly but not take it. Wrong fly I guess. Alois irritated the star fish in the water by picking them up and looking at them. They are all at least 12 inches across and all different orangey red colors. Some have really yellow areas on top of their "legs", some are wrinkled and the smallest one was very dark brown. They didn’t appreciate being picked up. They waved their little sucker feet at me. We also saw three small (3") sharks on the flats. We will go to the beach this afternoon and explore. One of the other cruisers told us about a path through the woods to an ocean beach which is worth doing. The lady who owns the property invites cruisers to use her path and enjoy her gardens. Suits me greatly!