Today is Sunday, June 21, 2015, and Tim and I are at the little cottage we rented in East Burke, VT.   Our last blog update ended in North Palm Beach Florida in early March just after we had crossed the Gulf Stream and returned to the U.S.   In late April, Shamus became ill and his wellbeing became our primary concern.  Sadly we had to make the heartbreaking decision to euthanize him on Sunday, May 24 when it became apparent our pup was suffering.   Tim and I were devastated and remain heartbroken.  Chris and Jen Allen were both amazing veterinarians and friends throughout our ordeal and we can’t thank them enough for all they did for Shamus.  They and the team of specialists they were consulting with left no stone unturned trying to diagnosis what was ailing our pup but at the time of his death we still had not been able to determine what had caused our pup to go from a happy healthy dog to dying in the span of a month.  Chris and Jen recently received Shamus’ autopsy report and his killer was an aggressive untreatable form of cancer called tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma.  This particular type of cancer metastasizes early and cancer cells were found throughout his body and undoubtedly had spread to his brain.   

We loved Shamus.   He made us smile every day even when he got into mischief.   He had just turned nine this past February and he was taken from us way too early.  We are just so glad he was with us this past year all day, every day on our adventures from Nova Scotia to the Bahamas.  While living on the boat he was always within a few feet of us and now suddenly he isn’t.  Shamus’ passing has left an emptiness in our lives we feel daily.

March 11 – March 13:  Sailing the Intra Coastal Waterway  

We left North Palm Beach and headed North up the ICW.  We stopped in Jensen Beach, Vero Beach, and Titusville.   This section of the  ICW is wide and straight and we had a nice steady southeast wind so we had a couple good days of sailing.  

March 14 – Bikers Week, Daytona Beach Florida – NEVER AGAIN!!!!  

CULTURE SHOCK!!!  After spending six incredibly relaxing, quiet and peaceful weeks in Great Harbour Cay Tim, Shamus and I were re-adjusting to the busy, noisy way of life back in the states.  Daytona blew us away!   We arrived Saturday evening, March 15 which as it turned out was the last weekend of Bike Week in Daytona.  MADNESS!   As always we took Shamus for a walk shortly after arriving.   There were motorcycles and people everywhere.   The motorcyclists would rev their engines at every stop light. The noise was thunderous.  Our ears throbbed and Shamus was absolutely terrified!  Thankfully it was quiet at the marina so we took Shamus home away from the craziness.   

I had not been to Daytona before and was curious to see the beach so after taking Shamus home Tim and I grabbed a taxi over to the boardwalk.  What a mistake!  It was a mob scene!  We weren’t there very long before we grabbed another taxi and fled the area!  We asked the taxi driver to take us to a nice pub in a quiet section of town where we could grab dinner.  He took us to a place called Billy’s Tap Room & Grill which is actually in Ormond Beach.   Tim and I highly recommend this place if you are in the Daytona area.  The food and service where fabulous and they also happened to have a great musician playing that night. Good prices too!

We left Daytona early the next morning.  Biker’s week or not, Daytona is not our kind of town.  Never again!  

March 15 – 16: St. Augustine  

We revisited St. Augustine as it is a place we really enjoy.   We made our way to our favorite bar, the Taberna de Gallo, in the old section of the city and relaxed with a couple beers and good conversation with a couple of the other patrons and the bar tender.  

The next day we visited the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium.  There is definitely a lot of odd stuff to see but the place was full of artifacts and cultural information from very civilized cultures to native/tribal cultures that had little contact with the outside world when Ripley visited them.  However Tim and I both agree that learning more about the life and travels of Robert Ripley was the most interesting part of the museum.   He was a fascinating man.  

March 17, Cumberland Island, GA -  

We headed out the St. Augustine Inlet and had a decent sail up the coast.  We re-entered the ICW via the St. Mary’s inlet and anchored off Cumberland Island, Georgia.  Cumberland Island is Georgia's largest and southernmost barrier island. It was established as a national seashore in 1972 and is maintained by the National Park Service.  The island is spectacularly beautiful.  The first night we walked Shamus across the island to the beach. The trail to the beach weaved through a beautiful forest and the islands sand dunes before ending at the beach.   We were looking forward to seeing some of the wild horses that live on the island but we saw no sign of them that evening other than some “piles of recycled grass” and their well-worn paths through dunes.  Fortunately  we did get to see an armadillo!    Unfortunately we didn’t have a camera or our phones so we didn’t get a picture! 

The next morning we walked to the southern end of the island to view the ruins of Dungeness, which was a large mansion built In the 1880's by Thomas Carnegie , brother of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, and his wife.  It was mostly destroyed by fire but there is enough of the mansion left to see how magnificent it once was.   The grounds around the mansion are also beautiful and we were thrilled to see several wild horses grazing there.  

March 18 – 19, Jekyll Island, GA  

It was still early in the afternoon when we returned from exploring Cumberland Island so we picked up anchor and headed to Jekyll Island.  The winds were blowing at 20 plus knots from the NNE and at times was blowing against the current which blew up some steep, choppy waves in some of the wider channels we crossed.  We only planned to stay at Jekyll Island for one night but we woke up to dense fog and drizzle the next morning so we decided to stay put.  The marina on Jekyll Island offers a courtesy golf cart that we took out to explore the island and pick up some groceries.   Jekyll Island is a resort destination. The beaches are supposed to be beautiful and it is a good travel destination if you play golf.  Unfortunately we didn’t get to explore the beaches due to the weather and we don’t play golf so we didn’t check out any of the golf courses.  We did notice that there are several trails that crisscross the island that can be used for biking or hiking.  Jekyll Island has no real town center but in the near future they will complete the “Jekyll Island Beach Village” which will be a shopping area for tourists.  Right now all the shops seem to be in trailers in that ring a large parking lot just down the road from the site of the future beach village.   At least it was quiet on Jekyll Island and the people at the marina were very friendly which was much needed as our nerves were still adjusting from the shock they received at Daytona.

March 20 – 24, Thunderbolt / Savannah, GA

 The ICW literally winds its way north through Georgia and South Carolina and the landscape is flat and marshy. In a way the marsh lands have their own beauty but it does get monotonous after a while.  We anchored off Dolboll Island and in Cane Patch Creek before returning to Thunderbolt Marina which is just on the outskirts of Savannah.  There is not much to say about either anchorage except we chose them because we could take Shamus to shore.   We all came back from our shoreline excursions covered in mud at both locations and quickly learned that on the marshy shores of Georgia we were at the bottom of the food chain as the no-see-ums and gnats feasted on us.   I think our bug spray attracted them rather than repelled the damn bugs like it is supposed to.

The monotony of the Georgia marshes was briefly interrupted when we rounded a sharp bend in the ICW and were flagged down by a fellow sailor who needed a tow.  I am not sure what kind of sailboat it was but it was in rough shape.   The sails were worn and the captain had hung two tires on each side of the boats for fenders.   He told us his engine wasn’t working and he was trying to sail to the closest inlet out to the ocean where he would sail to Charleston.  The closest inlet was about 6 miles up the ICW in the direction we were heading.  Without us there to give him a tow he would have been stranded for a while since there was no wind and even if there was, that section of the ICW was narrow and filled with sharp bends that keeping the wind in the sails would have been difficult.    He threw us a line so weak and frayed that we thought it would snap as soon as it was put under load when we started towing him.  Surprisingly the line didn’t break and we towed him to the inlet and waved him goodbye as he started tacking out to sea. The name of the boat was “Pretty Lucky” and Tim and I hoped the boat would live up to its name as we thought he was going to need all the luck he could get to make it to Charleston. 

We returned to Thunderbolt Marina.  We had received great service at Thunderbolt on our way south and received equally good treatment when we returned.    They provided us with free bus passes that we used to take a bus into Savannah. It was a drizzly day so we only explored the small section of the city between our bus stop and the waterfront.    The streets were all lined with big beautiful trees and  there were several beautifully landscaped squares with statues and memorials commemorating many of Savannahs historical figures and sites.   The waterfront was very fun – lots of fun little shops and pubs.   St. Patrick’s day was the prior week and we learned that Savannah has one of the, if not the, biggest St. Patty’s day celebration in the country.  They likened it to Marti Gras in New Orleans.    There were still tons of St. Patty’s day paraphernalia on sale at all the local shops along the waterfront.  A big sign in one of the bars said “Don’t forget to take a beer with you!” clued us in that it is legal to stroll around the city with open containers of beer.  NICE! Our favorite store was the “Peanut Shop”!  The store sold all kinds of yummy delights and you could sample all of them.   We came out with a few goodies but our favorite is the Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper Peanuts.  They are addictive.  We were disappointed to learn that there are only a couple “Peanut Shops” and they are in Savannah and Charleston.    We were prepared to fill all our empty storage space on the boat with containers of these delicious peanuts but thankfully learned we could order them from Amazon! 

March 24 – 26:

We transited the ICW from Thurnderbolt, GA to Charleston, S.C.   Our nicest stop along the way was a little anchorage called Steamboat Landing.  There is a strong current that runs through the anchorage but overall it’s a great place especially for those travelling with a pup who needs to get to shore to exercise and take care of business.   There was a long dirt road that was lovely to walk along.

March 26 – April 5, 2015 – Charleston, S.C.  

Tim’s oldest brother John came to visit us for a pleasant long weekend.  He arrived Thursday night and left the following Tuesday.   The three of us toured a WWII era submarine and the aircraft carrier the U.S.S. Yorktown.  It didn’t take long to explore the submarine.   It is small and cramped but interesting.  We took several hours exploring the Yorktown and we still didn’t see all of it.  They had a fantastic exhibit of showing progress of planes used for aerial war fare.   The planes were beautiful and each had a unique story associated with it from the type of missions it was used for to stories of American heroes who flew them.  There were also exhibits showing some aircraft used during the early years of space exploration, and information about and tributes to the soldiers who fought in WWI, WWII, Vietnam and Korea.   The aircraft carrier itself was a wonder to see.   It literally is a city on the sea.   Perhaps the most interesting experience of our day was talking to a veteran who had served on board an aircraft carrier shortly after WW II ended. His description of life on board was fascinating and he indicated that you just didn’t go anywhere on board the carrier if you didn’t have a reason to be there.   Because of that he never really got to see the entire ship until after his service ended and he became a volunteer for the museum.  

We visited Ft. Sumter where we learned a lot about the history of the civil war and the significance of Charleston Harbor to keeping supply lines open for the confederate army.     

We also visited the Angel Oak which is a huge oak tree outside Charleston.  No one really knows how old it is but easily a few hundred years.  

Mostly we just enjoyed walking around Charleston.  It is a beautiful city.  After a day of sailing with John we had a fantastic “low country” meal at a restaurant called “Jestines”.   Tim ordered the best fried chicken I have ever tasted, and I had a great grilled chicken but John’s grilled shrimp with grits was AMAZING.   

We had a great time meeting a bartender who was wearing a shirt illustrating Bill Murray’s face on it.  One of us commented on his shirt and we ended up getting a great story about how he was such a fan of Bill Murray’s that he had his likeness tattooed on his rear end.   One day he found out from a friend that Bill Murray was in town and just a couple blocks away.  He ran out to meet him and begged Bill Murray, in front of his children, to autograph the tattoo on his butt.  Bill Murray was pretty amused by him and signed his butt.  The bartender then promptly went to the nearest tattoo parlor and had the autograph made permanent.   It was a great story but stupidly none of us asked to see his tattoo!

While in Charleston I was able to visit with my friend Grace Thoma and her family.   John, Tim and I met Grace and her daughter for lunch and then a few days later Grace, her husband, and daughter took me out in the motor boat to explore Charleston Harbor.   Grace was diagnosed with leukemia a few years ago and had a bone marrow transplant.  Needless to say it has been a difficult few years for Grace and her family and I was grateful to just be able to give her a hug.  

We needed to transit the next section of the ICW (near McClellanville) during a high tide.   High tide was occurring in the middle of the night so after John left Tim and I spent a few more days in Charleston waiting until high tide occurred early in the morning before we could continue on our journey. 

North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland

April 5 – April 17

After leaving Charleston we stopped in Southport, Swansboro, Oriental , Bellhaven, Columbia and Elizabeth City.  In Oriental , N.C. we were able to catch up with our friends Monty and Amy Edge and their son Austin.  The Edge’s are Caliber owners who we met and befriended a few years ago when they were cruising in Maine. 

Then just north of Elizabeth City we were invited by Paul and Joyce Wheeler to use the dock at their home.  Paul and Joyce also own a Caliber 40 and I believe had heard of us via the Caliber owners website and had found our blog.   They contacted us and invited us to stop by when we were in the area.   They have a beautiful house right on the ICW between Elizabeth City and the first lock of the Dismal Swamp Canal when you are headed north.    Paul and Joyce were wonderful hosts and we are so glad we accepted their invitation.   We hope if they decide to bring their Caliber 40 “Time” to Maine that we will get the opportunity to return their hospitality and spend more time with them. 

April 18 – 29

By the time we reached Deltaville, MD Shamus’s health problems started to occur.  His right eye was swollen but he was holding both eyes shut and wasn’t showing his normal enthusiasm to go exploring on shore.    Our initial thought was that I had possibly injured his eye when I accidentally poked him in the eye a couple nights prior.   We consulted with Chris and Jen via phone but it was difficult for them to determine what might be happening with his eye without being able to physically examine him.  They were a little concerned that he was holding both eyes closed and not just the injured one and that his energy level was off.  

On April 23 when Tim and I arrived in Salomon’s Island Maryland we decided we needed to get his eye checked by a local veterinarian.  We took him to the Solomon Veterinary Medical Center.  To all of our surprise we found no injury to the eye but instead that the pressure in his right eye was off the charts and that he had developed Glaucoma in his right eye.   Glaucoma didn’t make any sense to the examining vet or Chris and Jen given that it is more or less a genetically inherited disease and only certain purebreds are commonly affected.  He was given intravenous, oral, and topical meds to try and reduce the eye pressure. When that didn’t work we were referred to a veterinary ophthalmologist in Annapolis Maryland.  The only way they were able to reduce the pressure in his eye was to extract some of the eye fluid. We knew we would need to closely monitor his eye pressure if we wanted to prevent blindness in his right eye and watch for the possible development of Glaucoma in his left eye.  We discussed with Chris and Jen that we would drive him back to Maine and put Shamus in their care while we finished bringing the boat home.   Unfortunately, Shamus’ eye pressure skyrocketed again and we agreed to have the ophthalmologist perform laser surgery on his eye to reduce the production of eye fluid and to save vision in his right eye.  The surgery occurred on Thursday, April 23.  It went well and Shamus was hospitalized for the next couple days to monitor the eye pressure around the clock.  We planned to drive him from Annapolis to Portland, Maine to be put into Chris and Jen’s care on Monday, April 27.  The plan was they would work with a local veterinary ophthalmologist as needed during his recovery while we moved the boat back to Maine.   Unfortunately the shit hit the fan on Sunday night before we were able to pick him up.   The ophthalmologists caring for Shamus called us to let us know he was exhibiting signs of hemophilia which made no sense.  We gave them permission to run tests and send the results to Chris and Jen.  When we picked Shamus up on Monday morning it was apparent he was feeling very sick.    

Enroute to Maine Chris called to say the test results he received showed Shamus had an acutely inflamed liver and was going into liver failure.  We were no longer worried about him losing an eye; his situation was now critical.     Chris and Jen started treatment as soon as we arrived.      

April 28:  We returned to Annapolis and departed on Carina the following day.    Chris and Jen gave us multiple updates on Shamus’ condition each day.    We arrived in Cape May, N.J. on Thursday, April 30 and due to weather we would be stuck there a couple days.  My dad, who has a single engine Cessna 210 airplane, flew down from my hometown of Blairstown NJ and flew me to Portland so I could be with Shamus.   While I was gone Tim visited with his family who live just outside Philadelphia in Ambler, PA.  I returned to Philadelphia via train on Saturday and Tim and I departed Cape May at sunrise on Sunday, May 3.  We pulled into DiMillos Marina in Portland Maine at 10:00 p.m. Thursday, May 7.  We had made it from Annapolis Maryland to Portland Maine in a week including the two days we had to stay in Cape May.    

While stuck in Annapolis for Shamus’ surgery we rented a car and explored the National Mall in DC and also checked out St. Michaels, MD which is a lovely little bayside town on the eastern shore.  We were there the day of a big wine festival but we spent most of our time in a great little microbrewery called Eastern Shore Brewing.  They had some of the best varieties of beer we have ever tasted.

The rest of May 2015

We were able to bring Shamus up to our family’s camp in Belgrade Lakes on May 13.  We were joined a couple days later by Tim’s four brothers, his sister-in-law Diana and his dad for the annual spring camp opening.  At the time we thought Shamus was on the slow road to recovery so we enjoyed our week at the camp and spending time with everyone.   Most of the family left the following Monday.  Mark and Diana stayed to enjoy a few more days at the camp which was great because Tim and Mark were able to finish the big spring project of renovating the downstairs bathroom.   

After Shamus passed May 24 we took the boat to the Goslings for a long weekend and then took Carina to Brewers Marina in South Freeport where we had her hauled so we could touch up the bottom paint, remove the tannin stains from her hull that are common on boats that have transited the Intra Coastal Waterway and polish and wax her.   

We were also able to catch up with our friends Rodd, Cara and Zoe Collins, and the Donahue clan.

June 2015

On June 3 we travelled to East Burke Vermont.  A stunningly beautiful area we have been visiting for years.   We come here to mountain bike in the summer and fall and ski, or snowshoe during the winter months.   We are staying right on historical Darling Hill in David and Catherine Dwyer’s guest cottage.  A fabulous location for its mountain views and also because it sits in the center of all the mountain bike trails.  David and Catherine are fabulous and fun people.  We are so glad to have met them!

We returned to Portland June 12.  Portland was having its Old Port Festival so we dropped our dock lines as soon as possible and headed to Jewel Island for the night.  The next day we hoisted our spinnaker and had a beautiful downwind sail to the Goslings.  We returned to Portland on Monday and then drove back here to Vermont on Tuesday, June 16.  Our friends Charles and Tabitha Hilton arrived on Thursday to enjoy the trails and partake in NEMBA (New England Mountain Bike Association) FEST – “a celebration of summer and all things mountain biking”.   The event is sponsored and attended by some of the best mountain bike manufacturers, so there is plenty of cool equipment to see and demo, good food, fun contests, beer, food and great music.  

We will be spending the rest of our summer and the remaining months of our “ first retirement” travelling between Vermont and Maine where we can enjoy our favorite sports: sailing and mountain biking.  

January 29 – March 7, 2014 Winter in Great Harbour Cay, Berry Islands

Wow.  It’s been a while since our last post which ended with a description of our first week at Great Harbour Cay Marina (GHC) in the Berry Islands of the Bahamas.  We ended up spending five more fantastic weeks there.  GHC is an exquisite island that we had fun exploring but it was the people that made our time there so special. We developed a very close friendship with Gary and Christelle Donovan (Queen Bee) and shared a lot of great times with them and also with Christelle’s brother Vic, his wife Iren, and also Pat and Celine and their cute pup Lexie.  All Canadians!!!

Check out this film a young couple took with their drone while we were there. It really highlights the beauty of the island and will give you some idea of why we enjoyed it so much. 

Conch and Shark Creek

Conch is not only yummy to eat, especially conch fritters, but there is a tradition in the Bahamas to blow a conch shell horn as the sun sets.  Our friend Gary is a master at both blowing and making conch horns and after hearing him blow his horn at sunset I had to have one.  However, Tim and I didn’t just want our conch horns to be made from one of the many empty shells that could be found around the marina.  We wanted to search the surrounding seas and “hunt” for our own conch, eat them, and then Gary would show Tim how to make the shells into conch horns!!!  

On the first day when the seas outside the harbor were calm Gary, Christelle, Tim and I set out in our dinghies on our quest to for conch and also to explore Shark Creek. Shark Creek is a narrow and very shallow creek that weaves through the mangroves on the south side of the island and splits Great Harbour Cay from Anderson and Haines Cays.  In order to explore the length of the creek you need to take the dinghy about 2 miles down to the south side of the island on a rising tide and return well before it gets too shallow to pass on the falling tide. 

We couldn’t have picked a more perfect day for our Conch Hunting / Shark Creek adventure.   There was barely any wind and there wasn’t a ripple on the ocean.  It was nearly impossible to tell the sky from the sea when looking at the horizon. The water itself is that beautiful Bahama swimming pool blue and is so clear you can easily see the bottom even in deep water.  Tim and Christelle waded in the water while Gary and I stood in the dinghies trying to spot conch.  We each harvested about 4 good size conch and enjoyed spotting other sea life in the process.   Tim and I used his GoPro camera to make this film of a sting ray.  The water was so clear and so calm the ray’s image is reflected on the surface of the water as he swims away. 

After getting our conch we motored through Shark Creek through the mangroves. Like all the water surrounding GHC the water in Shark Creek is crystal clear and we had no trouble spotting a type of fish called mangrove snappers and at least one more sting ray as we ventured up the creek.  As we neared the end of Shark Creek we turned up Turtle Creek which is aptly named.   Suddenly there were sea turtles everywhere. Tim and I have seen and even been up close to sea turtles several times on our  many diving and snorkeling adventures and they always seemed to just glide along.   The sea turtles in Turtle Creek were like rockets shooting off in various directions as they moved away from dinghy.    They were incredible. 

The following day Gary and Christelle showed us how to clean our conch.   I pulled them out of their shells (not easy) and cut off all the stuff that isn’t edible, including their eye stalks (imagine a snails eyes that stick way up off their body) which made me feel terrible.   Tim would then finish cleaning up the part of conch that we were going to eat.  The Bahamian men eat the conch’s pistel while cleaning them.  It basically looks like a long slimy tube and is supposed to be a natural form of Viagra!!  Gross!  Tim passed the ones we pulled out of our conchs on to a few guys who were watching us clean the conch.  I don’t know who the first person was who ate conch but they must have been really, really hungry.   They are slimy, ugly, alien like little creatures.  If I didn’t know how good they tasted there was no way I would have put any part of one in my mouth.   I cooked up some cracked conch the following day.  It turned out pretty good. 

Tim did a great job cleaning off the conch shells which are beautiful and Gary showed him how to make conch horns out of them.   Gary showed us both how to blow them which is a little harder than it sounds.  I am okay at it and much better than Tim.    After hearing us at sunset other cruisers had Gary help them make horns as well.  Sunset became a lot of fun.  It was typically cocktails on the dock and just as the sun set we would all get our conch horns and try to blow them.  ‘ Try’ being the optimal word.   Some of us couldn’t quite make anything more than loud raspberry like noises and others could squeeze out a toot or a short blast but no one could approach Gary – the master.   I think his record blast is 39 seconds.  Awesome!

Dominoes, Cribbage and Pétanque

We had a lot of fun learning some new games while we were at GHC.   Neither of us ever played dominos before but were invited for a night of playing “Mexican Train Dominos” with Gary, Christelle, Vic and Iren.  What fun!  Tim and I have since downloaded the game onto our tablets and play frequently.  We are practicing so we will be ready to challenge Christelle, the champion, next time we see them!  Dominos seems to be a fairly popular game in the Bahamas.  Ramone who is one of the dock hands at the marina is the champ at a game called “Fives”.  It was amazing to watch him play.  He would announce he would win as soon as he picked up his tiles and sure enough he did.   It also seems that slamming their domino tiles down on the table is part of the tradition of playing dominos but damned if any of us know why!

Gary and Christelle also taught us to play cribbage.   A game I have always wanted to learn.  Again a very fun night!  Gary was the master of the cribbage table.   We will be buying both a set of Mexican Train dominos and a cribbage board as soon as we get a chance.

In return Tim and I taught Gary, Christelle, Vic and Iren how to play UNO.  

Pétanque (pronounced pa-tonk) is a game where each player throws hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (pronounced coosh-a-nay) (literally "piglet"). It is very similar to bocce except it is played on hard dirt or gravel, but can also be played on grass, sand or other surfaces.   Pétanque is played at the marina on Wednesday nights.   Ruth Ann and a couple other people who live on the island bring all equipment needed for everyone to play Pétanque.  Cruisers join in, and many of the local Bahamians show up to play as well.   It is great fun and Hans, the marina manager, provides rum punch for the players – winners served first!!  It may be a game that Tim and I teach our friends in Maine.  It will be a blast to play when we have our lobster bakes and island happy hours!!

The Beach Club & Sugar Beach

Tim and I enjoyed spending time at the Beach Club.  We met Malesto the owner and her husband Terry the day after we arrived.  As its name implies the Beach Club sits right on the shore of the Beach. 
We enjoyed riding our bikes over to the Beach Club on hot days and swimming in the ocean to cool off and then enjoying a Kalik (a brand of Bahamian beer that is similar to Corona) and chatting with people at the bar.  It was a fascinating place to meet people as we met folks who had vacation homes on the island, spent time with other cruisers there, and had a chance to meet a lot of the Bahamians who live on GHC. 

Swimming at the Beach Club beach was fabulous.   Typically there was no one else on the beach except us or our friends who came with us.   The water color and clarity was amazing.  We even spotted a couple of small sharks from shore.  The temperature was in the 70’s and it was great to just wade in and relax.  Some days it was as calm as a swimming pool and other days there were small waves which were fun to try and body surf.  

Family Visit / Shell Beach / Hawks Nest Cay

My dad, brother Kevin, my nephew Kyle and my niece Summer flew in on dads plane to visit with us for a few days.  They brought in a much needed supply of beer, rum, and Goslings Ginger Beer!    They stayed in a townhouse at the marina.  We spent a lot of time at the Beach Club and playing in the water there.  Summer is like a fish.   She absolutely loved the color of the water and swimming in it.   While they were visiting we decided to venture down to Shelling Beach which is located at the southeast tip of Beach Club beach and the northern end of Shark Creek.    The flats off Shelling Beach become exposed and you can literally walk across to Hawks Nest Cay.  You have to wade in a spot or two.   We took Shamus and our friend Meco came along as well.  It was a real treat for me to explore with Summer.  She was excited by everything she saw.   We found lots of sand dollars both alive and dead, several juvenile conch, star fish and shells of every shape and size.   A couple times we were all spread out across the tidal flats looking at the various things that caught our attention.   Meco and Shamus are good buddies.  Meco shamelessly gave him treats all the time so Shamus gets super excited whenever he is around.  Shamus wore himself out running back and forth across the tidal flats between Meco and Tim and I. 

We walked the entire circumference of Hawks Nest Key.   There is a small but beautiful limestone bridge that has been cut out by the wind and the waves and a beautiful beach runs the length of the side of the Cay exposed to the sea. 

My brother Kevin and I and Summer all came back carrying various treasures she had found along the hike.   We tried to find her a conch we could make a horn out of but no luck there.  We were all impressed and amazed when she picked up my conch horn their first night there and blew the thing like a champ on her first try! 

The night before they left we had a nice dinner at Coolie Mae’s which offers a spectacular view of the sunset.  You literally watch the sun sink into ocean.  

I really enjoyed spending time with my family especially Summer and Kyle who I hardly ever see!  I only wish we had the chance to take them exploring via boat.

Sailing and Snorkeling

Tim and I needed to get a sailing fix and took Carina out for a day sail off the Great Harbour Cay.   It was a beautiful day and the winds were just right.   We sailed downwind away from the island and then tacked back to it.   Again it’s worth mentioning how clear the water is.  We could easily see the bottom in 30’ of water.  We didn’t get to do this as much as we wanted.   Chris Parker, the cruisers weather guru, had predicted February was quite squally and there weren’t many days when the wind and sea conditions made it worthwhile to go out for a sail or go out to anchor in another location for the night. 

When conditions were deemed suitable to venture out of the harbor we often went exploring and snorkeling in our dinghies with Gary and Christelle and her brother Vic.   Tim borrowed a spear gun from a fellow cruiser and tried his skill spearing fish.   He got a couple snappers but in general they were only big enough to feed Gary and Christelle’s cats Josie and Jacob who both love fresh fish!

Snorkeling was fun.  We explored a plane wreck that is home to tons of fish, skirted the edges of a blue hole where we saw some good sized sting rays, and searched for lobster, fish and conch off the shores of a couple neighboring keys.   On one trip Tim when Tim was fishing he saw a huge moray eel under a ledge while looking for some lobster to spear. A few days later Gary, Christelle, Vic, Tim and I guided several other cruisers in their dinghies to snorkel the sights where we had seen some nice fish.  We returned to the sight were Tim had seen the moray eel.  This time he was armed with our GoPro camera rather than his spear.  He dropped down to see if he could film the moray but instead saw what he thought was a very large fish.   After a couple more dives down he realized he was looking at a nurse shark who had tucked in under the ledge for a nap.   Click on the attached link to see the video he took of the shark.   When we viewed the footage he took we realized he did end up capturing footage of the moray eel and the shark.  The moray is right up near the sharks head.  Tim was pretty close to it while taking the video of the shark and never even realized it was there.    Tim took more than one film and the moray makes an appearance in each of them.   Thankfully, the moray kept it’s teeth to itself!!  Also you will catch a glimpse of a lion fish in the footage of the shark.  They are an invasive species and you are encouraged to kill them if possible.   We understand that they are quite tasty but you must be careful when cleaning them as they are poisonous and you can easily contaminate the meat. 

The Social Life / Kathy’s Drink & Drift

There was always a social event going on at Great Harbour Cay Marina.  In fact it took more planning to spend a quiet evening on the boat than to find a fun way to spend an evening.   My good pal Christelle was the cruisers social ambassador.  As this was her second winter there she seemed to know just about  everybody on the island and was already friends with some of the cruisers who came to stay at the marina.  She quickly befriended those cruisers and people she didn’t know.   Honestly the woman is amazing and a joy to be around.   Christelle dubbed me as her VP Social Director.   As needed Christelle asked me to help her keep the cruisers informed of what was going on and pass around a sign-up sheet for those events where one was needed.   Julie McCoy I am not but Chatty Kathy I am. Good thing too!  It was super fun to meet people and for those at home who know me I even did a pretty good job remembering everyone’s names!

The marina has weekly events for its guests to attend if they want to.  For example every Monday there is the cruisers pot luck, Wednesday is Pétanque with complimentary rum punch, and every Friday night there is the Chill and Grill that is hosted and prepared by a local couple and attended by islanders as well as cruisers.   My biggest contribution to the social life at the marina was the Tuesday evening booze cruise which Christelle re-christened to “Kathy’s Drink & Drift.” It didn’t start out as a scheduled social event.  One afternoon I suggested to my fellow cruisers that we take our dinghies out, raft up and just drift around the harbor chatting and having drinks and watching the sun set.  Anyway we all had a great time.  The following week Christelle suggested we do it again and this time we ended up with an even bigger flotilla of dinghies.  Since all dogs like dinghy rides our friends Celine and Pat had brought their dog Lexie, and Tim and I brought Shamus and then so did everyone else who had pups on board – so it also became a dog party!  Anyway since the marinas Tuesday evening event of Bahamian / Great Harbour Cay Trivial Pursuit and Bingo was ill attended they replaced it with the more popularly attended Drink & Drift. 

Christelle’s Birthday Party

Tim and I had a great time at all the different social events we attended whether it was a big organized event, or just small get-togethers with a couple friends.   However, Christelle’s 50th Birthday party was perhaps the best party I have ever been too.   Christelle entered her 5th decade with a bang and we all had a blast celebrating it with her! 

Gary, who is Christelle’s husband wanted it to be a very special night for her and worked hard to make it so.  Knowing he couldn’t do it all himself he wisely recruited friends to help him out.   He worked all month on a couple of special gifts for Christelle.

The party was to be held on the outside porch of the Tamboo Club which is right at the marina so transporting marina guests wouldn’t be an issue.  Besides, the price was right.  Hector the owner of the Tamboo Club was letting us use it for free.  Quite frankly when Christelle and I first looked at the place she was nearly in tears.  It was a round area, half of which was enclosed by a large cement wall on one side and a white but rickety woven fence on the other.  Neither of us could see the potential in it.   However, Gary cleaned the place up and with Tim and Pat’s help strung up some Christmas lights and hung a huge sign that when lit up said Happy 50th Birthday Christelle.   Christelle’s friend Ruth Ann showed up and supervised the rest of the decorating.  By the time everything was done the place looked beautiful.   The rickety fence was completely covered up by palm fronds and Christmas lights.   At Tim’s suggestion palm fronds were put in front of the wall sconces on the cement wall.  It softened their glare and along with more Christmas lights really dressed it up.   Tables with white tablecloths and beautiful centerpieces that Ruth Ann found in a closet in the Tamboo looked great and there were the balloons and party hats and party favors that Christelle’s sister-in-law Iren brought with her from Canada. 

Queen Bee showed up at her birthday ball wearing a beautiful woven grass and shell Tiara.  It was a gift from Pat and Celine and handmade by some of the island ladies.   Honestly with my little pin head it is not a look I could pull off but Christelle looks great in a Tiara. 

All boaters from the marina were invited and they showed up in force and contributed lots of goodies to the evening meal.   Christelle had several friends from the island there as well.  Hans and Gary set off fireworks and we all danced the night away.    Christelle and I hit the dance floor shortly after the party started and other than a brief respite for food, and cake, and opening presents we stayed out there until the party was over. After a couple Tequila shots with Gary, Tim got his groove on and danced most of the night with us!  My favorite was our friend Sam, a beautiful Bahamian woman and the DJ’s wife tried giving Tim some dance pointers by putting his hands on her hips to show him how to move. He had fun trying but am not sure he picked up any new moves.   Bahamian people really know how to dance.   Quite frankly I am amazed that their butts seem like separate appendages that they move at will.   I would pay good money to learn to move my little white butt the way those beautiful woman move theirs.  It’s amazing.   Iren, Sandra, myself and a few other women watched them dance with envy!    Alas none of us has the faintest idea how to move our butts independently from the rest of our body and weren’t stupid enough to embarrass ourselves trying.  We just stared in wonder!!   

It was the best party!  Tim and I walked Christelle back to her boat around 12:30 PM.  We didn’t see much of her the next day but did find out she googled whether or not you could die from a hangover!

March 6- Time To Head for Home

We had delayed our departure from the Berry’s to stay for Christelle’s birthday party but we left a couple days later when the first weather window allowed.   We were going to try to go to the Abaco Islands but we want to be back in Maine by mid to late May and that wasn’t going to work out.  Besides, when the first weather window to leave opened up it was better to set a course back to Bimini and cross over to Florida from there.

Celine and Pat are living on their boat while Pat renovates one of the townhouses they recently bought.  A night or so before we left they invited us along with Shamus over where we spent a nice relaxing evening with them on Pat’s new “deck” with, Vic and Iren, Gary and Christelle, Frenchie and a few other people we had the pleasure of meeting. 

The afternoon before we left we went over to the Beach Club and took a swim and then had a couple drinks with Gary, Christelle, Vic and Iren.   We said goodbye to the other friends we had made at the marina at docktails! Randy, Sherry, Sharon and Jim, Rick and Sandra, and of course Meco, and Debra and Tom who arrived a couple days before we left who I wished we had the time to get to know better!

We left the Great Harbour Cay Marina via moonlight at 4:15 a.m.     It was beautiful and peaceful when we left.   There was no wind but the seas were calm and we had an uneventful crossing to Bimini.

We were sad to leave but glad to be moving towards home.  We miss Maine.  Tim and I felt like we put some roots down in Great Harbour Cay and we will miss the friends we made especially Gary and Christelle. We love you guys!

Vic and Iren:   We look forward to seeing you soon when you stop into Portland on your way back to Nova Scotia. Vic keep icing that knee!  XO!!!

Celine and Pat and Lexie:  You guys are a class act!  Can’t wait to see Compass South when it is finished! 

Randy and Sherry:  Thanks again for hosting that delicious sausage and biscuits breakfast aboard Priorities.  I can’t wake to make it and will try to remember to do it just the way you taught us.

Jim and Sharon:  Thanks for lending Tim one of your Hawaiian Slings to fish with.   Celebrate your 50th wedding anniversary with style.  Still love the story about how you met!!

Rick and Sandra:  So much fun to meet you.  Tim and I still think you are both lying about your age. We hope to see you in Maine.

Hans aka  Handsome Hans:  Good luck with building your new rental units.  We hope to be renters one day.   You work too hard and the marina is better for it.  Wow do you know how to let loose when not working!!!!

Thank you to all the hard working staff at the marina.  You make it a very a special place to visit. We will be back!  Be well until we meet again!

·         Kimberly:  It was a pleasure to become your friend.   Stay well and thanks for the delicious conch fritters.  They were the best we had.   Good luck with your cake mix business.

·         Ramone:  You are one of the sweetest people we met while there EXCEPT the night I saw you play dominos.  You show no mercy!!

·         Sam:  So fun meeting you and James.   My feet hurt from all the music you played at the parties Tim and I attended.

·         Conseulo:  Good luck with your restaurant.   I hope to eat there on a return trip.   Keep those dresses.  You may prefer to wear t-shirt, hat and jeans most of the time, as do I, but you looked amazing at Christelle’s party!

·         Meco:  There are no words.   Thank you for everything.   Shamus misses you and all the treats you snuck him.    

March 6 – 8

When we arrived in Bimini we picked up a slip at the Blue Water Marina to wait for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream back to Florida. We hoped to avoid Southern Florida and enter back into the states via the Lake Worth Inlet which is near Palm Beach. 

We woke up Sunday morning to a see that our friends Alex and Alexa and their dogs Piper and Luna had arrived in their boat during the wee hours of the morning. We were excited to see them and after they took a nice long nap we had a good time exchanging stories with them.   Alex had caught a large Wahoo while crossing the banks and since they had more fish to eat than they knew what to do with offered to make us dinner.  Neither Tim nor I eat a lot of fish but that fresh Wahoo was delicious!  Yum.   

They are going to leave their boat in Florida and they will be back in Maine before we are.   They work and live on the Isle of Shoals and we hope to stop there on the way home to see them and since they don’t have a boat in Maine we have invited them to come sailing with us this summer.   We hope they take us up on it!

March 9 Back in the USA

A good weather window opened and we left Bimini under sail for the Lake Worth Inlet.  10 hours later were back in the USA at a slip in the North Palm Beach Marina.  We were able to sail nearly 85 miles in just under 10 hours thanks to the 2-3 knot northward current of the gulfstream.  The seas were not too bad with a 3-4 foot swell on the beam.  This made for very comfortable sailing.  As we neared the inlet the seas became more choppy and confused but nothing Carina or us could not handle.

We arrived at the North Palm Beach marina and got a slip a few away from our friends, Wally and Pam, on Pastaio which is an 85 ft. luxury motor yacht.  Wally is the captain and Pam is the chef/boss!  They were nice enough to drive us around to customs and to re-provision.  The next afternoon we went out cruising along the ICW and drinking beer on Wallys Renegade center console fishing boat.  They also hosted a wonderful party that night on Pastaio.  Thanks again guys for all your help and fun times both at GHC and Palm Beach.   

January 3 – January 13:  Can’t Wait to Leave Southern Florida / Miami

We stayed in the Crandon Park Marina on Key Biscayne until January 13.  We celebrated Tim’s 49th birthday on the 11th with a nice dinner on the boat followed up with his birthday Summer Berry Pie for desert.

We had bought a pair of folding Dahon bikes while we were in Vero Beach and one of them was stolen while we were at the Marina.   We had secured the bikes to a bike rack with a sturdy chain and lock but someone managed to steal one of them anyway. Luckily Tim was able to find another used Dahon bike the same day we discovered the other stolen but it isn’t quite as nice.  You can add that to the list of other reasons why we didn’t care much for the Miami area.

We did ride our bikes quite a bit while we were in Key Biscayne especially back and forth to the library and grocery store.  Groceries are pretty expensive in the Bahamas so we stocked up on quite a few things.  Tim and I love to drink milk but I guess we are going to have to try and cut back.   Fresh milk isn’t readily available in the Bahamas and the boxed milk (Parmalat) costs about $4 per quart.  Guess that means we will be cutting back on cookies too!

We received Shamus’ dog permit from the Agricultural Dept. of the Bahamas so we only had to wait for a good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream over to Bimini Island in the Bahamas.  That window opened on Wednesday, January 14 so the afternoon before, we fueled up and left Crandon Park Marina and headed further south on Key Biscayne to No Name Harbor which was where we planned to begin our crossing to Bimini.

January 14 – January 19:  Crossing the Gulf Stream / The Bahamas

Crossing the Gulf Stream in the wrong weather conditions can be trying on the hardiest of sailors.  Generally you want to cross when the winds are light and are blowing from the south or east.  Winds from the north are generally not good for crossing as they can stir up some pretty big waves and rough conditions because they blow against the Gulf Stream which flows north anywhere between 2 and 4 kts.  We left Key Biscayne at 3:30 a.m. in very light winds and relatively calm seas.   The winds were forecasted to build from the north throughout the morning so we had to be across by noon to avoid worsening sea conditions in the Gulf.  It was a narrow but decent weather window and we took it as did several other boats that left shortly after us.   We arrived in Bimini around 10:45 a.m. The wind had definitely perked up by the time we arrived and the seas were beginning to build but nothing uncomfortable for us.   Boats crossing a couple hours behind us probably had it a little rough towards the end of their trip.

When we arrived in Bimini we picked up a slip at the Blue Water Marina in North Bimini.  We have made some more new friends along the way especially another couple from Maine named Alex and Alexa and their two dogs Luna and Piper. We first met them at the Crandon Park Marina in Key Biscayne and ran into them again at No Name.  They crossed the Gulf Stream a couple hours ahead of us and have also been staying at the Blue Water Marina.

All of us were waiting for a good weather window to make the next leg of our trip on our journey to the Exumas.   We will cross the Great Bahama Banks to Chubb Key which is roughly a distance of 80 nautical miles.  The crossing will take roughly 13 hours.  We are going try to break that up into two 40 mile days by spending a night anchored out on the Great Bahama Bank.  Similar to the crossing of the Gulf Stream you need the right wind and wave conditions to have a comfortable crossing of the Great Bahama Bank especially if you plan to anchor at night on the Banks. 

Over the past few days while we have been waiting for a good weather window to arrive:

·         We have explored most of the island!

·         Had a fun night out with a man named Keith who was another cruiser we met in No Name on Key Biscayne and who crossed just behind us.   The three of us had drinks on the beach with Sherry and her husband Eric at Sherry’s Beach Bar and then over to another pub with a local man named Oscar for a game of pool, some dancing, and yummy fried lobster dinner. 

·         We took our boat out to a shipwreck on the south side of South Bimini to do some snorkeling with Alex and Alexa and had a great sail back to North Bimini. We followed that up with happy hour on a little uninhabited island here in the harbor.   All of our dogs had a blast!

·         We have not done any swimming off the boat in the harbor considering the very first thing we saw when I got off the boat the morning we arrived was a HUGE Bull Shark swimming next to the boat!  Turns out they feed them here when cleaning fish so there are several prowling about!  We are all keeping our toes out of the water!

·         We had a lot of fun watching the Patriots whoop the Colts butts in the AFC Championship Game at the Bimini Big Game Club.  Alex and Tim enjoyed a couple Pina Coladas while Alexa and I drank some ale (role reversal?).  So now we need to make sure we have a place to watch the super bowl in February.   Yippee!!!! Go Pats!!!

January 20:  The Great Bahama Bank

Finally a good weather window arrived to cross the Great Bahama Bank!   We dropped our dock lines around 8:00 A.M. and headed out just behind Alex and Alexa on their boat the Abby B.  We planned to cross and anchor out on the banks together and then head on to Nassau the next day.  Sea conditions were a bit choppy but not uncomfortable while we were underway and we were concerned that it would be uncomfortable anchoring out in those conditions.  Around 9:30 p.m. we tucked in behind a shoal located north of the Northwest Channel Light.  Both wind and sea state calmed down and we ended up having a peaceful night at anchor.  It was a very cool experience being anchored out of sight of land in 14 feet of water.   You could see the bottom like it was only 1 foot deep.  The stars were spectacular!

One of our concerns about anchoring out was whether or not we could convince Shamus to go to the bathroom on the boat.   While on shore in Bimini we had him urinate on some palm fronds and brought them on board.  We hoped having something he had gone to the bathroom on would convince him to go.  It didn’t even after Tim tried to show him by example that it was okay to pee on deck! Oh well!   Our vet, Chris Allen, told us he would go when he needed too.  So with that in mind we all went to bed and slept well.

January 21 – January 28:  The Berry Islands / Great Harbor Cay Marina

During the hours it took us to cross the Great Bahama Bank Tim and I talked about our journey.  We have been on the move almost constantly since we left Maine in the end of October.  We kept reading about an island chain here in the Bahamas called the Berry Islands.   Everything we read said they are beautiful and have exquisite beaches and better yet are a mostly overlooked destination by other cruisers and visitors to the Bahamas.   In addition, Great Harbour Cay Marina had fabulous reviews from cruisers who had visited there.  They mentioned the marina staff are super friendly, the facilities are very clean and the rates to stay at the marina are very affordable.   Even better – Great Harbour Cay Marina is a considered a hurricane hole – a very protected place to keep your boat in weather as severe as a hurricane. 

When we woke up on the Great Bahama Banks we decided to head to over to check out the Berry Islands.  We said our goodbyes to Alex and Alexa who continued on to Nassau and then the Exumas. 

We hope to run into them again and if not will look them up when we all get back to Maine.

We arrived at Great Harbour Cay Marina late morning and as wonderful a place as was described in the cruising guides.   The people, marina staff and other cruisers, are super. The beach just down the road from us is beautiful. After spending our first day here we decided to stay for a month.   No more pushing to get somewhere or worrying about what the weather conditions are going to be.   We will use the marina as our home base and take the boat out to explore the other islands anchorages in the Berry Island chain.  Great Harbor Cay was developed by the rich and famous back in the 50s.  Such notables as Cary Grant, Bridget Bardott, Telly Savalas and many others spent time on the island playing.  They built an 18 hole golf course, tennis courts and an exclusive hotel(Sugar Beach Hotel) overlooking the beach.  The hotel was abandoned in the 70s and about half the golf course became overgrown.  There are still nine holes but the Island is now largely undeveloped except for a handful of private residences on the beaches.  The sand on the beaches here is like talcum powder.  We have never felt such soft white sand.

As for weather here, the first few days were in the high 80s but it is now in the 70s and sunny during the day and 60s at night.  We get an occasional shower that lasts about 10 minutes.  It feels like typical Maine summer weather which we love.  The locals and many of the other cruisers think this is cold!

Since we arrived we:

·         made friends with several of the other cruisers staying here at the marina as well as several members of the marina staff including Meco, Hans who is the marina manager, and Rufus who runs the marina shop.

·         had a fabulous cheeseburger at the Beach Club. A great little bar and restaurant on Sugar Beach.   While there we met several of the locals including Malesto (spelling?  Pronounced Mal-est-toe) and her husband Terry who is a builder.  We have been warmly greeted each time we have returned.   We will go there on Thursday for a specially prepared native Bahamian meal of hog fish and / or chicken, and again this Sunday to watch the Super Bowl!

·         met a great couple named Dennis and Gwen Tynan at the Beach Club.  They invited us over to their beautiful beach house (built by Terry) and took us over to Hawks Nest Cay in their dinghy to show us the natural bridge and beautiful beaches located there.  We saw a small shark swimming in the shallow water as we all climbed into the dinghy and another one swimming in the surf just off one of the beaches on Hawks Nest Cay!  Lots of sharks in these parts!  Yikes!

·         attended several social gatherings since we arrived including a Chill and Grill hosted by the marina, a potluck organized by a couple of the other cruisers, and had a lot of fun at a big birthday party thrown at Hans’ house for his friend Ruth Ann and Gary a fellow cruiser staying here at the marina.  Gary and his wife Christelle (spelling??) have visited the marina before and have spent quite a bit of time here.  Both  are a hoot and are very popular with everyone!!  The party was attended by several of the marina staff and some of their friends, and also several of the cruisers staying at the marina.   It was a hell of a party.  Lots of laughing and dancing!   Tim and I separately received marital advice from one of the Bahamian men who attended the party.  He seemed to want to make sure we knew how to keep each other happy!  Some of his advice got a little x-rated so I won’t repeat it here!  Very funny!!!

·         helped pick up trash on the island.   One of the cruisers who recently came in organized a trash pickup event.  While this is one of the cleaner islands in the Bahamas there is still a bit of trash along the road.  Several of us showed up and we all spent a couple hours cleaning up a small section of road near the marina.   Several local people passing by in their cars honked their horns in approval of our efforts and a few of them even stopped to pick up our filled trash bags to bring them to the dump.

·         swam with a manatee! Well Tim did. There are a few that come right into the marina and it is legal to swim with them here.   I ran to get the camera to take pictures of Tim with the manatee but I hope to get in with one of them before we leave!   They seem to like being scratched and will come up to you for a pet!  They are huge but incredibly cute!

While I write this several of our friends and family are probably digging out from a blizzard that just swept through the Northeast!   I am sure several of you are wishing you were away from the cold and snow and sitting on a beach in a nice warm place!  Well you might think Tim and I are crazy but we actually miss winter – A LOT!   We both love the snow and have always loved a good blizzard!  Oh well - no snow angels this year!

Also, we have made some exciting plans for the summer.   We rented a small place in Burke, VT where we love to mountain bike.  We will be spending time there during the week and cruising on the boat on weekends and probably make it up to Penobscott Bay towards the end summer.     

Well it’s been awhile since we blogged about our travels and we have been to many different places so I will just highlight the most memorable ones.  If you want to see all the locations where we stopped along the way please click the “Where We Are” link and hover over the little red pins.  The green pin is either our most recent or current location. 

November 25- 26:  Oriental, N.C.   A Thanksgiving Celebration with New Friends

On November 25, we arrived in Oriental N.C.   Our stop here turned out to be one of our most enjoyable stops since we started transiting the ICW.   Heavy rain and strong winds were forecasted for Wednesday, November 26 and Oriental’s little harbor not only offered good protection from the storm but the town offers free dockage for transient boats up to 48 hours.  Bonus!  We like free! 

While enjoying a couple beers at the Oriental Marina’s Tiki bar, Tim and I decided to celebrate Thanksgiving a day early.   We had planned to sit tight in Oriental for Wednesday’s storm and Thursday’s forecast looked great!  It just seemed to make better sense to celebrate the holiday when we would be stuck inside due to crappy weather and then take advantage of the nice weather on Thanksgiving Day to continue south.

For our Thanksgiving feast I roasted a nice turkey breast, prepared stuffing, mashed potatoes, homemade dinner rolls and a raspberry peach crisp for desert.  I made way too much food for just the two of us so we decided to invite the cruisers who were docked alongside of us over to celebrate the holiday. Holiday meals are always more fun with more people!

Our guests were Paco and Theda Ortego, and their incredibly adorable 9 month old son Frank, and Richard Nista. Paco and Theta helped us dock when we arrived in Oriental and we had spent some time that afternoon getting to know them.    Richard arrived in Oriental shortly after we did and docked directly behind us.  He is cruising alone on his 28’ Choy Lee.   

The meal was yummy and it was nice to spend time with our guests, exchanging stories and experiences about the places we have visited, and as all cruisers do, talk about our boats, boat problems and repairs, electronics, navigating etc....  Richard won the prize for worst cruising experience on the ICW.  Several days before, he had an issue with cooling water leaking from his exhaust inside his engine compartment and filling his boat with warm seawater.  He saw the water rising and did not know where it was coming from so he purposely grounded the boat in the mud of the Alligator river.  After a long tow to a marina and some repairs Richard is underway again but now has to deal with his insurance company and any small problems that might occur later which often happens after a boat takes on salt or brackish water.  

My hat is off to Richard.  He is quite a hardy soul!  The weather has been pretty cold and wet and he doesn’t have a dodger or bimini to protect him from wind or waves and he doesn’t have autopilot!  A great guy with an even greater amount of optimism!

December 1: Minim Creek S.C:  Doggie Purgatory!

We left Oriental on Thanksgiving Day and spent our evenings at the town dock in Swansboro, N.C. and at marinas in Hampstead, N.C., Southport N.C. and North Myrtle Beach S.C. 

On December 1, we anchored for the night just off the ICW in a place called Minim Creek.  It was a beautiful and remote anchorage and we had it all to ourselves!  Once the anchor was set and the engine turned off we immediately noticed a couple owls hooting close by, ducks flying overheard and the sounds of many different bird calls.   Shamus noticed too!   The bird calls really sparked his hunting instincts!  He could barely contain his excitement as we dinghied to shore. We rafted up to an irrigation lock and then walked along the top of a short levy.  The levy and irrigation locks separate the creek from water level control canals running for long distances through acres of tall stalky plants.  The canals were inhabited by several different breeds of water fowl of various shapes and sizes and who were the source of many of the different bird calls we had been listening to.

Poor Shamus! He was pretty close to being in doggie heaven considering he was surrounded by water and brush filled with birds but it turned out to be more like doggie purgatory!  Normally we would let him let him off leash to run free, play in the water and chase the birds but we were now in alligator country.   Tim and I are fairly sure if Shamus saw an alligator there aren’t enough ducks in the world that would be enough of a distraction to stop him from running up to one and most likely becoming an alligator appetizer.   So we kept the poor pup leashed and he had to watch all those birds from afar! 

We climbed an old tower that was nearby on the levy.  Not sure of its purpose but considering it was the highest point around for miles we had a great view of the Estherville Minim Creek Canal that we had transited earlier in the day, our boat at anchor in Minim Creek, and just how far the levy and canal system we were walking on extended! Miles!!

December 2: Shoaling

 

Shoaling is issue in many places on the ICW. Believe it or not it is kind of expected that if you are transiting the ICW you will run aground at some point.  Along our way south we have heard many people calling over the radio to report they were grounded and needed a tow and our navigating resources such as Active Captain and the ICW Waterway guide are full of accounts of boaters who have run aground. The bottom of the ICW is soft and silty and shifts around a lot.  Because the bottom is soft we would likely not damage the boat if we were to run aground but we would really rather not find out.   Also there is always the possibility that if you run aground in a narrow section of the channel you could block other boating traffic trying to get through.  Needless to say we would prefer to stay afloat!

The section between Minim Creek (ICW statue mile 415) to just south of McClellanville S.C. (statue mile 450) is one of the worst sections for shoaling on the entire ICW.  In fact at low tide the bottom of the channel is often exposed.  That was the section we needed to navigate when we left Minim Creek on our way to Charleston S.C.  Oh Joy!!!

We pulled anchor in Minim Creek just after daylight and shortly before dead low tide so we had enough depth to clear the shallows where Minim Creek enters the ICW.     A few miles later we dropped anchor in the North Santee River to wait for the tide to rise enough to give us better depth in the worst of the shoaling areas.   A while after we anchored a couple, Mike and Linda, who we had met a few days earlier passed by on their boat, the C-II, headed south down the ICW.  The C-II’s draft is about the same as ours. We reached out to Mike and Linda and asked if they would let us know the depths they recorded when they passed through the shoaling areas.   The tide would be higher by the time we hit those areas so if the C-II made it through so should we – maybe!  We couldn’t know the exact track the C-II had taken through the shoaled up areas and the depth can change dramatically in just a few feet so running aground was still a high possibility.  Mike was happy to help us out and texted Tim to report he had made it through with a little depth to spare so we pulled anchor and set out for Charleston. 

By the time we reached the worse section of shoaling we were behind a sailboat and in front of them was a tug boat.  Behind us was a large motor boat.   The tug and sailboat were talking on the radio and we overheard the tugs captain say his boat tug draws 9’ which means he was dragging along the bottom and relying on his powerful engines to push through.  So now we had two boats ahead of us and if either of them were to run aground at least we knew where not to go!   On the downside, because the tug was literally pushing through he was stirring up the bottom and mixing thick silt up into the water.  Then the motor boat following us decided to pass us and stirred up the bottom even more! C’Mon Man!!! So by the time we hit the really bad area there was so much silt stirred up in the water neither of our two depth sounders could get an accurate reading. CRAP!!!!!   At times we showed less than 1’ of depth but somehow we kept moving even though a couple times it was clear our keel was dipping into the mucky bottom.  Then we came around a bend and there was a northbound tug that had pushed a barge up the ICW and was waiting in the middle of the channel to rendezvous with the tug we were following. Over the radio we learned the tugs would switch places and the tug we were following would turn around and tow the barge north to its final destination and the other tug would turn around and go back south.  Really!!!  The tug boat captains were kind enough to let the three us pass by before switching places.   The ICW is not that wide in that particular location and in order to get around the tugs and barge we had to leave center channel where the deeper water usually is and move to the side of the channel where it is usually shallower.  How shallow we couldn’t tell because our depth sounders where still not getting accurate readings!  Well we made it through the entire length of the shoaled up area including squeaking by the barge and tugs! PHEW!!!.   

We arrived in Charleston, S.C. late afternoon and got a slip at the Charleston Maritime Center and broke out a couple beers and said hello to a few friends who were already there including Mike and Linda from the C-II and our new pal Richard Nista who spent Thanksgiving with us and who we have run into several times since!  What a day!!!

December 3- 8:   Charleston S.C

The Charleston Maritime Center is located right in downtown Charleston so we spent Wednesday, December 3, exploring the area.  Charleston is beautiful.  It is one of the oldest cities in America and many of the buildings date back to the early 1700s.   Charleston has very strong laws in place to preserve its historic buildings.  We learned there is a law that once a building is over 75 years old it can’t be torn down!  In the downtown section of Charleston that is apparently not a problem.  The houses there are beautifully maintained. In other areas of the city there are some old decrepit buildings that have been abandoned but it’s against the law to tear them down.  We were told that property owners tear down their buildings before the 75 year mark to avoid the law and the restrictions that come with owning a historic property.

I made reservations to fly home to NJ on December 4 for a pre-Christmas visit with my family.   I enjoyed helping my mom and sister decorate the Christmas Tree!  It was even more special doing so when my brother Kevin joined us.  I think it is the first time Kevin, Colleen, Mom and I have decorated a tree together since we were kids. We got a good laugh looking at some of the ornaments we made in school as kids!  They are definitely our “back of the tree” ornaments!  It was also great spending time with my dad.   

Tim and pup stayed back in Charleston.  Tim did several little projects on the boat and also rented a car and mountain bike so he could see a little more of the area.   I am not sure “mountain biking” is an accurate description for off-road bike or trail riding in S.C. as Charleston is considered the “low country.”   We were told the highest point in the Charleston area is only 32’ above sea level!  I think the most elevation you will gain walking around the city is on a treadmill where you can raise the incline!  Still he had fun riding!

December 9 – December 11:  A Family Reunion

I flew back to Charleston on December 9.   I arrived back at the marina around 12:30 P.M.   We dropped our lines immediately and continued south.  We anchored about 15 miles south of Charleston in a place called Church Creek.   The following night we anchored in Beaufort S.C.   A charming little town that I would recommend making a side trip to if you are travelling in the Charleston area. 

 

On December 11, we stopped at the Thunderbolt Marina in Thunderbolt GA which is right outside of Savannah.   We had a reunion with Tim’s cousin Andrew Reilley.  Tim and Andrew hadn’t seen each other since they were teenagers and I had never met him.  Andrew lives about 10 minutes away from the marina with his three sons.   He is a busy single dad but he was able to stop by for a few hours.  Tim remembered Andrew as a really great guy who always had a smile on his face.   Tim and Andrew had a few good laughs about getting in trouble together at the annual Reilley Christmas Party called the “Gathering of the Clan” that was hosted by their Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Lee.   It was fabulous getting together with Andrew.  Unfortunately his sons were spending the night with their mom so we didn’t get an opportunity to meet them.  Next time!  

December 12 – 14

We spent our last night in Georgia anchored off Sapelo Island and the following two days at Fernandina Beach, on Amelia Island in Florida.   We arrived in Fernandina just after sunset and as it turned out shortly before the start of the towns Christmas parade.  We strolled up Centre Street which runs through the heart of the downtown historic district and was the main route for the parade. The town was beautifully decorated and it was fun to see everyone so excited to see the parade.  After walking Shamus we found a relatively uncrowded corner right where the parade made its turn up Centre Street.   It was a great spot to view the parade and it was close to the marina so we could make our escape to the boat without having to push our way through all those people when the parade ended.    Turns out we didn’t need to wait for the end of the parade to leave.  BOOM!!!!!! The pirate ship parade float blasted a canon about 6’ away from where we were standing! It deafened both Tim and I and nearly gave us heart failure.  Poor Shamus, who is terrified of guns, panicked and tried to bolt. I was holding his leash and thank goodness I had a good grip or we might still be looking for him!  Never did get to see Santa!  Damn pirates!

On Sunday we watched the N.E. Patriots, play football at a pub called the Salty Pelican surrounded by other Pats fans.  I couldn’t believe all the people wearing Patriots jerseys when I walked in.   As it turns out the owner of the bar is from Boston, and the bar tender from somewhere in New England and the rest of the Pat’s fans in the area congregate there to watch the games.  So much fun!!!

December 15 – December 19:  St. Augustine

On December 15 we departed from Fernandina Beach and the ICW.  We motored down the Atlantic Coast of Florida and came back into the ICW via the Jacksonville Inlet and anchored for the night.  Our next port-o-call was St. Augustine where we spent the next several days.   In a way we had come full circle.   In February of 2010 when we were looking for a boat we could live aboard we had visited St. Augustine to look at a couple boats  we were interested in. We had found a tavern in the old Spanish quarter of the city that had no electricity and was lit entirely by candlelight.   It also had no heat and it was only about 30 degrees that night.  Yup – a freezing cold night in Florida.  Tim and I were the only two patrons in the bar and we had a blast.  We revisited that tavern our first night back in St. Augustine. It was fun to go back.

The old section of St. Augustine is very pretty especially when it is decorated for Christmas.   Lots of decorative snowflakes hanging from the trees and off the balconies of the houses and the Christmas lights were festive.  At night there were trollies that drove tourists around to see towns Christmas lights and decorations.   The trollies would ring their bells or toot their horns and everyone on board would shout Merry Christmas!  The trollies were zooming all over town.  At first we thought the dinging of the trolley bells and the shouts of Merry Christmas from the very merry people aboard the trollies was entertaining and made us smile but not for long.   It seemed like a trolley was stopping next to us every couple of minutes and all the ringing bells and shouting started got annoying.  Bah Humbug!!!!.

We were surprised to run into Paco, Theda, and little Frank Ortega who had spent Thanksgiving with us.  They had been in Charleston S.C. the same time we were but left a few days before us.  We thought they were well ahead of us and it was unlikely we would see them again.  Turns out they had taken a side trip to Darien S.C. so Theda, who is a photographer, could photograph some of the Shrimp boats and local fisherman which allowed us time to catch up.   It is amazing how quickly you strike up friendships with other cruisers and seeing them was like reuniting with old friends! 

The St. Augustine Alligator Farm was a neat experience.  We enjoyed strolling through the zoo and viewing all the alligators, various breeds of crocodiles, birds, and even tortoises and lemurs and snakes.  The exhibits were set up to safely allow you to get a relatively close view of the alligators and crocodiles which was incredibly cool.   I had a little moment of unease in the snake exhibit.   We were looking to see a rather venomous snake in a rather small aquarium.  For the life us, Tim and I could not locate it.  Neither could one of the employees who worked there when we asked her to point it out to us. She even went to talk with a co-worker to see if the snake had been removed so they could safely clean its aquarium. They hadn’t removed the snake.   I could only imagine the damn thing had gotten loose and was slithering around somewhere nearby. Another few minutes of looking with my nose practically flat against the glass I finally spied the little bugger coiled up on a branch.  The snake was small and so well camouflaged Tim still had difficulty locating it after I told him where to look.  I was just glad to see that the snake was in its aquarium.  Phew!

December 20 – 28th:  Our first HOT Christmas!!

We anchored out the next couple of nights after leaving St. Augustine and pulled into Vero Beach on December 22.  We stayed at the Vero Beach Municipal Marina which as it turns out is a very popular place with cruisers.  We were instructed to raft up with a boat named Baloo.   Our neighbors were Bob and Anne Beck who explained they named their boat Baloo because it has as a big butt just like Baloo the bear in Disney’s “The Jungle Book”!  They were great neighbors.  They gave us the run down on the bus schedule, and the best times to try to get internet.

Vero Beach is the first real cruisers community that we have stayed at.  Obviously we have run into cruisers at our various stops along the way but this particular marina seems to be especially set up to cater to cruisers who stop off at Vero to rest and reprovision before heading over to the Bahamas, or the Caribbean Islands, or just heading further south to the Florida Keys.  The moorings are pretty cheap at only $14 per night.  There is a free bus that stops right at the marina about every hour that runs practically all over town.   Conveniently, for those of us cruisers travelling with our dogs there is a huge dog park right next to the marina where our pups can run off-leash and play with other dogs.

There were a few people who lived aboard permanently at the marina but most of the people there were other cruisers.  We ran into several people that we had met previously including our buddy Richard Nista and made several new friends while we were there. 

We had a potluck Christmas dinner with about 60 other cruisers.  There was tons of food and lots of chit chat and laughter.   Tim and I bought some scuba diving gear and folding bikes as our Christmas gifts to each other.  

The Saturday after Christmas we spent the morning finishing our preparations to leave Vero Beach.  We rode our bikes to the beach and went swimming in the ocean.  The water temperature was a perfect 65!!!  Not many of the locals agreed with us.  It is the first time we have been swimming since we left Maine!

I tried to highlight my own hair the night before we left and it is now somewhat orange with streaks of blonde.  I will have to get that fixed professionally somewhere along the way.  Oh well!  

December 28, 2014 – January 3,   

We left Vero Beach on the 28th and continued south down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).   We anchored in Fort Pierce and off Peanut Island near Lake Worth and then went outside to the Atlantic and headed to Miami.  By leaving the ICW in Lake Worth we avoided approximately 22 drawbridges.  Some open on demand and others that have scheduled openings. Also there is a fixed bridge on the ICW just as you come into Miami that is too low for us to pass under.  All those bridges were just too much of a pain in the ass to deal with.  We traveled in one day in the ocean what takes others 3 days in the ICW.

We anchored in Miami just off the Miami Yacht Club for 3 nights.  New Years Eve in Miami was loud.  There were one or two parties nearby blaring music and explosive fireworks that were set off in several locations around us.  5 simultaneous fireworks shows in all.  You could the colorful displays in just about every direction.

We are now on a mooring in Key Biscayne.  It is much more peaceful. 

So far we have not enjoyed our experience in the Miami area.   Most of the motor boats ignore the No Wake Zones and could care less how close they come to us and how big of wake their boat throws up.  When we were coming from the Atlantic to Miami via Fishermans Channel we were passed by a large speed boat that had to be going 60mph.   It was crazy.  The channel is narrow, and there were several boats coming and going and we all had to avoid the dredge barges working in the channel.   Ridiculous! We have met a couple nice folks, mostly other cruisers but have had several instances of people being downright rude.   We miss the nice folks from Nova Scotia and Maine!

We are preparing to cross over to the Bahamas from here.  Yesterday we mailed our application to obtain a permit to bring Shamus into the Bahamas.  In the meantime, we will start provisioning for the Bahamas and have some fun.  We hope to do at least one dive here in the keys before we leave.

November 16:  Solomon’s Island

We had a nice sail today to Solomon’s Island.  We pulled into Zahnhiser’s Marina which is a very nice Marina.  Solomon’s island is a nice little seaside community with some shopping nearby.  We stayed 2 extra nights here in order to avoid a nasty blow which seem to occur every few days in the Bay.

November 19:  Deltaville, Portsmouth/Norfolk

We arrived in Deltaville late afternoon and anchored in front of the marina.  Our plan was to make it to Portsmouth/Norfolk and the start of the ICW the next day.  The forecast for the next day was not good and small craft advisories were posted on the NOAA website.  Other boats were staying another night to wait out the choppy conditions. 

When we awoke the next morning we decided we should be fine if we stick to the leeward shore where the waves will not get a chance to build much.  So we set out and had a nice sail on a close reach which led us out into the middle of the bay.  This was contrary to our plan but allowed us to sail and also get around some nasty shoals along the western shore.  Once out in the middle of the bay we got beat up pretty bad so we rounded the shoal and headed back to the leeward(western) shore.  It was much calmer here but we were forced to motor the remainder of the way to Portsmouth.  Entering Norfolk harbor is not to be done at night because of all the commercial traffic and lights along shore.  We entered the mouth of the harbor around 3:30pm.  The wind had piped up to 30kts and there was a foul 1kt current and 2-3 ft square waves on the nose.  We barely made 4kts.  Once into the harbor we were able to turn to port and sail down the channel to our planned stop for the night, the Scott’s Creek marina.

Norfolk and Portsmouth are the home to many naval bases and shipyards.  You have to be very careful as all the large military ships require you pass them by at least 500ft.  This is a result of the bombing of the USS Cole a few years back.  We saw huge destroyers, aircraft carriers and other naval vessels.  There are many security boats watching for unusual activity which can include picture taking.  Kathy managed to snap a few stealth photos without getting the attention of these boats.  Some pleasure boats have been boarded and searched for taking photos.

November 20:  Dismal Swamp Canal

At this point we needed to decide whether to take the shallower and narrower Dismal Swamp Canal or the Virginia cut of the ICW.  They are roughly the same distance but the Dismal swamp is more scenic and interesting.  Unfortunately it is also shallower.  Our boat draws about 5 ½ feet and the canal is dredged to 6ft.  There is no tide but water levels can vary based on weather so we called ahead to the canal office to check the conditions.  They confirmed that water levels were normal and we should be fine.  We made our way up the Elizabeth River and entered Deep Creek which leads to a lock at the northern end of the canal.  We rose 8ft. in this lock and entered the canal.  The canal is fed by Lake Drummond which keeps the water level consistent unless there is a severe drought.  The lock tenders are very friendly and offer advice and history about the canal.  Following is a little history of the canal.

In May 1763, George Washington made his first visit to the Great Dismal Swamp and suggested draining it and digging a north-south canal through it to connect the waters of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. As the first president, Washington agreed with Virginia Governor Patrick Henry that canals were the easiest answer for an efficient means of internal transportation and urged their creation and improvement.

In 1784, the Dismal Swamp Canal Company was created. Work was started in 1793. The canal was dug completely by hand; most of the labor was done by slaves hired from nearby landowners. It took approximately 12 years of back-breaking construction under highly unfavorable conditions to complete the 22-mile long waterway, which opened in 1805.[3] At about the time the canal opened, the Dismal Swamp Hotel was built astride the state line on the west bank.[4] It was a popular spot for lover's trysts as well as duels; the winner was rarely arrested as the dead man, as well as the crime, were in another state. As the state line split the main salon, the hotel was quite popular with gamblers who would simply move the game to the opposite side of the room with the arrival of the sheriff from the other jurisdiction. No trace of the hotel can be found today.

Tolls were charged for maintenance and improvements. In 1829, the channel was deepened. The waterway was an important route of commerce in the era before railroads and highways became major transportation modes.

We spent the night in the canal at the welcome center.  They have a dock that fits approximately 3 boats.  We pulled in behind a 38ft. Lagoon catamaran sailed by some nice folks from Spain.  The welcome center doubles as a rest area and tourist information center along rt. 17.  They are very accommodating to visiting boats with 24 hour bathrooms, free wifi, a book swap and cruisers lounge.  The entrance to the Dismal Swamp state park is also here and gave us the opportunity to hike some trails with Shamus.

November 22:  Elizabeth City

In the morning we woke to find 24° temps and frost on the docks.  Thank God we have a nice heater.  Our goal was to make Elizabeth City, a short ways past the end of the canal.  We motored along to the South Mills lock and bridge after bumping some submerged logs along the way.  It takes a little time to get used to seeing single digits on the depth sounder for days on end.  In Maine we get nervous when the depth falls below 30ft.  Around here you are measuring in inches as sometimes we only had a few under our keel.  And not only do you need to watch the depth but you have to also look up and make sure you will not hit any tree branches with your mast as many overhang the canal.

Elizabeth City has a nice free dock and are very welcoming to visiting boats.  It is amazing how many towns offer free dockage for a night or two.  This town, however, felt a little odd as it was Saturday and just about every business in town was closed.  One exciting note about Elizabeth City is that we noticed Palmetto bushes growing in the yards.  Our first sign of warmer climates to come!

November 23:  Alligator River

We had a nice calm day to cross Albemarle Sound and run the Alligator River which can get very choppy in high winds from certain directions which was the forecast for the night and following day.  Transiting the canals in this weather is usually no problem but the shallow waters of the sounds can be treacherous.  If we stayed in Elizabeth city to wait out the Gale we would have lost 2 days.   So we had an easy trip across the sound and we poked up into the Alligator River beyond the entrance to the next canal.  We found a spot in the river that was about 10ft. deep and in line with the SE winds forecast for the night.  We had to take Shamus to shore and this marshy area did not offer any stable landing area or firm ground to walk on.  Not to mention the possibilities of Alligators!  There was a small boat ramp near the anchorage that was the perfect solution.  It was not right on the river but a little ways up a very narrow and shallow stream.  I kept picturing all those movies where folks are in a small boat in the swamp and you see all the alligators rushing into the water hoping for an easy meal!

The night turned out to be a little rougher than forecast.  We were supposed to get winds 15-20kts which is not terribly bad.  Instead we got winds sustained at 30kts and gusting to 40.  The worst of this arrived around 2am so I got up and checked on our position to ensure our anchor was not dragging and also monitor the anchor until the winds eased a bit.  Our anchor was dug deep in Carolina mud so it never budged!  Although very windy with the swamplands offering little protection it did provide us shelter from the waves so the boat swung a little but was otherwise very comfortable.

November 24:  Bellhaven

The next canal we needed to transit is the Aliigator-Pungo canal.  It is deeper and wider that the Dismal Swamp canal and also very pretty.  We pulled into the Dowery Creek Marina at the end of the canal and spent the night.  It is a very nice place with a beautiful clubhouse and pool for cruisers.  They also have free washers and clean showers.  This marina caters mainly to the transients that frequent the ICW during the spring and fall.  Every night they host a small cocktail party in the cruiser’s lounge.  We attended and chatted with the owners, other cruisers and local live aboards.

October 29 – Another night in Cuttyhunk

Due to wind and sea conditions we stayed another night in Cuttyhunk but we pulled anchor and spent the night rafted up at the dock.   We explored a little more of the island.  There are several bunkers on the west side of the island that overlook the island and the surrounding waters of the Atlantic Ocean.   The bunkers were built by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1941 to watch out for Nazi U-boats during WWII.  

Other than that we just puttered around doing little chores on the boat.

October 30 – Block Island 

We left Cuttyhunk and had a beautiful sail across Rhode Island Sound to Block Island.  It was Tim’s first visit to Block Island.  I had been there several times with my family when I was a teenager but it might as well have been my first; I recognized very little of it.   We anchored in New Harbor otherwise known as Great Salt Pond and walked over to town which overlooks Old Harbor.  Since this is mostly a tourist town most of the hotels, shops and pubs had just closed for the season.   We found a small clothing shop that was open and stopped in to ask the proprietor if there was any place open where we could grab a beer.  She said she had beer in her fridge that she wanted to get rid of and whipped out two Budweiser’s for us.  We tried to refuse the Buds (we are beer snobs!) but she wouldn’t hear of it so we left her shop with the two buds and directions to a local pub that was still open.   Shamus was invited into the pub as it doesn’t serve food.  We enjoyed meeting the folks who stopped in and even ended up witnessing a spat between two of the patrons who were sitting on either side of us at the bar.   The two buds were abandoned on the steps of the pub.  Hopefully someone will find and enjoy them!

We didn’t stay long as another Nor’easter was forecasted to blow through on the weekend so we decided to head to Westbrook, CT where we would have good protection from the storm.

October 31 – November 3: Westbrook, CT

We left Block Island early in the morning in order to time our arrival at “The Race” to be at slack tide (the period of relatively still water between high and low tide). The Race is the narrow eastern entrance into Long Island Sound through which the Sound’s tides pass in and out of every day and if timed incorrectly can be notoriously difficult to navigate.  The Race overlies part of a moraine, a ribbon of boulders and rocks left behind by a retreating ice age glacier.  Parts of the moraine are above water forming Plum, Great Gull and Fishers Islands which essentially form what amounts to a kind of narrow gorge through which the Race flows.  The underwater sections of the moraine are higher than the surrounding floor of Long Island Sound, forcing water to go up and over it. These two constricting forces, from the sides and from below, force huge volumes of water through a comparatively small space, causing currents that can run as fast as 5 knots and if there is wind opposing the current there will also be large and erratic waves.  We had a beautiful broad reach over to the Race and thanks to Tim’s meticulous planning we hit the Race exactly at slack tide and had an uneventful entrance into Long Island Sound.

We docked at a slip at the Brewer’s Marina in Westbrook, CT.   This size of the marina is unbelievable.  It is a city of boats and there are two swimming pools, playgrounds, and picnic areas throughout the marina.   The staff there was incredibly nice and helpful.   They shuttled us to the grocery store and West Marine.  We planned on leaving Connecticut on Monday but delayed our departure until Tuesday as Tim started having some painful muscle spasms in his lower back.   Nothing strenuous brought them on – just leaning over to pick up a pen or something off the nav station.  Anyway, sea conditions in the Long Island Sound were supposed to be choppy on Monday and a bouncing, rolling boat would have been agony for Tim so we relaxed for another day and departed Tuesday.

Nov 4: Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY

We motored across Long Island Sound to Port Jefferson, Long Island and picked up a mooring there for the night.  We didn’t explore the area.  We only went ashore to a nice little beach to walk and play with Shamus.   

We were pushing to get to Jersey City, NJ or Staten Island, NY before the weekend as we planned an offshore passage off the New Jersey coast to Cape May, NJ which we estimated to be about a 30 hour trip.   We hoped if we made the passage on a weekend then some of Tim’s brothers or our friend Chris Allen could join us so we could have shorter night watches.

Nov 5: City Island, The Bronx

We left Port Jefferson and had planned on anchoring for the night in a small anchorage close to the Throgs Neck Bridge but it was too shallow for our boat so we spent the night on a mooring in City Island, the Bronx.  Again we didn’t do much exploring.   We did take a nice walk to a small neighborhood grocery store a couple blocks from the Marina.  It was a really neat little area with several little pubs and galleries.   

Nov 6: Hell Gate and Lady Liberty

Hell Gate is another section of our passage where careful attention to the tidal currents is essential.  Hell Gate is the tidal strait that connects three major bodies of water; The New York Upper Bay, Long Island Sound, and the Hudson River via the Harlem River.  On any given tidal cycle the “Gate” is going to have currents usually in excess of 3.5-4.0 knots except at slack tide.  The convergence of these different waterways as well as the tidal currents and wind can make the waters here particularly turbulent and challenging.   Large commercial tugs and tankers take special care transiting this section of water so you can imagine that it is imperative for a small sailing vessel like ours to time the passage through Hell Gate correctly. Failure to do so not only would leave you open to getting a good ass kicking by mother nature but given the commercial traffic through Hell Gate it certainly would not be a healthy choice to end up unintentionally playing chicken in the channel with 25,000 ton steel vessel!

It was a rainy morning but visibility was still good.  Again, Tim’s careful planning had us arrive at Hell Gate at slack tide and we had an uneventful passage through the Gate and a nice cruise down the East River to New York Harbor.   It was great having our AIS.  We could see all the commercial traffic, their direction and speed and just as importantly they could see us.  In fact, one tug and barge reached out and asked if they could get by us before passing under one of the bridges.   We had no problem slowing down for them to pass.

We anchored in Liberty State Park, Jersey City which is very close to and offers a great view of the Statue of Liberty and the Freedom Tower. 

My sister, Colleen, lives in Hoboken which was less than 10 miles from the anchorage.  She picked us up and we spent a great evening together at a restaurant called Skinners Loft in Jersey City! 

Nov 7:  Great Kills Harbor, Staten Island NY

We left the anchorage at Liberty State Park early in the morning for Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island.   The skies had cleared and we had great views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Manhattan skyline especially of the Freedom Tower.

We had a nice sail over to Great Kills Harbor and picked up a slip for the night at Mansion Marina.   Tim and I each rented a car.   I was headed out Blairstown, NJ to see my family for the day and then back to the boat later that evening.

We estimated the trip from Staten Island to Cape May would be about 30 hours.  Shamus isn’t trained to go to the bathroom on the boat (yet) so Tim drove him to Cape May where we put him a nice kennel until Sunday morning.  He was also meeting our good friend Chris Allen in Cape May.  Chris pulled some very long hours in his truck to drive all the way down from Maine to help us with the overnight passage of the NJ coast.   Trust me when I say Chris, Tim and I looked into all modes of transportation and rendezvous points to meet up with Chris and then reunite him with his truck for his drive back to Maine.  Crazy as it seems Chris driving all the way to Cape May and then back to Staten Island with Tim worked out the best. 

Nov 8: Offshore Passage of the Jersey Coast / American Chop Suey on Deck

Chris and Tim arrived back at the boat from Cape May around 3:30 a.m.   Tim and I were up a couple hours later to return the rental cars.  We got back to the boat around 7 a.m. and started out for Cape May shortly thereafter.

The forecast called for northwest winds 10 – 15 knots changing to southwest late in the afternoon with seas building to 3 – 4 feet.  The forecast turned out to be fairly accurate.  We started the trip with some nice wind and calm seas and were able sail several hours before the wind turned to the southwest (right on the nose) and we needed to start the engine. 

The waves started to build late in the afternoon or early evening.  Carina started bucking a bit but all of us were very comfortable.  Even in the rougher conditions I was able prepare us a nice warm dinner of American Chop Suey. 

Our night watch schedule was to each take 2 hours at the helm and then four hours off to rest.  I went to bed around 8 p.m. and came out to take my watch around mid-night.  We were just offshore of the very brightly lit up Atlantic City.   Tim had just taken the helm from Chris and said he was still good to go for a while.  The sea conditions had gotten a bit worse and between the wind, waves and current we weren’t making any real headway sticking directly to our course.  We put out the staysail to stabilize the boat and started tacking back and forth across our course line.  It was a somewhat more comfortable ride and we were able to make pretty good headway.   When something crashed I stuck my head down the companion way to take a look below and then I also put my head down when I was helping tack the staysail.   Not such a good move for me in particular to make in rough seas.  It gets me everytime. My stomach curdled and my portion of American Chop Suey hit the deck – literally!  Yuck!  As is typical for me when I get a little sea sick the involuntary clearing of my tummy makes me feel better almost instantly as long as I stay in a somewhat reclined position.  Sitting up usually brings on another wave of nausea and vomiting.  So I spent the next couple of hours reclining, vomiting if I sat up to help, and staring at the lights of Atlantic City while Tim and Chris took turns at the helm.  Around 3:30 a.m.  I rallied and took the helm until about 7:30 a.m.   Tim relieved me and we arrived in Cape May at 9:15 a.m and picked up a slip at the South Jersey Marina.

Nov 9 – 10:  Cape May, NJ

Shamus was really happy to see us when we retrieved him from the kennel in Cape May.  As always he was especially ecstatic to see Chris who is one of his most favorite people in the world.   Chris left for Maine after grabbing a shower at the marina.  We offered Chris a nice hot breakfast and a bunk to catch some sleep before he started his road trip back to Maine but he was anxious to get going.   I worried about his return drive as he had two long nights in a row without much sleep but he made it home just fine.

Chris, we can’t begin to thank you enough for helping us out!!!. It would have been a difficult night without your help especially since I had a short bout of sea sickness that sidelined me for a bit.  You and Jen are the best of friends!  Just pick up the phone when we can return the favor and make plans to come visit us in the warmer climates where you and Jen can do some diving!

Tim and I didn’t have much energy to do more than get a bite to eat and straighten up the boat a bit before dropping into bed for a long nap.  We woke up long enough to take Shamus for a nice walk, eat dinner and go back to bed for the night.   

On Sunday, we decided to stay another day in Cape May.   We did a thorough cleaning of the boat inside and out and I hauled Tim up the mast so he could replace the wind direction vane.  After finishing up our chores we explored the town of Cape May a little bit.  It is a nice little village especially the Pedestrian Mall area.   We splurged and bought some very yummy fudge and salt water taffy.  

We needed to determine if we could transit the Cape May Canal to enter the Delaware Bay or if we would need to go down around the peninsula which would add a couple hours to our trip.  The issue is whether there was enough clearance to pass under the two bridges in the Cape May Canal.   The height to the bottom of the bridges is 54’ at mean high water.  Our mast height is 56’. Everything Tim researched seemed to indicate if we transited under the bridges at dead low tide we might be able to squeak under.   After double checking all the information he could find and actually walking over to see the first bridge Tim felt we should give it a shot.   Dead low tide was around 4 a.m.  The plan was to glide up to the bridge in neutral or just barely in gear to see if we would clear the first bridge girder.  If not we would not clear the bridge we would do a hard reverse to stop our forward momentum turn around and head around the peninsula.    

Nov 11 - Nov 12:  Chesapeake City, MD

4 a.m. arrived bright and early.  The moon and stars were still out and it was a beautiful morning.   We followed our plan and approached the first bridge at dead low tide… and… we made it! Just!  Our VFH antenna, which is flexible, hit every girder on the way under the bridge.  

When passing under the second bridge we had a close call with an electric cable hanging down which powers the green navigation light illuminating the height of the bridge.  We almost hooked it with the masthead and had to back down hard to avoid it having break off equipment that is mounted on the top of the mast! PHEW!     Once we were certain everything was okay with the equipment on the masthead, we passed under the bridge no problem then changed our underwear and proceeded into Delaware Bay. 

We crossed Delaware Bay and transited most of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (CDC).  We stopped in Chesapeake City, Maryland which is still inside but toward the end of the canal.  It is a great place to stop.  It is a quaint little historic village filled with nice little shops and galleries.  There is an interesting museum there about the history of the CDC, and plenty of places to walk Shamus.  The “Deck” at the Chesapeake Inn is a lot of fun.  We met a very nice woman named Jersey who we had a great time talking with and sharing stories.  She was a veteran of the army and navy and had served our country in some very cool places.  It was Veterans Day so we made sure to thank her for her service to our great country.   

Tim’s parents met us on the 12th for lunch at the Chesapeake Inn.  It was great to spend time with them.   Hopefully, they will come visit us when we get to warmer climates!  It was a little too late after lunch to head to another anchorage so we spent another night in in Chesapeake City.

November 13:  Annapolis

The next day we sailed down Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis where I hope to meet up with a few friends from my college days at the University of Maryland.  I haven’t been down here in 17 years so it will be nice to reunite with those who can meet up with us on such short notice.  

November 14:  Annapolis Day 2

I had forgotten how beautiful Annapolis is.  There is history everywhere you look.  It was nice place just to stroll around.  We had lunch at McGarvey’s with Bev Cauley, a friend from college.  It was fabulous to see and catch up with Bev and hear how well her husband Mike and sons are doing and also to get the news on some other mutual friends we shared during our college years.    

November 15:  Fairhaven

This morning we had breakfast with one of my closest friends from college – Amy Dunne. Yesterday at lunch Bev had described Amy as a “breath of fresh air!”  Amy is absolutely irrepressible and it was wonderful to spend time with her. Tim and I are both still smiling.   I will definitely not let so many years pass between our next visit!   

After our visit with Amy, Tim and I sailed away from Annapolis and we are now anchored off Fairhaven, MD.  We hope to be in Portsmouth, VA by Tuesday.

October 20 – October 24:  DiMillos

We arrived back in Portland on Monday, October 20.  It was great to be back on board and sleeping in our own bunk.   A Nor’easter was predicted to blow in Wednesday so we picked up a slip for the week at DiMillos where we had a slip while living aboard in Portland!   We spent the week preparing for our departure south on Saturday.   We got a nice surprise visit by my dad and his friend Chuck who were returning to New Jersey from a bird hunting trip up in the North woods of Maine.  We had a nice lunch with them before they hit the road again and Tim and I finished up the things on our “to do“ list before leaving early in the morning to start South.

October 25:  Stowaways, Wave Riders, Spouts:  Portland to Brace Harbor, Cape Ann

We departed Portland around 7:30 A.M. headed for Brace Harbor, on Cape Ann in Massachusetts.   We motor sailed almost the entire way as the winds were basically WSW.  We did cut the engine and sailed a little because a bearing went bad in our alternator off of Cape Porpoise.   Luckily, we had a spare on board.   Tim, my very handy man, installed the new alternator while I got to do a little sailing albeit a little off our course as I had to bear off a little to fill the sails.

At some point while I was sailing along and Tim was fixing the engine a little bird landed on deck and stowed away until we arrived at Cape Ann.  He hopped around on deck, and flew around the dodger but he spent most of the time tucked in out of the wind between the blocks at the base of the mast.

Tim took over the wheel while I made lunch and called me up from the galley when he saw a whale spouting in the distance.  Would have been great to see the whale but it was still very cool to see one spouting!

Later in the afternoon we experienced our best wildlife encounter in all our years of sailing.   Some large porpoises were very close to our boat.  They surfed our bow wave and our wake.  They followed closely behind us for a while and one or two provided us with a spectacular aerial display as they jumped vertically out of the water.   FANTASTIC!!!

We arrived in Brace Harbor and anchored after dark.   Tim took Shamus to shore while I finished preparing dinner. I had made a meatloaf along the way and hoped it would be done baking by the time we arrived but was having a little trouble with the oven.  The temp wouldn’t rise above 225 degrees and the burner blew out frequently.   Still I managed to get the dam thing baked and we ended up having a nice meal after a long day on the water.

Brace Harbor is not a very pretty anchorage and there were rollers at night during the high tide.  It does have a small beach were we could walk Shamus.  We decided we would return here only if we needed too.

The rudder position censor and autopilot are being a little finicky.   We could still use it but had to monitor it closely which is not really a problem for us as we always have someone at the helm while the boat is under way.

So we had a couple small glitches with the boat along the way but some fabulous encounters with mother nature!  Thank goodness I have Tim.  I would have been calling Sea Tow when the alternator blew and I would have missed seeing the whale spouting and the dolphins since I was sleeping when they arrived on our bow wave!   Once we get the oven issue fixed I guess I owe him a few tasty treats!

October 26:  Plymouth, Massachusetts

We motor sailed in big seas to Plymouth, MA on Sunday, October 26.  We left Brace Harbor early in the morning and arrived in Plymouth in time to tune into the Patriots game around the start of the second quarter.  Plymouth is definitely a tourist town – serving mostly tourists arriving by car.  The Harbormaster does have about 3 moorings for rent just off the end of the breakwater as you enter Plymouth Harbor.   They charge $35 a night for the mooring and you must pay the mooring fee via check or money order.  No cash or credit cards accepted.   There are no showers or bathrooms available for cruisers included with the mooring fee.   The moorings are close to Plymouth Plantation State Park.  The monument that encloses “Plymouth Rock” and the replica of the Mayflower can both be seen from the mooring.  There is also a small dinghy dock located next to the Mayflower.   During the day, the park has public restrooms but I am not sure they are open at night.

There are a couple small markets up the hill from dinghy dock next to the Mayflower where you can pick up some staples but there wasn’t a grocery store where you could really provision well within walking distance.   Every other building seemed to be a tavern so there is no shortage of beer on tap if you’re thirsty!

I have to say – in my opinion – that Plymouth Rock itself seemed a bit cheesy!  The “rock” is a rather small boulder surrounded by gothic pillars.  It is rather overdone considering  no one really knows if the arriving pilgrims actually stepped off the Mayflower directly onto the Plymouth Rock or not.   The story of them doing so didn’t come about until 120 years after they arrived!  Still it has become the symbolic stepping stone of the first settlers to come to the new world so I agree it does deserve attention – but is just such a wee little thing!

October 27:  Cataumet, Kingman Yacht Center

The next day we had a nice sail down to the Cape Cod Canal, motored through and picked up my dad’s mooring at Kingman’s Yacht Center in Cataumet, Massachusetts for the night.   It was pretty quiet there this time of year but during the height of summer it is quite busy.  

October 28:  Cuttyhunk – the Elizabeth Islands

This morning Tim was up bright and early. He checked out my oven and found the jet for the oven burner was almost completely clogged.  After cleaning it out my oven was back to working great and I will be getting back to continuing to learn about baking bread and making other tasty foods!

He also re-wired the connections for the rudder censor and the autopilot.   They worked perfectly today when we left Kingman and motored southwest across Buzzards Bay to Cuttyhunk.

We are currently anchored in the pond at Cuttyhunk.  All the moorings have been pulled for the season and the small businesses that are open during the height of summer are closed.   Given the number of logs marking moorings it is easy to tell that there are A LOT of moorings here in the pond and even more outside the channel.   I am sure there are rental cottages on shore but it is obvious this place is packed with boats during the summer season.  I am glad we are here now when it is quiet and peaceful so we can appreciate how pretty it is.  

From here we will continue on to Block Island, across Long Island Sound and down the East River as we continue south.  It will be really cool to sail past the Statue of Liberty.   I have flown around it in a small plane but I hope sailing around her will let us see her as she did to the to the thousands of immigrants she welcomed to our country, including Tim’s grandfather and family who entered through Ellis Island when they arrived in America from Scotland!

October 4 – October 6:  Mt. Snow to Stowe VT

We had made reservations to spend a couple days and nights in Stowe, Vermont where we wanted to check out the mountain biking trails.    We left New Jersey on Saturday, October 4 to get a head start on our drive to Stowe.  We didn’t want to lose a whole day of biking by driving the entire distance to Stowe from NJ in a single day. So we drove to Mt. Snow Vermont and spent the night in a cozy bed and breakfast before heading over to Stowe.  

On Sunday, Oct 5, on our way from Mt. Snow to Stowe we stopped at President Calvin Coolidge’s family homestead in Plymouth, Vermont where he was born and buried.   His homestead is located in an absolutely stunning part of Vermont.   While it was very cool to see President Coolidge’s homestead Tim had an ulterior motive for the visit.   He had been there before and knew the Plymouth Cheese Factory is also located there.   The Plymouth Cheese Factory was founded by John Coolidge, the President’s father, in 1890. The factory was operational until 1934 when it had to close due to a milk shortage that occurred during the Great Depression.  The factory was re-opened in 1960 by John Coolidge, the sole surviving child of President Calvin Coolidge. From 1960-1998 John Coolidge re-introduced Plymouth Cheese, and at the age of 92 sold the cheese factory to the State of Vermont.  The recipe for what became Plymouth Cheese arrived with the first European settlers to the New World. They are still using the same recipe and process that they developed back in 1890 and let me tell you it is some very tasty cheese!  Plymouth VT is a very worthwhile place to visit  - not only is it spectacularly beautiful but if  you like U.S. history you can learn some interesting things about President Coolidge while snacking on some equally famous and very yummy cheese!

After purchasing a suitable quantity of presidential cheese we continued north along rt. 100 to another beautiful place Tim spent time in; Rochester, VT.  We  stopped at a bike shop in Rochester for two reasons.  We needed some cool weather leggings for biking since we forgot to bring ours and also to see if we could find a good place to mountain bike on our way to Stowe.   We scored in that I found some bike pants and the bike shop owner directed us to some bike trails near Blueberry Lake in Warren, Vermont.  We were looking forward to getting on our bikes and exploring some new trails.  Shamus seemed to be equally excited about getting out of the truck to run along and explore with us.   The trails were a lot of fun - very flowy descents with good switch backs to climb back out.  Unfortunately, Tim had a fall and hurt is elbow and wrist. Bummer!   Nothing exciting, he simply fell over while stopped.  Dumbass! 

We arrived at the Ten Acre Lodge in Stowe, Vt. Sunday evening.  Our room was nice and very comfortable and they are obviously pet friendly!   Grabbed some dinner, hit the grocery store to buy food for breakfast and lunch and then tucked ourselves in for the night to make sure we were well rested to ride in the morning. 

Monday morning we visited the iRide Bike Shop as they are the place to go in Stowe for information about the area’s bike trails.   We were able to ride the Cady Hill Forest Trail system from their parking lot.  Stowe is definitely putting some work into building nice trails.  They had a decent trail map and the trails we rode were well marked making them easy to navigate.   Two trails, Florence and Snake were so new that the person providing us with trail information at iRide had to draw their location in on the trail map.  Both of the new trails had been machine built and were surprisingly well packed down in the short time since they were cut. Florence is a one-way very fast descent through the woods.  I had a huge smile on my face when I arrived at the bottom of the Florence trail! Tim did too but couldn’t ride as aggressively as he wanted due to the injury to his elbow and wrist.   “Snake” was a great climb with plenty of switchbacks.  We rode most of the Caddy Hill Forest Trails and ended our day doing another descent back down Florence!   Fun! Fun! Fun!

October 7 – October 13:  Burke, VT / Kingdom Trails

On Tuesday, October 7, we left Stowe.   We drove the short distance to Burlington, VT because I had never been there and was interested in seeing it.   We parked down on the waterfront of Lake Champlain and walked around town and did a little window shopping on Church Street.  We didn’t stay long as we wanted to get over to East Burke, VT – our favorite place for mountain biking and skiing.  It was good to be back at the Bike Barn and to have some time with our good friends Charles and Tabitha.

The trails were in great condition and over the week we were there we rode about 70 miles and our elevation gain was about 8000 feet (cumulative). 

The new Tiki Bar was a blast and Robert and Rachel’s Food Truck which is parked right next to the Tiki Bar served up some delicious food!

East Burke is one of Tim’s and my favorite places and we always love being there.   I already can’t wait to go back.  The only downside to our recent visit was it was the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend so the bike trails were unbelievably crowded on Saturday, Oct. 11.  So much so that Tim and I decided to hike on Sunday rather than ride.  

October 13 – October 20:  Camp weekend in Belgrade Lakes, Maine

Tim and I did one more ride at Kingdome Trails on Monday morning, October 13th before driving to the Reilley family camp in Belgrade Lakes, Maine.   We had a couple of quiet days puttering around the camp.  We went for a bike ride at Bond Brook in Augusta but had to cut the ride short after about 3 miles as I started blowing out the spokes on my rear tire. 

Tim’s four brothers were joining us for the weekend to close up the camp until next spring.  Mark, John, and Rob arrived late Friday afternoon and Doug arrived late that night.   We soon opened up our Tiki Bar. We ate some good food, got the camp buttoned up for the weekend, and had tons of fun with the brothers! 

We are back in the Portland area.  We returned to Caso bay a few weeks ago and have been sailing this area.  We are currently anchored in Falmouth and have been running errands, meeting up with friends and riding our bikes.

We are preparing to do some shore side trips to NJ, PA and VT to visit family and do some mountain biking.  We plan to start heading south in mid-October.

As I write this Tim and I hang on a mooring in Rockland.   It is September 6 and we have been back in Maine for 3 fabulous weeks.  The weather has been fantastic with just a couple days of fog.  The winds have been cooperative and we have mostly sailed from anchorage to anchorage.  We have returned to some of our favorite places, rendezvoused with good friends, met some internet friends face to face, spent some time with family and have enjoyed exploring places new to us. 

We love having the Seldon Top-Down furler for our asymmetrical spinnaker.  We have flown the spinnaker several times and definitely wouldn’t have done so if we were still using the sock.   Not only does the furler make deploying the spinnaker easy, it is also simpler to hoist and drop the sail and the entire unit coils up much smaller than than the sock, making it much easier to stow.  With the spinnaker flying we have had some beautiful hours sailing in soft winds – without it we have would have been using our engine much more often.

The highlights:

August 18 – 19 Buckle Island

Buckle is one of our favorite spots. Tim and I harvested mussels for the first time.   We hung them off the stern in a net bag for a couple hours but that wasn’t quite long enough for the mussels to get rid of all the grit.  Still they were yummy – grit and all!

While at Buckle we ran into some folks we had previously met in Quahog Bay last year.  We originally introduced ourselves to them because they had a Mirror sailing dinghy as their tender.  Tim and his father built one of these boats 40 years ago and is what Tim learned to sail on.  They are very popular in the UK but very rare in the US.  Tim’s father and some friends imported the first kits into the US.  It was great to see sailing through the anchorage.

August 20 – Holbrook Island – Rendezvous with the Collins’

The morning of Aug 20 brought clear skies and a soft southerly wind – a great direction to sail up Eggomoggin Reach so we deployed the spinnaker and set off for another of our favorite locations - Tom Cod Cove / the Holbrook Island Sanctuary.   We had to briefly motor around Cape Rosier but other than that the sailing was great and we were able to sail right into Tom Cod Cove.

We had let Rodd and Cara know our destination and were glad to see them there when we arrived.   As always we had a great night of fun with Rodd, Cara and Zoe – too much fun!  So nice to be reunited with good friends!

August 21 – 22 Belfast

Tim and I have said several times over the past few years that we needed to visit Belfast.  We have heard such great things about it and we also wanted to meet up with Al Pickering and his wife Kathy who is the Harbormaster.  Tim and Al had corresponded on a couple different sailing forums and Al had offered to buy us a beer if we got to Belfast. 

We met Al and Kathy at the Three Tides -  a great microbrewery and restaurant.  It is a new favorite place for us! It was pleasure to have a couple beers with Al and Kathy and talk about boats and dogs!   We want to wish them good luck with their new “boat puppy!”

One of the highlights of our stay in Belfast was meeting a wonderful lady named Margaret who is 92 years old but seems years younger both physically and in spirit.  What a spitfire!  Tim and I had taken a shuttle bus from the harbor to Hannaford, a great grocery store chain in New England.  Margaret had asked Tim for assistance twice in the grocery store and then she ended up waiting for and taking the shuttle bus with us on our return trip to the harbor.  She was incredibly funny and very interesting.  She is British and had come over here in 1946 after the WWII to marry an American GI she had known for only eight months. She talked a bit about her experience in London during the war.  She said the bombing of London by the Nazi’s is not something that anyone who lived through it can ever forget or possibly explain to someone who hadn’t been there.   During the war she was employed by the war department and Winston Churchill’s daughter was her commander.  Margaret was so fun and fascinating to meet - we could have listened to her all day. 

August 23 – Opechee Island

We left Belfast and started working our way back towards Northeast Harbor.   We spent the night at the anchorage on the north end of Casco Passage located between Opechee, Black and Eagle Islands.  It was our first time to this anchorage.  There are some nice beaches making it easy to get ashore and would be a great place for a lobster bake.   Shamus almost got in trouble!  We took him to for his morning walk on Black Island.  He got the scent of a critter as soon as his paws hit shore.   I looked up in the woods to see a raccoon that seemed almost as big as Shamus scoot by.  Luckily Shamus hadn’t found it yet! Phew! 

August 24 – August 28 Northeast Harbor (NEH)

We returned to NEH on Sunday, August 24th to pick up our mail and various parts we had ordered for repairs that we were having delivered to the NEH marina.   We came across our good friends Gail and Randy Rice . They introduced Tim and I to their friends and fellow cruisers Mark and Claire and we all enjoyed a lot of laughs over cocktails and a fabulous dinner that Gail whipped up for us all.   Gail and Randy described some nice hiking trails that start in and surround NEH and which are outside of Acadia National Park.  We found the trails and enjoyed walking the trails that wind through the beautiful forest surrounding the town.   We really liked that the trail heads were a short walk from the marina and better yet since they are outside the park – not crowded. 

We rode our mountain bikes a total of 32 miles on the carriage roads in the national park over a two day span.   I can’t remember the amount of vertical we climbed.  There are no shortages of hills but the fast descents are worth the climbs!  The views are amazing and riding the carriage roads offer a great way to explore Acadia National Park.   Maybe one day the park will actually design or designate some trails for mountain bikers.   That would be fabulous!

We received our mail and the parts we had ordered – one of which was a new engine driven generator / alternator.  For those of you who are non-mechanical like me the generator / alternator converts DC electrical current generated by our batteries to 110 volt AC electrical current.   If you have been following our blog you might remember the alternator stopped working enroute to the Bras Dor’s Lakes.  We had shipped it back to the manufacturer in Texas with the hopes that whatever the issue was it could be repaired. Unfortunately we weren’t so lucky.  The alternator we sent back was about 16 years old and certain parts for it are no longer manufactured and it couldn’t be repaired so we dished out the dough for an updated model.  Tim got the new alternator hooked up only to find out that AC converter for the unit also had issues so he removed that and shipped it back to the manufacturer.  So no AC electricity yet but we are living just fine without it.  

August 29 Buckle Island Again – Yippee!

The last parts we ordered came in on Thursday evening so we were able to depart NEH on Friday morning.  We love NEH but were glad to be on our way.

August 30 – Galley Cove

The wind conditions were perfect for a downwind sail into Blue Hill Bay which for some reason we have never explored.  So glad we did.  We found a new favorite anchorage off the northeastern coast of Bartlett Island in Blue Hill Bay called Galley Cove.   The island has beautiful trails and lots of old hardwood growth in the forests. 

Poor Shamus had some intestinal issues that night.  Poor us – rowing him to shore a couple times in the middle of the night and the wee hours of the morning.  On the bright side the bioluminescence was spectacular and I witnessed a beautiful sunrise! 

August 31 – Blue Hill Harbor

Finally had some Gifford’s Ice Cream.   The Yacht  Club was nice.  Not that appealing as it drains during low tide so you can only take the dinghy to town 2 hours either side of high tide.   We did get a few provisions.  Not a great place to walk pup.

Sept 1 – Campbell Island

Campbell Island is on the southeast side of Deer Isle in Greenlaw Cove.  Yet another anchorage we were visiting for the first time.    The anchorage  is very open but pretty and you can watch boats sailing up and down Eggomoggin Reach.   There are a couple nice beaches to land the dinghy and a couple campsites for kayakers.   We took Shamus to shore for his evening walk and on our return were hailed over to a lobster boat where we met Buster and a couple other people and about four dogs.   We had a ton of laughs with them.  What great folks!  There is a great trail around the island.   We will definitely return here.

Sept 2 – Thick Fog

The morning brought thick but not unexpected fog.   We waited until about 1PM but it didn’t burn off at all.  We wanted to spend the night in Perry Creek as we were planned to pick up Tim’s brother Mark and his wife Diana in North Haven the next morning.   We motored the entire way.  Visibility in the fog ranged from 50 yards to a mile.  Dodging lobster pots in the fog!

It is always nice to visit Perry Creek.  It is a great anchorage and not crowded at all this time of year.

Sept 3 – My birthday!

Best thing about my birthday is that having another one is MUCH better than the alternative!   It was a beautiful sunny day. We picked up Mark and Di in North Haven and sailed over to Merchant Row.   We anchored in between Round and McGlathery Islands.   Mark and Tim took the dinghy and chased down a lobsterman to buy some lobbies for dinner!  We invited Bob, on a neighboring boat who was out cruising by himself, to join us for our little lobster bake that evening on the island.  What a blast!  First lobsters we have had this summer and they were delicious!  We had a stunning moonrise and the stars were spectacular! 

Sept 4 – Isle Au Haut

Great sail to Isle Au Haut where we picked up a mooring in the Thoroughfare.   We always enjoy this spot.  We enjoyed some short walks around the island. 

Sept 5 – Long Cove – Vinalhaven

My dad called the prior evening to say he was planning on coming up for a visit on Sunday and we decided to meet in Rockland.   We had a nice southerly wind and decided to sail over to Long Cove on the western side of Vinalhaven Island.   We haven’t spent much time on this side of Vinalhaven but there seems to be a lot of pretty anchorages to explore.  We liked Long Cove and when we looked at Google Maps there seems to be a park that borders the inner part of the Cove.  We will need to explore this area a bit more.  We enjoyed sitting on the deck under a beautiful moon looking down Hurricane Sound.   I can’t think of a nicer way to end my day on a boat! 

September 6 – Rockland

We sailed over to Rockland and picked up a mooring from the harbormaster.   Conditions were foggy but cleared the closer we came to the mainland.   We were expecting strong thunderstorms to pass through this afternoon and evening but it seems they passed just north and west of us.  So far there have only been a couple rumbles of thunder and some rain and the radar looks pretty good at the moment– we aren’t complaining!
Tomorrow should be sunny and pleasant.   We are looking forward to a visit from my dad! 

The New England Patriots have their seasoning opening game in Miami tomorrow and we hope to catch the game somewhere here in town.  Go Pats!