Yet another beautiful sunset

Yet another beautiful sunset
Approaching Charleston last fall

Monday, November 15, 2010

Useppa Island SM 23 to Sarasota, FL SM 74




November 12, Friday:

On the right: Light house at the entrance to Mystic River, CT


At left, yours truly with three "Nuns", they were a team in the 5 legged relay(Downhill skiing, 10 mile cross country ski, 26 mile bike, 6 mile run, 2 mile kayak and 1/2 mile sprint, in Bend Oregon last winter. The team name The 3 Bad Habits, from left to right were Tequila, Chocolate, and Caffeine. Of course this has nothing to do with the cruise, but I threw it in just for fun.

We had some boisterous winds starting out today. Rose at dawn and were underway by 7:30. Winds were northeast at 15-20. We were planning on an outside passage to be able to sail on the last day of our cruise. A few miles in we had to decide if it was going to be to tough a slog up wind outside. After checking the bridges ahead we found 9, most of which would open on request, but added to that it was a slow and twisted channel in many spots. So we elected to go out Boca Grande Inlet stay close to shore where the wind wouldn't have much fetch to build up the chop. This worked out very nicely and the soundings dropped off to 20 feet just a hundred yards off the beach. The wind abated to around 15 with occasional higher gusts and we raised main and genoa and sailed most of the way close hauled or nearly so making 6 knots.
I kept reminding Jason to stay close to the beach. He asked, "How close should I get?"
To which I replied, "You'll know your close enough when you can tell if the gals are wearing a one or two piece bathing suit!" Ahhh......the fringe benefits of Florida sailing. We got so close to the Venice Pier that we were waving at the fisherman and tourists.
As we scoped out the two inlets to Sarasota, the information available was conflicting and worrisome. Most shifting shoal inlets are not charted on the East Coast and state that on the chart, although they do in fact have nav markers, these markers are constantly moving and can't therefore be fixed on the chart.
Both Big Pass and New Pass into Sarasota Bay show markers on the chart, however, the Sarasota Sailing Squadron web site shows that New Pass is shoaled in and not recommended. Furthermore, that Big Pass has been remarked and not as shown on the current charts. We elected to use Big Pass and to sound our way in with the centerboard most of the way up. As it turned out we were able to follow several other power boats in that showed us the way. Plus the water was clear enough to be able to see the most dangerous shoals. At near high tide our lowest sounding was 9 feet. The balance of the channel inside the inlet was narrow and even more shallow, with visible above water sand bars only a few yards from us in several areas.
We arrived at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron dock at 4PM, lots of friendly folks to show us the transient dock and help us tie up bow in and between pilings.
So arrived at last after 39 days and 1728 nautical miles!
Jason flew back Saturday AM. Thanks Jason for being a very competent crew a huge help and great company.
I have found a very reasonable dock a few miles north in Sara Bay for a couple of months in front of a private home, while I wait for the mooring I purchased to become available at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. I am flying back home Tuesday to see my lovely bride.
So long for now, until the next adventure. Could be Cuba this winter.



LaBelle OWW SM103 to SM 150 then toUseppa Is ICW SM 23


November 11, Thursday:


At left, a little summer cottage with some southern charm.
Covered 70 statute miles today including 47 on the Okeechobee Water Way and 23 on the West Coast ICW which restarts at 0 SM at the Fort Myers exit of the OWW. Winds were north east at around 10-15 and we were able to motor sail in the waterway most of the way. Starting out heading south west until we exited at Fort Meyers then North West. This is pretty section of the waterway with lots of waterfront homes. In Coral Gables there are lots of canals with waterfront homes able to keep their boats right in their back yard.

We finally found a marina, the Fort Meyers Yacht Basin, with diesel and so we fueled up topped off water etc. For 5 bucks we were able to use the shower facilities. They even had some cold beer, which we were running low on (whew, close call).

After passing thru what is termed the miserable mile ( due to the extremely narrow channel shallow water everywhere and lots of traffic) we were able to head north (a novelty).

As we passed Captiva Pass the sun was setting and we slowed down to be able to see the sun set over the ocean (and potentially see the mystical green flash, rarely visible as the sun takes it last dip over the horizon) it was a very nice sunset, but alas not green flash this time.

We arrived at Useppa Island, which is only a few miles from Boca Grande Inlet, at the mouth of Port Charlotte. Our anchoring guide only covers the East Coast so we were on our own picking out a good anchorage. As it turns out we must of picked well as there were 6 other boats already anchored in the lee of the island when we arrived. We had to anchor just outside a cable area, where anchoring is not allowed, and squeezed between the channel of the ICW and the very shallow near shore. We anchored in 8 feet of water, but apparently we were so close to the shoal that in the AM our centerboard was rubbing bottom as we moved closer to shore and weighed anchor.

Port Mayaca, OWW SM 39 to LaBelle FL SM 103


November 10, Wednesday:

At left: Ponce De Leon guarding the Fountain of Youth (or so he hoped, although it didn't work for him, but lots of folks are still trying to see if it will work for them)
Today was our chance to see Lake Okeechobee. We weighed anchor at 7:45 and had to lock thru up a couple of feet to the lake level. We had anchored bow and stern just past the old railroad bridge in a wide spot in the canal. Once out in the lake we were able to raise the main and jib and motor sail in 10 knots of north west wind. The lake is pretty big with an horizon in most directions, but mostly only 10 feet deep. It was 25 miles across to the channel that cuts thru the very shallow west side of the lake. Once we were on the west side we had to follow a canal dug along the shore for about 10 miles to the Morehaven lock. It was in this section we saw quite a few alligators. Most were hanging around with their eyes and noses above water and nothing else. They typically submerged as we motored past. We did see a five footer sunning himself on the bank.
The Morehaven lock dropped us only a few inches and went very quick. We motored the last leg to LaBelle trying to find some fuel along the way. This section does not support many marinas. The first was an RV park on the canal in Morehaven which was out of business, the next was only open from 9 to 1 and then we got to one that reportedly had diesel and they were cleaning the tanks. The next one up would fuel you up from a truck. but would not bother with a 30 gallon sale for us. Fortunately we had filled up in Ft. Pierce and had 5 gallons stored on deck so we weren't desperate. The power boat we locked thru with had to dock in Morehaven to wait for fuel the next day.

LaBelle is in the interior of Florida and is very agricultural. The city dock was free, but required you to do what is called a med moor. This means dropping an anchor 100 feet or so in front of where you want to be docked stern to, and backing in. Then when you tie up on the dock you have to tension the anchor line to keep you just off the dock but able to jump off the stern to go ashore. Boats in the med that do this often have a boarding plank to make it a little less hairy disembarking.

Jason found us a nice restaurant on his Iphone only a few blocks away and we had some local fresh fish that was fantastic.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Jensen Beach SM 982 to Port Mayaca FL

We are now in the Okeechobee water way. After a few miles in the ICW we turned off at the St. Lucie River and reset the mileage at zero for this new waterway, with Port Mayaca at mile SM 39. There were a couple of delays on the route today. The Roosevelt Bridge showed opening on the hour and half hour so we timed our arrival accordingly only to find out it now opens on request. The current was very strongly carrying us into the bridge which was not quick enough in opening and we got sideways in the railroad bridge immediately prior to it, narrowly avoiding a good scraping.
When we got to the St. Lucie lock, we had to wait for eastbound traffic to be let down in the lock for a half an hour. The lock lifts you up 14 feet and does not have valves to let the water in or out, rather it cracks open the gate. The current was quite strong requiring some deft line handling to keep the boat in line and off the walls of the lock.
The St. Lucie river and the first few miles of the waterway were dotted with spectacular homes, some of the nicest yet. We ended the day just before the Port Mayaca Lock which lets you out into Lake Okeechobee. We anchored bow and stern in the narrow canal in a wide spot just after the notorious railroad bridge which is only 48 foot clearance for masts, while in the up position. This prevents many boats from being to use this waterway. Some clever guy will put 55 gal plastic drums aboard on one side and pump them full of water to heel the boat enough to allow boats with up to 53 foot masts to squeak thru. As we only need 41 feet it was not a problem, but still looked very close as we slowly passed under.

Fort Pierce SM 965 to Jensen Beach FL M 982


November 8, Monday:


Lingered at Aunt Lou and Uncle Mike's to help with his computer connection and the garden.

Did some grocery shopping since we had use of the car.
This pic is the Lighthouse at St. Augustine from our anchorage the second night. Again a little our of sequence

Had lunch in downtown Ft. Pierce at the Tiki Restaurant, and finally got underway from the Harbortown Marina at 2pm. Little problem leaving the dock. We had the dingy trailing astern and the wind blew it behind a dolphin. As we made a decent exit and started forward the dingy hung up on the dolphin and the painter parted with a big bang. This occasioned us to have to return to the dock to retrieve the dink. This was a bit of a hash as there was a cross wind and the dock set up was between pairs of dolphins. So with a little help from a friendly fella on the dock, we were able to temporarily able to dock while Jason dashed off to get the dingy which was slowly drifting under the dock and getting to be quite a challenge to get at. With some quick foot work, Jason was able to snag the dink and jump in.

The second departure was a bit more controlled as we slowly backed out and used one of the dolphins to let the wind pivot us in line with the exit channel. The day turned out great as the clouds blew south and we motor sailed 17 miles to Jensen Beach. We found a great anchorage just downwind of the causeway bridge and after dinner aboard, dingyed over to Conchy Joe's for a few beers and Monday Nite Football. Great spot with free snacks and good beer.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Catching up on some Pics along the way

Mystic Seaport, cat boat taking sightseers for 1/2 sail in Mystic River
Mystic Seaport, with authentic old schooner near

and Kia Ora (semi authentic old schooner) way way in the back ground anchored.

Classy waterfront on the ICW on the way from St. Augustine to Daytona





The Grandfather of all clocks, in the entrance to the Lintner Museum







Courtyard of the Lintner Museum, with coy pond




in foreground, former Grand Hotel, St. Augustine









Charleston waterfront homes















Skyline of Manhattan






Tall Ship in the East River







Melbourne FL: SM 918 to Fort Pierce, FL SM 965

This is just east of Boothbay Harbor, Maine. I'm just getting the hang of adding pictures to the blog so I'm catching up on some of the highlights in my photo album. So this is way out of sequence. Laurel (number 1 daughter) and I sailed up there last September.
November 7, Sunday:
My post yesterday was a little premature. When we got the the Ponce de Leon Inlet the weather forecast showed winds to 25 from directly astern, which heaped up waves to 11 feet. With the hurricane Thomas potentially kicking them up even more we elected to stay in the intracoastal. This allowed us to stop at Melbourne where my best buddy from Garden City High School lives. We recently reconnected via Facebook. We got together for a great night of reminiscing and catching up for the over 40 years since we have seen each other. Thank you Steve and Claire for putting me up in a warm and comfortable bed. It was pretty cool last night. Jason connected with his Aunt who lives 15 miles north in Cocoa Beach and stayed with them.
We were able to tie up to the Melbourne Yacht Club gratis thanks to member Hasty Miller who extended the invitation.
We are motor sailing with just the jib again today, as the winds are directly astern at 20 knots just like yesterday. We should arrive in Ft. Pierce at around 4PM today and we will stay with my Aunt Lou and Uncle Mike who live nearby.

Friday, November 5, 2010

St. Augustine, FL

Magnolia Blvd. St. Augustine, these are actually live oaks with spanish moss.
Ponce de Leon Hotel built by Henry Flagler, is now home to Flager College

ICW near Beaufort, SC


Some pics from the trip


Daytona, FL; SM 831 to Fort Pierce, FL; SM 965

November 5 & 6, Friday and Saturday:
More strong winds today, blowing 15 to 25 out of the NW. Plan A was to use the ICW to Titusville and watch the shuttle launch at 3 PM. This has been postponed several times already and was indeed put off again until at least Sunday. So Plan B is to head to the next inlet (the Ponce de Leon) south and head out for another offshore overnight to Fort Pierce. As this is 135 nautical miles we are planning our departure for 2PM so as to arrive at the inlet in daylight at 8AM tomorrow.
We will have to vector around the 3 mile security zone around Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, which the Coast Guard reminded everyone of, due to the impending shuttle launch. Fines of around a hundred grand were mentioned, just so we knew! We are planning on staying close to shore after that to limit the fetch the wind has to build up the waves as the NW wind will be angling somewhat offshore.

St. Augustine, FL; SM 778 to Daytona, FL; SM 831

November 4, Thursday:
Wind turned south again blowing 15 to 20. This is the windiest fall I can remember. We motored thru the ICW under cloudy but warm conditions covering 53 miles. The last several hours the wind went a little more west and we raised the foresail alone. In heavy winds this works out well. So well in fact that on the grand banks fishing schooners it was common practice in a blow. They called it "being in foresail harbor", even though they were over a hundred miles to sea.
Several more bascule bridges to deal with on the way, the first three, the Crescent Beach, the L.B. Knox and the Main Street Bridge, opened on request and were very good about opening with perfect timing so we didn't have to even slow down. The last one, the Memorial Bridge, however, was being worked on and the schedule was changed and unpredictable. This one we wound up waiting on for a 1/2 hour.
Our anchorage was just past the Memorial Bridge on the east side near shore. We had a quick dinner aboard and watching the weather radar on Jason's Iphone successfully timed our trip in the dingy between waves of rain.
The cruising guide recommended the Chart House which was right across the way, we checked to see if they had a TV in the bar so we could watch Georgia Tech play Virgina Tech. As there were two inlets right next to each other and it was dark we took the wrong one and Jason came to the rescue again with his GPS feature on the Iphone, so we were able to figure out that if we docked on the south side of the wrong inlet we could walk the short distance to the restaurant. Only one tinsey little problem, the condo complex we docked at was a gated and fenced in community. A little creative fence climbing took care of that and we "escaped" the compound to finish the short walk. We enjoyed the game in luxury as the Chart House is a high end restaurant, but got out cheaply since we had to remain sober enough to climb back over the 8 foot fence.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Beuforft, SC; SM 536 to St. Augustine, FL: SM 778

November 1 and 2, Monday and Tuesday:
Wind turned favorable for another overnight shot. Made 159 miles being off shore up to 25 miles at times. We fueled up and headed down river, stopping for 10 minutes in the open bay drifting with the wheel and autopilot removed to repair the clutch again. Success, and working again OK.
Headed out the channel and were sailing in company with a 40 foot ketch that paced us all thru the night on the same 200 deg magnetic course for 130 miles. The wind took some time to go from south at 10 to ENE at 15-20 knots. We flew main and jib once the wind backed around enough to be able to hold course close hauled. Then when it backed some more we raised the foresail. At dusk we furled the foresail as the forecast called for gusts to 25 and we didn't want to be faced with furling it in heavy seas at night. The autopilot steered the whole way (thank you God) and it was an easy passage except when the wind was directly astern. After an uncontrolled jib due to the wandering course the autopilot steers in quartering seas, we furled the main and motor sailed with jib alone and the boat handled it much better. A clear night with bountiful stars was awesome, as Jupiter set the moon rose. As it was waning the two crescents cleared the horizon first. After reading a bit with my head lamp on while on watch in the cockpit, I looked around to check traffic and saw what at first looked like a ship (and since you can normally see them from way off) this gave me quite a start since it seemed so close. It took a few seconds to relax as I realized it was moon rise. And it was spectacular.
We arrived at the entrance to St. Augustine at 10:30 am. We heard some reports on the radio about shoaling in the channel. In fact quite a few big sport fisherman ran aground in the channel during a big fishing tournament this past week, causing hundreds of thousand dollars worth of damage. When Jason was on watch someone was attempting the inlet and another boat close by kept on hailing on channel 16... get to starboard your going to run aground!!...repeatedly. This was enough warning for us. As we entered we kept the jib flying to limit the rolling. It turned out to be a tough one as the autopilot clutch gave out again only this time stuck in the engaged position. When steering by hand with the autopilot engaged you have to over come the resistance of the motor which is no running, requiring a fair amount of force. The waves were heaped up at the entrance due to an outgoing tide and opposing wind. This created some breakers, furthermore they were quartering on our stern. The end result was the boat slewing around 50 to 60 degrees in each direction as I attempted to keep to within 50 feet of the starboard side of the channel. The Coast Guard had finally addressed the shifting shoal by adding an extra buoy in the channel so at least we could see where the boat was supposed to be. Keeping it there was quite an effort for about a half a mile. Passed the newly constructed Bridge of Lions, which was made to look just like the 70 year old version, only the "Lions" were still in storage so they wouldn't get damaged in the construction.
We took a dock at the Municipal Marina, did some laundry showered and "launched" the bike for a grocery run. I took the "Red Train" tour of the downtown area while Jason worked on applying for some jobs that had just come up on the Internet. This whetted my appetite for seeing some interesting stuff that I didn't have time for on the whirlwind tour. So we elected to stay for another day and play tourist.
Right across the street was a brew pub called the "A1A" which did have great beer. While sipping the suds, there was a big hubbub right out front of the pub. Three cruisers pulled a fellow over and got him out of the car on his knees under gunpoint and handcuffed him. While the canine was going crazy, a total of 7 more cruiser made their appearance making the new total of 10 (how can a small town of 12,000 people have that many cruisers on duty at once?.. must be a wild town). The guy got slung in the back of one cruiser while the dog went wild in the car. A bit of uncontrolled substance perhaps... me thinks.
A little more excitement in the AM when the boat docked beside us got his dingy and davits squashed by a motor cat the made a hash out of pulling out of the dock. The current was carrying him back onto the dock and he didn't account for it, so crunch. The bad part was that he didn't stop, even when the owner was yelling at him. Furthermore since they had all his info at the dock masters hut, they hailed him on channel 16 and called his cell phone. He failed to answer either. The marina called the harbor master and he sent out a fast boat to chase the guy down. Well they got him and made him return to the marina about an hour later. The police were still questioning him when we left to tour the city.
We were able to use the Red Train again as the passes are good for three days. We visited the old fort Castillo de San Marcos, Ripley's believe it or not museum, Flagler College which is housed in Henry Flaglers first grand hotel Florida, and the Lintner Museum housed in another grand old hotel. Litner used to buy up other peoples collections and rarities which are now on display occupying over half of the old hotel. This was really a treat and the highlight of our visit.
We returned to the boat and went out to anchor to avoid another overnight docking charge. We then launched the dinghy and motored back to enjoy a very pleasant dinner at O.C. Whites. A folk guitarist was entertaining on the patio and we eat out under the stars with a warm breeze rustling the bountiful planting around the dining area.
We buzzed back to the boat and hit the hay, but at about 6 am the wind pipped up from the south at about 25 knots. This was opposing the current, so the boat didn't know which way to go against the anchor. As a result it was all over the place and coming very close to a boat that was double anchored and did not swing the same way as us. I stayed up on anchor watch for about 45 minutes playing with the amount of scope we had out to assure myself we wouldn't collide with this neighbor. Only got another few winks before sunrise at 7:45.

Charleston, SC; SM 469 to Beaufort, SC; SM 536

October 31 Sunday:
Used ICW due to more darn SW winds, today 15-20 knots. Motored thru many interesting rivers and cuts with current alternating quite frequently as we jumped from going down one river thru a cut and up the next. Started off cool at 55 with an early 8:45 start, just in time to make the 9:00 opening of the Whapoo Creek bascule bridge. Warmed up nicely with plenty of sunshine at 78 by the afternoon. Seeing lots of dolphins. Some right along side the boat for several minutes. In fact the first time one surfaced 2 feet from the side of the boat and exhaled sharply right next to me at the cockpit, I nearly jumped out of my skin! They really are playful creatures and love to rollick in our wake. Jason got some video of them on this I-phone.
Another timed arrival for the 7 pm opening of the Lady's Island Bridge. Docked at the Downtown Marina and took advantage of their complementary short stay policy to have a quick dinner aboard and go ashore for Sunday night football at a waterfront sports bar a block away. Left the dock at 10 pm and anchored close by on the edge of the ICW in a mooring field for the night, lots of current, which switches with each tide.

Littler River Inlet, SC SM341 to Charleston, SC SM461

October 29 & 30, Friday and Saturday.
Finally some fair winds today. We made good use of them with and offshore overnight passage to Charleston. With only a little over 100 miles we delayed out departure to arrive at dawn. The winds were northwest 15-20 knots and slowly veered into the north east. Although the forecast had them strengthening a little overnight they actually diminished around 2am.
The autopilot continues to shear the cotter pin that holds the clutch lever on allowing it to engage the belt. I replaced it just before we departed and it lasted until we had to disengage it when the quartering seas proved too much for it. This sheared the new cotter pin off yet again. We had to hand steer starting around 5 pm. Later when the wind abated it would have been capable of handling the 4 foot quartering waves so we missed it dearly with the long night watches. We have stuck to the 1 hour watches during the day and depending on the difficulty going to 2 or 3 hour watches, so we started at 10 pm with 2 hour watches and went to 3 when the wind abated. I hadn't figured on the long length of time it would take to get up river to the Cooper River Marina so with our calculated arrival time up river of 7:30 it actually had us getting to the the breakwater for Charleston at around 6 am. It was still very dark and the wind had filled back in to 15-20 just as we were making the entrance. A Carnival cruise ship entered just ahead of us and a container ship was just behind us. We were monitoring VHF channel 13 and the container ship contacted us to let us know he was overtaking us quickly. We started moving over to the starboard side of the channel, but the waves were slewing us around a lot and the breakwater was unlit and bearly discernible on the chart plotter. The upshot was we did not move over quick enough for the container ships liking and we got a few blasts on his ships horn to properly motivate us to get more out of his way, which of course we did post haste. Lots of shrimpers heading out of the channel to keep clear of some with their booms extended taking up a lot of the available channel. The starboard running light burnt out after only a few days of use. I had changed it in Annapolis. We located a portable running light I had on board, that is intended for dingies and set it up to starboard to make us more visible. This is especially important as when our dingy is stowed on the cabin top it partially obscures the port running light from dead ahead. We arrived at sunrise and took a dock at the Cooper River Marina, where my new mainsail was waiting for us. Got a good nap in and retrieved the mainsail. One problem the fully battened main, did not come with the battens which were part of the order. A call to Lee Sails quickly sorted this out, but it will take another week now to get them shipped ahead of us to Fort Pierce where my Uncle Mike and Aunt Lou live. In the meantime with weekly patches of sail repair tape the old main still hangs in there. We were able to shower and take off at 2 pm for downtown Charleston with no charge by the Marina (thanks guys). I saw my friend Hugh who was very good to me when I had the boat there for the entire month of Dec last year, he checked the bilge for me a couple of times a week as I only had a manual bilge pump at the time, (now remedied with an automatic float operated pump) .
We motored over to the Charleston Resort and Marina next to the WWII aircraft carrier Yorktown. There was a big tent set up next door that had music playing so we just had to check it out. The marina let us stay a few hours also without charge while we hiked over to the music. This turned out to be pipped in music in advance of a concert due to start a few hours hence. We elected to skip this and got underway for the anchorage in front of the Charleston Municipal Marina. After another nap we heading downtown to Tommy Condon's Irish pub. As it was Saturday nite we had a heck of a time getting a cab and after waiting 45 minutes for two different cab companies to come we elected to walk.
As it turned out to be cool stroll thru the old neighborhood with stately old mansions and historic buildings. In fact we passed 3 different groups that were on guided walking tours of this area. We passed two different venues with something gala going on as the folks outside were in tuxes and evening gowns. Upon our arrival in the old market district we ran into many folks in costume for the Halloween weekend, fun stuff. There was an Irish band at the pub and we enjoyed them immensely. Turns out the band was the same one that was playing when Frank Cook and I were there last fall. We were able to hail down a cab for the way back as this is a hot spot in town.

Wrightsville Beach SM 285 to Littler River Inlet SM341

October 28, Thursday,
More southerly winds today. Mostly motoring on the ICW, got to use the jib on some legs with wind gusting over 20 knots. We needed to time our arrival for a temporary pontoon bridge which only opens on the hour. With the current changing direction at the halfway point between gthe many inlets it made timing our arrival a challenge. We judged (read fudged) it correctly and arrived for the once hourly 6 pm opening. Only problem at low tide the pontoon bridge sometimes get stuck in the mud at the edge of the channel. So although we were on time we still had to wait another 45 minutes until the tide rose enough to allow them to move it. Which the do with anchors and whiches. So we anchored in the channel along with about 8 other boats. This had us doing the last 45 minutes in the dark again, and we are getting better at it, however, there are a number of additional markers which do not show up on my 1 year old GPS chart plotter. This puts a premium on vigilance and Jason's young eyes are very good. We entered the Calabash river adjacent to the Little River Inlet and anchored for the night in a tight squeeze between all the other boats held up by the bridge delay. We had a casino ship out of Myrtle Beach pass us just before we were making the entrance into the anchorage, another close order drill with the big boys.
We had quite a heavy thunder storm while having dinner, but at least it washed all the salt off the boat. Later in the evening I heard a band playing and got up from reading in my bunk. Just on the other side of the island we were anchored off, the lights (and they had quite a few on) of one of the casino ships were filtering thru the trees etherally appearing and disapearing in the now dark and still night with mist rising off the water. As the ship passed beyond the end of the island I could see it clearly now as it meandered down the channel with stains of "Sweet Home Alabama" wafting over us and slowing fading as the ship disappeared into the night.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Camp Lejeune to Wrightsville Beach

October 27, Wednesday. SM 245 - 285
More strong southwest winds right on the nose in the ICW again. Not much to report. Now seeing dolphins in schools of 2 to 6. Some followed us for a little while while Jason was on watch. We are doing 1 hour on 1 off during the day.
Motoring today, but with some fair current most of the day. Several swing and lift bridges to pass with limited opening schedules. Surf City Bridge, Figure Eight Is. Bridge and Wrightsville Beach Bridge. We adjusted our speed to arrive on schedule which slowed us up on the first bridge, had to hell bent for election for the next and just made it. Exciting pass as a dredge was arriving northbound at the same time as we did southbound. We asked the bridgetender to make the call on who should go thru first. He told us to call the dredge, so we contacted on VHF channel 13 (same as the bridge channel). I offered to give way, but he was a little later than us and suggested we go thru first which we did, though it was a little hairy being so close to him.
We arrived in Wrightsville Beach at 3 pm and fueled up at the Seapath YC. I was able to talk them into letting me shower while still at the fuel dock. Nice folks. We anchored very close to the public dingy dock and decided not to bother with putting the engine on the dink which we have been towing since Norfolk. Then a quick row over to it for some shopping. We had scoped out a grocery store (Roberts small but has most everyting) only two blocks away from info in Skipper Bob's Anchorages Along the Intracoastal Waterway. Great resource with lots of good info on the towns and bridges as well. Had a home made italian dinner onboard and then dingyed back to town to see game one of the world series at a nice sports bar (also only two blocks away). Lots of young students and surfers in town as we are close to UNC Wilmington.
Walked by the beach, lots of surfers out there wearing wet suits in the warm 74 deg. water. It was not a beach day however as it was still very windy and mostly cloudy.

Beaufort, NC to Camp Lejeune, NC

October 26, Tuesday: Intercoastal SM205-245
More heavy south winds in the forecast kept us inside on the ICW once again, even though this is the inlet here is the perfect opportunity to go off shore, after 3 days in the swamps. We finished our laundry while sipping coffee at a nice water front cafe right next to our dock. Headed out at 11 am. As we got to the bend in the channel that allowed us to raise sailf. It was blowing 20 so we unfurled the genoa only and were racing along at 7 knots on a beam reach until the next turn at Morehead City. This put us closehauled and with the wind now gusting to 30 knots the boats heading was all over the place wsith every gust and with lots of traffic it was too dangerous so we furled the genoa and motored to the next bend. At this point the winds were a steady 20-25 and at a direction we could motor sail. We tried the foresail alone close hauled and it worked beautifully. Went from 4.5 knots motoring to 7 knots motor sailing into the wind. This held up for several hours until the channel gradually turned more south at which point we had to furl the foresail as well.
As we got close to Camp Lejeune the marine helicopters were flying all over. We got buzzed directly overhead by one flying fast and at about 200 feet, quite a site with these big birds. We anchored in a dredged area adjacent to the middle of the base with around 20 other boats. Had a relaxing early evening arriving at 5:30. So we watched sunset in the cockpit over a couple of beers as the smell of grilling meat wafted around the anchorage from many of the neighboring boats.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Belhaven, NC to Beaufort, NC

October 25 Monday:
This was a very wet day and another long one with 60 nautical miles covered. Intracoastal mile 136 to 205 (These are statute miles which start at 0 in Norfolk). More heavy south winds 15-20 to start. We were able to sail at times in Pemlico Sound and the Nuese River, but had several canal portions Goose River Canal and Adams Creek. We had rain showers early then a dry spell before we saw a very nasty thunder cloud with an honest to God roll cloud in front. This is an indication of a mature storm with a heavy wind shear and down flow which creates an eddy in front of it and forms a long hot dog shaped cloud fairly low compared to cloud base. We were flying the main and genoa just prior to that, but as we had to change course ( you guessed it) right back into the teeth of the wind we furled all sail. The wind was up to 20-25 now and we were making slow progress up wind as we watched the squall approach. When it hit the winds went to 35 for about 30 minutes and the 4 other boats near us disappeared in the much reduced visability in the down pour. We have ski goggles just for such weather as this so we donned them and were able to face forward into the pelting rain that stung the remaining portions of our face that were uncovered. It was hard to keep the bow into the wind as any deviation from dead into it would quickly want to blow the bow around. We were hand steering and working hard at it for about an hour before the squall fully passed. The wind slowly abated and in another hour it was back down to 10 knots as we passed by Oriental ( a hot spot for sailors) Most of the boats we were near headed in there as it was getting dark soon, but undaunted by last nights close calls we pressed on once again. This time our ETA was 7 pm and the dark portion was going to be near Beaufort and Morehead City which are lit up very well, so it was not going to nearly as tough as the night before. Ran into thunder storms in Adams Creek canal, just to add to the excitement of the day, but no heavy squall this time just a little St Elmo's fire on the masts (just kidding, but I did unplug all the stuff that was charging and shut the inverter off).
There is a split in the intracoastal 3 miles out from Beaufort. Port channel for Beaufort, starboard for Morehead City. We called the bascule bridge for Beaufort at this point to check the schedule and found we would be a few minutes late for the 6:30 opening and would have to wait until 7 to pass. So we speed up and calculated we could just make it.....until we hit some foul current. As we were about to give up and slow down, an idea came to me. We could go around by Morehead city which has a fixed bridge at 65 feet and come in the back way! So we took a hard right just making the fork in the channel and went the back way. Well as it turned out the current was worse on that side and we only saved 5 minutes after all that.
We took a slip at the Beaufort Docks Marina and were able to dry out and get a hot shower. The Marina recommened the "Rib Eye" sports bar across the street so we could catch Monday Nite Football (go Giants, who kicked the Cowboy's butt and broke Tony Romos' collar bone, actually I don't like it when anybody gets anything more than a bruise so, sorry Tony) .

Elizabeth City, NC to Belhaven, NC

October 24;
Long day did 73 miles. We were able to motor sail the first 15 miles to the Aligator River (anyone for a swim?) Then the wind was on the nose and we had to motor the rest of the way. The swing bridge a few miles in, opened on request. 20 knot head winds made the next 20 miles slow, but with the sun out the spray did not seem to bother too much. Made the entrance to the canal section at 4:30 so we decided to press on since this canal is around 200 feet wide. The moon was due up at 7 pm so with a 6:10 sunset we still had some twilight when we saw the moon. Although it took another hour before it was much help. The GPS started showing us on the land when we could plainly see we were in the middle of the canal, and furthermore the autopilot decided to start "loosing its' mind" and swerving off. Bad timing as we were counting on both these aids to keep us mid channel in the dark. To add to our worries we started to come into civilization at that point and there were unlit docks sticking out into the channel. A strong flashlight and Jason's eagle eye kept us out of trouble (unless you count the one dock we didn't see until the very last minute while I was supposed to be looking, oops!)
After we exited the canal the balance of the trip was much less stressful. Half the markers were lit. One little incident, though an unlit day marker happened to be located just under the fat course line on the GPS which obscured it Not seeing it there we weren't looking for it with the flashlight, so we only saw it when it was 20 yards abeam of us. Quite a little shock, we had to get back on one steering one watching again until we got into Belhaven. We anchored at 9:30 just inside the breakwater along with 2 other boats. Calm and restful spot after a tense time in the dark for the last few hours. Had left overs and crashed.

Norfolk, VA to Elizabeth City, NC

October 23
Early to rise for a 6:30 am departure in order to make it for the first opening of the Deep Creek Lock at 8:30. Arrived 8 am due to a quick pass thru the Gilmerton Bascule Bridge as it was the weekend no hold up during rush hour. Lock tender had a hard time getting the down river gate closed. He and his dog checked it 4 times, then proceeded to take 5 times longer than usual to raise us up the 6 feet necessary to get to the level of the Dismal Swamp. Finally got all the flood valves open and the last 3 feet went as we had originally anticipated. The lock tender then has to get in his truck drive up a 1/2 mile to the lift bridge and open that for us, he does this 4 times a day (nice work if you can get it). We locked thru with 4 other boats and were joined by another that had overnighted at a bulkhead just on the other side of the lock. We did some calculations and found that 5.5 knots would get us to the South Mills lock in time for the 1:30 opening.
The Dismal Swamp Canal is only about 50 feet wide and has some overhanging trees you need to avoid. We saw a bald eagle fly right in front of us and perch in a tree that we then passed. We were no more than 30 feet from this awesome creature. Neat to see him fly so close, he was really a big one. Got to the South Mills lock a little early and with current carrying us into it we anchored while the other boats tried tomotor and steer backwards in the current.
This lock was quick only took 20 minutes vs 1 hour and a half for the first. This got us back down to the level of the Posquatank River. 19 more miles down a very meandering path to the free public docks at Elizabeth City. As it was the week end no cocktail party throw by the town with the free beer wine and cheeze and crackers. As we tied up several folks on the dockside walk assisted us in between pairs of pilings fore and aft. The only spot left was 11 feet wide as indicated in bold yellow numbers on the bulkhead. As Kia Ora is only 10' 8" on the beam we squeezed thru, good thing we didn't have the fenders out.
Stan, a friend I made last year while repairing my engine here for 7 days, happened to be one of the folks helping on the dock. He just happened to be sailing south earlier than last year just like us. Another small world incident. Shared a few pops and caught up on the past years misadventures. We had dinner aboard and went to Thumpers for some baseball.

Annapolis MD to Norfolk, VA

October 19-22:
Took two lay days in Annapolis while Jason visited his girlfriend Kate in Baltimore. Tuesday was repair day. Readjusted the autopilot belt and replaced the strarbord running light, replaced the kill guys. Wednesday Andria loaned me her XK6 Jag convertible (you go girl what a ride) parked at the end of the subway line and took the metro into DC and went to the Air and Space Museum. A redo since I have been there last made it a great experience. The IMAX theater had a 3D movie on the Hubble Telescope, do incredible it literally brought tears to my eyes.
Thursday got a bit of a late start since Jason was getting a ride from his girlfriend from Baltimore and I had to get a ride from Andria from Edgewater. Wind was southwest at 15-20 we sailed with main and genoa and the wind veered just perfectly to allow us to stay on one tack. At dusk the wind veered into the north at 20 so we tried to sail on foresail and genoa. This worked ok, but without polling out the jib we had to tack downwind. The seas were too big, slewing us back and forth thru 45 degrees on our heading so it was hard to keep wing and wing for very long before jibing the foresail so tacking downwind worked much better. We sailed thru the night with a beautiful 3/4 moon ligting our way. We purposefully stayed near the western shore to avoid being in the shipping lanes and this worked out teriffic. There was a lot of traffic, but it was typically several miles away. The wind died at around 10 pm and we motored until 4 am when I came on watch. The wind filled in from the SW and we raised the main and genoa on a close reach into Norfolk Harbor. A naval cruiser followed us in and called to remind us we needed to stay clear by 500 yards. This required us to furl the genoa and motor closer to the wind to get to the starbord side of the channel. She only identified herself as US warship number 64 ( I guess if the terrorists knew her real name it would make her easier to find??). We fueled up at Tidewater Yacht Marina and for $12 got us use of the dingy dock, showers and laundry while we anchored nearby at Hospital Point. Had a great dinner at the Beer Garden on High Street, followed by some baseball at Barons Bar and Grill.

Cape May, NJ To Annapolis, MD

October 17, Sunday:
After 3 lay days in Cape may due to the high NW winds we were able to get underway. Last night we had a coctail party aboard the Ziraffe, Lisa and Danielle from Canada hosted a great BYOB party on the same floating dock we were on good fun with new friends.
Winds were down to 15-20 NW and we gave it a go. Heavy slogging up Delaware Bay with reefed main and jib. We were able to stay on the same tack all the way up the bay. Winds slowly dropped from 20 to 15 and by the time we entered the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal at dusk it was down to 10. We continued on in the dark thru the canal which is well lit on both sides. I got quite a shock when around the bend 200 yards ahead of us appeared a ship about the size of the empire stated building. No kidding this car carrier had a weather deck about 10 stories high. We edged over as far to the right as we dared in the dark and it seemed like we could reach out and touch the ship as it passed. It was the Bosporous Highway a monster of vessel. We overnighted at Chesapeake City 2/3 of the way thru.
Early the next am we set off for Annapolis in calm winds, sunny and cool but warming weather. Motored all the way getting in at 4pm. Docked at Eastport YC. Very friendly folks. The bartender Juanita, knew Tom Rock, Gary Franke and John MacGonnagle from duck hunitng on the eastern shore near her home town. Eastport YC races J80's like our own WYC and have been to Winnipesaukee as have our guys come down and raced here in Annapolis. They remembered Ed Philpot, Kevin Hayes and a bunch of others, small world. Stayed at cousin Bob's in Edgewater had a nice meal while watching the Yankees and Rangers on TV.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Northport LI, NY to Cape May NJ

October 13&14 Wednesday & Thursday:
After a nice layover in Northport (thanks Pat and Linda) we got underway at 8:30 and were able to fuel up at Seymore's Marina. No ice or pumpout, but we were able to make do, cool enough the blocks of ice we started with over a week ago are only half gone. Winds north at 10 so we are motor sailing with all plain sail on a sunny and warmish day. Wind went South east so we furled the jib. We had nice views of the planes taking off from Laguardia and hit Hells Gate at slack ebb as planned. Lots of traffic in the East River and lower bay. Passed a tall ship that was motoring up river, with masts just clearing the bridges. Skyline of Manhattan was very nice with a minimum of smog. Wind went south as we exited the Verazanno Narrows toward Sandy Hook so we furled the foresail and main. Saw a clear sunset over Sandy Hook and settled into the watch rotation. We started with 2 hour watches until 1 pm then went to 3 to enable a little more undisturbed rest. Just as I came off watch at 7 pm I noticed a little water on the cabin sole. The forward bilge does not drain into the main bilge anymore (long story) so I check it and saw it was more full than I had every seen it. Checked the main bilge and it was also near overflowing into the cabin. The automatic bilge pump I recently installed was no longer pumping and the stern gland leaks a fair amount under power. With thoughts of having to turn around and head back to Sandy Hook I started to scope out the problem. I later found the oil absorbing cloth log that I had put in the bilge caught up in the bilge pump and turned it on its' side. So the float was no longer functioning. In the meantime I rigged up the old manual bilge pump and ran a hose out the comanionway and over the side. With this in place I was able to drain the main bilge and assure myself that we were not taking on water. Then came the nasty task of lowering the water int the forward bilge. This I normally have to hand pump about twice a year. I was using the hand pump into a bucket and it was quite frustrating as the hose did not want to stay either in the pump or in the bucket. I got soaked in the process and emptied about 30 buckets this way, which got things under control. After changing clothes and unwinding a bit Jason whipped up some hot dogs, sauerkraut and backed beans under way with seas around 2-3 feet. Without the sails up we were rolling pretty good even in these modest seas because they were on the beam.
I was a very clear night with quite a few tugs heading up and down the coast, stars were spectacular (Jupiter and Orion were the best) after moon set at midnight. Wind slowly backed into the east and we were able to start sailing again at 7 am when I came on watch. Atlantic City is light up so much we could see it from 2AM until we finally got by at 9AM. Reached Cape May at noon and docked at South Jersey Marina. The forecast was for heavy NW winds for the next couple of days so we felt better at the dock vs. anchoring. Last fall we met a couple that dragged the anchor in much less winds and had to be hauled off the mud. Once the engine was shut down I could access the bilge pump and straighten out the problem. Fortunately it worked just fine once reset and the oil log removed.
October 15, Friday (my BD)
Lay day in Cape May with winds gusting to 50 out in the Delaware Bay. Fixed the electric transfer pump I bought to help pump the forward bilge and finished emptying it the easy way. We got a ride from the dock master up to the Aviation Museum nearby. It used to be a Naval Air Station with a bunch of training going on during WWII. Very nice and worth the trip, they have everything from Stearman biplanes to a F14 swing wing Tomcat fighter and an actual V2 rocket. Lots of helicopters for Jason to drool over(remember he just got his commercial helicopter license).
The sailors around us organized going together to the Lobster House which is only a block away. We had 12 of us. We wound up seated next to Vincent and Cecile from France. They just retired from owing and operating a ski lodge in the French Alps. Jason let it slip that is my BD so they had a nice big piece of chocolate oblivion cake brought out with a candle. They sang the BD song in French since the majority of the folks were French or French Canadian (merci, mon ami). Had a nightcap at the Lucky Bones on the way home and watched some of game 1 of the Yankees Rangers pennant series.
October 16 Saturday.
Another lay day in Cap May. Winds even stronger today lots of 45 knot gusts in Delaware Bay according to the buoy data I just checked out. Doing minor repairs and laundry. We considered taking the bus to Atlantic City from here, but it's 50 miles and a two hour ride with all the stops, so we canned the idea and are taking it easy tonight. Eat on board, a couple of pops at Lucky Bones to watch game 2 and early to bed, as we plan on slogging it up the Bay tomorrow against 15 to 20 knot winds which will be pretty much on the bow most of the trip until we get to the Chesapeake and can turn south again some 12 hours later.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Cuttyhunk Is, MA to Northport, LI, NY

October 9, Saturday:
Cuttyhunk MA to Mystic CT
The very high winds slowly abated and veered into the NW overnight. A bright morning with 10 knot NW greeted us for our 8AM departure. Our course to Mystic included a reach to exit the balance of Buzzards Bay and then on the wind for the balance. We started out with all plain sail (Main, Fore and Genoa) and the wind quickly picked up to 15 knots which had us making 6.5 knots over the ground. Altering course to the west once exiting Buzzards Bay had us close hauled. The wind continued to build to 20 so dropping the foresail was called for. I needed to go number 1 before starting this, I quickly found we were heeled over so far the lid on the commode would not stay up, so I decided to try it like the ladies do sitting down. Well you know what they say about the best laid plans.............about the time my pants were around my ankles and I went to sit, we hit a freak wave and I was literally tossed out of the head, crashed into the dinette table and did a summersault onto the sette. As much as it hurt (and I have the mother of all bruises covered by a rasberry as a momento) I had to laugh, lying there as I was with my pants down!
We eventually got the foresail down and were able to make good time for a few more hours. We passed by one of the biggest passenger ships I have ever seen off Block Island, I called her bridge on VHF channel 13 (ship to ship channel) and found she was the Crown Pincess, bound for Portland ME. Lots of leaf lookers apparently. The wind backed to the west right on the nose, so we furled the sails and motored the last 10 miles arriving in the Mystic River at dusk. I spoke to the Mystic Seaport about a slip for the night, but they were booked. They did recommend a nice anchorage just up river which we were able to take advantage of. Very shallow there we had to raise the centerboard while anchoring as Kia Ora only draws 3 feet with the board up.
After a nice pot roast dinner with fresh carrots, potatoes and onions we took the dingy to town and found our way to the Harp and Hound, a fun Irish Pub.
Sunday morning was very cool with frost warnings in the area overnight, but it warmed up quickly and we took in the Mystic Seaport. Lots of shipbuilding history and ongoing restorations including the last remaining american whaling ship the Charles W. Morgan. Great day, they had a chowderfest going on and lots of extras. The replica of the Amistad was there. You may remember the story of the only successful slave Mutiny and their acquittal championed by John Quincy Adams. They sail on good will tours and have just returned from Cuba. The Growler, a training tug from Kings Point was visiting and I met some future KP alums who had "sailed" her up from the academy.

October 11, Monday:
Mystic CT to Northport, LI, NY
The basqule bridge just down stream of the Seaport only opens once per hour at 40 minutes past, so we made an early start and cleared the bridge at 7:40 AM. Clear and cool with light NW winds to start. We motor sailed under main alone until the wind backed into the west at 15 then motored the balance of the 80 miles to Northport. Arriving at 8 PM we had to weave our way thru the dense mooring field to a very narrow unlit entrance to my brother-in-law Pat's. The shallow channel at low tide made it even more challenging. We started dragging the centerboard at the entrance, which is a nice early warning indicator as it just pivots back, so up board and on the anchor just in front of their beautiful waterfront home. Due to the narrow channel we did a bahamian moor, which ment we dropped the main anchor backed up 150 feet and dropped a second. Then retrieved 75 feet from the first anchor rode while letting out on the second so we could stay in the middle of the channel.
Had nice hot showers and a wonderful home cooked meal with mahi-mahi, lobster and chicken that my sister-in-law Linda put together (thank you, thank you!)
Tuesday is a lay day, planning for the cruise thru hells gate and down the Jersey Shore overnight Wednesday. Our plan is to arrive there in the East River at slack ebb tide (3 PM tomorrow) to allow for an easy transit and a following current all the way out the Verrazano Norrows to Sandy Hook NJ, then overnight to Cape May before the blow forcast for Thurs nite and Friday. Jason took the mountain bike down town to get a hair cut as everybody here is working today. He came home with a happy birthday cheeze cake for me, what a guy!! When Jamie, my nephew got home, he noticed the fish jumping right out front of the house so he and Jason ran down to the boat to try their luck and landed a 14 inch blue fish, Jamie landed a 28 inch stripper yesterday right off the dock.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Next Big Sail South

October 4
Well I'm on my way south aboard Kia Ora again heading to the sunshine state. This year a much earlier start then last years October 30 shove off. Final destination for this trip is Sarasota. Once in Florida I'm planning on taking the St. Lucie Canal into Lake Okechobee and on to the west coast thru another canal.
I have a friend of the family onboard crewing. Jason Larrere, who has just graduated and has his comercial instrument helicopter licence (go Jason!). We provisioned and got things stowed away, including the newly refurbished dingy and a mountain bike on deck. With the long drive down to Falmouth from Gilford and what not we didn't shove off until 2:30. The winds were NE at 15 and we had a very pleasant sail under partly cloudy skies to Kennebunkport. The rebuilt clutch on the autopilot is working great, a big relief since this was the first time I had to check it out. Pulled into Kennebunkport at 7PM, totally dark, but with the GPS and a good look out it was dicy but OK. Docked at Chicks Marina, which is convenient to downtown.
After a nice meal onboard, we walked down to Allisons Resturant and watched the Patriots distroy the Dolphins.

October 5 Tuesday:
Got a decent start shoving off at 8AM. Winds NE at 15 to 20 and waves 6-12 feet. The quartering waves are giving the autohelm quite a work out. It only took a little over two hours to drain the deepcycle battery to the point the autopilot kicked off on low voltage. With the starting battery we cranked up the engine and got the voltage back up to enable the autopilot to do it's thing. I hand steered for a while, because I'm using my last spare drive belt and I was afraid of wearing it out, but so far so good. I will rotate the belt a quarter turn every week so the same spot at wheel center doesn't get all the wear. We are making great time past Cape Ann doing over 7 knots most of the time under main and jib alone (foresail furled), so in spite of the frequent rain showers we decided to keep on piling up the miles and went straight for the Cape Cod Canal. We hit the current just right arriving at the canal entrance at 10 PM so we blew thru with the GPS showing 12 knots a couple of times (whoa..a new record). Onset Mass is just south of the canal and we picked up a mooring for the night.

October 6 Wednesday:
The forecast was for gale force NE winds and heavy rain, so we slept in. The forecast was right for the rain but the heavy NE winds did not materialize. We stopped over at the Point Independence Yacht Club for fuel, water and, a holding tank pump out. They were gracious and let us leave the boat at the fuel dock while we took showers and and put all out wet clothes in the dryer. They opened up the club for us so we could watch TV while wating for the dryer. I was a little embarrased when the dockmaster came back because with every thing in the dryer I was sitting there in my underwear (oops! where's my blue blaser?). With the winds west at 10 and the rain letting up we decided to try to make Newport. Got underway at 3pm and were motor sailing with the main and jib for an hour up Buzzards Bay when the wind filled in from the south west at 20 knots (another little detail the forcast missed). So we went to plan B (or was this plan C? hard to keep track with the fickle weather) which was to head into New Bedford. The cruising guide was touting the merits of the Old New Bedford Yacht Club, so we headed for that. Docked where the GPS said it was only we turned out to be at the Pope Island Marina. Which was OK since the ONBYC had more laid up fishing boats at thier docks than pleasure boats.
I got in touch with Gary Langley who lives nearby. We sailed in company from Ft. Pierce Florida to Norfolk VA this past spring, both of us single handling. He got us on the right track and recommended a fun sports bar, the Ice Chest a mile north on Rt 6. Good food great prices, lots of fun (Octoberfest on tap, yeah).

October 7, Thursday:
With the forcast for heavy west winds, we elected to take a layday. West Marine was right across the street so we took full advantage. Replaced the starting battery, changed the oil, replaced the rusty chain on the anchor and repaired the mainsail cover zipper attachment (thanks Jason..... hey Terry he can sew now!). With us in town a second nite Gary Langley's car was now out of the shop, so he picked us up and showed us the hot spots in New Bedford. Had a nice meal in the historic waterfront district and Fresh Catch. Nice view of the harbor, but sad to see so many of the fishing fleet idle. Behaved ourselves and only hit one bar (Old Ale House)after dinner.

October 8, Friday:
Forecast was iffy but we didn't want to have to take two laydays in a row (three if you count Onset where we sat around in the rain.... and our underwear if you remember most of the day) so we decided to try our luck against the wind. When we got to the hurricane barrier (yes New Bedford had one and they can close the gate if necessary to protect the harbor from storm surges etc.) it was closed!! After calling on VHF channel 13 we found out the Army Corps of Engineers was doing repairs, so we couldn't get out of the harbor unti for another 2 1/2 hours. We returned to the dock and decided to take in the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Terrific idea. It has the largest ship model in the world, a half scale whaling ship the Lacoda. The thing is like 60 feet long! and inside!! They also has a 1/3 scale Concordia Yawl which was functional and spectacular. Well worth the visit.
Got underway after listening to the forcast for the umteenth time. We started out with a single reefed main and full jib, but no foresail. This was perfect for the first 45 minutes then the winds picked up and were blowing a steady 25 with higher gusts. At that point I would rather of had the second reef in the main, but it was too rough to try to change for the short trip we had left to get to Cuttyhunk Island. The boat handled it very well powering thru the 6 foot chop and we even had it steering itself without the autopilot. I was plenty wet, the rail was in the water most of the time, and we had to motor the last mile directly upwind. The harbor entrance is very narrow and shallow. With the wind now gusting to 32 (confirmed from local bouy readings we heard later) it was hard to keep the bow from blowing out of the wind. This made it a handful coming in the narrow channel, not the time you want the wind to catch the bow and do an involuntary 90 degree turn, which she was doing if you missed a beat with the steering only a few moments before on the way in.
We picked up a mooring are safely in for the night as the wind howls outside, flaps the plastic cover on the mountain bike, and creeks and groans the mooring line thru the chock and by the bobstay. Hope it lets up a little so it will be quiet enough to get to sleep. Looking to take advantage of some more fair NW or even N winds tomorrow which should be 15 gusting to 20 as we head west up Rhode Island Sound and then Long Island Sound.