Christmas Eve - Christmas in Miami Beach anchorage

Christmas Eve, and Christmas 2011 are now past.   Susan is having a great time with our daughter, Ruth, up in NY.   
Sydney and I have been enjoying the warmth of the Miami weather, (Sydney really enjoys the swimming, almost every day).    Although... the 80 degree days don't do much for the Christmas spirit... that's got to come from 'inside', I guess...if you live down here in the South.

Dorothy and Glen (s/v Dot's Way) at Peanut Island

Dorothy and Glenn Floyd (s/v Dot's Way) have been gracious enough to invite me for Christmas Eve dinner on their boat.   Last night (Christmas Day) they came over to Autumn Borne for happy hour, and dinner.

Their company has been great, over this past week or so...   They're now looking seriously about moving down to "Nixon Harbor"... near No Name harbor (Key Biscayne) to get an easy exit to the Atlantic, and the Gulf Stream crossing.  

I've got some small shopping to do today, or tomorrow, but for the most part my days are taken up with small boat projects...    ( just came inside to write this, and do some phone calls... for taxis, and shuttle connections from MIA.... I was hoisting the spinaker to let it dry and unfold)...

AB leaving HON Marina in October 2011 -  Pea Soup Fog

Dee and Scott from our marina (summer-time) in NY sent the picture of Autumn Borne leaving Hop-O-Nose Marina in the fog.... we had picked that day (although I don't remember exactly why.... I know it wasn't a Friday (sailor superstition)....   anyway... we left the marina, exit Catskill Creek, turned into the Hudson, and the fog was even thicker....  We transited down the river about 3 miles by RADAR, then pulled off to the east in a wide part of the Hudson, and anchored (well out of the channel)...    We stayed anchored until the fog lifted about 1-1/2 hours later.... and  WOW... right next to us was a rock cliff... not 5 boat lengths away... that we could not see....  Impressive FOG!!!! 

more later.

Life at anchor in Miami Beach

Yesterday was our third or fouth day here, anchored out in Miami Beach, near the Sunset Islands.  

Tuesday was a varied day...a little boat work in the AM, (making fresh water, washing a few clothes, and the galley rug (runner), adjusting a few things in the dinghy so we could use the stern anchor more effectively for holding the dinghy off the docks/walls/and pilings, etc.)...

Then we went shopping...at the ACE hardware in Miami Beach. I needed another set of ear protection (MUFFS) for working in the engine room while everything's running. While there we got a call from Helen, and Andreas Tzenos (cruiser friends from about 4 years ago). They're vacationing here in Miami Beach. We arranged a time and place to meet for drinks,and dinner...

Dinner with Helen and Andreas - Miami Beach

GREAT to see them... ...

So much to catch up on.... since they stopped "cruising long distances", they've built a house up on Lake Simco, north of Toronto. Their boat is still in Lake Ontario, at Toronto.

Anyway... great evening... we might get together again for a walk on the south beach or a walk down Lincoln Mall.

We'll see...

OK... back to some chores, and making up some additional fresh water... (The water here where we're anchored is clear, and now free of jellyfish... in fact Sydney swam yesterday.... (second, and third pic.. swimming, and me assisting her into the dinghy)...

Sydney enjoying the warm Florida waters.

Assisting Sydney into the dinghy after swimming - Tired doggie!

Lake Worth to Miami on the outside (Atlantic)

We got up at 4 AM this morning...started the generator, made coffee, readied the wind vane, and sails, and raised the anchor. 

We went out the Lake Worth Channel and into the Atlantic at 5 AM...and turned south...

Dawn on the water...is always a special time....

We decided that we'd sail closer to the coast this trip... usually we're out a few miles.. We did find a very favorable counter current to the Gulf Stream.. Moving South... BUT..........

Wow!!!!! ..
what a "show" traveling close to the coast... talk about "traffic" !!!!
There were other cruisers, fishermen galore, dive boats by the dozens, commercial boats, and even kayakers; Oh My!

(Now what the heck is a lone kayaker doing 2 miles from the coast???)

All in all, it was a nice trip around on the outside today...

I did get to talk to one of the dive boat captains... as I was going by on dive site.

I asked him what they were diving "ON"... They were drift diving... but over several coral reefs... as several reefs all lined up with the current that was carrying us along too...

 

We used every sail on AB but the Spinaker, at various points of the day...

The winds were very fluky 5 to 15 knots, ... some rain squalls which brought higher but sporatic winds,

... some wind "on the nose" while it was making up it's mind what to do... but all in all... a fairly nice day, on the Atlantic.

We're now anchored at the northern end, (but not IN), Sunset Lake... (near the Julia Tuttle Bridge), Miami Beach.  

Lake Worth for two days, but leaving before dawn for Miami

Leaving before dawn from Lake Worth, bound for Miami.  Nice anchorage here... but found one strange thing due to the extended East winds...and wild seas for the last few days...(weeks) the sea life around us... cost us a generator impeller, and some tense moments.  

Night before last... we're laying in the aft cabin watching the last of "Criminal Minds" on TV.. and the generator was running (6 kW nORTHERN LIGHTS..) to charge the batteries before nighttime...

When all of sudden... and I mean sudden...the exhaust note changed on the diesel engine..(driving the generator)... and before I could get from the aft cabin, down the galley walk-way, and around to the engine room the generator shut down on "high temp"... (NO cooling water !!!!!! ) What the heck...?????

So I took the top off the raw water strainer... Inside the strainer was completely clogged with a portugese-man-o-war (jellyfish)....

after removing (carefully) the strainer... I opened the seacock again..with the top off the raw-water strainer...and more of the jelly fish came out of the inlet pipe... YUCK!!!!  (clear jelatious mass)!

Starfish at Peanut Island Park - Lake Worth (Palm Beach)

But the real problem was that in that few seconds of no cooling water... the impeller on the water pump 'toasted' itself... and now I have an impeller with 2-1/2 whole fins (out of the normal 12.     The strange thing is that once the strainer was clear... this old impeller actually cooled the generator... it Worked!!!!   but now it's replaced...and working efficiently.

Vero Beach FL - for a few days

We're now on a mooring at Vero Beach FL.  We're rafted up with a boat called "Dream Weaver" (Frank, and Patty)... but they're gone most of the time anyway...

It started raining last night, and hasn't really quit since... I've pumped out the dinghy about three times...  lot's of WATER !!!!!

We did don our foulies, and go into town today on the shuttle bus, that comes through the marina... (West Marine, Scuba store, book stores, and finally lunch at Panera's)... nice.
The bus quits at 1500 hours on Sat. and doesn't run at all on Sunday... so tomorrow has become laundry day... (regardless of the weather).

Sydney after Swimming - CRASHED !

So many of the cruising boats that are here now... came from St. Mary's (thanksgiving)... So many of them look so familiar...  maybe from the FL Keys, as well...

Titusville FLorida (for a few days)

We motorsailed down the Halifax River, through Mosquito Lagoon (that really is the name), and into the Indian River.  We're now taking a few days rest from moving, and enjoying Titusville.

We took one of the new mooring balls (B-2) at $15/night, as it the wind was really 'piping' up the last few days....and there's not much protection out here in one of the widest parts of the river.

Sheila, and Brian at Bare Foot Landing enroute to Titusville

Had a nice dinner with Brian and Shiela last night...after working on his propane monitoring system most of the afternoon. 

Container ship at Tybee Roads - Savannah

More later.

Days at St. Augustine, FL - relaxation plus projects

At St. Augusting FL for a few days....   Days of relaxation (from moving each day)...but days are still filled with projects....

Yesterday (Tuesday)was a busy, busy day...here at anchor(mooring) in St. Augustine.

My project list got a real work-over. 

I cleaned up the deck after all the moving South.

1.) flaking, and storing the stays'l, and bagging it...

2.) put the whisker pole back in the rail chocks;

3.) Gased up the dinghy (5 Gallons);

4.) Made about 2 hours worth of R.O. fresh water (at 5 GPH);

5.) Changed the carbon impregnated potable water filter;

6.) Tested the accumulator and found it had a broken bladder... so then substituted the accumulator from the aft head for the main accumulator (tested OK); 

7.) Ordered stuff from West Marine (VHF radio; accumulator; dinghy all around light, etc.)

8.) We called and got a "pump out" for the aft head holding tank... 

9.) I took the dinghy into the marina for non-ethanol gasoline in all the jerry cans ($48).  

10.) When I returned from the "gas run" I washed the grime, and 'diesel butt' off the entire hull at the water line in the late afternoon at slack tide.

We thought about going into town for a nice dinner... but that got completely reversed, as we decided to do marinated porkchops on the grille, with mashed potatoes, and sweet peas....

11.) then we did laundry at the marina lounge last night before NCIS.

Good decision... now we can walk up to West marine, and into town today..without that chore hanging over. 

Going for breakfast WED morning...up at our favorite Greek restaurant near hwy 1.

Dean at San Marcos Fort - with Mortar
(fortunately the one's we had in 'Nam' were smaller)

:)

Visit to Jacksonville - Arnold and Shannon's House

We split from the normal course South this year...and went west to Jacksonville, on the St. John's River.  Our friends Brian and Sheila continued south, on the AICW, toward their winter home at Titusville. 

We were invited to dinner at Shannon, and Arnold Smith's house. 

Sort of a belated Thanksgiving dinner...For two years Arnold (and Shannon last year) had driven down to St. Augustine to see us... so it seemed only fair that we come here... PLUS we wanted to see their gorgeous house.

Arnold showing me all the kitchen do-dads !!!  lots of them!

view of living room from second floor loft

Dean and Arnold getting ready to open wine - and unwind!

waterfall sink in lower bathroom - unique!

 

Dinner, hospitality, and conversations were great...

pond in back yard - with swans (none in this pic)

Stairs down to living room

We anchored just behind Exchange Island, in the Arlington River (only a stones throw from the St. John's river) and  used Arlington Marina as our dinghy landing, and an address for Arnold to come pick us up.

Wonderful way to spend a Sunday.   Monday we pulled the hook and worked our way down to St. Augustine, FL.  Very breezy (22 to 30 knot winds on the nose). 

 

Thanksgiving DAY - Thankful that no one was hurt.

November 24, 2011 – Thanksgiving Day

We indeed have a lot to be thankful for… but this was definitely not the typical St. Mary’s Thanksgiving!

OH WAIT…!!!! It was typical, in a way,…except for the timing of the weather pattern. It seems the NOW CUSTOMARY St. mary’s ‘dance of the boats’ happened right at Thanksgiving dinner time, and not the day before or the day after, as in years past.

For those not familiar with the ‘dance of the boats’… When a very strong wind opposes the tidal currents, you get some very weird resulting anchored vessel movements; … the reason being that sailing vessels can have very different keel configurations, and they are very different from the underside of power-vessels… and as a result the heavier boats with the larger keels react much differently than the others… fin keel sailboats tend to be fast under sail, and do the same thing at anchor (i.e. sail back and forth). Vessels like Autumn Borne (heavy with big keel) tend to be more stationary, and move more slowly…. (Power vessels.. with their relatively flat bottoms just zoom back and forth… “painting at anchor”).

Anyway… just as I was starting to cook the dish to pass for the thanksgiving dinner…the wind was kicking up something fierce and the radio became busy with notifications of boats dragging anchor, or nearly colliding with others as the normal swinging radius was affected by the wind opposing currents. (many boats were literally over or past their anchors, and with the rodes stretched tight backward under the keels).

Susan and I started our main engine, and let it idle… waiting to see if the boats next to us…would be a problem…. We decided that it was much too risky to leave Autumn Borne for a dinner in town. Our anchor was holding fine, and the AB wasn’t moving that much… but the catamaran to our starboard side was moving very differently than we were…and the double ender cutter to our port side was swinging wildly to a very long rode…. SO… No dinner!

But… I did complete the “dish to pass”…. And things did calm down a bit at one point… so we volunteered to bring our ‘dish to pass” to Moonshadow (who also decided not to leave the boat).

Just after my cooking was done, a large sloop dragged down on a small S/V on a mooring ball…and got the mooring pendant caught in the prop, and rudder. They called for assistance so, as long as Susan was comfortable with me leaving the AB… I took the dinghy down and tried to assist… but the 4 knot current…prevented us from separating the boat… and would make diving on the boats props…very dangerous… so we assisted in rafting the two boats together until the tide would change… That was ONE. Before I could get back to AB… the hand held shouted a call for help… boat aground near the main channel… I was close so I zipped over there…. YEP… they were beginning to heel over…with the outgoing tide… So I volunteered to take a kedge anchor out into deep water (channel)… so that when the water rose again…. They wouldn’t go farther aground, and could pull themselves back to deep water. Did that.

Then on the way back to AB (again)… I saw a Hylas collide with Brian and Sheila (Moonshadow)… and Brian’s secondary anchor was lodged in the stern pulpit of the Hylas…. I got there just in time to see the currents whip the Hylas forward and away from Moonshadow… but it did so taking Brian’s CQR anchor with him… so NOW they’re connected with Moonshadow’s 3/8” chain anchor rode…. Unreal…

So… I assisted the Owner of the Hylas (who, by the way was not on the vessel… at the beginning of all of this… but came after the first contact…. AND the Hylas was swinging to only 30 feet of chain, and a very, very large length of rope rode), in disengaging the anchor from the stern pulpit. Then I got on board Moonshadow and pulled the CQR anchor up… hand over hand… because the regular anchor was on the windlass…. And Brian said he doubted he could pull all that chain AND the anchor up without the windlass….

SO….end of story…. NOT on your life………………… I went back to AB to get the ‘dish to pass’…having just volunteered to bring it, wine, and Susan back to Moonshadow… as long as things were calming down…. Yeah Right….

Brian moved his boat back about 25 feet from the Hylas contact point… by the time we got back with dinner…. After dinner though…. the wind picked up again…and HERE comes the HYLAS again…. Twice it came bow straight for Moonshadow…. And twice the rode tightened and the stern swung clockwise and away from Moonshadow…. The third time the Hylas approached Moonshadow… bow on… the wind caught the stern of the Hylas…and whipped it COUNTERCLOCKWISE… and it spun right around and floated (with the aid of the 3-4 knot current) right down sideways beam-on onto Brian’s bow anchors, and bow pulput.

WELL… I want to tell you… the stern pulput of the HYLAS folded up, and collapsed like it was made of paper…. Not a scratch on Moonshadow….

The owner of the Hylas… (and I can’t believe he did this after the first collsion), actually went back to dinner at Seagle’s Restaurant, in town. How could you leave the boat under conditions when a good percentage of the boats are moving, dragging, re-anchoring in new spots….. etc. ???????

Anyway…. We couldn’t believe it…. This is three years , in a row, where friends have been involved in boat collisions here at St. Mary’s…

Vero Beach Thanksgiving, and their mooring balls are looking better and better!!!!

I did dinghy into the town docks, and go to Seagles just before sundown…and get a few left-overs…

ALL in all… the decision to stay with, or very near Autumn Borne was a prudent one. So it was a very strange Thanksgiving…. And we’re thankful that no one was hurt.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL...
We're here again at St. Mary's GA for this holiday.  We've come here with cruising friends (Brian and Sheila Strutt), and we've met some old cruising friends around the anchorage, and at the happy hours, (and pain-killer party hosted by Jage and Carmen of the s/v Simplicity)

Sunrise - Just gorgeous!!!!

happy hour at Seagle's Saloon - Strutts-Harry-Dean

Anne Stone and John Fazzio (S/v Steelaway)

Schooner "steelaway" - John Anne dean at hard dock - St. Mary's GA

Pretty breezy out here this AM;  we've already had two boats get together....time to get this day started.
.

Wow.... we made it... made it to Florida anyway...AND in time for Thanksgiving at St. Mary's GA. (which was one of the goals, of course).

That is always such a relaxing and enjoyable time.... (well... most of the time - long story there).

Anyway... we pulled anchor in the Cooper River, south of Beaufort, SC yesterday morning (Sunday).  

But...(and here's the blessing and the CURSE of the AICW in SC/GA (7.6 foot tides)), right at the mouth of Fields CUT, just before the Savannah River crossing... Moonshadow took to ground. Autumn Borne was right behind them... and slid by on their starboard side in 8.8 feet of water. Remember that 7.6 foot tide I mentioned...well it was falling like crazy... So IF Brian couldn't get off the mud pile in a few minutes... It might be a long, long while, and a crazy heel to one side...

They were in a place where there was a lot of traffic, and shallows all around them... so we couldn't go and toss them a line...etc. So Brian called Tow Boat US... Susan and I said 'We'll see you down the line' to the s/v Second Wind, who started down the Savannah River toward Tybee Island, and the ocean.

Susan and I then put Autumn Borne into the "wait mode"...(fwd at idle, facing into the 2.0 knot current in the Savannah River, and waited for Tow Boat US to rescue Moonshadow).

Ah... now for the Blessing part of the 7.6 foot tide: While waiting we checked weather, tides at St. Mary's, and we got a call from the s/v Second Wind...saying the ocean at large swells but looked good.

SO...........when Brian, and Sheila were 'free' we cruised out into the Atlantic, and headed SOUTH toward St. Mary's; anticiapated arrival time 2300 hours (right at the beginning of flood tide into the river).

An decent "outside" passage is so much nicer than worrying all day long about bridge openings, going aground, traffic, etc. on the AICW.   (The blessing of the ICW is that you can move south or north 99% of the time without worrying about weather).

the passage was a bit rocky...with 6+ swells from abeam, but other wise, wonderful, and we did get here right on time (2300 hours).  The wind was a little light, but you have to "be careful what you WISH for"! (Like "I wish there was more wind... and Wham! you get 46 knot winds)

While on one of my walk-abouts, around the boat yesterday, during passage I did discover two areas of chafe damage on the running and standing rigging: the topping lift line is starting to come apart (probably years of UV damage), and the mains'l sheet is suffering some chafe, and will have to be re-rove or reversed).

While in the Atlantic, and the water was clear, we made water for several hours, and did some other chores; all in all a nice passage... Granted coming in the St. Mary's river at night leaves a little to be desired, but we're now safely anchored just off Fernandina, Florida. 

 

After putting some fuel on board, we'll be going north to St. Mary's GA, and some 'rest-and relaxation' time.

Double Yeah!

Ocean hop terminated early - Wild Winds and Seas

WELL... today didn't quite work out as predicted... or forecasted...

The wind was supposed to be 10 to 15 knots dropping in the late morning...

The sea state was supposed to be 3 to 4 feet dropping to 2 to 3 feet...

WELL....we left the South Edisto River this morning with the s/v Second Wind, and Moonshadow.

As we made the turn down-wind it was pretty obvious that the seas were larger than predicted already...

As time went on.. the wind built to 18 to 20 knots with much higher gusts... (our max reading was 29.9 knots on the wind instrument)...

and the seas were building at the same time... We were doing 10.0 knots when surfing down the face of the waves... I could look horizontally at the tops of the waves... from the AB cockpit... That's a tall bit of water!

Anyway... Second Wind called and said they'd "had it" and were heading into Port Royal Sound...

We were looking forward to being in St. Mary's GA on Sunday Morning... but if you'll pardon the pun, the "Sound" idea sounded good to us...

BUT... running downwind was easy compared to the 7 mile stretch back to the shoreline...on a beam-reach. That run was really nasty... with 8 to 10 foot waves hitting us from the side... while running down a narrow inlet channel... with shoals on both sides...

Anyway..... we did enter Port Royal Sound, below Beaufort SC, and pick up the AICW as it crossed the sound. We're now anchored in The COOPER River...(Nice anchorage...quite a current, but good holding, and quiet).

Tomorrow we'll continue down the AICW until we can see the weather change, and/or get an opportunity to get out into the Ocean for another try.

 Nigel (the windvane) did a great job running just off "dead-down"... it's been a long time since we've needed "him"... The electric autopilot "Rosie" is a god-send while cruising the AICW.

Leaving South Edisto River tomorrow - ocean hop

Wow... haven't posted here in a while.... 
We've been through Charleston Harbor now.... and are now anchored in the St. Pierre's Creek, just off the South Edisto River....
WE'll leave tomorrow on a 24 hour hop in the Atlantic to St. Mary's GA...
Then... rest time... and Thanksgiving....
Then FL... Yeah !!!!

At Mile Hammock Bay - Camp LeJune NC this evening

We pulled the hook in the South River this morning at 0700 (well past sunrise).

By 0900 we had motored back into the Neuse River, and then down Adams Creek, past Cedar Creek (which is our normal anchorage spot)...

We could have done that portion of the trip the afternoon, of the day before...which would have put us 2 hours closer to Beaufort, NC at the time of weighing anchor, this morning.

BUT.... the disadvantage would have been... that two hours saved would have put us at the Atlantic Beach Bridge in Moorehead city at high tide, and Brian, and Sheila (s/v Moonshadow) would NOT have made it under the bridge... with their 63+ foot mast. UG!!!!

SO.... it was a trade off....   (which would later make us very late at the decision point of Swansboro, NC).

Even waiting for a falling tide... there were two boats anchored there...waiting for more tide to fall.... Makes us glad that our rig is only 60'-9" tall.

We're still dragging the dinghy, which makes it easy to visit friends at anchorages... but costs us fuel, and speed every day...

Brian and Shiela decided that they would anchor at Swansboro, upstream of the low bridge.... I (dean) hate that anchorage and would only anchor there again if I had no choice.... Susan and I decided we would take the last two hours of daylight and run like heck for Mile Hammock Bay... some 14 miles farther on down the AICW.   We'd also take our chances with the Onslow Beach Bridge, right before Mile Hammock Bay.

We made it 20 minutes before sundown.... and guess who's anchored next to us.... s/v "Second Wind" (Bill and Laura... charterboat people from Hop-0-Nose).  How wierd... They had an interuption in their trip south, as well... Laura's dad passed away... and necessitated a trip home.

The last time we saw the s/v "Second Wind" was off the coast of NJ. We had weighed anchor with Second Wind at Atlantic Highlands and set out for Delaware Bay.

But, about midnight, Susan and I opted to stop at Atlantic City; Bill and Laura decided to press-ON to Delaware Bay.

SO...............anyway.... the weather is not really cooperating with respect to 'jumping outside'.... storm coming.... and the ocean is still a wreck from TS "SEAN" out there...

The end result is we continue to slog along in the AICW....for a while until we get a weather window...

OH... we got that first "ICW-grounding" out of the way today.... 

you always worry about the " first one..".

WELL....we it a mud-mound at about 7.8 knots.... while motoring right in the middle of the channel.... Whooomp!!! UP and over.... must have raised the AB about a foot out of the water.... then we slid down the back side, but going a whole lot slower....

We had to laugh.... We joked about that being the JOE POOLER (s/v C-Note) school of bottom cleaning.... Joe used say..."there !!!!... that'll take care of the pesky barnacles on the bottom... CRUNCH!!!"

Down the AICW - Near Oriental NC

wow....  I just realized it's been along time since I posted to this blog... I guess we've been busy...  
We did finally get away from Great Bridge VA...   Brian and Sheila got their boat sorted out, after being away from it most of the Summer 2011.  We did some shopping (provisioning) while there.... and some small projects... 

We did get to see Bill Rice, and his friend Paul on Paul's katy-krogen trawler, "Bull Dog Sally". Nice visit.

dean - paul - Bill on the p/v Bull Dog Sally at Great Bridge, VA

It's now November 8th... and we've had one more delay... with the replacement of the main engine's heat exchanger.   We started to get "HOT" water in the bilge... (very unusual, and not a good sign)... but the good thing.. the engine was still COOL.... which obviously meant that the raw water pump was pumping sea water through the engine block, and with a pressure that exceeded the 7 PSIG of the radiator cap....  (we had a solid stream of hot water exiting the overflow tube from the cap fitting... at over 1400 rpm of the engine.   ;(

Heat Exchanger - Sea water cooling.

So..we ordered a heat exchanger (TAD1405) from Trans-Atlantic Diesel, and it arrived in Washington NC the next day.... Morris and Elizabeth Thorpe brought it down to us at Belhaven, NC.... and we installed that next day... Friday.

Completing that day of being "social butterflies".... we had lunch with Earl and Kathy Payne-Davis... (S/v Seeker).  They were visiting relatives in Fayetteville NC... about 1.5 hours away, and decided to drive up and see us....  wow... NICE!

So... today (Saturday) we took off from Belhaven, and motor-sailed to the South River, across the Neuse River from Oriental NC.   Tomorrow we'll be in Beaufort, our normal point of decision making.... (whether or not to jump off-shore to Charleston, SC, and St. Mary's GA).

So...we'll now check the weather and sea conditions....  take care.

Finally OUT of the Chesapeake Bay - Wow

We picked up the hook at Deltaville, VA Monday  morning....

I'm writing this from our anchorage at MILE Zero, in Norfolk /Portsmouth (Monday PM).
However.... the forecast of 5 to 10 knot winds... and 1 to 2 foot seas turned out to be a bit OFF !!!!

The reality was 12 to 23 knot winds from the EAST, and 3 to 5 foot chop....

We carried a double reefed main, stays'l, and 3/4 of the Yankee most of the day....

but we kept the engine running at just above idle....
(mainly because the winds would shift to JUST into that area, of close reaching, where you could only motor/sail, or start to TACK).
I can can say that the engine had 'an easy day of it'.... because the sails did most of the work... it just kept the batteries charged'.

It's busy here in the Elizabeth River (Mile Zero of the ICW).... the anchorage is FULL...

The restrictions on the bridges, to the south are now extensive...with rush hour lockouts, and hour or half hour openings.... that boats go through in giant "packets" 

The most thrilling part of this leg... was Norfolk Harbor, and the Elizabeth river.... upon entering the harbor, we had to dodge around a US Navy cruiser trying to dock.... (very slowly)... then avoid two container ships, and a bunch of tug/barges... busy place!!!!!

SO.... anyway... Today (November 1st) begins the slog down the ICW...

The nice thing.... you can "go" almost regardless of the weather.... and the scenery is, for the most part, gorgeous.

It's been a few days since our last post....

We were anchored at Weems Creek near Annapolis for about 5 days... visiting with friends (Deb, and Lili Taber; and Morina, and Owen Ware). 

 

I spent a little time in the sack with some 23 hour virus... but that passed quickly...   

We did get a chance to see Owen and Morina's new Gulfstar 44 ketch... and have dinner there...   and Deb Taber, as usual was a great host, and ran us everywhere we needed to go, around Annapolis.  

 

the remaining time between posts has been 'slogging' down the Chesapeake...in less than perfect conditions.

 

Friday we pulled the hook at the Solomons, and ventured out, into the Bay, after a wild night of wind, in the anchorage.. (with boats dragging anchor, and moving about, trying to find secure holding.... We held fine, right in the middle of the channel, where we normally anchor).

We expected the Bay to be full of rollers.... in fact, it was... 4 to 5 footers... fortunately we could take them on the quarter most of the way down the bay.

Last night when we looked at the weather... with the storm moving across the country, and bringing snow to the northeast, and cold, and wind...etc.     SOOOOOOO... a Friday sail or motor-sail...seemed to be in order... resting SATurday as the storm really passes over.... then moving on Sunday, or Monday.

We started with just a reefed mains'l, and the stays'l..... then as the wind began to die off from the initial 24 knots... to about 15 k. apparent...we used about 3/4 of the Yankee (for'sl), as well...

A little lumpy, but a nice ride.... but still a long, long day.... started at 8:30 AM... anchored by 6:00 PM... 

We rushed a bit, so we could enter the Deltaville entrance channel in the daylight, as it's really narrow, and has a few tight turns in it...

tonight... cold, and blustery outside.... Nice inside.....
Tomorrow we'll try to visit with Richard Rister (s/v Euphoria), who's boat is on the hard, getting ready for another season of cruising.

Next stop for us... NORFOLK, VA -- Can't be soon enough.... to get south....

This being chased South, by cold, and storms... could really OLD, really FAST!!!

We made it...

Woke up this morning to decent weather.... WELL... (sort of)...

it was very nice in STILL POND up at the north east corner of the Chesapeake....

I even pulled up the anchor with no-one at the helm... (remember..manual windlass)... it was THAT calm in the "pond"....(which by the way.. isn't a pond at all... just a small bay).

Anyway....once we started out into the chesapeake... toward Annapolis the protection given by the "Still POND" borders became violently obvious... the Bay was sort of a wreck... The color of a light chocolate milkshake, with the mud of the bottom stirred up....

As we continued to the South West I had to haul in the yankee to 1/4 of it's full size... the winds raised to 31.+ knots, at one point.... but for the most part stayed about 20 to 24 knots.... (for those sailors out there... the winds came to the point where the "backsides" of the waves were blown 'smooth'....then the breaking tops blew off...

Not a really good sign....)

For the first few hours of the trip down to Annapolis we looked like the only boat out there.... Small Craft Warnings were up but... it wasn't that bad... we were doing 7 to 8 knots, using the tidal current... as a boost...

The USCG came on the radio and mentioned that the US Navy was exercising a security area of 1000 yards around a naval vessel near the Severn River... (our destination)... GREAT!!! Turns out the naval vessel was a Submarine...

NEAT !!!! Small Attack type.... I think....

I had to laugh at that.... This is our fifth year of doing this.... and we still move during the crap weather, and sit and visit with friends during the nice weather.... Maybe someday we'll actually "MOVE during the GOOD weather"

Tonight we were picked up by Deb Taber, and went to dinner in East Port... NICE... we do look forward to visiting with Deb. Susan is staying over at Deb's tonight.... and I may do that tomorrow, IF Sydney will get along with their two cats.

STILL in STILL POND - Chesapeake Bay

Good Morning… it’s still Thursday the 20^th of OCT.

The wind started blowing toward Gale Force this morning… very early… about 4 AM… we were up a couple of times from then on until dawn…checking things… and not really getting back to sleep.

We did try to leave the Still Pond anchorage (although with this wind… it’s not a very ‘still pond’).  We pulled the anchor up about 0830 and tried to motor out into the Bay…. NO WAY…

Gale force gusts, with steady winds of 30 knots… with 3 to 5 foot waves, some coming over the bow… convinced us this was not a good move…. So we came about, and returned to STILL POND.

But… This time we anchored way over to the east, and against the south shore… somewhat more protected than the place we were in last night.

We’re still rocking a bit with the rollers coming in from the Bay… but it’s a LOT more protected…!!!

 

Anyway… we fixed a nice breakfast,  more coffee… I fixed the anchor ball, and am now making fresh water for dishes, etc.

I did manage to get in a nap… until one mammoth explosion entered my ears…. Wham… I was up and out of the berth like a shot… I thought the anchor chain, or swivel had snapped, and we would be adrift…  Turns out it was that Army proving ground just across the Bay…. Artillery…. I think it’s Aberdeen… ???    Must have been a "bunker buster"... !!!

Anyway…. Once awake… I decided to continue with some of the projects….

I did take the offending buzzer out the circuit for the main engine warning system; …. And tape up the wires…. That was truly weird… (why it started working after 6 months or more of sabbatical?????)

It does appear that we have better TV reception, and internet service on this side of the “pond”…. Don’t know why that would be, but… we’ll take it.

OK… have to go check the watermaker again…. Filling just the forward-starboard tank…for now…

Finally in the Chesapeake Bay - Yeah - WED.

After anchoring at 12:20 AM this morning... at Reedy Island after a very long day...(coming from Atlantic City, NJ...down the coast, then all the way up Delaware Bay...) we slept in a bit..

After a late breakfast...and tidying up the vessel a bit, and replacing the smallest Bilge pump, ...we decided that we were getting pounded in this anchorage at Reedy Is. (outgoing tide, and opposing wind)...with 2 to 3 foot waves rolling through anchorage, and pounding us in the side... (as you don't lay to the wind, and waves there... you lay to the current).

So...if we were going to get "pounded" anyway.. .we may as well do it while moving! So we upped anchor and took off to the C&D canal....

Picking up the anchor there, at Reedy Island, is always interesting... because as a result of the current, and it's affect on the hull, and keel.. the anchor is sometimes behind the boat (to our stern)... wierd but true...

So to raise the chain, Susan actually had to back the boat up while I wound in the chain. Fun Wow.

So... off we went...Wild, and foggy trip for the first 3 nm up to the C&D... one tug and barge came out of the C&D canal, and just dropped the hook right in front of us... Perhaps it was THAT BAD!!! ????

OH well...we were committed now...to the west bound passage. So... in we went with the wind behind us now... and an EBB tide Moveing toward the Chesapeake...we carried quite a bit of speed all the ways through and about half-way down the Chesapeake route to STILL POND, which is where we anchored.

 ONE weird thing happened about 1/2 hr away from our anchorage...the engine buzzer (trouble alarm started buzzing)... One would think.."OMG" shut the engine down... BUt wait... the buzzer hasn't worked in 6 months...(since the trip north)... why now.. The gauges (oil pressure, and water temp) show normal readings... Then as quick as it started.. the buzzing stopped... then started... then stopped... What the heck?????

So... tomorrow we take apart the engine control/display... and see what's happening.

We also discovered that with all the motoring and motor sailing in fairly rough waters...we've developed a leaky rudder packing. GREAT !!! Always something to keep us busy, right?

So...we're anchored in Still Pond just north of Annapolis, MD (about one day's sail). Weather will most likely make tomorrow a project day, right here at anchor. The barometer dropped about 1/4 of the glass...and the wind is now howling in the rigging. We're both tired...and may make a very early evening of it....

 

Still Waiting for Weather for NJ 'rounding - Atlantic Highlands

We're still waiting for a weather window to go 'round NJ... and down towards Cape May, then up the Delaware....

tow Boat US - hip towing 38 footer with ripped sails, and broken rudder.

It's been very stormy, and now windy here...  The ocean is a wreck (waves)... and you can see by the photo some didn't believe in or even look at the weather forecasts...

captain bounced this 38 footer off the bottom at Sandy Hook channels. OUCH!

We have had great holding with our Manson anchor, and chain rode (10:1 storm scope), but we've been "dragged down on" twice today... by others dragging anchor in the high winds.

The maximum wind we saw was 33+ knots.... but sustained winds of 27 knot went on most of the daylight hours.   This wind, andt the resulting waves put some strains on lots of ground tackle in this harbor.

Things calmed down a bit near 1700 hours, so Susan and I went for cocktails at the s/v Second Wind (anchored near by).  There are quite a few cruisers here now... waiting for that weather window to get South.  We'll see how many go on Sunday, and how many wait for Monday or longer...   It would nice if we could more than two weather web pages to agree on what the forecast will be....for this coming week.

Down the Hudson - through NYC

Left Haverstraw Bay this morning, and cruised through NYC in the afternoon.
Susan was out on deck snapping photos of the new / revised skyline. 

New World trade Center Building

Empire State Building

Statue of Liberty

New World Trade Building

Short Time Left at Hop-O-Nose Marina

We're now about a day away from starting south on the next adventure, on Autumn Borne.
It's been a wild summer here; running out to the Hudson to anchor, and weather storms (Hurricane/TS Irene, and the remnants from Hurricane Lee); and then being pinned to the docks for two other creek events.

Most of our projects have been completed, or are in the final throws.  The 6 year old Gel-Cell batteries have been replaced with AGM units, doubling the battery capacity of the AB.  The SSB transmitter, which had a slight corrosion, and static hit on the IC transmitter section is being repaired, and the watermaker will now have a new membrane.  

A week ago we constructed a second jerry can rail along the port side of the vessel. (The starboard rail holds the scuba tanks, and diesel, and now the water can be separated and moved to the port side (where the water fill fitting is located). 

We're trying a new blog layout too...  So... this should be interesting.  :)  

Flash Flood Warnings for Greene County - AGAIN !

WELL... it's morning... it's been raining all night... and the TV just issued flash flood warnings for Greene County...(which by the way... is where we ARE located)... GREAT !!!!    ;(

BUT... that being said... the creek (Catskill) is higher than normal, but doing OK... Considering the sheer volumn of water.. The docks with their new connections seem to be holding... (fingers crossed as I type this statement... making typing very difficult).

We're still "pinned" to the dock... with partially flattened fenders... but we trying not to panic and escape to the Hudson (again !!!)..

I may go out, in a short bit, and put a line back to the main dock finger, from a starboard side winch, at a 45 degree angle, to ease the strain on our dock finger...
 

On some positive notes: The battery connection cables showed up yesterday by FED-EX, ... so I installed them last night during the prime-time TV hours. SO, today I could complete the chnage-over to the AGM batteries (800 Ah). BUT, I hate to disconnect the starting/house batteries of the boat... at this time... when we might have to extricate ourselves from this dock at a moments notice....

The other positive point that happened yesterday...concerned the water heater for AB. I delayed calling Defender until 10AM so I could check the availablity at our "local" west Marine... The chances that West Marine would have the exact model that we needed seemed pretty remote...BUT....They DID!!!! Exactly... and in-STOCK.... Wow.

So...we went to Latham, NY and got the Water Heater, AND they matched the Defender Price...   West Marine still "sucks" at stocking the correct plumbing fittings.... but...at least they had the BIG thing.... yeah!!

Time to look out and see how things are doing...   It's STILL raining... in fact the 24/7 weather channel is now showing a big "RED" area above Catskill, NY... That is NOT GOOD... by the way.

Rebuilding the HON Marina after IRENE

It's now about two weeks after the hurricane / tropical storm Irene.  We're back at a dock at Hop-O-Nose. 

Element full of muddy water!

Our Honda Element was totaled in the flooding associated with IRENE... We turned in the plates this week.  
In the week after the hurricane (aka TS), we assisted Sean, other boaters, and the marina workers in rebuilding the docks, and opening the restaurant.

Dean and Mike after decking dock section

We got fairly good at re-decking the new docks... We got it down to about 22 minutes per dock (Good Teamwork)

Chair cleaning detail

In five days the restaurant was up and running, with the help many of the boaters, and friends.

Dean and Tim with impromptu Tug Boat - moving docks

Docks being pulled for repair after storm

Dean and Joe Reh assembling new dock sections.

Sue Stanley in new home - Worcester MA

dean and Rodney in Worcester MA -

Hurricane IRENE - Anchored in Hudson River

We weathered hurricane IRENE while anchored in the Hudson River.  There won't be many photos of this event because it's tough to take pictures when the rain is horizontal,and the winds a buffeting the boat at gale force velocities.

We left Hop-O-Nose (HON) Marina before the hurricane approached.  We left on Saturday around noon.  The major winds started about 0330 on Sunday morning.  It's still blowing now on Sunday night, as we post this... 20 to 25 knot gusts... but no rain now.

Creek rising over 8 feet; now above dining patio. Soon
six feet higher than you see it here!

It's a good thing we left the marina, because it's basically gone now... and our cars are literally floating in the parking lot.    Here we set, at anchor, near Athens, NY, in the Hudson River,  hearing all this news about the devastation at Catskill Creek (with water 10 to 12 feet above normal... flooding the parking lot, the restaurant, the office... and washing away the docks that was our summer "home").  Surreal...

Waterline at roofline of our Honda Element - Totalled!

We'll have to leave the AB in the Hudson River... and dinghy into HON to see how we can replace the cars...and whether or not we'll ever be able to return there. 
Not good thoughts.... any of them...  BUT the important thing is we're safe, and insurance will hopefully cover all the losses of cars...etc.

Boats that were on Jack stands floating on dining patio.

Fuel tank floated out of saddles and tipped over... crane
putting it back in place.

Dean cleaning tables inside Creekside Restaurant -
Water was five feet deep inside restaurant.

Friends power boats leaning against new flagpole 
Props bent - Rudders OK.

Marina Swimming POOL filled with muddy water,
and debris... YUCK!

UnKnown boat stuck under dock - All dock fingers -GONE!

Large Tree debris - stuck on our anchor chain in Hudson River.

Group of three trees stuck on anchor chain.
hit during the night.  - moved us 800 feet down river.

about three feet in diameter - BIG TREE !!!!!

more later.