Southbound - presently in Miami Beach- FEB-2010

We sailed (really motor/sailed) down from Fort Lauderdale on Sunday.  We're now anchored on the south side of the Venetian Causeway near Miami Beach.  We'll stay here for a while...

We've been traveling on and off with the two sailing vessels shown here (S/V catamaran Double Exposure; and during the last few weeks the S/V Bewitched) 
Photo taken in Peck Lake (near Hobe Sound) on the way south.  

The next photo is of the crews of these vessels; (Rick, Sue, Mike, Vickie, Susan, Dean) 

When we arrived in Miami, and entered through the Dodge Cut we saw the container ship "Intrepid" from Panama... with the Containers ajar.  It began to list near Key West, and 30 containers broke loose and fell into the Gulf Stream.  Most sank. The USCG is tracking (sort of) those that continue to move north in the Gulf Stream.

These containers are very dangerous for boaters, as they float nearly submerged (with tops barely awash)  ---  very hard to see....

Christmas in Arkansas - Stay in Titusville FL

We spent Christmas this year (2009) at the home of Lori, and Joe Roberston.  Ruth, and James met us there for a wonderful, and white Christmas.  It was 60F in Bentonville AR,  the week leading up to Christmas, then SNOW....   COOL!!!      

We toured the Sam Walton Museum in Downtown Bentonville (picture), and recieved a personal tour of WalMarts computer center (Joe), and Crisis/ Event Center).  

Returning to Florida Susan and I took a detour through Seneca SC to see Nick and Lynn Geiben. 

We got lost a few times, but always seemed to recover well...   (There's really no easy way to get from NW Arkansas to Seneca SC, and then to FL until you get to I-95).  

When we returned to Florida the jet stream moved south and brought the longest cold snap to FL on record. Wow,  was it COLD....   Fortunately we were at a dock, and could plug into Shore Power for a little heat.

Mornings it was as low as 37F in the main Salon of AB.  BRRRR.... 

We'd move the little heater to whereever we were in the boat... but it was still very Chilly!!!!

(the Butter got very hard ..... so now we're seeking that point where it will MELT again!)

We stayed in Titusville over a month... from before Christmas, to mid-January...  It's time now to move South to Vero Beach, Miami, and the KEYS.

While we've been here in Titusville, Brian and Sheila Strutt have been gratious hosts, trucking us here and there... whenever....   WE drove up to Datona at one point and purchased a helm seat (picture below)....

Actually there's been quite a few boat improvement projects accomplished while we've been here...  That's the one advantage to sitting still for a while....   :)

Thanksgiving at St. Mary's GA and outside to St. Augustine FL

We can't believe that November's over. Wow.  We sailed from Charleston, SC outside, to the St. Mary's  Inlet, thus skipping most of the SC, and all of the GA ICW.   That got us to St. Mary's GA on Friday, before Thanksgiving.   We spent a week anchored in the St. Mary's River (30 feet deep, and a 3 to 4 knot tidal current).  During that week the cruisers started arriving...mostly from the north.... and mostly coming down the ICW.  Thanksgiving was great.  90 Cruising boats were represented, and filled in the supplementary dinner dishes (the Town's people cook, and bring the Turkey's and hams).  YUMMM

The picture at the left shows just a little of the St. Mary's river anchorage.  (A lot of the cruisers had left when this photo was taken.  It was crowded on TG. 

The triple masted schooner in the center is the S/V Steel Away belonging to Anne and John Fazzio.
Great people, who, I guess now, could be classed as "locals" (at least for a while).   They were a great help to all the cruisers.   

Anne and John are pictured below.

 After Thanksgiving we stayed a day or two to relax after all the parties, and festivities.   Parties like happy hours, and "pain-killer"parties are "Work"....  :)

Anyway... then Susan and I set sail, and went outside and sailed down to St. Augustine FL, (about 65 nm including the 5 nm it takes to get out of the St. Mary's River).  
We made good time, but still just made St. Augustine before dark.
The trawler shown here passed us on the way into the St. Augustine Inlet.   The following birds were phenomenal.    Presently (DEC 2nd, and 3d) we're anchored north of the Bridge of Lions (still under renovating contruction).

We took a nice walk in St. Augustine today, before the storm hit...  Sydney even got ashore at the end of the day. 

The panorama below, taken from the Spanish Fort, shows the AB anchored out in the Harbor.   The St. Augustine Inlet is just to our stern (leading out to the Atlantic).

Love the gated yards, and architecture of the South.

St. George's street ALLEY (nearly empty)

Nor'Easter storm - North Carolina- Waiting for Weather

The remnants of hurricane Ida, wouldn't have been bad, but when they joined forces with a low pressure trough off the coast here, a wild nor'easter storm formed.  Many of the cruising boats took cover at marinas. Many found secure anchorages like the one we're in at Mile Hammoch Bay (Camp LeJune) NC.
We're anchored here with an average of about 11 other boats.  Plenty of swing room, and seems like good 'holding' for the anchor. 

The TV last night gave the rainfall totals for Onslow County of 9.26 inches, and then it rained again last night.
Wow.    We knew we got "pasted" with rain. The dinghy, which is floating at our stern, was filled with water, right to the top of the stern plate (and that's about 10 or 12 inches tall. 
( I bailed it out on Thursday, during a brief respite in the storm; changed the filter and water separator, and started the outboard (first pull -- Yeah!).
There was just enough play in the gas tank hold down straps to allow the tank to float a little and saved us from getting water in the fuel tank.   Second Yeah !!

The wind is really howling now.... but most of the rain has gone....   Very cloudy, and not inviting to move at all.     So...  second cup of coffee, projects, and reading day.    Move south on Saturday, weather willing.

Visit to "LIittle Washington", NC

It's October and we're secured along the docks of the Pamlico Plantation (Broad Creek off the Pamlico River) for about 6 days.  Morris and Elizabeth Thorpe are our hosts here at the Plantation.  It was great to see them, and an excellent time to complete the refrigeration work, and some electrical work (Generator Grounding System).

This weekend we'll shove off here, and make our way back down the Pamlico to meet the S/V Myosotis. 
The goal is to be down at St. Mary's GA for Thanksgiving.  That should be doable without major effort. 
Weather permitting we'd like to go offshore more than the ICW, but we'll see.

While at the dock here we replaced the Lube OIL heat exchanger that cools the lubrication oil for the main engine (Perkins),and the transmission (BorgWarner C-71).  Either something inside  the oil cooler (like a tube brazing joint) came adrift, or it just corroded a pinhole in the tubes, but we started to literally "pump" our engine lube oil over board through the engine exhaust.  Not Good!.  Three years ago, Susan and I replaced the transmission on the AB, while at a dock in Dinner Key, FL.   Not a fun job.  We seriously want to take care of this transmission, and, of course, the Perkins.

Another new addition (actually a relacement)  was a Toaster Oven.  The controls on the old oven bit the dust, and this one will take a full 12" frozen pizza...  yeah !!!    Plus it has a convection oven feature too.

Going South once again - Fall 2009

We're sailing south once again.  It's now the Fall of 2009.   It was sad to leave the Albany NY area, and it's close proximity to our many friends in Western New York. 
We had a easy trip down the Hudson River, past the Statue of Liberty, and over to Atlantic Highlands. 
Gar and Sandy Davidson came to spend a day with us while at the Highlands anchorage.

We waited one day for weather then went around NJ on the outside (ocean) for an overnight passage to Delaware Bay.   We had planned to anchor at Cape Henlopen; rest; and then catch the next flood tide up the Delaware (you can make nearly 10 knots SOG if you do this, and the early morning flood tide would give us the WHOLE day to make the C&D canal too).  WELL... change of plans.... (by the way... never do this...change plans when you're tired).  Anyway, the timing was such that as we crossed the bottom of Delaware Bay the flood tide of the afternoon had just begun.   SO we turned north, and continued up the Delaware.
Things were going OK, except the wind was building and coming from the north (our direction of travel).
The north wind AGAINST the north flowing flood tide made for some WILD waves (square and BIG).
We did make the Reedy Island Anchorage, but just before dark.   One wild passage around NJ.

We stopped at the Sassafras River and had a great Birthday dinner for Susan.   Our next stop was Annapolis to see our friends Deb and Scott Taber.   We also met some cruiser friends, Rob, and Bev Davidge, in the Weems Creek anchorage.  We had dinner and a day in Annapolis with Rob and Bev.
Rob and I went to the Power Boat show, while Susan and Bev went shopping.    Deb Taber picked us up the next morning for breakfast, and another day of touring the town.   We had breakfast at Chick and Ruth's diner (a classic NY style deli with huge portions, and wonderful food).  Nice!

On the way down the Chesapeake we stopped at the Solomon Islands again for two days.  We waited there for the S/V Myosotis to catch up with us (They had "worked" both boat shows at Annapolis !).   We had a great re-union cocktail hour, and dinner with the Rice's.
Our time with Jeanette, and Bill was too brief, as the next day they split off the southern track at the Potomac, while we headed for Deltaville, VA, which is where we are now (as this is posted).   Tomorrow, if the weather prediction is correct we'll catch a North wind for the sail down to Norfolk, and the beginning of the ICW.

Above is Deb Taber, and to the  right (and below) are the Davidges (Rob and Bev from the P/V R&B Haven). 

Our daughter also had a great season with her National Rugby Union team, the Albany Knickerbockers.  Not only did they fly to San Fransico to play in the National Sevens Tournement, but they won the northeast championship of their NRU club, and now fly to Houston, TX to play for the National Championship.   Way to go Knicks!

(Ruth will have a slight disadvantage to overcome (called jet lag), as the TX tournement starts, the day she gets back from a business trip to Japan).  Picture of Championship team below.

Summerfolk - 2009 - Owen Sound (Lake Huron)

A lot has happened since we rented the cabin along the shores of Lake Erie in July. We returned to the Autumn Borne for about a week, assembed camping gear, and took off with part of the HERD for Lake Huron's Owen Sound, and Summerfolk 2009 (folkfest).

Gar and Sandy Davidson, Kelvin Jones, Bill Pomerhn, and Susan and I were the attendees at the folkfest.







The Owen Sound festival is significanty smaller than the Philadelphia Folk Festival that we had usually attended in the past. Owen Sound is very "laid back", but had GREAT talent. We camped at a KOA on the east side of Owen Sound (about a 15 minute drive to Kelso Beach Park where the festival was held).


It was a beautiful venue, with the main stage amphitheater over looking the water of the Sound, and Georgian Bay (first photo, above).

There were half a dozen stages (aka workshops) going all day Saturday, and Sunday, and three night time concerts on the main stage. The music in the beer tent was great... (last photo).