One aspect of my philosophy of life I find challenging to following is to live in the present moment. I remind myself that it is truly all I have, but it remains a challenge. Right now we are enjoying a moment of peace in Boot Key Harbor, in Marathon. We arrived here last Tuesday. Upon our return, we found the surroundings here to be comfortable – almost like home. Almost immediately we bumped into two couples we consider friends whom we had spent time with here last winter. What a bonus!
When I manage to take the time to focus on our present situation, I smile a bit as I soak in the pleasant temperature, the mild breeze and the pelicans or herons flying by. I am reminded of how blessed we are to be able to enjoy all this. But then my focus changes to the list of boat tasks to be accomplished before we fly north for the Christmas holiday. Sandra is busy working out other duties so that we will have our act together when we head north. We leave tomorrow, and we've spent a good deal of the past week dealing with items on our lists.
We've actually spent most of our time since we left here last April focusing on travel, preparation for travel or addressing matters of one sort or another that crop up (like needing a new engine) while enjoying visits with family in different places along the East Coast. And we're still at it. In the next two weeks, we'll be sleeping in seven different places. We'll leave our summer clothes here and pack for some much cooler temps as we head north as far as New Hampshire with a number of stops along the way.
The challenge for me will be to fully appreciate each of those stops and focus on those opportunities for spending time with family and friends. Of course, we'll also be mindful of the timing for travel to the next stop. And it's not merely routine travel either. We'll be bringing along Maddie, our newest crew member, so everything is new and different for us. This includes the plane ride, the travel to homes and motels that must be pet friendly.
I suppose our circumstances are somewhat different from many, since we are traveling slowly by boat much of the time and staying in one place a few days but no longer than a few weeks before moving on once again. However, the challenge of focusing on the present moment is not a unique challenge for us. As I talk with others, I see their focus often on future plans, challenges at work or worry over the future consequences of events which already occurred in the past. I hear talk of a boss who doesn't understand, complaints about various government officials from the President down to a local city councilman, or perhaps the driver of the car ahead who is driving poorly as he tries to talk on the phone. Then there are the concerns over past events and worry about how the future will play out. All this concern comes from the expectation that somehow all this will impact our lives in the future in some negative way. There may also be some envy that crops up. We certainly hear it occasionally from those who wish they could enjoy our “relaxing” cruising lifestyle. Of course, they probably don't read this blog and don't have a clue about the work involved in maintaining all this. But there are others who envy someone's home, their income or some other aspect of life. All these concerns distract us from appreciating the present moment we live in – our only true reality. Everything else is history or expectation but not real at the moment.
As we head north to spend time with family and friends during this special season, I will try extra diligently to focus on our present moments and to appreciate them fully without distractions of future plans or concerns over past events.
May each of you who read this also have a holiday season full of precious present moments.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
South Florida - Up Close and Personal
We've done a bit of traveling since the last entry. Our original plan included a stop at Vero Beach. For those non-cruisers who have never taken a boat to Vero Beach, you should know that most tie up to a mooring but share that mooring with one or two other boats. Some people don't like being tied to another boat with people on it they've never met, but others see it as a way to get to know other boaters. Our problem right now was that our newest crew member doesn't like spending the night alone and was crying off and on during the night. The last thing we wanted to do was keep other boaters awake with our dog. So we skipped this stop. We stopped in Melbourne for the first time and then moved on down to another anchorage we never tried at Ft. Pierce. This provided us with the chance to check out another couple of towns we'd not visited before, because we always stopped at Vero.
Then it was on down the ICW to Lake Worth by Palm Beach. We'd been here before but never visited Peanut Island. There is a park on the island operated by the city of Palm Beach that is really nice. We walked around and checked out the beach and a snorkeling area, but didn't actually go in the water. Perhaps on our spring trip north. There is also a bunker on the island built for Kennedy while he was President. Tours are available, but we didn't take advantage. Again, perhaps on the spring trip north. We also met briefly with my sister and husband who live in West Palm Beach. We'd seen them at the reunion, but they really wanted to meet Maddie.
In the past, we'd always gone out into the ocean at Lake Worth and made a long day trip down to Key Biscayne or Miami. This time, the weather was not ideal for the trip – too much wind and wave action for our newest crew member. So once again, Maddie was influencing our travel. We stayed on the ICW to deal with more than 20 bridges in fewer than 50 miles to Ft. Lauderdale and then another 10 before we would arrive at Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove where we would pick up a mooring. No sharing here, but Maddie has adjusted to sleeping alone, so it would no longer be an issue.
Although we'd seen lots of expensive homes on our trips south, this portion of the travel still gave us pause. The ICW was narrow along this route, so we were closer to the homes. In fact, there is one stretch between West Palm and Ft. Lauderdale that's called the canyon. The shoreline on both sides is concrete, so any boat waves bounce back and forth across the narrow space. In spite of this and other challenges, we actually found it to be an interesting trip...bizarre in some ways, since we'd never been through an area of the country quite like this before. And traveling south by car just doesn't provide the same view of this stretch. Based on the multi-million dollar homes and so many highrise condos – some 30-40 stories high – we were also struck by the sense of a very high population, most with plenty of money. Boats considered big were once 50-75 feet long. Now to be considered big by us, one must be over 100 feet. We saw many in the 150 – 200 foot range parked in front of homes or at marinas specifically designed for these big boats. (I wonder how big a boat must be to become a ship.)
For those travelers who wonder about the bridges, we can say that the timing worked for us. Most were on a schedule, and we could travel fast enough to get from one bridge to the next and meet that schedule. Our new engine worked well and moved us a bit faster than the old one would have. So slower boats would have more of an issue here. We also left early in the day and stayed ahead of a lot of other cruiser traffic. That also made the bridges easier to deal with, since we were often the only boat going through.
We got to Coconut Grove early in the day and were able to go ashore to explore a bit. We found it similar to South Beach, also a part of the Miami area that we'd visited last fall. The marina is supposed to have more slips for boats than any other on the East Coast – pretty impressive. We'll spend a day here getting chores completed before moving on down to Marathon. This last leg of the trip south should take us two days. We're looking forward to arriving in Marathon and relaxing for a few days before getting on a plane to head back north for the holiday visits with family.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Then it was on down the ICW to Lake Worth by Palm Beach. We'd been here before but never visited Peanut Island. There is a park on the island operated by the city of Palm Beach that is really nice. We walked around and checked out the beach and a snorkeling area, but didn't actually go in the water. Perhaps on our spring trip north. There is also a bunker on the island built for Kennedy while he was President. Tours are available, but we didn't take advantage. Again, perhaps on the spring trip north. We also met briefly with my sister and husband who live in West Palm Beach. We'd seen them at the reunion, but they really wanted to meet Maddie.
In the past, we'd always gone out into the ocean at Lake Worth and made a long day trip down to Key Biscayne or Miami. This time, the weather was not ideal for the trip – too much wind and wave action for our newest crew member. So once again, Maddie was influencing our travel. We stayed on the ICW to deal with more than 20 bridges in fewer than 50 miles to Ft. Lauderdale and then another 10 before we would arrive at Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove where we would pick up a mooring. No sharing here, but Maddie has adjusted to sleeping alone, so it would no longer be an issue.
Although we'd seen lots of expensive homes on our trips south, this portion of the travel still gave us pause. The ICW was narrow along this route, so we were closer to the homes. In fact, there is one stretch between West Palm and Ft. Lauderdale that's called the canyon. The shoreline on both sides is concrete, so any boat waves bounce back and forth across the narrow space. In spite of this and other challenges, we actually found it to be an interesting trip...bizarre in some ways, since we'd never been through an area of the country quite like this before. And traveling south by car just doesn't provide the same view of this stretch. Based on the multi-million dollar homes and so many highrise condos – some 30-40 stories high – we were also struck by the sense of a very high population, most with plenty of money. Boats considered big were once 50-75 feet long. Now to be considered big by us, one must be over 100 feet. We saw many in the 150 – 200 foot range parked in front of homes or at marinas specifically designed for these big boats. (I wonder how big a boat must be to become a ship.)
For those travelers who wonder about the bridges, we can say that the timing worked for us. Most were on a schedule, and we could travel fast enough to get from one bridge to the next and meet that schedule. Our new engine worked well and moved us a bit faster than the old one would have. So slower boats would have more of an issue here. We also left early in the day and stayed ahead of a lot of other cruiser traffic. That also made the bridges easier to deal with, since we were often the only boat going through.
We got to Coconut Grove early in the day and were able to go ashore to explore a bit. We found it similar to South Beach, also a part of the Miami area that we'd visited last fall. The marina is supposed to have more slips for boats than any other on the East Coast – pretty impressive. We'll spend a day here getting chores completed before moving on down to Marathon. This last leg of the trip south should take us two days. We're looking forward to arriving in Marathon and relaxing for a few days before getting on a plane to head back north for the holiday visits with family.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Back Aboard After Thanksgiving
Most of this blog entry will not be about boating but reflections on our last couple of weeks. We left the boat and drove to Sandbridge, VA to celebrate Thanksgiving at our first family reunion with my two sisters and their families. All together there were 35 attendees. We spent a week at a large house right on the beach, complete with an indoor pool. It was a great experience for one and all. Attendees came from Florida and New Hampshire, the Carolinas, Virginia, Pennsylvania and California. A number had never met before. We walked the beach, watched dolphins just beyond the surf, walked trails at a local park, visited a zoo and a marine museum and flew kites...just a great time. With so many attending, mealtime could have been a real challenge, but everyone pitched in and it all worked out well. Sandra and I did most of the orchestrating ahead of time, so we feel good about the result. We look forward to the next time we can get together like this. We'll let someone else do the planning, though.
After leaving the reunion, we drove back south to St. Augustine, but not before picking up an additional crew member. We'd discussed this addition for some time, but never acted on it till now. The crew member is an eleven week old puppy, a Coton de Tulear. Most reading this haven't heard of this breed. It's not a common one in this country and is from Madagascar. We learned about it from Jennifer, who said it would be the perfect dog for our boat. It's small (3 lbs. right now), it likes to travel, likes to swim, doesn't shed and is hypoallergenic. So far she doesn't bark at all either. We've had her only a few days, but she's one our hearts already. Now added to my chores before we leave St. Augustine is putting up lifeline netting so we don't lose the dog overboard.
Can't end this without reporting on our engine. It has been replaced. We did a sea trial yesterday and after a bit of minor alignment adjustment, it ran real well. It's quieter than our last and has a bit more power. I'm hopeful that we'll be as happy with this as we were unhappy to have to make the change. After much discussion, we've come to the conclusion about at least part of the reason for the engine wear. It seems that the prop wasn't pitched properly for this engine, and I could never get it up to max rpms. Of course I was new to diesels and didn't realize that this might cause additional wear. As it turns out, this new engine has a bit more power and seems to be matched well to the prop. So we won't have to make a change there.
Getting back to the boat and to our cruising lifestyle is a real adjustment – so different from living on land as most people do. But we've already had a pleasant afternoon lunch and visit with friends we met on the St. John's River. We've been in touch with other friends we may be meeting with again soon. So in many ways we feel like we're home again...and that feels good.
More to come.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
After leaving the reunion, we drove back south to St. Augustine, but not before picking up an additional crew member. We'd discussed this addition for some time, but never acted on it till now. The crew member is an eleven week old puppy, a Coton de Tulear. Most reading this haven't heard of this breed. It's not a common one in this country and is from Madagascar. We learned about it from Jennifer, who said it would be the perfect dog for our boat. It's small (3 lbs. right now), it likes to travel, likes to swim, doesn't shed and is hypoallergenic. So far she doesn't bark at all either. We've had her only a few days, but she's one our hearts already. Now added to my chores before we leave St. Augustine is putting up lifeline netting so we don't lose the dog overboard.
Can't end this without reporting on our engine. It has been replaced. We did a sea trial yesterday and after a bit of minor alignment adjustment, it ran real well. It's quieter than our last and has a bit more power. I'm hopeful that we'll be as happy with this as we were unhappy to have to make the change. After much discussion, we've come to the conclusion about at least part of the reason for the engine wear. It seems that the prop wasn't pitched properly for this engine, and I could never get it up to max rpms. Of course I was new to diesels and didn't realize that this might cause additional wear. As it turns out, this new engine has a bit more power and seems to be matched well to the prop. So we won't have to make a change there.
Getting back to the boat and to our cruising lifestyle is a real adjustment – so different from living on land as most people do. But we've already had a pleasant afternoon lunch and visit with friends we met on the St. John's River. We've been in touch with other friends we may be meeting with again soon. So in many ways we feel like we're home again...and that feels good.
More to come.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Friday, November 18, 2011
A Break from Boating
As I write this addition to the blog, I'm at my daughter and son-in-law's (Jenn & Greg) home in Newport News, VA preparing for a Thanksgiving family reunion. This is such an abrupt change in setting for us, but one we'll thoroughly enjoy.
Following the last entry, we left Cumberland Island and traveled south to the St. John's River where we turned west for a couple of miles to the dock of a friend of a friend. While we'd never met these folks before, they came highly recommended from our friends on Tarwathie, Dick and Libby. Larry and Terri do some cruising down in the Keys and were interested in our experiences, so we took them up on the offer to stop by. We had a great visit and will look forward to future meetings with them...perhaps in Marathon next spring. The vista from their deck offered views of ships traveling up and down the St. John's. In the evening, the dolphins came by. We couldn't see them, but we could hear them coming up for air right near the boat.
From there we traveled the last 35 miles or so to St. Augustine and our boat repair. The Camache Cove Yacht Harbor treated us well as did Bo Bohanan at First Mate. Bo and his assistant spent hours exploring all the possible issues with our engine. The final outcome is that we're getting a new engine installed. While the engine hours were not real high, the piston rings and valves were worn enough to require either an overhaul or a replacement. We opted for the replacement, since we'd have to do it at some point before we quit cruising. With this work done now, we shouldn't need this level of work again while we're on the boat.
So while we were in St. Augustine, we decided to do some more touring here. We stop for a bit every time we pass by and are never disappointed Bo offered us tickets on the tourist train which provided us with a history of this first permanent European settlement. A couple of bits of history were of particular interest to us. First, the first Europeon settlement was actually in Pensacola where Sandra was born. Unfortunately the settlement only lasted a year, so it never made the history books. The other tidbit we learned was the fact that one of my ancestors, Sir Francis Drake, came by while the Spanish were still in charge. He attacked with canons and leveled the town, burning it to the ground. They rebuilt, however, so all was not lost. We also learned about Flagler's influence on the town in the late 1800s when he created a winter tourist destination for the wealthy. He also built a hospital, developed the railroad down the east coast of the state and also built homes for workers and more wealthy transplants.
So after a bit of touring, we rented a car and drove north back to where this fall's trip began in Virginia. This was a rather interesting experience as well. The trip south took us nearly four weeks. This return took us one day. We'd drive by sings for different towns and rivers noting how many days ago we'd passed this area heading south. This pace was so different. And we saw so much more at the slower pace. We were reminded of how little we learn about the country when we drive on the interstate highways. Although we'd driven south several times, when traveling down the ICW by boat, we really got to look at the territory for the first time. So there's something to be said for the slow pace of travel by boat.
As mentioned at the beginning of the entry, we're back in Virginia for a family reunion. We'll be back to the slow pace of traveling south once we check out our boat's new engine and leave St. Augustine around the end of the Month. Until then, happy Thanksgiving one and all!
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Following the last entry, we left Cumberland Island and traveled south to the St. John's River where we turned west for a couple of miles to the dock of a friend of a friend. While we'd never met these folks before, they came highly recommended from our friends on Tarwathie, Dick and Libby. Larry and Terri do some cruising down in the Keys and were interested in our experiences, so we took them up on the offer to stop by. We had a great visit and will look forward to future meetings with them...perhaps in Marathon next spring. The vista from their deck offered views of ships traveling up and down the St. John's. In the evening, the dolphins came by. We couldn't see them, but we could hear them coming up for air right near the boat.
From there we traveled the last 35 miles or so to St. Augustine and our boat repair. The Camache Cove Yacht Harbor treated us well as did Bo Bohanan at First Mate. Bo and his assistant spent hours exploring all the possible issues with our engine. The final outcome is that we're getting a new engine installed. While the engine hours were not real high, the piston rings and valves were worn enough to require either an overhaul or a replacement. We opted for the replacement, since we'd have to do it at some point before we quit cruising. With this work done now, we shouldn't need this level of work again while we're on the boat.
So while we were in St. Augustine, we decided to do some more touring here. We stop for a bit every time we pass by and are never disappointed Bo offered us tickets on the tourist train which provided us with a history of this first permanent European settlement. A couple of bits of history were of particular interest to us. First, the first Europeon settlement was actually in Pensacola where Sandra was born. Unfortunately the settlement only lasted a year, so it never made the history books. The other tidbit we learned was the fact that one of my ancestors, Sir Francis Drake, came by while the Spanish were still in charge. He attacked with canons and leveled the town, burning it to the ground. They rebuilt, however, so all was not lost. We also learned about Flagler's influence on the town in the late 1800s when he created a winter tourist destination for the wealthy. He also built a hospital, developed the railroad down the east coast of the state and also built homes for workers and more wealthy transplants.
So after a bit of touring, we rented a car and drove north back to where this fall's trip began in Virginia. This was a rather interesting experience as well. The trip south took us nearly four weeks. This return took us one day. We'd drive by sings for different towns and rivers noting how many days ago we'd passed this area heading south. This pace was so different. And we saw so much more at the slower pace. We were reminded of how little we learn about the country when we drive on the interstate highways. Although we'd driven south several times, when traveling down the ICW by boat, we really got to look at the territory for the first time. So there's something to be said for the slow pace of travel by boat.
As mentioned at the beginning of the entry, we're back in Virginia for a family reunion. We'll be back to the slow pace of traveling south once we check out our boat's new engine and leave St. Augustine around the end of the Month. Until then, happy Thanksgiving one and all!
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Transiting Georgia 11-11-11
It's been more than a week and a half since I last added to this blog. We have been traveling, but I just didn't get anything down. Part of the reason has been an ongoing and worsening engine problem that we will get addressed in St. Augustine next week. With that clouding my focus, no blog entries were added. Thus endeth the excuses.
We're now anchored at Cumberland Island in southern Georgia just about five miles from the Florida line. Because of the engine issue, we chose not to do any overnights in the ocean. Of course, given the weather over the past two weeks, we wouldn't have chosen to go out anyway. This is our fourth trip south and only the first one in which we sailed on the ICW through Georgia as we headed south. In the past we've avoided it because of reported shallow areas with lots of tidal current and tides as high as 9 feet in places. Last spring we did do the inside route, again due to weather on the ocean. But we were in a hurry to get back to Virginia, so we didn't notice much...just plodded along as best we could.
This time south we passed through Georgia and took our time – in part because the engine issue caused us to move more slowly and partly because it was important to go through certain areas at mid tide or better. Our days tended to end early, and we took time to see what we were passing through. What a beautiful area, this coastal Georgia. It's as pretty as any of the ICW we've traveled. We go through wild areas with little evidence of civilization. We see lots of birds, and dolphins are daily coming by to say “hi”. I know it sounds silly, but whenever we see them, they are aiming right for the boat. Today we could see them playing in our bow wave. Oh and by the way, the shallow areas, if taken at the right tide, are no worse than many other areas in the Carolinas.
Today we went ashore on Cumberland Island after arriving around 1 PM. We walked the beach collecting shells. We saw live welk hiding in the sand and some we thought were empty shells but turned out to be home to hermit crabs. Then we left the beach and headed to marshes where we saw spoonbills, storks, egrets, herons, ibises and other water birds. From there it was across the island where we saw wild turkeys, wild horses and deer. What a great walk! We're finally learning to stop more often to smell the roses along the way.
Did I mention we were just north of Florida. I think I may have been mistaken. At 8:45 PM, it's already down to 47 outside. It's a toasty 64 inside but dropping. We have quilts, so we'll be OK. The weekend is supposed to be in the mid 70s. Can't wait.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Monday, October 31, 2011
Just As We Think We've Got It Figured Out...
We are at a slip at the Carolina Beach State Park marina as this is written. We arrived here yesterday and will stay till tomorrow. Fall seems to be a time when Mother Nature isn't sure what sort of weather to provide. Some days it still feels like late summer as it did when we arrived at Wrightsville Beach just a few days ago. Sandra even went in for a swim. We walked to the beach and enjoyed the warm sun. Yesterday morning when we left the temperature was 40. This morning, it's cloudy with a temperature of 48. We're supposed to see cool temps again tonight, but Mother Nature will revert back to more summer-like temperatures by midweek.
During our travel here, we enjoyed seeing dolphins playing with fish by tossing them into the air with their tails before presumably eating them. We also experienced a couple of the challenges on that day, as well. As we approached the bridge at Wrightsville Beach at low tide, we had to contend with a strong tidal current pushing us to the bridge while several boats did their best not to run aground waiting for the opening. When the bridge finally opened we followed a big power boat under. Oblivious to the boats around it, this boat just got passed the bridge and then stopped dead in the water. We were under the bridge with little maneuvering room, and there was another boat just behind us. Finally we heard on the radio that this power boat was moving into a slip and we had to find a way to get around it. We did manage to avoid it and moved along toward our turn off the ICW to our anchorage. One must always be prepared for the unexpected.
We had come to a point when we thought we had most of this travel figured out and could avoid any real problems. We'd been helping guide a first time traveler from Canada down through some shallow spots today, and we were feeling like the experienced travelers. However, as we approached the turn in rather shallow water, we noticed a tug and barge had run aground right where we were to turn. The tug was spinning around a bit trying to get the barge free. Finally it was successful, but not before it had stirred up the bottom a bit. As we passed it and prepared to turn, we ran aground on a hump we think may have been created by the barge. We immediately radioed the boat behind us to go by since we weren't going anywhere. They did so and told us there was plenty of water just off to the right. The current spun us around and pushed us off the hump. That was a good thing. I noted that we'd run aground precisely in the middle of the channel. From there to our anchorage went smoothly.
However, when we left for this present spot, we had some engine issues that may slow us down a bunch. Fortunately the trip here was a short one lasting less than three hours, and we made it OK. I did my best to analyze the issue and take corrective action. Only more travel will tell us whether I was successful.
On a positive note, a friend from Sandra's past now living in eastern North Carolina, whom she'd not seen in 15 years, stopped by for a visit. She had been reading the blog and knew we'd be in Wrightsville Beach about now. She contacted us to arrange this meeting. What a great time we all had, so thanks Priscilla for making the effort.
Our current stop was recommended by Dick and Libby, cruisers we'd met last winter in Marathon. They told us how nice a spot it was and that we could collect pine needles here that were the longest we'd ever seen. They were right on all counts. It's a lovely spot, and the needles are about 15 inches long. We see more baskets in our future for sure.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Monday, October 24, 2011
Our First Days Heading South
Our plan was to leave on Friday morning, October 21st, and we managed to stick with that plan. However as we began, we were reminded of Mother Nature's impact on our plans. We knew we had to leave fairly early in the morning because the tide would out later and prevent us from moving the boat out of the slip. Given the weather a day earlier, the winds had blown some extra sea water out of the Bay, resulting in lower than usual tides. Hence we scooted out at 7:30 AM with just a few inches left under our keel.
I then had a pleasant surprise. Due to the wind direction, we were able to sail all the way down to the entrance of Hampton Roads – no engine needed. Now you may wonder what is so surprising about this. You're on a sailboat, aren't you. Well, the trip down the ICW is really a motor trip not a sail. There are times when there's enough wind to motor-sail, that is have the sails up to help us move along better than we could with engine alone. However, there are few days during this trip when we can just sail. We've done it sometimes during offshore portions of the trip or in a bay, but seldom do we find the wind strong enough or blowing the right direction to help us enough to avoid firing up the diesel. Much of the trip has us following winding rivers or along protected portions of the coast with little wind to help us. Since the trip is a long one, we're reluctant to be satisfied with sailing if we must do it at half the speed we could manage if we had the engine helping us. Therefore, I really enjoyed the fine sail down the Chesapeake Bay on our first morning of the trip.
I was reminded recently that many of those who read this blog have never been down the ICW and therefore know little about it. (For those who've made the trip, please forgive me. Feel free to skip this portion of the blog.) The ICW was originally conceived a long time ago. Portions were started at least during the time of George Washington. In fact, he promoted the idea. Basically, it a series of rivers, bays and sounds along the East Coast between Norfolk, Virginia and Miami, Florida that are dredged in places to assure that they are navigable. Then these bodies of water are connected by man-made canals of varying lengths in order to form a waterway the entire distance that is all protected waters. There is no need to sail in the ocean and add that risk to the trip. While it was created for commercial traffic, it is also used today by lots of pleasure boaters like us. Commercial traffic is still important along portions of the ICW, mostly in the form of tugs pushing or pulling large barges loaded with everything from gravel to heavy equipment. During these first two days of travel south from Norfolk, we covered a number of miles on the canals that help to make up the ICW. The longest one to date is twenty one miles long and connects two rivers in North Carolina. These canals aren't wide like rivers you'd imagine. They are less than 100 feet wide in places and usually about 12 – 16 feet deep. As we head further south, we'll see many expensive homes built along canals of the ICW – great examples of expensive, man-made waterfront property.
What we've noticed that is special about these first days of the trip are the contrasts that are so visible. On the first day we sail into Hampton Roads, the largest natural harbor in the world. We are quickly reminded that, not only is this a major commercial port, but it's also home to the Navy's Atlantic Fleet. We anchor that first night at mile marker 0 at the northern of the offical ICW. The anchorage there is called Hospital Point, since it's a cove by a large veterans hospital on the Portsmouth side of the Elizabeth River. On the opposite bank is downtown Norfolk with tall buildings and lots of lights. On the river, the traffic is steady with ships, tugs, ferries and pleasure craft. Since the Elizabeth River is narrow, one must continually be alert to traffic that may enter the river from any of the docks that line both sides. The river could look empty one minute and have a tug bearing down on you the next. We anchored in this mix for the night and awoke the next morning to find a Carnival Cruise Liner parked not 200 yards in front of us.
After dealing with bridges which must open to let us through and the hustle and bustle of the port, we soon found ourselves on a canal in what looks like ancient swamp and marshes with no signs of civilization. As we traveled down that long canal in North Carolina, we found ourselves even out of cell phone range in addition to no physical sign of civilization for miles. We'll see more of this sort of contrast as we continue south. It's part of what makes the trip so fascinating...at least the first time. For us now the trip has become familiar and less surprising. It's a long trip and we may skip some of it via an ocean passage. That's all weather dependent. Of course there's much for us to see and always some new sights as we travel down this protected route.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
I then had a pleasant surprise. Due to the wind direction, we were able to sail all the way down to the entrance of Hampton Roads – no engine needed. Now you may wonder what is so surprising about this. You're on a sailboat, aren't you. Well, the trip down the ICW is really a motor trip not a sail. There are times when there's enough wind to motor-sail, that is have the sails up to help us move along better than we could with engine alone. However, there are few days during this trip when we can just sail. We've done it sometimes during offshore portions of the trip or in a bay, but seldom do we find the wind strong enough or blowing the right direction to help us enough to avoid firing up the diesel. Much of the trip has us following winding rivers or along protected portions of the coast with little wind to help us. Since the trip is a long one, we're reluctant to be satisfied with sailing if we must do it at half the speed we could manage if we had the engine helping us. Therefore, I really enjoyed the fine sail down the Chesapeake Bay on our first morning of the trip.
I was reminded recently that many of those who read this blog have never been down the ICW and therefore know little about it. (For those who've made the trip, please forgive me. Feel free to skip this portion of the blog.) The ICW was originally conceived a long time ago. Portions were started at least during the time of George Washington. In fact, he promoted the idea. Basically, it a series of rivers, bays and sounds along the East Coast between Norfolk, Virginia and Miami, Florida that are dredged in places to assure that they are navigable. Then these bodies of water are connected by man-made canals of varying lengths in order to form a waterway the entire distance that is all protected waters. There is no need to sail in the ocean and add that risk to the trip. While it was created for commercial traffic, it is also used today by lots of pleasure boaters like us. Commercial traffic is still important along portions of the ICW, mostly in the form of tugs pushing or pulling large barges loaded with everything from gravel to heavy equipment. During these first two days of travel south from Norfolk, we covered a number of miles on the canals that help to make up the ICW. The longest one to date is twenty one miles long and connects two rivers in North Carolina. These canals aren't wide like rivers you'd imagine. They are less than 100 feet wide in places and usually about 12 – 16 feet deep. As we head further south, we'll see many expensive homes built along canals of the ICW – great examples of expensive, man-made waterfront property.
What we've noticed that is special about these first days of the trip are the contrasts that are so visible. On the first day we sail into Hampton Roads, the largest natural harbor in the world. We are quickly reminded that, not only is this a major commercial port, but it's also home to the Navy's Atlantic Fleet. We anchor that first night at mile marker 0 at the northern of the offical ICW. The anchorage there is called Hospital Point, since it's a cove by a large veterans hospital on the Portsmouth side of the Elizabeth River. On the opposite bank is downtown Norfolk with tall buildings and lots of lights. On the river, the traffic is steady with ships, tugs, ferries and pleasure craft. Since the Elizabeth River is narrow, one must continually be alert to traffic that may enter the river from any of the docks that line both sides. The river could look empty one minute and have a tug bearing down on you the next. We anchored in this mix for the night and awoke the next morning to find a Carnival Cruise Liner parked not 200 yards in front of us.
After dealing with bridges which must open to let us through and the hustle and bustle of the port, we soon found ourselves on a canal in what looks like ancient swamp and marshes with no signs of civilization. As we traveled down that long canal in North Carolina, we found ourselves even out of cell phone range in addition to no physical sign of civilization for miles. We'll see more of this sort of contrast as we continue south. It's part of what makes the trip so fascinating...at least the first time. For us now the trip has become familiar and less surprising. It's a long trip and we may skip some of it via an ocean passage. That's all weather dependent. Of course there's much for us to see and always some new sights as we travel down this protected route.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Southern Migration Begins for Us
Our time in Gloucester, VA has passed quickly. We've been busy attending to all that was on our list as we sorted out issues from our New England travel and prepared to move south to the Keys and Marathon. The job was made easier thanks to the hospitality of Jenn and Greg who offered their home to us and several meals while the boat was out of the water getting painted as well as at other times.
The boat now looks a bit better with a new paint job for the bottom and wax above the waterline. The boat has been cleaned inside and out, and we've swapped out that which we needed for the northern travel for that which will serve us as we head south. Included with the change of clothing and adding the bikes and kayaks is the addition of the cruising guides and charts that will help us as we travel down the ICW. We also include books on the wildlife we might find in south Florida and the Keys as well as snorkeling booklets to help us sort out what fish we might see or catch while there.
The boat issues were hopefully resolved during our stay here. We replaced the water pump and checked out the rest of the cooling system. We changed the fuel and oil filters and hopefully patched up a small leak in one of our water tanks. I also installed a third computer for the auto pilot. I was skeptical about such a change fixing our non-working unit, but the technicians at the company were out of other ideas. I was both surprised and pleased when a rather brief test sail earlier this week had the unit working for the first time since we bought it eleven months ago. We'll keep our fingers crossed that it's a permanent fix.
While I was addressing some of these issues, Sandra was focusing on provisions for the trip. Traveling through the Carolinas, it's not always easy to get to a grocery store with the sorts of food we hope to eat. Being primarily vegetarians and interested in whole grains and a variety of beans and pastas, we find it easier to stock up while we're here with enough to limit our need to shop on the way. It's always tough to know exactly what we'll need or want as we travel, so we may still need to add to this as we head south.
We're planning to head out on Friday (October 21st) which is earlier than we've left in previous years. In spite of that, I sometimes think we're leaving later than most others. This is primarily because we know of cruisers who have already started down the ditch, as they often call the ICW. One couple came down from NYC with us, and they're already nearly in South Carolina as I write this. Another couple we met in Maine stopped by here on their way south. They are leaving Beaufort, NC as we leave the Severn River Marina. A few other boaters left this marina in the past ten days headed south. That said, we know of two or three other boats also getting ready to leave here on Friday. And from our past experience, we know that we'll see lots of boats in Norfolk as we deal with the several bridges that need to open for us and the lock we'll pass through. We continue to be surprised by the number of boaters who head south each year as we do. The number is well into the thousands. We see hundreds as we travel, and we're sure that on most days this time of year, the ICW is full of travelers. Most sailboats travel at about the same speed. Since there isn't an abundance of anchorages, we seem to see many of the same boats each evening. As we stop in popular towns, some stay longer than others, so we leave with a somewhat different group and stay more or less together till the next popular spot. It's an interesting and different way to travel. For those not so familiar with boat travel, you should know that our speed is about 7 mph, and we don't travel the ICW at night. This limits our daily travel to somewhere between 40 and 70 miles. The variation is dependent on bridge openings, weather and tidal current.
But enough of all this. We're ready to head out. We'll do our best to share our experiences and thoughts along the way.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
The boat now looks a bit better with a new paint job for the bottom and wax above the waterline. The boat has been cleaned inside and out, and we've swapped out that which we needed for the northern travel for that which will serve us as we head south. Included with the change of clothing and adding the bikes and kayaks is the addition of the cruising guides and charts that will help us as we travel down the ICW. We also include books on the wildlife we might find in south Florida and the Keys as well as snorkeling booklets to help us sort out what fish we might see or catch while there.
The boat issues were hopefully resolved during our stay here. We replaced the water pump and checked out the rest of the cooling system. We changed the fuel and oil filters and hopefully patched up a small leak in one of our water tanks. I also installed a third computer for the auto pilot. I was skeptical about such a change fixing our non-working unit, but the technicians at the company were out of other ideas. I was both surprised and pleased when a rather brief test sail earlier this week had the unit working for the first time since we bought it eleven months ago. We'll keep our fingers crossed that it's a permanent fix.
While I was addressing some of these issues, Sandra was focusing on provisions for the trip. Traveling through the Carolinas, it's not always easy to get to a grocery store with the sorts of food we hope to eat. Being primarily vegetarians and interested in whole grains and a variety of beans and pastas, we find it easier to stock up while we're here with enough to limit our need to shop on the way. It's always tough to know exactly what we'll need or want as we travel, so we may still need to add to this as we head south.
We're planning to head out on Friday (October 21st) which is earlier than we've left in previous years. In spite of that, I sometimes think we're leaving later than most others. This is primarily because we know of cruisers who have already started down the ditch, as they often call the ICW. One couple came down from NYC with us, and they're already nearly in South Carolina as I write this. Another couple we met in Maine stopped by here on their way south. They are leaving Beaufort, NC as we leave the Severn River Marina. A few other boaters left this marina in the past ten days headed south. That said, we know of two or three other boats also getting ready to leave here on Friday. And from our past experience, we know that we'll see lots of boats in Norfolk as we deal with the several bridges that need to open for us and the lock we'll pass through. We continue to be surprised by the number of boaters who head south each year as we do. The number is well into the thousands. We see hundreds as we travel, and we're sure that on most days this time of year, the ICW is full of travelers. Most sailboats travel at about the same speed. Since there isn't an abundance of anchorages, we seem to see many of the same boats each evening. As we stop in popular towns, some stay longer than others, so we leave with a somewhat different group and stay more or less together till the next popular spot. It's an interesting and different way to travel. For those not so familiar with boat travel, you should know that our speed is about 7 mph, and we don't travel the ICW at night. This limits our daily travel to somewhere between 40 and 70 miles. The variation is dependent on bridge openings, weather and tidal current.
But enough of all this. We're ready to head out. We'll do our best to share our experiences and thoughts along the way.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Saturday, September 24, 2011
NYC to Virginia
As this is written at the Severn River Marina in Gloucester, Virginia, I am in a very different place from the last stop we made – Liberty Landing Park just off the Hudson River and New York City. We left Port Washington on Monday afternoon, a day later than originally planned, due to a problem with our engine's water pump. Fortunately, I had a spare. Although it wasn't quite up to the engine's demands, we'd used it before and I was confident it would get us back to Virginia where I could order a new one.
The next few days of travel point out to non-cruisers some of the challenges we've found traveling in a boat. But first let me tell you that we thoroughly enjoyed our time in NYC. We left Port Washington in the afternoon because of the tide in the East River. There's a spot called Hell Gate (nice name, don't you think) where the Harlem River enters the East River. The tidal current here can run at 5 knots or better. Since we have trouble doing more than 6 knots, we don't want to arrive at this point with the tide running the wrong way. Hence the afternoon travel. Then we had to go down the east channel where a bridge must open for us. We'd prefer the west channel, since there's no bridge to worry about, but Homeland Security was worried about the UN and so closed the west channel. Our timing was good, though, because shortly after we transited the East River, they closed both channels. We'd have been totally blocked from making our anchorage and would have to return to Port Washington against the tide. Not good. However, we had picked a good time and made our way out to the Hudson, still getting a view of the UN and getting our first look at the new building going up at Ground Zero as well as seeing a number of well-known sky scrapers including the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building.
Once out in the Hudson, we worked our way past a number of fast moving ferries and many police and Coast Guard boats all on patrol. Then it was across the Hudson past Ellis Island and Liberty herself. Although I'd been to the Statue of Liberty when we were much younger, going by in our boat was a special treat.
We anchored in NJ at Liberty Park with another couple, Dick & Libby, whom we'd met in Marathon. They'd spent the summer on the Erie Canal and then on Lake Champlain before heading south on the Hudson to NYC. We then spent the next morning on Manhattan, taking the ferry over to the financial district. We walked to a point where we could see much of the construction at Ground Zero and then took a bus around Battery Park over to the old seaport and did a little window shopping and lunch. The energy and cultural diversity of this place is really obvious, and it was worth our brief visit.
As we planned our next move, things began to get complicated. This is where the difference of traveling by boat becomes so apparent. We had to travel down the coast of NJ, and we'd hoped we could make the leg a day trip only and anchor somewhere on the Jersey Shore, but there were no safe inlets for us before Atlantic City. We couldn't reach that point until well after dark, and we had no desire to enter an unknown inlet in the dark. That meant our choices were down to two. Either we'd head all the way down to Cape Charles and the lower end of the Chesapeake in three days and two nights (not very attractive) or go overnight down to Cape May and turn up the Delaware Bay to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal that would take us to the Chesapeake Bay. The problem with that scenario is that the tide current would be running against us for several hours, making it nearly impossible to get to the canal in daylight. Even if we did, we'd have no place to stop until after dark. That didn't sound like a safe choice. We could have waited a few days hoping for better weather, but the tides in the Delaware Bay wouldn't be appropriate for another week. In the end, we decided to do the two night trip down in the ocean. The seas wouldn't be too bad, but the wind and waves would be against us, meaning little sailing and slow going. There was a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast as well. Of course this trip would be with an engine that couldn't run at full power due to the water pump issue mentioned earlier. We get little sleep on overnights. Plus our autopilot wasn't working, so we'd have to steer all the time. This makes the trip doubly tiring.
Our friends we'd met up with at Liberty Landing decided to do the same, since they were interested in getting down to North Carolina soon. It went as well as could be expected, but that wasn't good. We were doing less than 4 knots at times and the engine was running hot. By the time we reached the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, our oil pressure alarm went off, telling us we'd lost some oil due to the hot engine. We stopped to add more as the first of several large ships and tugs pulling barges went by. We weren't sure we'd make it to the marina, since we were later stopped by a passing thunder storm. We were in Mobjack Bay at the time, so we just pulled off the side and dropped our anchor until it passed. It turned out to be a brief stop, and we were able to continue our travel, but we arrived at the marina in a downpour. We again dropped the anchor and decided we'd deal with getting into the slip in the morning. We were exhausted and the boat was a mess.
Once we were settled, the rain stopped, and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset – a gift to help remind us what an unusually beautiful, serene spot this is. I know we appreciated this quiet spot when we lived here year round. After passing through spectacular scenery of a different sort, we can still appreciate this as well.
Once we're back we deal with all this straightening up. We also catch up on laundry, fill the water tanks, take the dinghy off the back of the boat and begin the preparation for the continued travel as we head down to Florida. That travel won't happen for a few weeks. We've got to work through the engine issues, paint the bottom of the boat and reorganize the boat for our southern experience. This will be the last entry for a while. Once we're ready to leave, I'll report back in. Till then best wishes to one and all.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
The next few days of travel point out to non-cruisers some of the challenges we've found traveling in a boat. But first let me tell you that we thoroughly enjoyed our time in NYC. We left Port Washington in the afternoon because of the tide in the East River. There's a spot called Hell Gate (nice name, don't you think) where the Harlem River enters the East River. The tidal current here can run at 5 knots or better. Since we have trouble doing more than 6 knots, we don't want to arrive at this point with the tide running the wrong way. Hence the afternoon travel. Then we had to go down the east channel where a bridge must open for us. We'd prefer the west channel, since there's no bridge to worry about, but Homeland Security was worried about the UN and so closed the west channel. Our timing was good, though, because shortly after we transited the East River, they closed both channels. We'd have been totally blocked from making our anchorage and would have to return to Port Washington against the tide. Not good. However, we had picked a good time and made our way out to the Hudson, still getting a view of the UN and getting our first look at the new building going up at Ground Zero as well as seeing a number of well-known sky scrapers including the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building.
Once out in the Hudson, we worked our way past a number of fast moving ferries and many police and Coast Guard boats all on patrol. Then it was across the Hudson past Ellis Island and Liberty herself. Although I'd been to the Statue of Liberty when we were much younger, going by in our boat was a special treat.
We anchored in NJ at Liberty Park with another couple, Dick & Libby, whom we'd met in Marathon. They'd spent the summer on the Erie Canal and then on Lake Champlain before heading south on the Hudson to NYC. We then spent the next morning on Manhattan, taking the ferry over to the financial district. We walked to a point where we could see much of the construction at Ground Zero and then took a bus around Battery Park over to the old seaport and did a little window shopping and lunch. The energy and cultural diversity of this place is really obvious, and it was worth our brief visit.
As we planned our next move, things began to get complicated. This is where the difference of traveling by boat becomes so apparent. We had to travel down the coast of NJ, and we'd hoped we could make the leg a day trip only and anchor somewhere on the Jersey Shore, but there were no safe inlets for us before Atlantic City. We couldn't reach that point until well after dark, and we had no desire to enter an unknown inlet in the dark. That meant our choices were down to two. Either we'd head all the way down to Cape Charles and the lower end of the Chesapeake in three days and two nights (not very attractive) or go overnight down to Cape May and turn up the Delaware Bay to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal that would take us to the Chesapeake Bay. The problem with that scenario is that the tide current would be running against us for several hours, making it nearly impossible to get to the canal in daylight. Even if we did, we'd have no place to stop until after dark. That didn't sound like a safe choice. We could have waited a few days hoping for better weather, but the tides in the Delaware Bay wouldn't be appropriate for another week. In the end, we decided to do the two night trip down in the ocean. The seas wouldn't be too bad, but the wind and waves would be against us, meaning little sailing and slow going. There was a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast as well. Of course this trip would be with an engine that couldn't run at full power due to the water pump issue mentioned earlier. We get little sleep on overnights. Plus our autopilot wasn't working, so we'd have to steer all the time. This makes the trip doubly tiring.
Our friends we'd met up with at Liberty Landing decided to do the same, since they were interested in getting down to North Carolina soon. It went as well as could be expected, but that wasn't good. We were doing less than 4 knots at times and the engine was running hot. By the time we reached the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, our oil pressure alarm went off, telling us we'd lost some oil due to the hot engine. We stopped to add more as the first of several large ships and tugs pulling barges went by. We weren't sure we'd make it to the marina, since we were later stopped by a passing thunder storm. We were in Mobjack Bay at the time, so we just pulled off the side and dropped our anchor until it passed. It turned out to be a brief stop, and we were able to continue our travel, but we arrived at the marina in a downpour. We again dropped the anchor and decided we'd deal with getting into the slip in the morning. We were exhausted and the boat was a mess.
Once we were settled, the rain stopped, and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset – a gift to help remind us what an unusually beautiful, serene spot this is. I know we appreciated this quiet spot when we lived here year round. After passing through spectacular scenery of a different sort, we can still appreciate this as well.
Once we're back we deal with all this straightening up. We also catch up on laundry, fill the water tanks, take the dinghy off the back of the boat and begin the preparation for the continued travel as we head down to Florida. That travel won't happen for a few weeks. We've got to work through the engine issues, paint the bottom of the boat and reorganize the boat for our southern experience. This will be the last entry for a while. Once we're ready to leave, I'll report back in. Till then best wishes to one and all.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Friday, September 16, 2011
Heading West on Long Island Sound
When we heard people talk about Long Island Sound, there were comments about The Race at the eastern end, but otherwise not much said about tidal currents. Therefore we were a bit surprised to experience the current most of the time for the past three days.
Knowing that The Race had strong currents, we planned to hit it at the appropriate time. Not knowing all about the area, we didn't choose to go through in the channel but rather a slightly shorter route south of the Race itself. This could have been a mistake in bad weather. The water depth where we traveled went from 130 feet to 270 feet in a very short distance. This created a tidal rip with steep, choppy waves crossing our path – this is otherwise calm weather. In windy weather this rip would have been really nasty. We were lucky but won't make the same mistake again.
Then, however, the tidal current helped carry us the remainder of our day to Truman Beach. Then on the next day as we traveled to Port Jefferson, we had a good push for the entire trip, saving us some time as we tried to get anchored before a front hit. Today we traveled again – this time to Port Washington, and again the tide pushed us most of the day. We were glad to have the luck that the tide was running our way, since we didn't know it was an issue and didn't plan for it.
Traveling Long Island Sound is truly a different experience from our NE travel. The coast looks different, offering no evergreens but lots of bluffs and cliffs overlooking the water. Our stop at Truman Beach was interesting, since it was a beach of pebbles rather than sand. Much of it was quartz and had the look of jelly beans. They almost looked good enough to eat.
Port Jefferson was a great stop, given the cold front that came through. We worked to get there early before the front hit and were successful, thanks in part to the tidal current. We had good protection from the strong north winds and also got to enjoy some time at a secluded beach with lots of shells for Sandra to collect.
Today we're on a mooring at Port Washington in Manhasset Bay, thanks to some guidance from other cruisers we met up in Maine. Dan and Kathy, who sail and live on Majiks, are traveling south ahead of us and have shared from their experience as we both travel. We plan to spend the day here tomorrow before sailing down the East River by Manhatten. We're looking forward to seeing the UN from the water as well as perhaps the 9-11 memorial before we pass by Liberty. What a great adventure we are on this year. New spectacular sights and meeting people along the way.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Knowing that The Race had strong currents, we planned to hit it at the appropriate time. Not knowing all about the area, we didn't choose to go through in the channel but rather a slightly shorter route south of the Race itself. This could have been a mistake in bad weather. The water depth where we traveled went from 130 feet to 270 feet in a very short distance. This created a tidal rip with steep, choppy waves crossing our path – this is otherwise calm weather. In windy weather this rip would have been really nasty. We were lucky but won't make the same mistake again.
Then, however, the tidal current helped carry us the remainder of our day to Truman Beach. Then on the next day as we traveled to Port Jefferson, we had a good push for the entire trip, saving us some time as we tried to get anchored before a front hit. Today we traveled again – this time to Port Washington, and again the tide pushed us most of the day. We were glad to have the luck that the tide was running our way, since we didn't know it was an issue and didn't plan for it.
Traveling Long Island Sound is truly a different experience from our NE travel. The coast looks different, offering no evergreens but lots of bluffs and cliffs overlooking the water. Our stop at Truman Beach was interesting, since it was a beach of pebbles rather than sand. Much of it was quartz and had the look of jelly beans. They almost looked good enough to eat.
Port Jefferson was a great stop, given the cold front that came through. We worked to get there early before the front hit and were successful, thanks in part to the tidal current. We had good protection from the strong north winds and also got to enjoy some time at a secluded beach with lots of shells for Sandra to collect.
Today we're on a mooring at Port Washington in Manhasset Bay, thanks to some guidance from other cruisers we met up in Maine. Dan and Kathy, who sail and live on Majiks, are traveling south ahead of us and have shared from their experience as we both travel. We plan to spend the day here tomorrow before sailing down the East River by Manhatten. We're looking forward to seeing the UN from the water as well as perhaps the 9-11 memorial before we pass by Liberty. What a great adventure we are on this year. New spectacular sights and meeting people along the way.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Good-by Onset - Hello Block Island
We've left Onset, MA after just over a week's stay. For us it was an important time in a quaint New England seaport town. We traveled up to New Hampshire to visit Samantha and family to see how they were doing with our newest grandson. While there, we managed to take an afternoon to go apple picking, a family tradition for many years while our girls were growing up.
After a few nights there, we returned to Onset, picking up Sandra's sister Paula for a night's stay on the boat before Scott, Sandra's brother, and family joined us for a final “good-by” to her mother and father. (Sandra's father passed away last September. As Sandra's mother did for her mother and brother, we distributed their ashes into the ocean waters with lots of flower petals and words of good-by. This was an important conclusion to a difficult summer. We know that her mother and father have moved on to better times, and we are thankful for that.
That concluded, it was time to pull up the anchor and move on also. Onset will be an extra special place to stop now as we travel north and south. We left Onset with the tide a bit late, considering the distance to Block Island. We had help from the tide, though, so we moved well and managed to complete the 60 mile trip just as the sun was setting. We were surprised that the anchorage had quite a few boats already, but there was still room for us.
Block Island is a real beautiful island that attracts lots of tourists. They must come by ferry or in the own boat. As we approached the island, we saw a ferry leave and another arrive. Then not more than 30 minutes later, a high speed ferry passed us on the way to the harbor as well. And this is supposed to be after the end of the busy season. We'll go ashore today to see if it's still as busy as the ferries suggest it might be. As we've walked around here in the past, we've wondered, as we did at North Haven earlier this summer, what life must be like living here all year. There is certainly a degree of peace that comes when the tourists leave for the year, but there is also the isolation. All the major support structure is a ferry boat ride away. While you can get some groceries and other supplies on island, the island life is not for those who like to spend time shopping. The winter population drops considerably, and all other friends are at least a boat ride away. In January, that could be an uncomfortable ride at best. Does this mean two cars – one on the island and the other on the mainland? We don't know, but it would be interesting to meet up with an islander and learn more about this life.
We move on to the eastern end of Long Island tomorrow and then continue westward through the Long Island Sound to NYC. New adventures ahead to share in the coming days.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
After a few nights there, we returned to Onset, picking up Sandra's sister Paula for a night's stay on the boat before Scott, Sandra's brother, and family joined us for a final “good-by” to her mother and father. (Sandra's father passed away last September. As Sandra's mother did for her mother and brother, we distributed their ashes into the ocean waters with lots of flower petals and words of good-by. This was an important conclusion to a difficult summer. We know that her mother and father have moved on to better times, and we are thankful for that.
That concluded, it was time to pull up the anchor and move on also. Onset will be an extra special place to stop now as we travel north and south. We left Onset with the tide a bit late, considering the distance to Block Island. We had help from the tide, though, so we moved well and managed to complete the 60 mile trip just as the sun was setting. We were surprised that the anchorage had quite a few boats already, but there was still room for us.
Block Island is a real beautiful island that attracts lots of tourists. They must come by ferry or in the own boat. As we approached the island, we saw a ferry leave and another arrive. Then not more than 30 minutes later, a high speed ferry passed us on the way to the harbor as well. And this is supposed to be after the end of the busy season. We'll go ashore today to see if it's still as busy as the ferries suggest it might be. As we've walked around here in the past, we've wondered, as we did at North Haven earlier this summer, what life must be like living here all year. There is certainly a degree of peace that comes when the tourists leave for the year, but there is also the isolation. All the major support structure is a ferry boat ride away. While you can get some groceries and other supplies on island, the island life is not for those who like to spend time shopping. The winter population drops considerably, and all other friends are at least a boat ride away. In January, that could be an uncomfortable ride at best. Does this mean two cars – one on the island and the other on the mainland? We don't know, but it would be interesting to meet up with an islander and learn more about this life.
We move on to the eastern end of Long Island tomorrow and then continue westward through the Long Island Sound to NYC. New adventures ahead to share in the coming days.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Interesting Contrasts To Consider
We sit here in Onset Bay now having enjoyed a good night's sleep to make up for the overnight sail down from Casco Bay. The weather for the trip couldn't have been much better. We began at dawn with little wind but a tidal current favoring our direction. A light breeze arrived to allow motor sailing and a more stable boat. (Sails help to keep the rolling to a minimum.) The day was a bit cool but beautifully sunny. By nightfall, however, the wind died and the swells increased to from 3 – 6 feet on the beam. The weather was still pleasant, but we rolled quite a bit – pretty uncomfortable till about 1:00 AM when we got protection from the northern end of Cape Cod. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, but we slowed down so we wouldn't have to enter the Canal in the dark. We set the anchor by 7 in the morning and crashed into bed for a bit.
We are now in a very different sort of place from where we'd spent the last couple of weeks. During that time we noticed the birds flying about us, actually quite a variety that I couldn't identify. We did see the usual gulls, terns, osprey and a few bald eagles. In the water we saw seals, porpoises and millions of barnacles clinging to rocks everywhere. We also saw lots of mussels. (I was tempted to try them, but we didn't know if there were local issues related, so I resisted the temptation.) On our trip down from Maine we were greeted by a pod of dolphins and saw at least four whales spouting, one of which came fairly close to the boat before sounding.
Of course we did see other boats – sailboats, fishing boats and lobster boats. And there were homes along the shore and small and medium sized towns as well. The atmosphere down here in Massachusetts is different. The Cape Cod Canal is man made as is the road that runs beside it, the bridges that cross it and the built up areas on either side. Off the boat a short distance, one could be anywhere in Massachusetts and expect to see similar surroundings. The atmosphere appears to be set by civilization rather than Mother Nature. On the coast of Maine, the rocky outcroppings and the common sight of lighthouses reminds us of who is really in charge. On shore in the several areas we visited, we found reminders everywhere that the people on the Maine coast respect the power of the sea and depend on it in one way or another, not totally unlike the seals, birds and whales.
Now that we appear to be back in more modern civilization, we find life less determined by the sea other than as it attracts tourists. The village of Onset is really a quaint coastal community we find to be appealing, but it unfortunately has suffered in recent years, it seems. It's not a big tourist stop, since most tend to pass it up to go onto the Cape just beyond. Walking the side streets, one could easily imagine themselves in an earlier generation when beachside hotels and condos were less visible, and people stayed in cottages at the shore. Traveling a mile or two out of the village and one jumps to the present day. It's an interesting contrast.
I'll probably have more reflections to share as we continue to travel along the coast back to Virginia. We'll be traveling through Long Island Sound, NYC and the coast of New Jersey for the first time. It will be a different kind of trip, I think, with it's own special character. I'll look forward to sharing all that as we leave Onset in a bit more than a week from now.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
We are now in a very different sort of place from where we'd spent the last couple of weeks. During that time we noticed the birds flying about us, actually quite a variety that I couldn't identify. We did see the usual gulls, terns, osprey and a few bald eagles. In the water we saw seals, porpoises and millions of barnacles clinging to rocks everywhere. We also saw lots of mussels. (I was tempted to try them, but we didn't know if there were local issues related, so I resisted the temptation.) On our trip down from Maine we were greeted by a pod of dolphins and saw at least four whales spouting, one of which came fairly close to the boat before sounding.
Of course we did see other boats – sailboats, fishing boats and lobster boats. And there were homes along the shore and small and medium sized towns as well. The atmosphere down here in Massachusetts is different. The Cape Cod Canal is man made as is the road that runs beside it, the bridges that cross it and the built up areas on either side. Off the boat a short distance, one could be anywhere in Massachusetts and expect to see similar surroundings. The atmosphere appears to be set by civilization rather than Mother Nature. On the coast of Maine, the rocky outcroppings and the common sight of lighthouses reminds us of who is really in charge. On shore in the several areas we visited, we found reminders everywhere that the people on the Maine coast respect the power of the sea and depend on it in one way or another, not totally unlike the seals, birds and whales.
Now that we appear to be back in more modern civilization, we find life less determined by the sea other than as it attracts tourists. The village of Onset is really a quaint coastal community we find to be appealing, but it unfortunately has suffered in recent years, it seems. It's not a big tourist stop, since most tend to pass it up to go onto the Cape just beyond. Walking the side streets, one could easily imagine themselves in an earlier generation when beachside hotels and condos were less visible, and people stayed in cottages at the shore. Traveling a mile or two out of the village and one jumps to the present day. It's an interesting contrast.
I'll probably have more reflections to share as we continue to travel along the coast back to Virginia. We'll be traveling through Long Island Sound, NYC and the coast of New Jersey for the first time. It will be a different kind of trip, I think, with it's own special character. I'll look forward to sharing all that as we leave Onset in a bit more than a week from now.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Survived Irene
Well, since I'm writing this, I must have survived Hurricane Irene. Actually it turned out to be much less than a hurricane for us. We got little rain, and the wind didn't seem to blow much over 35 kts. We enjoyed two nights at the Nebo Lodge on North Haven. We were well cared for and enjoyed our time there. The day before the storm hit, we went for a walk and kayaked some around Seal Cove. What a beautiful spot. We ended up moving the boat twice before leaving it. The first time was because two large barges with tugs anchored too near us for our comfort. Then as we prepared to leave the boat, a local summer resident offered his mooring for our use. He assured us it had been used for a 40 foot sailboat in the past. We took him up on his offer but added our anchor for insurance. Then we took down our canvas and secured the boat as best we could before leaving for the lodge.
Fortunately, the Lodge had Internet service, so we could keep up with the latest reports on the storm,s movements. We were encouraged when it weakened sooner than expected and moved a bit west. Our ability to use our phones was seriously limited. There was a spot on the town pier where we could predictably get service, but everywhere else on the island we tried was pretty iffy. Sometimes we'd get a text message but were unable to respond.
On Monday, we gathered our belongings and filled up the dinghy for the trip back to our home/boat. All was in fine shape. It just took some time to put everything back up for normal use. The next day we headed for Rockland. It's a short trip of just over two hours that got us to a place where we could get fuel and water, dump our trash and get a few staples before heading back down the coast.
Our original plan was to take our time with day trips down along the coast stopping for a day in Boothbay Harbor and Freeport. The weather was supposed to be really calm. However, we've more recently learned that a cold front is due by the weekend and may stall here for a day or two, creating problems for our travel. Hence we make another change in plans. We leave Linekin Bay near Boothbay for Casco Bay today and then head out overnight down to the Cape Cod Canal to arrive in Onset on Saturday morning.
The Maine coast is beautiful, and we aren't anxious to leave so soon, but the season is changing. We can already feel a bit of fall in the air. We head south to new adventures along with a bit of family visiting. Life is good.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Fortunately, the Lodge had Internet service, so we could keep up with the latest reports on the storm,s movements. We were encouraged when it weakened sooner than expected and moved a bit west. Our ability to use our phones was seriously limited. There was a spot on the town pier where we could predictably get service, but everywhere else on the island we tried was pretty iffy. Sometimes we'd get a text message but were unable to respond.
On Monday, we gathered our belongings and filled up the dinghy for the trip back to our home/boat. All was in fine shape. It just took some time to put everything back up for normal use. The next day we headed for Rockland. It's a short trip of just over two hours that got us to a place where we could get fuel and water, dump our trash and get a few staples before heading back down the coast.
Our original plan was to take our time with day trips down along the coast stopping for a day in Boothbay Harbor and Freeport. The weather was supposed to be really calm. However, we've more recently learned that a cold front is due by the weekend and may stall here for a day or two, creating problems for our travel. Hence we make another change in plans. We leave Linekin Bay near Boothbay for Casco Bay today and then head out overnight down to the Cape Cod Canal to arrive in Onset on Saturday morning.
The Maine coast is beautiful, and we aren't anxious to leave so soon, but the season is changing. We can already feel a bit of fall in the air. We head south to new adventures along with a bit of family visiting. Life is good.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Casco Bay to North Haven
While waiting out Irene on North Haven, I thought this would be a good time to bring all up to date on our travel from the Basin in Casco Bay to our present location. A later blog will provide a report on how we managed during this storm.
We spent two nights at the Basin and found it to be a really quiet attractive spot. On the second night there were eleven other boats at anchor, but nobody tried to crowd us. That was in part due to the fact that we had chosen a spot with nearly 30 feet of water at low tide. It seems that people won't anchor with that depth if they can avoid doing so. We had plenty of chain and an electric windless, so it worked for us.
Lobster buoys are everywhere. In some places we've traveled already we've passed through areas where there would be more than 8 buoys floating within a few boat lengths of us. We had good visibility, so working our way through the maize was not difficult, however. There were plenty of traps in the Basin as well. That worked to our advantage when I asked about buying a couple of lobsters from one of the lobstermen. No problem - $10 for the pair. They were delicious, fresh and sweet.
From the Basin, we moved to a nearby resort called Sebasco. For a price they offer moorings to boaters and complete access to the resort. We'd been here several times a number of years ago while we were doing all our sailing in Casco Bay. Once again we enjoyed our stay and met another sailing couple who had recently become full-time liveaboards. They are heading south for the first time, so we could offer a bit of help. They'd done lots of sailing in downeast Maine, so they were helpful to us as well.
On their advice, after two nights we left Casco Bay and sailed up to Port Clyde, a perfect example of a coastal working port with some support for tourists as well. After walking out to the lighthouse which protects the harbor, we enjoyed a great meal in town and then retired to the boat for the night.
The next day we sailed into Penobscot Bay and headed for a well-known anchorage called Pulpit Harbor on the island of North Haven. However upon arrival, we found all the best anchorage areas either full of boats or private moorings. We found this frustrating and sailed back out. It was an interesting harbor, but didn't seem to live up to its reputation. We then sailed around to the Fox Island Thoroughfare, a protected route between North Haven and Vinalhaven. We headed toward Seal Cove about a mile from the docks at North Haven. This turned out to be a beautiful spot. We enjoyed kayaking around some islands while being watched by a seal, and numerous birds. Sandra took lots of photos. We could imagine spending several days kayaking in this area. Our new friends from our Sebasco stay told us of another anchorage not far away that could keep us busy for another several days.
The town of North Haven has only about 300 year round residents, most of whom are working lobstermen or otherwise connected to the water. A few of the summer residents rank among the wealthy elite, however. There is one grocery store and only a two restaurants plus a snack bar. Galleries are more numerous, as the island attracts many artists. In some ways, the community takes you back 50 years. We're told that its important to wave to cars as they go by. Not to do so is just impolite. Everyone appears friendly and helpful. Nobody locks their doors, and many apparently leave their keys in their vehicles. It's that kind of place. Since we had to wait out a storm, we find this to be a really pleasant, beautiful place to do so.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Friday, August 26, 2011
Preparing for Irene
Who would suspect that a sailing summer in Maine should include preparing for a hurricane? Of course, we should know that it is possible. Years ago when we had a boat moored in Casco Bay and still lived in New Hampshire, we had to worry about Hurricane Bob. Two years ago we were back up here and another hurricane threatened us. We left the boat on a mooring in Freeport and went to stay with Sam and her family in New Hampshire. That one never materialized, but it appears that Irene will cause some nasty weather up here even if we don't see hurricane force winds.
So what have we done? Well for starters, we knew there was no place we could go to avoid it. We thought we'd look for a harbor and get a mooring to leave the boat on and then seek out a motel for the night or two of the storm. We chose Rockland as the only harbor nearby that has some protection. We tried calling to reserve a mooring, but nobody would bite. The harbormaster in Rockland says that he's getting all boats off moorings, because the harbor doesn't offer enough protection.
We are currently anchored in a cove of Vinalhaven just south of the town of North Haven. For those unfamiliar with Penobscot Bay, North Haven and Vinalhaven are two fairly large islands next to each other. North Haven has a quaint little village that serves summer residents as well as about 300 who live here year round.
This spot is remote in more ways than one. Where we're anchored we get occasional cell phone access, but most of the time we can't get out. We also get no Internet service. When we went in to North Haven, we found one spot by the dock next to a building where we could use our cell phones reliably. That was it. We also get one commercial TV station that drops out regularly. So getting hurricane information is a bit more difficult than we'd like. We actually got some of it from our daughter Jennifer when we called her. The town has a community center with Wifi, so we'll get this blog out in that manner and also get the latest on the storms path. The inn also has Wifi, so we can keep up to date while we're there.
The Harbormaster from Rockland suggested we keep our boat right where it was, since this cove offers some good protection. Not satisfied with that, we took the dinghy over to North Haven to check out possible moorings there. The owner of the moorings wasn't encouraging, since he hadn't checked them in a long while. There is an inn on the island, so we thought we'd at least get off the boat during the worst of the storm. They had some last minute cancellations (no surprise there), so we could get a room for the two nights at a mere $200 each. Well, it's only money, and we're about to celebrate our 43rd anniversary, so we decided to take the room. In preparation, we'll put down a second anchor with lots of anchor rode for both and close up the boat on Saturday. Then we'll have to find a safe place for the dinghy. Our only issue with the dinghy is that it tends to fill up with water from rain and sink low enough that the outboard gets some salt water where it shouldn't. I'll have to take off the outboard and put it on land somewhere safe. At that point, we'll have done all that we can. We'll just trust that it is enough.
We've got more to share about our recent time along the coast, but I'll add that to a future blog, as I also report on how we fared during Irene.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Back on the Water
We're back on the boat now after an extended time with family here in New England. We put the boat on the mooring at Great Island Boatyard nearly two months ago, and we've only spent a few nights on it since that time. All that is now history, and we are beginning our cruising time on the coast of Maine for at least the next couple of weeks. We spent the first two days on the mooring and then moved only a short distance to Snow Island for another night. Most of our daytime was spent getting the boat ready for travel once again.
I've been for a short swim just to get the prop cleaned off after two months of no movement. It was a bit brisk but tolerable. The next cleaning job for me was to tackle to bottom of the dinghy after it sat at the dinghy dock for several weeks motionless – no anti-fouling paint. I dragged the boat up the launch ramp and flipped it over. There was a real forest of soft gelatinous growth all over it. Fortunately this stuff came off with little fuss. I was surprised to find no barnacles as I had in Marathon, but the soft stuff must have weighed at least five pounds.
While I was addressing these issues, Sandra was trying to bring some order to chaos inside after we unloaded all our clothes, sundries, and a huge grocery order to restock the boat once again. Since Jenn's time with us on the boat was over for this trip, some reorganization was required to set the boat up for two instead of three people.
That addressed the physical issues we dealt with as we returned to our home. We also had to adjust to having just each other for company. Over the past 2+ months, we first had Jenn with us for the trip north. Then we stayed with our other daughter Sam and her family which grew by one when our third grandson Ryan was born on July 21st. This made for lots of exciting times with all three of the boys while we tried to help Sam with the new member of the family.
While this was keeping us busy, we also managed to spend a good deal of time with Sandra's sisters and brother and caring for their mother who ultimately passed away on the 4th of August – the same day that Ryan was due to come into this world. How fortunate that he chose to come early.
So this was a full, joyous and sad time for us, making the adjustment back to two by ourselves away from family particularly challenging. How fortunate we are to be able to spend this time on the beautiful coast of Maine.
After spending a couple of nights at the marina getting water and some fuel as well as some of the clean-up chores completed, we moved to nearby Snow Island for a night. We're now spending two nights at another great anchorage called the Basin. It really is a pond or small lake that is open to the Bay via a narrow entrance. Once here, you would have no idea that it's not just a small body of fresh water near the coast. An eagle's nest is set on one of the trees on a small island in the Basin, but we've yet to see the eagle. We have kayaked around a bit to collect a little sea lavender along with some pretty quartz rocks and chips of mica that we also found here in prior visits more than 14 years ago.
In our short time here, I've already noticed a difference from our time down south in the winter. Whenever we anchored in the south, it seemed the boats around us were all from other places, mostly on the east coast, but few local boats. Up here in Casco Bay, most of the boats at anchor are local to Maine. Occasionally we see a boat from MA or CT, but that's about it with the exception of two boats, one Annapolis and the other from FL. I half expected to see many southern boats up here to avoid the heat and enjoy the beauty of Maine. Perhaps they have all gone further downeast or have already begun their trek back south. Perhaps I'll see a change as we move to other places here on the coast.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Another View of Maine
After thinking more about my last entry, I was afraid that the blog sounded a bit like something from the local Chamber of Commerce. So here is another perspective on the coast of Maine.
The weather changed a bit following the printing of the last blog. In fact, it changed quite a bit. Gone was the sun and the nice temps in the 70s into the low 80s.The day we left South Freeport, the cloud cover was complete and the temps were in the low 60s at best. We traveled a short distance to Jewell Island, as I reported earlier. By late that day, the wind had picked up a bit and the temps had dipped a little more. The next morning as we thought about leaving for the east side of the Bay, we decided to change our route to avoid sailing out of the protection of the islands any more than necessary. It was rainy and cold (temps in the 50s) as we left. The wind was blowing in the 20s with gusts in the upper 20s, but in the protection of the islands, we were pretty comfortable. We needed to go out into the ocean only for a short 20 minutes before we could duck back in behind some rocks and then islands. In that 20 minutes, the rain got more intense and the waves built to 6-8 feet on the nose – more fun. Then we were back in quieter waters again for the remainder of the trip.
For those who have poor visibility looking forward, these waters could be quite challenging as one works to avoid the numerous lobster pot bouys.. We enjoy great visibility, so we have little trouble avoiding them. In some areas, they are much thicker than crab pots are anywhere in the Chesapeake Bay or down in the Keys. It's remarkable that there are any lobsters left!
After arriving at the Great Island Boat Yard and picking up a mooring, we particularly enjoyed a hot shower and some time off the boat. However we couldn't get away from the cold, damp conditions which persisted for the next two days. Everything on the boat was damp, and nothing would dry. In spite of the occasional rain, we did get out by Kayak and dinghy to explore a couple of nearby islands, saw more seals and located an eagle's nest..
As this is written, we are back in Maine, having driven over to New Hampshire to visit our other daughter , son in law, and grandchildren and then on to Massachusetts to visit Sandra's mother and sister. If all goes according to plan, we'll spend the 4th here before returning to NH. It may be a few weeks before another update is added to the blog, since we won't be on the boat much perhaps till August. Best wishes to all readers for a happy July.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Maine - Casco Bay
We left Block Island on Saturday as planned. The only aspect not part of the plan was caused by the weather – the fog which cloaked us and the sizable ocean swells that pushed us around for several hours until we reached Buzzards Bay a bit after noon. Fortunately there was little boat traffic in the fog, a fact we learned as we kept a close watch on our radar. Arriving at the northern end of the Bay and the western end of the Cape Cod Canal at slack tide made for an easy transit into Onset Bay. We anchored and enjoyed a quiet evening in a picturesque New England harbor. We knew we were in New England now merely by listening to the voices on the marine radio. Gone were the southern accents now replaced by those more common in Boston and places further downeast.
After visiting for a day with Sandra's mother and sister in Raynham, MA, we continued on our trek to Maine. We began by traveling through the ten miles or so of the Cape Cod Canal. For sailboats, there is only one option for traveling this route – with the tidal current. We were fortunate that the current was running our way for a morning passage. What a boost we got as we managed to move as fast as 11.8 kts as opposed to our normal speed of 6.3 kts.
Our good fortune continued as we headed north through Massachusetts Bay overnight on to the Gulf of Maine, as the seas remained calm and the breeze helped push us along. Traveling past the north end of Cape Cod, we also were visited by a humpback whale which surfaced several times as close as 100 yards from the boat.
As a bit of an aside, I've come to the conclusion that, while I enjoy sailing along with Mother Nature providing all the needed power, we generally use the engine or motor sail when on trips rather than sailing without the engine's help. This is very non-purist, I know. It's just that we prefer to remain at sea only as long as necessary, hoping to avoid unnecessary risks. Often the wind is not blowing the right direction or not strong enough to give us the 6 kts we can get using the engine. And if the wind does blow strong enough, we would prefer to avoid the seas that such winds bring. Sometimes we have found that traveling within 5 or 10 miles of the coast keeps us from having to pound through the larger seas. Of course, our travel on the ICW where sailing is rarely much help probably gets us accustomed to using the engine.
Back to Maine. Arriving in Casco Bay, I was reminded of the striking beauty this portion of the coast offers. Everywhere one is treated to views of rockbound islands painted in several shades of green of the evergreens, the oaks and grassy fields bordered this time of year by the wild roses and the blooming berry bushes. Casco Bay is not generally the area of the Maine coast often talked about. Penobscot Bay is usually the area mentioned as the classic Maine sailing area. We spent several years exploring Casco Bay and really find it so accommodating with protected anchorages never more than a few miles apart. There are many islands to explore with trails and campsites, tide pools and rocky promontories.
We arrived in the morning and anchored by a group of islands call The Goslings. As you might imagine, these are next to two larger islands, Upper and Lower Goose. What I like about this particular anchorage is a rocky outcropping that harbor seals like to rest on at low tide. Their presence had always been quite dependable. Sure enough, as we arrived we could see at least 20 resting there. After anchoring, we got in the kayaks to pay them a visit. They are cautious and slid down into the water as we approached. Once in their own element, their curiosity became evident. They'd pop up their heads to check us out. Jennifer even had one swim under her kayak and look up at her as it swam by. Jenn also got close to a bald eagle on those same rocks.
We later explored the island and their tide pools before moving on to South Freeport the next morning. We picked up a mooring and, after enjoying some seafood, walked into Freeport 3 miles away for some shopping at L. L. Bean and other outlet stores.
This morning we moved on to another uninhabited island – Jewell, one we've visited many times before. This island had an army post here during WWII to help protect Portland Harbor. Today what remains are two towers one can climb for great views, the slabs of what once served as the floor for a barracks and other buildings as well as the remains of two gun emplacements and underground tunnels for protected storage – really an interesting stop. We've visited all this before. Today we chose rather to visit a large tide pool called the punch bowl as well as the exposed surrounding rocks where the ocean waves crash relentlessly.
Tomorrow we travel to our last stop in Casco Bay for a while. We move across to the eastern side of the Bay up one of the inlets a few miles to Great Island Marine where we'll pick up another mooring. We'll leave the boat on that mooring for another family visit – this one to our daughter Samantha and our two grandsons. We know that we'll be back for more of the coast of Maine. These first days of our visit here have merely provided a glimpse of what this coast offers. We'll look forward to heading more downeast for more adventures upon our return.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Friday, June 17, 2011
North to Block Island
It's now Friday morning. We sit on a mooring in Great Salt Pond at Block Island. We arrived here yesterday afternoon after two interesting nights at sea.. We left the Severn River Marina on Monday as planned and made our way across the Chesapeake Bay to Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore where we anchored comfortably for the night. We enjoyed a pretty sunset and peaceful, short night's sleep. Our schedule called for a 6AM departure. Once out in the ocean, we dealt with a bit of a headwind and chop that gave us a bouncy ride for several hours. Things settled down during the latter part of the day, which we enjoyed.
With a crew of three (our daughter Jennifer has joined us for the trip north) and a two hour helm schedule, we each were able to have a break of four hours for sleep. Since we'd all taken Bonine to prevent sea sickness, sleeping when not on duty was easier than it might have been otherwise. The medication made us all pretty sleepy. Working against us in each of the overnight were brisk winds and a 4 foot or more chop which we continued to bang into. When bouncing around in bed, it's more difficult to sleep.
It was our good fortune that shipping traffic off the Delaware Bay and NY Harbor was light. What ships did show up gave us no trouble, since the AIS unit gave us all the necessary info to stay out of their way.
As a brief side note, another of our instruments did not help us as we'd hoped: our auto pilot. I had installed the second replacement computer for the instrument but was unable to give it a thorough testing before departing. It acted just as the last edition had – unable to hold a course for more than a few minutes. I managed to get technical support on the phone, but this problem seems to have them baffled. For us during the trip, it means that one of us must be steering the boat at all times. Since we'd become accustomed to letting the auto pilot do much of the steering when offshore, we find this situation to be much more tiring.
So much for venting frustrations. During our traveling up the coast, we continue to be reminded how varied is our East Coast. The coast of Virginia and Maryland along the Eastern Shore is nearly all salt marsh with little in the way of signs of civilizations (and no cell phone service.) In contrast to this, the south coast of New Jersey is quite built up. All the reading I had done about Cape May focused on the quaint old homes of this vacation community. Nothing was mentioned about line of tall buildings along the water. These extended with only a few gaps for miles up the coast. The eastern end of Long Island looked as I had expected – many large and small homes overlooking miles of beach.
Block Island is a beautiful spot about six miles off the coast of RI and 12 miles east of Montauk Point, Long Island. The island has a large protected harbor with a couple of marinas, many moorings and room to anchor...at least at the moment. The moorings, we were told, had just been put in for the season. It seems that this is a busy place beginning next week with the annual Block Island Race Week. From then on to Labor Day, we're told that the place is full and very busy. Marina slips and moorings are pricy when they're available. The anchorage is generally full also. That said, the island offers high bluffs overlooking the ocean, miles of beaches and a quaint town that is similar to towns on the coast of Maine. A ferry service runs form the mainland regularly to bring vacationers. If I didn't know already that the movie Jaws was filmed on Martha's Vineyard, I would not have been surprised if I was told that it had been filmed here. It has a look and feel of the Amity Island of the movie.
It's rainy and cool today, so we're getting the boat cleaned up, catching up on sleep and making decisions about how and when we'll continue this journey to Maine. As this is written, our plan is to leave here tomorrow for Onset, MA at the western end of the Cape Cod Canal.
I leave off this blog with another comment on a topic I've discussed before in this blog. As we travel into NE where we lived for so many years and so many of the places are familiar to us, I find it easier to answer the question as to where home is: it is here on Carpe Diem. Each anchorage will offer familiar surroundings with friends and family nearby which merely strengthens that feeling of being home.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Preparing to Leave Once Again
Two and a half weeks have passed since the last blog entry. In that time we've completed the boat projects we'd planned to undertake and a couple we hadn't planned on. We've taken some time to visit our younger daughter and her family in NH and also Sandra's mother and sister in Massachusetts. We've completed the provisioning and set up the boat for a crew of three instead of two, since our daughter Jenn will be joining us for the trip north.
As our departure date approaches, we review the weather predictions for the coastal areas we'll pass through as we head first up to Block Island. We've reviewed the charts and marked out our course. One issue is yet to be resolved. We'll hope to make it to Block Island with three days and two nights of travel in the ocean. However, we'll need some help from Mother Nature for that to work in the form of a favorable current and/or wind in the right direction to help us move quickly. We'll want to arrive in daylight. If that's not possible, we can always slow down a bit to arrive after a third night at sea. Not our choice, but we'll opt for that in lieu of arriving in the dark.
Some cruisers we've met would never undertake this trip, since it involves overnights in the ocean. Others would have it no other way. They like sailing out beyond the sight of land where there's no issue with shallow water, and they are more likely to get plenty of wind. We fall somewhere in between the two extremes. We prefer to anchor at night to allow for a good night's sleep. We travel in the ocean overnight when the other option just takes too many days. Of course, we won't go out there with strong winds or large waves predicted. Under those circumstances, we'll either wait it out or take the longer coastal route with day trips. So far the weather forecasts are within tolerable limits, so we're still planning to leave as scheduled. With this particular trip, we also benefit from our daughter's presence. With three on board, we'll get a bit more sleep between watches.
Some may ask at this point, “Why not skip all this extra work and time and just drive up there?” There are several reasons for this decision. First, life is meant to be an adventure. Where's the adventure in driving up to New England? Perhaps a bit scary on the highway at times, but not the adventure we hope for. Second, we plan to spend the whole summer up there visiting as well as cruising around some absolutely beautiful coastline. We get to see parts of the country unavailable to most. And if we see some whales, seals or dolphins along with large fish jumping, as we have in past trips up there, well that's just a bonus.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
A Part of Cruising One Seldom Read About
We're back in Virginia at the marina where all this traveling began last fall. We must now make changes to our supplies based on our plan to sail up to Maine next month. Since we have a storage unit here, we can easily swap out those items that worked for our travel south for other things that will aid us heading north from here. Our bikes come off. We used them extensively in the Keys, but we don't expect them to be as useful, given our plans up north this year. We will put our kayaks back on the deck. We didn't take them south, but we missed them. We know they will be useful in NE. To save space, we only took the charts and guides we'd need as we traveled south. So now we must swap them for the northern set. Finally, we must change some our clothes for those we are more likely to need during our time in Maine. It seems a bit odd to need more cool weather clothing for Maine in the summer than we do in Florida during the winter months.
Beyond provisioning, we take time to visit with our older daughter who lives nearby, an important reason for continuing to use this as our home port. And we make sure all the boat systems and parts are working well. Our bimini front panel needs replacing and two other panels need repair. We're getting these items taken care of while we're here.
We currently have two important issues to address with the boat: re-seating the rudder bearing and figuring out why the engine oil drip and crankcase pressure issues haven't been resolved as a result of earlier work. The rudder fix will require us to haul the boat, so we can drop the rudder out to re-seat the bearing. We'll clean up the boat's hull of barnacles and such while it's out. Depending on the source of the engine problem, that too may require work while the boat is out of the water – perhaps as much as an engine overhaul - $$$ - yuck!! The anxiety of this sort of problem is part of the price we pay as we wish to continue this adventure. Of course these issues also make picking a departure date somewhat more difficult. But we will persist and continue to aim for a mid-June departure.
Since our daughters lives nearby, we take advantage and stay with her while the boat is out of the water. This will give us some time to review with her our possible routes for heading to Maine, since she will join us for the trip up there.
Then there are the other, non-boat issues to address while we are here. These include annual car registration and inspection, deciding whether we get our eyes checked and schedule physicals now or wait till we return in the fall. We're also near our medical insurance agent and our bank. Are there reasons to visit either while we're here or can we continue to deal with them from a distance? These and other questions must be thought through carefully, since unlike most people, we spend so little time in our home port.
While we must address all this in an organized fashion, we will also take advantage of the access to our car and drive to MA and NH for a brief visit with the rest of our family. I'm not sure how we ever had time to work.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Back to Virginia
Our destination calls to us. (I could describe it as the homing instinct, but that would contradict a point made in an earlier blog.) We left Beaufort, NC knowing we had five days of travel ahead of us to return to our base marina in Mobjack Bay off the lower Chesapeake. Unlike the more southern portions of the ICW, this last leg should be plenty deep as long as we stay in the channel. There are no tide issues once we leave Adams Creek just north of Beaufort a ways until we reach the lock south of Norfolk. This is a stretch quite familiar to us, since we've traveled most of it seven times before. On the whole, this portion of the ICW is pretty benign. The one exception some might say would be the Albermarle Sound. About fifteen miles across, this relatively shallow body of water can be easily stirred up into a rather nasty state, and it has the reputation of being like this rather frequently. For us it wasn't too uncomfortable. We had the wind behind us, and we managed to get across before the afternoon winds kicked up the waves.
As cruisers head north across the Albermarle Sound, they are required to make a decision to either turn west and head for the Dismal Swamp route or more or less straight north to the Virginia Cut. Many fellow cruisers have told us how beautiful the Dismal Swamp route can be, but we've never opted for this route. The water depth is not that great, and logs have been known to lie under the surface. Boaters report that an occasional bump rarely causes harm. This spring the water depth was supposed to be pretty good for boaters, but we still passed on it in favor of the familiar Virginia Cut. As I reported in the beginning of this blog, our Virginia destination calls, and it appears that the Dismal Swamp option would likely require an extra day. Perhaps another year.
Now that we've traversed the Cut again in the spring, we were reminded of how beautiful this route is also. One travels in rather remote areas with aromatic smells of spring. We are certain there was jasmine growing out there. We just couldn't see it, but the distinctive smell wafted our way more than once. Additionally there were osprey nests on top of many of the navigational aids complete with chicks eager for their next meal. We're not sure the parents were happy with boat traffic so close to their nest, but we certainly enjoy the views. We even saw an adult osprey appear to be taking a bath right in the ICW channel. Fortunately the bath was finished and the bird was up and away by the time we passed. What a beautiful stretch of waterway!
We abruptly moved from the natural beauty of the remote areas to the noisy traffic, passing barges, busy shipyards and all the ugliness that is found in the back channels of the port of Hampton Roads - a huge change of scene! But moving through this got us to an important and well known spot on the ICW known as mile marker 0 – the northern terminus of this waterway – where we are now anchored. To the cruisers familiar with the ICW, this anchorage is known as Hospital Point and is directly across the Elizabeth River from downtown Norfolk. From here we can watch large ships and barges go by. Our night is lit up with all the city lights from both Norfolk on one side of the river and Portsmouth on the others.
And most important, from here we can reach the end of our boat travel for a bit, as tomorrow we sail up to the Severn River Marina off Mobjack Bay. It was from here that the travel began, and from here we launch other adventures. After a break from boat travel for about a month, we'll head out again still heading north. Our destination will be the coast of Maine. Future blogs will cover that travel, so stay tuned.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Meeting Friends
We spent town nights in Beaufort, NC and spoiled ourselves again by staying in a marina – Beaufort Town Docks. In part this is because we've yet to find a good place to anchor there and easily get to town. The marina's courtesy car also made it easy for us to get to a grocery store and to the Post Office, both somewhat out of town.
We also met up with two boating couples we'd gotten to know in Marathon: Dick and Libby on Tarwathie and George and Carol on Traumerei. When George read my most recent blog, it became clear to him that we were in the neighborhood. He and Carol live somewhat near Beaufort. We got a surprise call from him. He knew that Dick and Libby were docked in a neighboring town and so he suggested we all meet at the Beaufort Docks. He and Carol would pick up Dick and Libby and bring them also.
When we make friends while cruising, we're never quite sure when we'll see them next. It's not like we can plan to visit them next time we're in town. They're as mobile as we are. Weather, family and boat issues all influence our plans and location. So crossing paths at some point in the future is often more a matter of good fortune than our planning. So this unexpected meeting was a special treat for us, one that we thoroughly enjoyed.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
P.S. Remember that you can always know our latest locaton by logging on to Shiptrak.org and inserting my Ham callsign: N1SFR. This will bring up a map with all our stops on it.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
A Glimpse of Northbound Travel
St. Augustine seems to be a complex spot with a fort that first flew a Spanish flag, pirates sailing about and singing...with tourists aboard of course...cruisers flying flags from Sweden, Italy, England and Canada among other places. Henry Flagler's influence is evident with two 19th century hotels that he built to attract wealthy tourists which in turn got him involved with building a railway south along Florida's east coast to get them there and later down to Palm Beach and Miami. We toured one of those hotels, now turned into the Lightner Museum, originally one of those hotels. We also enjoyed a delicious lunch in the pool of the hotel (now empty, of course) that had been turned into an attractive cafe. This oldest city in the country provides examples of architecture and life here over the last 450 years. We have stopped here to visit each time we travel by.
We finally left St. Augustine after waiting out the weather mentioned in the last blog entry, at a time that would help us avoid low tide in tricky areas. Timing was important for a stress free trip. Since the tide changes from low to high in six hours and then back to low again about six hours later, we couldn't usually avoid traveling at low tide somewhere along the route. The trick was to work the timing to arrive at the critical spots when the tide was high enough.
We ended up staying on the ICW all the way through Georgia, a first for us, since we'd always taken the ocean option in past rips. Georgia was a pretty stretch of ICW but kept us out in coastal marsh terrain most of the time. Cumberland Island was a beautiful stop. Much of the Island is protected by the National Seashore. Just imagine nearly 20 miles of pristine beaches, walking trails through live oak and wild horses to greet you along the way.
After leaving Georgia behind, we anchored in Beaufort, SC. This is a pretty, classic southern town with lots to see and experience. We were on a mission, though, to get up to Virginia soon, so we had only an afternoon here on this trip. We left in the morning as the sun came up. A swing bridge had to be opened for us to continue north, and it doesn't open between 7AM and 9AM to accommodate heavy auto flow at that time. So we had to get through before 7:00 to stay on the tide schedule. We deal with lots of bridges during our travels on the ICW, so it's important to know their schedules for opening.
Two days later we were crossing Charleston Harbor and getting a view of Fort Sumter as we made our way out to sea for an overnight sail to Cape Fear and our next stop in Wrightsville Beach. This two day trip would have taken four days on the ICW, and the weather looked good for the ocean passage. Wrightsville Beach in May we found to be a spot young people like after school ends for the summer. We've been there twice in May and found it full of students enjoying the sun and beach. The jasmine is in bloom in May as well. The whole town seemed to smell of it – how fragrant!
We spent our first night at a marina as a treat to ourselves after getting little sleep during the ocean overnight. We enjoyed a stress free sleep as well as the marina's amenities of laundry and a courtesy car. We then moved nearby for a second night at anchor before hitting the ICW for another day of sightseeing along coastal North Carolina. This stretch required us to time our travel around three bridges that opened on restricted schedules, and also tried avoiding low tide as best we could.
This is typical travel for us on the ICW. Two more days and we'll reach Beaufort, NC - another picturesque coastal town (although quite different from the SC town of the same name) we'll enjoy for a day before heading north once again. Just to put this into a perspective for non-boating travelers, the trip from Wrightsville Beach to Beaufort would likely take no more than three hours by car rather than the two days for us by boat. Like the tortoise, we may be a bit slow, but we bring our home along with us, and we also get to see parts of this beautiful country invisible to most who can only travel quickly by auto.
Carpe Diem
Captain Bob
PS: Find our latest anchorage at: Shiptrak.org Type in callsign - N1SFR
Carpe Diem
Captain Bob
PS: Find our latest anchorage at: Shiptrak.org Type in callsign - N1SFR
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Change of Plans
We had planned to leave St. Augustine yesterday as the sun rose with plans to head up to Cumberland Island, GA. Just before leaving, we listened to the weather forecast one more time and decided that with the stormy weather due here on Thursday, we would be better served by being on a mooring rather than at anchor with the risk of dragging or, worse yet, some other boat dragging into us. So here we sit still in St. Augustine with our plans disrupted by weather and the potential of three days of frustration at not being able to do what we'd planned.
However, I prefer to see this last minute change as an opportunity for new and unplanned experiences, and sure enough, they come to those who seek them.
We had to check into the marina again to extend our stay on the mooring for the extra days. While there, we learned that this might be a safe place to leave the boat next fall as we head back north for a family reunion. We'd struggled with not knowing how to deal with this issue up till now.
Second, while there we learned that The Sailors Exchange still exists, and so we visited it. This is a large store that sells used boat equipment – lots of it. While we don't need anything at the moment, it could be an important resource for us during future trips.
Then yesterday evening, a young couple stopped by the boat in a dinghy to introduce themselves. They live on a boat just like ours, and they had a great interest in comparing notes with us about the boat. It turned out to be an enjoyable meeting, and they invited to their boat tonight. They also told us about their marina which sounds like an attractive spot to stay when we next travel south.
And we'll be here for two more days – what a fortunate change of plans with the possibility for more happy experiences! I find this to have been a great example of why one should look at unexpected, forced changes in plans as great opportunities for surprise experiences.
So if our plans don't change again, we'll move on to Cumberland Island, GA on Friday. We'll look forward to visiting with the wild horses there and enjoying the miles of empty beach. Life is good!
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
When is a Trip Not a Trip?
During a recent telephone conversation with a friend, I was asked if I was having a good trip. My first reaction was to assure him that I was. But as I thought more about it, my response reflected on a different question: was I actually on a trip at all?
This cruising life that we've adopted has begun to change the way I think about things. For instance, if we're on a trip, at what point does it come to an end – when we arrive in Virginia? In Maine? Back in Virginia in the fall? I could go on from here, but I suspect you get my point. Although we are traveling, the concept of a trip seems not to fit as it once might have. In the past, we'd go on a trip and then return home to pick up our lives where we left off prior to the trip. In our current lifestyle, we travel and then stop for a bit before traveling some more. Some stops may last two to four months, but the stops aren't necessarily in the same place, so it's not like that spot is home.
And this raises yet another question that has become somewhat difficult to answer: where is home? The question appears so simple, and yet when I'm asked the question, I've begun to struggle with the answer. If the question comes from another cruiser, I can explain our situation in a way that is understood. But if the question comes from someone else, I have some difficulty coming up with a meaningful response. I could say that our home is Gloucester, Virginia. However, what's there is a storage unit and a post office box that we don't use much. We are still registered to vote there, but we don't spend much of the time there anymore . But if that's not it, where would we say home is?
Sometimes I tell people our boat is our home wherever I may be. Home is no longer a geographical location for us. For most people, this doesn't really compute. Sometimes it still doesn't even compute for us either. This lifestyle just doesn't fit any norm that ordinary people can relate to. But it does seem to work for us right now. In spite of the strange nature of the cruising life, we really enjoy it and are therefore willing to put up with its non- traditional nature. In some ways I could say it's a product of our motto and boat's name: Carpe Diem.
For those interested in where we are, we're still in south Florida. We left Vero Beach today heading north on the ICW. We're aiming toward St. Augustine, America's oldest city and hope to be there by the end of the week. As always, you can check out our location on Shiptrak.org. Just enter my callsign N1SFR to get our latest anchorage.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
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