Jun. 28, 2008 - Not Too Good to Be True

All this for $30!!!

The economy is rough right now, food prices are high...much too high.  So how did we get all of this for $30?  www.angelfoodministries.com

This is not a food bank, this is not a charity program, it is not for the low-income, and there are no applications, interviews, or requirements other than to pay the $30 when you order your food. 

For the last few months we have been looking at their website, seeing promotions and advertisements all around...we've also been reading reviews on BWH (backwoods home website) as well as cruisersforum.com...and after another couple trying it last month and then having us over to share the filet mignon (yes, 4 filet in last month's selection!) we were sold. 

Today was the pickup day and wow!  375 people in this immediate area made the smart choice...people that look, act, and smell like you and me (well, I need to shower after working on projects, but...)

For $30 we got:

4 ribeye steaks

4 hamburger patties

2 Banquet family size lasagna meals

1 bag pizza rolls

2lb chicken tenders

1lb mild sausage

tater tots

baked beans

ketchup

pancake mix

5 packs Borden uht milk

Teddy Grahms

Banquet crock pot meal

corn

mixed veggies

and more...

There are pickup sites throughout the country...this is good quality food (we just had pizza rolls for dinner) and a tax write-off for the companies involved, so everyone wins.  Why pay more if you don't need to?

The biggest reason we have found is pride...people don't want to be associated with anything that might be percieved as "poor" or "charity" or such which is nonsense.  The website makes it clear everyone is welcome, their goal is to give relief to everyone amidst rising food costs. 

Like everything else we do, we sat in the background watching, reading, and talking to other to make sure this was tried and true and not too good to be true.  Well, here is our testimonial...Good on ya' Angel Food Ministries. 

Any questions?  Write us and ask...

Jun. 17, 2008 - Back to Basics

I can't believe it has been a month since the last blog... so, to quote the very falsetto Marvin Gaye... "What's goin' on?"

Well, Southport, NC absolutely must turn off their fiberglass magnet so we can leave.  To be fair, though, we haven't been in Southport the entire time... Holding Pattern has been, well, in a Holding Pattern.  She has been here but we have been in Ohio for two weeks for a funeral/mermorial service and to remove our landlocked belongings from the house that will be sold...what an adventure in itself.

We have not owned a car for three years now and driving occurs very rarely; so a 13 hour drive was an adventure in itself...70mph instead of 7 knots and, of course, a good torrential rain through the windy mountains (English can just suck...windy with a hard I, as in curvy...not the soft I as in a heavy breeze blowing through the hollers...) 

(Editors Note: I now realize that 99% of our talk is bout windy days not windy roads...but then there are windy rodes (boaters will understand the last pun as long as they pronounce it with the hard I...oh, man, I've got to stop this)

While in Dayton, Ohio we had a wonderful visit with family and were quite saddened to see that while we were in town, over 4,000 jobs were cut from multiple businesses...that's hard to see.  It made us very thankful the our expenses are very low and we can sort of control how much (or little) we spend...a little fuel, phone, and food.  Those are our three...everything else is optional (phone is not optional, I am horrified to say.)  On the bright side, we went to King's Island, the roller coaster park we grew up with and had a fantastic day with Heather's family getting the shizzle scared out of us.  After one ride that had corkscrews, loops, twists, turns, water, fire, and lots of screaming I told Heather, "That reminded me of that trip from Masonboro to Beaufort last year"  I'm glad we both have a very inappropriate sense of humour.

We didn't have to worry about being spoiled being in a house... we arrived post-estate sale so the home was void of a bed...bedding, yes...bed, no.  So we borrowed an air mattress with an unfortunate leak...when one of us would wake up delfated the other was awakened and the bed was refilled with air...this happened about 2-3 times per night.  We did try to find the leak but it was in the felt-top and the ugly beast never did rear it head...  Oh, yeah, the sewer backed up while we were there (happens about twice a year as I hear it...) and the hot water heater went on the blink.  We did, however, get to see a mama cat give birth to six kittens which was cool.

The cats went with us on the trip...asking someone to watch them for 2 weeks was out of the question as was putting them in a kennel or such.  Ours are resilient felines, thankfully, but they did not take well to the house.  They like to go outside (on deck only, never off board) which was out of the question at the house with a boxer on one side, some barky terrier-type critter on another, and a Jerry Springer Spaniel on yet another...plus we paid very little attention to the girls as we were buisier than a three-legged cat trying to bury a mouse on ice, so they sought us out continually.

But we're back, no worse for the wear, and getting ready to head out again.  Getting things put away, getting the fridge and freezer back on-line.  As soon as we got back the reefer decided to go on the fritz, finally we found a bad ground wire, thankfully an easy fix. 

We are very lucky to have friends like John & Mary on the trawler OZ.  We met them down in Vero Beach, FL this winter and they stay here at South Harbor Village during the summer.  They have been so generous running us around town and ringing us whenever they go into town to ask if we want to go on a field trip.  They took us to Wal-Mart, on a tour of Southport, and asked us to go to Wilmington with them...and we got a nice ferry ride (thankfully the language has separated those two words....ferry and fairy...I think this would be a different blog had I gone on a Fairy Ride...

I think it is late enough that this has gone from a useful blog to a strange rambling... tomorrow is the last day, we may leave here Wednesday, only time will tell.

Like Mary on OZ says, "It is what it is."  I like pragmatic people.

Next time, look forward to the tale of us nearly getting arrested by an off-duty, plainclothes officer for walking on a 2 lane road to get to the park...it is a tale in and of itself that ended in an official reprimand for Barney Fife.

Oh, yeah, it's late so my fingers are uncooperative and proofreading is non-existent.

May. 16, 2008 - Blow, Blow, Blow Our Boat

I know we're supposed to enjoy wind but it seems like we've had WIND! for the past month or two... first gale force in Titusville, 30+ knots in Fernandina, then came THE STORM in Charleston...it seems to be the talk of the waterway... many people got thrashed, and thrashed, and thrashed.  It was supposed to blow 25-35 and occasional gusts to gale force.  Well, it blew 30-40 with gusts to 68! (and some we're sure were higher but we weren't in the cockpit looking at the wind instruments then...)  We were much too close to two tornadoes, less than one mile than about 5 miles, respectively.  The first and closest happened about 4am and the second the next day.  Earlier, at about 0230, another boat dragged down on us in the wind.  In tighty-whities and a t-shirt armed with an air horn and 2 million candlepower of spotlight, Brian awakened the other boat and they took to action.  We both fendered up and the drama was minimized though drawn out by those pesky winds.  So Heather and I started an anchor watch of 2 hours each.  About 4 am, I was listening to NOAA give reports of the incoming weather, hail going from dime size to quarter to golf ball...I look out to see the other boat coming for us again...it was raining buckets and the hail was fortunately small but the wind was blowing from multiple directions.  Even though we had no tornado there was rotation in the winds.  Boats were everywhere and in the swing their bowsprit wedged into our cockpit and trying to remove it from our shrouds, I crunched a finger...middle one, very convenient.  Boats swung and they t-boned us onstarboard.  It was a dramatic few minutes...we escaped with minor damage, some cosmetic scratches and the other boat bent their bow roller.  It could have been much worse.  We settled the issue between ourselves and it caused some unfortunate hard feelings but to be honest, while they were out the first time, we were the only ones on deck in the heart of the strorm.  I am proud of Heather for handling herself calmly and sensibly in the midst of battle.  We both remained calm and did what was necessary and through the next day, at times it took both of us and all of our strength to inspect and renew chafe gear as we were getting 3-4 foot short chop waves in the harbor.  I can only hope that in time the other boat will leave this issue in Charleston... we are good people...

Here's the good part...in the midst of blowing the horn and making noise, we awakened another boat who was getting drug down on...all in all we counted 8 boats that tangled that night.  It was wicked.  The smaller boats (30-40') on the Megadock were taking boarding waves and spray into their cockpits.  It was a challenging 24-36 hours.

We got our window to Cape Fear and fled Charleston.  It was a very good trip offshore, beautiful sunrise, sunset, sunrise and lots of dolphin playing in our bow wake.

We met up with John and Mary on OZ here in Southport, NC and they took us around town...actually they played Taxi.  4 boats (2 sail, 1 trawler, and 1 power) were represented in the run to: Auto Zone, Bank, Liquor Store, and Grocery.  Everyone needed something so we dogpiled in the car and went off in search of Adventure.  

We're in Southport waiting for wind to die down, it has been 25-35 from last night all through today.  When it does die down we're off to Wrightsville Beach and then outside to Beaufort and as quick of a run as we can make to Annapolis for waiting work.

Well, Crosby, Stills, and Nash (can't remember if Young is here or not) have been playing happily on the background but I think we're going to turn off the stereo and take a walk (it's bad when you have to tack back and forth across the road on a stroll...)

May. 5, 2008 - Trauma, Drama, Pasta, and a Picture

25 miles offshore, Heather @ the helm, Takara on watch, front and right of center.

Brian was reefing the main for nightfall and this shot presented itself. 

Trauma: We lost Takara.  Sunday, Charleston...Brian was reading in the cockpit and Heather was on the phone...Vevela was her usual sedate self and Takara had gone for a walk around the deck to check the anchor gear and whatever else that feline does unsupervised.  Heather's grandfather just got a new calico kitten and she was talking about our own psycho-calico and Brian was a bit too enthralled with Mister B. Gone, Clive Barker's new book...five minutes later when Heather was off the phone and Brian had found a stop-spot the littlest member of the crew was nowhere to be found. 

Lately she has been a fiend, begging for treats, she even figured out how to open the sliding pantry door and help herself, in essence she has been an addict.  So when she didn't come when we shook treats, we got concerned.  When the catnip container was opened and she didn't come, something was definitely amiss.  We tore HP to pieces looking for her then split our forces: Brian in the dink and Heather onboard searching.  Concentric circles through the anchorage found nothing but the wind was blowing 20 and there were whitecaps...we joined forces again, both onboard then both in the dink...we searched every shore, the oyster and barnacle covered pilings were getting thrashed with the waves...needless to say, we shed more than a few tears for one of our two "kids" who was now gone.  Back onboard turned up nothing and another search in the dinghy only ran us aground in a weird shallow in the middle of nowhere, we were sputtering, low on gas...and both drenched.  With heavy hearts we hopped onboard to get money to fill up the gas can (which meant a sopping walk to the gas station, a waste of search time...)  Heather goes below and freezes.... "What?" I ask... there on the table sits Takara, cleaning herself and oblivious to the hell we've just been put through on her behalf.  She walks over to the treat door and sits next to it, expecting a reward for being cute...

Drama:  Yesterday morning we went in to do laundry early (0700) and noticed a new transient boat in the anchorage and a derelict boat had settled against them in the night (derelict is on at least 250 foot of line and swinging everywhere) we saw the transients on deck contemplating the dilemma as their anchor rode had wrapped... we return our laundry to HP and went to Ru'ua to see if we can assist.  Over putters Valkyrie (who we met in the fall in Elizabeth City, NC and is good friends with Ru'ua... small world again.)  We all try to push the derelict boat against the Charleston current to little avail....over comes another dinghy (with a boater in it) and with the 38hp between us, we swung the abandoned boat around until the lines were untangled.  Good old fashioned fun before 8am.

Pasta: Charleston Farmer's Market....there is a stand with a guy and a lady selling different fresh, handmade pastas (cracked black pepper, garlic parmesan, squid ink, etc)...their special was for $8.00 you get a pound of pasta, a quart of sauce with sausage and meatballs.  I wish I could remember the name of the pasta (a firmer gnocchi, half-rolls, half an inch long) but we both agree this ranks as one of the best Italian meals either of us has ever, ever, ever eaten. The meatballs were 2 inches in diameter and the sausage pieces were ping-pong ball sized... Not only that but it lasted 2 nights... so it came out to $2.00 per serving!!  Holy Cannoli, Batman...  Before we go offshore to Beaufort, we're going to call him up (their name and number is on the pasta bag) and see if we can get a refill...

That's it for now, we're just catching up on $ work, boat projects, and waiting for a 36-48 hour window to get offshore to Beaufort, NC.

Oh, on the domestic side...we've been making our own sourdough bread starter and later this week we'll be baking our first loaf...hopefully it's as yummy as it is fun.

Apr. 29, 2008 - Back in Charleston

We keep saying we're going to skip Charleston every yearly roundabout but then it seems that Charleston is perfectly placed in between Fernandina, FL and either Cape Fear or Beaufort, NC.  So it was a predictable 30 hour run replete with dolphin, jellyfish, lots of birds, and even a mosquito that found us at 25 miles out and a bumblebee that was attracted to us at 18 miles out. The half-moon at 3am was blood-red when it rose and for a while before actually breaking the horizon, the red-white reflection on the sea could be seen...it was spooky.  We made our way to Charleston and found a nice spot to drop the hook and promptly sat out two days of 20-30kt winds. 

April has been a very ship-bound month for us...between days underway and inclement weather (excessive wind and or rain) we spent 18 of 30 days onboard.  That is a record for us...so it is good to be in Charleston and be able to stretch our legs.  We've not been to a real grocery (Fred's doesn't count) since the 7th though we have picked up bread and milk on occasion (Nido is just as good and much cheaper than milk so we'll go with that quite often) so it will be a treat to go to Winn Dixie or oh, my Harris Teeter and see what the 'other side' eats (although last year we found a $3 documentary dvd on R. Crumb and it is still one of the best movies we've seen other than the $1 'Made in America' with Jeff Bridges, if you've never seen it, track it down and prepare for bizarre.)

We're going to sit out a couple of days here and enjoy the scenery before making the push to Beaufort, NC & on north.  The honeysuckle is in bloom and the city is so fragrant, it is unbelievable.  I cannot describe it without making it sound like something out of a Cindarela Barbie story and I'm not about to write that sort of blog, let's leave it with the phrase of 'the smell of the honeysuckle is resplendent'

Thanks to Greg on Argonauta, we've been making Salmon Pea Wiggle on a regular basis, he introduced us to this food   Here in Charleston we ran into Gary & Cheryl on Cerridwen who we met and made friends with in Annapolis.

Soon we'll be in NC...but not too soon, it's supposed to get into the 40's here in SC tonight so no hurry to head too far north too quick.

Th-th-that's all folks...

Apr. 23, 2008 - Seeing Spots

The Crew of Sunspot Baby hosts the Crew of Holding Pattern

She took my address and my name
Put my credit to shame
Sunspot Baby, sure had a real good time
Bob Seger

It's always fun to meet new people...and this was a bizarre example.  For years now we've been reading and posting on www.cruisersforum.com an online board for cruisers and sailors...and over time we've seen many posts by "Sunspot Baby"

Sunday April 20 we had just exited Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna Beach, FL and heading offshore to Fernandina Beach, FL, a quick overnight.  On the radio we hear Sunspot Baby hailing another vessel... how many catamarans named Sunspot Baby can there be?  So, we hail them and say hello...sure enough it is one and the same.

Fast forward to Tuesday...we're doing chores and on the VHF hear "Holding Pattern. Holding Pattern this is Sunspot Baby."  They had pulled into Fernandina Beach and were calling to invite us over for sundowners and snacks.  It's always fun to meet another couple or two (Starlight was over, also) and hear their adventures.

Oddly enough, Starlight was just in St. Augustine for the Gemini Rendezvous and know our good friends on Early Out...it's a small world, after all...that darned mouse was right.

Hearing Lynn from Sunspot Baby tell the story of misjudging the depth and ending up face first in the sand and water in full cold weather gear syaing to herself "Other 62 year old ladies are planning their canasta games and I'm lying here in the muck."  I love the spirit in these people we meet.

On another note...from the last blog...the new crew member's name is Pi.  "The Life of Pi" is a favorite book that Heather and I have both read numerous times.  Piscene is the true name and it fits, too.  If you've not read the book, you will do well to read it slowly and digest it.

We'll wait in Fernandina until we get another window and head for either Charleston or Cape Fear.

Apr. 16, 2008 - Rescue at Sea/New Crew Member + Heather's Blog

Wet, but looking well nonetheless

Rescue At Sea/New Crew Member

We have a new addition to the crew!  The wind has been blowing north 20-30 for the past few days.  We are one of only 3 boats who have anchored on the south side of the bridge for protection.  There are 20+ boats on the north side in 3 foot whitecaps.  We decided to go for a ride today in the dinghy since we had been onboard for a couple of days…we put on full foulies and headed out.  The water was a good bit calmer here than the north side but still splashy.  Ok, a good bit calm means 2 footers plus windblown spray.  We had gotten good and wet and taking spray in the face, we’d had enough fun for the time being and heading back to the boat we saw a brown lump floating in the water.  Turning around we retrieved a new animal for the Ark…a rescue mission.  Looking around we have these critters galore…monkeys, two frogs, a salamander, several bears of Teddy and Grateful Dead form, a turtle in an origami paper hat that Heather made, an octopus crafted from Brian’s mother, R2D2, a Jawa, Yoda, a goblin, and two felines that might as well be stuffed as little as they have moved today.

Heather wants suggestions for a name for this “lost soul”

Heather’s All Creatures Great and Small

When we left St. Augustine last year after 2 weeks we had an ecosystem growing on our chain.  The deck wash did not even begin to remove that nastiness that had accumulated…shrimp, barnacles, and other moving mud creatures covered the deck.

We have crows that pull off our spreader tape.  An osprey recently perched on top of our wind speed gauge and now it is malfunctioning…I don’t want to know how he perched there with the antenna on top of the mast.  We’ve also had osprey leave bones and bits of fish on deck.

Crabs that climb up our chain, into the dink, and even one adventurous Crusoe of a Crab who lived in our head (bathroom) sink drain for months.

Spiders decorate davits, lines, lifeline netting, and such with their webs.  We usually leave them since 99% of them are small and harmless…they eat the mosquitoes and no-see-ums.  So they’re okay by us.

Ducks hang out in our dinghy and leave a terrible mess, specifically on our life jackets and Brian’s sandals that he left in the dinghy overnight.  New Bern, NC and Annapolis, MD compete for the worst.  (Hey Greg. QUUUUAAAAACCCCKKKKKKK!!!!!!!)

Seagulls have messed on everything possible, have brought chicken bones scavenged from a nearby park to our deck, they occasionally give a fly-by to check out the cats, and in the Neuse River, one flew smack into our side, it landed belly up and did not fly off.  I suppose the word got out and now they’re all after us.

Otters leave their ottery delight smeared all over the dinghy docks in Fernandina Beach, FL and Charleston, SC.

Mullett have flung themselves into our dinghy where they remain to bake on the floor in the summer sun.

Jellyfish : ouch, manatee : my favorite, dogs that hop out of the dinghy to swim after dolphin, Pelicans diving so close to the boat that it sounds like they hit us…there are also the occasional bioluminescent creatures that come into our head with the raw water flush, it is quite entertaining after dark…we’re simple people,  There are plenty more animals waiting out there for us so that the fun can continue.

Apr. 1, 2008 - Oddities

Oddities

One day I was tearing down one of our Barient self-tailing winches in the cockpit, the winch had become multi-directional (it should only spin one direction…)  So I am dismantling the thing, cleaning off the grease, and setting parts out in exactly the order in which they were dismantled.  Heather was cleaning and shining the stainless parts of the winch,  I was removing the drum and told her “Be careful to put the parts back in the same order because I’m putting them in the order…”

Clang….  I am interrupted by two of the ring-type bearings fall to the cockpit floor….

“the order that they fall apart in?”  asks Heather

“Something like that”  I say

We were cleaning out a box of miscellaneous unused “stuff” (yeah, stuff is exactly what we called it…) and found a boomerang, it was dated 9/30/89 by Chet Something who was a Professional Boomeranger (Boomerangist?  Boomerangutan?  I like that last one!!!I)

 “I don’t think I’ve played with this since 9/31/89.”  Oh jeez, am I really this stupid?  There you go…

So I try to save face and tell Heather the story of going to some festival with my grandparents, my grandmother buying the boomerang for me and takes me out to the field behind the school to try it out.  She let me run myself ragged chasing the thing…it flew across the field like a dream and landed in the grass so beautifully.  Not once did it even attempt to come back.  It must have been broken and  I couldn’t return it.  (Terrible joke but I just couldn’t resist.)

“There’s a ball field there on shore.”  I point out.  “Let’s take the boomerang out and try it out.”

“I bet it’ll take a lot less running to wear you out this time around.”

“Thanks, love.  I bet it still won’t come back.”

Pat & Johnny on Windhsear invited us over for dinner and a visit not so long ago.  We were “new” to each other, this was our first get-together.  Heather and I have somehow gotten the reputation as practical jokers’ and we assume that mantle with pride as well as the occasional fit of originality.  A little background will help…we have a friend who is afraid of grasshoppers (“you never know which way they’re gonna go” he says…) so at Dollar General we saw a pack of rubber bugs…one of them being, yes, a grasshopper.  We also spy a fly gun…it has half-a-dozen plastic life-like flies that the gun shoots – the perfect cat toy.  Being as the deal is 2/$1, this killing-time spent waiting for the bus became a bonanza.  So back to Windshear…the pizza is served and looks fantastic.  A moment arrives where everyone’s attention is diverted…a plastic fly hurls itself onto Johnny’s slice of pie.  I had a 50/50 chance and blew it…fate was not with me on this one.  The only person we know who folds their pizza in half now has a friend…it seems Johnny does this too.  If you haven’t realized it by now, the fly is ensconced in cheese and crust and has no chance of being seen.  Heather is giving me nervous looks and I can see her eyes asking me “When are you going to tell him?”  One bite turns into two, then three…I am trying to find a way to graciously extricate myself from this joke-gone-bad.  One last look at Heather and we both just start laughing…after an awkward explanation and a few awkward laughs, we all get on with a delicious dinner.  Sometimes things just do not go the way you planned… we just looked at each other and laughed.

On the traumatic side, Brian had a visit to the local emergency room…we’ll keep the gory details contained but I will tell you that they kept morphine coming until mid-day.  Of course, Heather’s memory of the event is much clearer and includes less time floating in the ether but release came after the last bus ran so we found an $8 cab back to HP.  We decided ice was a necessity for the coming evening so we stopped off at the fuel dock to get a bag…a myopic geezer came barreling in, crashed into us, putting our dinghy into the oysters (low tide and low water in the river levels coincided…) and now our dink if flat.  I don’t need anyone preaching the joys of a hard or fiberglass dinghy…this one came with the boat and survived 13 years and a circumnavigation, so it’s not up for debate…the issue is that our “car” has been totaled by an uninsured driver.  We’re trying to patch her up but all of here at HP Industries have our doubts.  For the time being we’ve been using the  kayaks…and of course for the past 3 and next 2 days it is blowing 15-30 which makes kayaking an all-new experience, especially if you’re carrying groceries and taking spray to the face…

And to add to that last bit of fun…our friends on OZ found a dinghy labeled “free” and brought it by.  Cool…thanks a lot!  So we give it a little test and put the Yamaha on her to go into land for some much needed stretching of the legs.  We hop in the dink and we’re up to our knees in water…it is barely afloat, one of us bails and one drives.  Good grief, I see why it had ‘free’ signs all over it.  It’s the thought that counts.

So here it is a few days later and we have acquired a Zodiac SB310, 10’2”, hard floorboards, rated for 4 people and 10hp engine.  It is about 2’ smaller than our old one but otherwise very, very similar – with the flat floors we can haul 3-5gal (15gal total) water and the same amount of fuel and still have a little room leftover for us and some groceries.  Day one we put it in the water and ran it around a bit…finally decided where we wanted the lift hardware (rescued from out old dink known as Kinja, read Don’t Stop the Carnival and you’ll understand.)  So now we’ve decided that this is one of those things that seem tragic but are really for the better…the new dinghy is much lighter to lift, we can deflate and stow on deck on long passages without any hassle…we like the newdinghy (unnamed as of yet…the boat is Holding Pattern, the inflatable kayaks are Solo Flight and Puddle Jumper…we’re leaning towards Perfect Landing to keep with the current theme…)  Any other creative suggestions?

Wednesday we begin our journey back to the Chesapeake…between death in the family, trauma with the dinghy, hari kari of the outboard, oh, and the freshwater leak that I don’t think I’ve mentioned that dumped most of an entire tank of freshwater and required a late-day emptying of multiple lockers and splicing of hose…oh, like I was saying between all of that and the hospital visit our Bahamas fund was depleted.  So it’s back north to replenish the kitty.

I think Carnival is over…we’re all patched up and self-sufficient once again.  The wind is (and has been) blowing 15-25 so we’re charged beautifully, fridge and freezer both ice cold, everything electronic is charged, and we’ve got the stereo up and bopping through our late-afternoon.  We’re planning on leaving Wednesday after this front moves through and then on to new adventures, new friends, and some familiar anchorages and towns.

Last but not least…we were on the bus the other day heading out to Miracle Mile to run some errands and we’re both daydreaming somewhere in our own world…the driver asks “Anyone for West Marine?”  We wanted out on that side of the road and so snapped out of ignorant bliss, Brian answers “Yes, please.  I’m sitting back here daydreaming with my hand on the dinger.”  The entire bus, from 18 to 80 cracked up…it took me a minute to get the innuendo as my hand was on the trip-wire for the buzzer…  So with that we made a quick exit from the bus, no one sure if we were sunburned or blushing.  Considering we’re both a pleasant shade of brown, I’ll let you figure it out.

Feb. 17, 2008 - The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill

Happy Birthday to Heather, the 11th was her day.  It was windy, lusty (I had to leave this typeo, my brain got ahead of my fingers with blustery and, well...) and gusty.  We were supposed to go visit friends on White Pelican for cake since they had a birthday on the 9th.  Well, the day was inclement (as aptly described previously) and so over channel 18 on the VHF, White Pelican sang "Happy Birthday" to Heather.  "That's about as good as it gets."  Heather said

We made the two day uneventful trip form Titusville to Vero Beach (aka Velcro Beach) where the Atlantic Ocean/Beach are about 1 mile away and the city buses are free and range quite extensively. which is a good thing because we will be here a few days.  The ICW channel most of the way down Florida is quite narrow and can be shallow in spots...well, we've had nary a problem so far and, so, in a celebratory mood, we were quite glad to get to Vero Beach.  We were assigned Mooring #1, the first one past the red marker...cool.  I ease off throttle and coast around the corner and in, just past the red mark and we're dead on to the mooring ball... Heather has the hook in hand, ready to grab the line and we stop.  We're aground 15 feet from the mooring ball.  What?  C'mon.  Talk about cruel... so a kindly guy in another boat (one of several watching what I now describe as a plight) came and took a line from us and tied it on to the mooring line so we were secure.  A little mix of engine and windlass with the one foot tide and we pulled forward enough that we've been happily afloat for the 24 hours since.  Good grief, Charlie Brown.

Remember that cheap fuel pump?  We knew $5.99 was too good to be true... it was the diaphragm rebuild kit they ordered which is fine because it is what we needed...except they ordered the diaphragm kit for another Mercury outboard!!  But we're relatively sure this is the problem as the fuel pump diaphragm looks like swiss cheese.  You know, never in my life have I had to type the word diaphragm so many times consecutively...

But for now, the outboard works well enough to get us almost to the dink dock.... sometimes we actually get there... but we have the correct diaphragm (there it is again) on order here in Vero.  It will be in Tuesday (Monday is a holiday) and she (goodness knows who she is, just the lady who took the order) said she would drop it off at the marina on her way home from work and give us a call when she did.  Human kindness at its best...

This morning we decided to take a walk out to the beach.  The last time we were at a beach was in Wrightsville Beach, NC and then it was a dreary day and we went nowhere near the water.... on the way in we saw Carolina Girl and White Pelican on moorings here in Vero.  Well neat.  Neither was onboard so we went in and figured we'd catch up later.  In deciding which way to take into town we walked a little way down one road and there was no sidewalk so we turned back to take the last road back.... turning around we saw, guess who, CG & WP.  They were on their way to mass.  And speaking of religion...last weekend in Titusville neither boat went in to church because of weather (cold fronts have been blowing stink lately) so over VHF 18 we hear Dick giving the morning prayer followed by, no kidding, no less than 9 (NINE!) voices saying Amen.  Interesting how many other boaters are listening "eavesdropping".... we do, it's good entertainment. 

You just can't make this stuff up. 

Forgive any errors, we have visitors and I need to go...

Feb. 11, 2008 - Merry Go Round and Round and Round...

Shuttle Atlantis Launch.  February 7, 2008  Titusville, Fl

Seeing the Space Shuttle launch from this close is an amazing thing!  Our windows rattled, the sound was amazing - and the wind was blowing out.

Well, as always, things change...with the passing of Brian's grandmother, we planned to go to Ohio for a couple of weeks to help with details... well, family has requested to wait a while, until autumn.  So with much surprise, we have decided to head south...we'll try to hit the Bahamas for a short time, just the Berry Islands or so and then head back north to the Chesapeake or maybe New York for hurricane season.

And now for something comepletely different...

Sunday...winds were pretty high and the anchorage was whipped up.  We had held through worse winds with the last front so we were well set...no worries.  About 10 am we were doing a bit of cleaning and suddenly the chain made a terrible racket.  I look out and a crabber has put a pot either over our chain or directly on the anchor because as he pulls the trap up, up comes our anchor.  He shakes it loose but by that time the 20 knot winds had pushed us broadside to the waves and wind and we had about 6 inches of water under us when we got the engine fired up and the anchor raised.

The crabber comes alongside and says "Sorry"

So we re-set our anchor and all has been well since...that's enough excitement for now.

Our alternator regulator has been replaced by Balmar and is now working fine

Tomorrow we get a new fuel pump for the outboard.  We found one for $5.99. 

All else is well...

Jan. 30, 2008 - Subtracting Miles

Sometimes reality just comes crashing down a little too hard and/or all at once.

We were prepared to leave Titusville this morning...everything was ready to go. 

But first, lets' rewind to yesterday...

In preparation for our departure we did a fluid check, replaced fuel filters and an oil line that gave us trouble off of Ponce Inlet.  Started up ol' Mr. Perkins and the battery surge alarm went off.  We were at 16 volts and climbing.  Yowza.  Upon further inspection we found that the Balmar ARS-5 voltage regulator had fried.  The alternator certainly was putting out and the meter wasn't reading wrong as redundancy dictates we have an analog meter to make sure that the digital meter is correct.  Thankfully Balmar stands behind their products and they are replacing the regulator.  It should arrive Friday.

The outboard that we have been fussing with since Charleston gave up again... after replacing the fuel pump, impeller, and thermostat as well as cleaning the carb it is still sputtering and stalling at low throttle and sometimes at full bore it surges and sputters.  Back to the drawing board.  We're doing a lot of paddling these days.

But bad things happen in three's...

We got the call today that Brian's grandmother is ill and being placed into Hospice.  By the situation, it won't be a long illness, thankfully, but we will have to find a dock for HP for a couple of weeks while we go back to Ohio to help take care of business.  As an only child, a lot of the responsibility will fall on Brian.  We've all talked it over and since our memories of her are all wonderful and there is nothing we can do as she is not conscious, not even visit if we were there in person so we're not going to rush. 

Titusville has no room for boats 40' or over so we will probably head back north to Green Cove Springs (remember I said Hotel California...?) and leave HP.

At this point we've abandoned any plans of heading south this year.  We will go back up to the Chesapeake, look for boat work, make some funds, and try this mad dash for the islands again next year.

Though we're having a rough stretch we are still thankful to be doing what we are.  We'd not change it for anything...so we'll keep cruising, keep working, keep learning, and keep sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly with you all.

Jan. 27, 2008 - Making Miles

Between Mosquito Lagoon and Haulover Canal, near Titusville, Florida.

Tuesday January 21, 2008 

written from: N 30°19.393  W 081°36.871

Leaving Las Vegas.  After a long stretch of alternating cold and wind and then a combination of the two we finally set forth again.  Pleasant temperatures, sunny skies, and light winds all made good omens; so after a short stint in Green Cove Springs, FL to visit family and make repairs we severed the thick yellow umbilical cord and slipped away from Hotel California (You can check out any time you like but you can never leave…)

Wind got blustery & the sun played peek-a-boo – we added layers, removed them…added, removed.  Wind was on the nose so it was all motoring but that’s fine…we were content to sit with hands in pockets and let the iron jib do the work.  Wind was lessening the effect of current as they were opposing and at 1300 we made a command decision to stop for the day.  Our original destination, Sister’s Creek, was 15 miles away, a narrow area with wicked current…and when wind and current oppose it can make for an uncomfortable night.  So, with hunger in our bellies, the sun on our heads, current keeping us slow, and Exchange Island just ahead we changed course and anchored in a sweet little spot between Exchange Island and the mainland.  Current is low back behind the island, wind protection is supreme, and though we do have noise from one bridge it dies down come evening time.

All four of us are glad to be back on the hook, back to solar and wind, back to what we know, do, and love best.

Wednesday January 23, 2008

Written from: N29° 29.360   W081° 02.916, 2300hrs

30 miles to Ponce de Leon Inlet.  We got up this morning and looked at the weather as usual…the offshore forecast looked nice.  We had resigned ourselves to go ICW but….a window of opportunity had presented itself.  We plotted our course, checked tides and could it be???  Everything is in our favor?  We delayed about two hours so current would be with us.  Finally, about 9am we pulled anchor and headed out.  At Mayport inlet tide/current were opposing wind so it was a nasty little exit but we were screaming at almost 9 knots…with the rocky ride we made the soonest possible turn south and skimmed along.  We saw between 50 and 75 dolphin in the inlet…the opposing forces must have made for some phenomenal fishing as they were tossing fish all through the air and in general playing with their food.  We were also lucky enough to see a Right whale surface, blow, and dive.  Also unique was a VHF call we heard from a boat finding a dead body.  A week or so ago several refugees stowed away on a commercial freighter and jumped into the water then they were found…I think they just found another one.

The wind is being helpful…clocking around from light SW to moderate W to NW so we’re getting a nice push.  My watch is over soon and I’ll be glad to get some shut eye.  Thunderstorms rolled through Jacksonville on Tuesday night so neither of us got a whole lot of sleep.  I can see the lights from 10 commercial fishing vessels and several more on radar…since they are spread from here to about 17 miles west of Kingdom Come we’ll have to do our best to pick our way through.

Thursday January 24, 2008

Written from: N29° 03.932   W080° 55.131, 0945hrs

It’s always nice to accomplish something.  We had never been in Ponce Inlet…and new inlets, especially ones with the reputation for shoaling can be a cause for anxiety.  Thankfully a nice jetty protected from the building north sea (the winds picked up to 15-20 and seas were responding.)  We made such good time that we had to slow down over and over (a sailboat slowing down on purpose is sort of a noggin-scratcher in itself) but at 0300 we were at Ponce and the sun hasn’t been rising until 0630 or 0645.  At that time there wasn’t enough wind/seas to heave to so we just set a course 180° from the inlet and sailed out and back, trading watches in between.   Heather’s watch was sailing out, she woke me up at our designated point and I sailed us back.  Before the inlet I called the Coast Guard on the radio to inquire about a bridge closing we had heard rumors of.  Nope, no restrictions…all is normal.  Cool!  As we round the inlet into protected waters Heather calls the bridge to inquire about an opening.  They are close for construction daily until 1700hrs.  Well… so we found a nice spot off the main drag and dropped the hook, made bacon and eggs, and have been hearing calls on the radio warning of a jumper on a bridge in Daytona.  It’s been a lively radio-time this trip.  We will haul anchor about 1630 and mosey up to the bridge, pass through and anchor up another mile or two.  Time for some much needed and much deserved shut-eye.

Friday January 25, 2008

Written from: N29° 00.920   W080°54.738, 0950hrs

We found a sweet little spot to anchor last night after going through the bridge fiasco, just before dark we set the hook in about 8’ in a hole between shoals with a deep opening on one side.  Unfortunately we watched a boat run aground.  We took the Sheepshead Cut route around the ICW route as we’d heard of shoaling…sure enough the boat in front of us made the decision to go ICW side and promptly came to a stop whereas we chose Sheepshead Cut and saw no less than 12’.  The wind has been howling all night at 20+ and is forecast to do so all day.  Every morning we get up and as we’re making the bed and breakfast we listen to the VHF weather radio then switch to VHF channel 16 to listen to the “traffic.”  This morning, the few boats who had gone through the 7am Mussen bridge opening (the last before closure until 5pm) pressed on and were talking back and forth…they were quite cold, uncomfortable, and being blown about the narrow stretch from Mosquito Lagoon through Haulover Canal.  While drinking morning coffee we decided it best to sit here today and leave at dawn tomorrow for Titusville.  No need to get blown around when it’s both warmer and a more favorable breeze for a narrow, shallow stretch of the ICW.    We’re warm and cozy here, no wave motion as we’re quite protected.

Saturday January 26, 2008

Written from: N28° 37.323   W080° 48.152

After 2 years gone the Cats & Crew of S/V Holding Pattern made a triumphant though prodigal return to Titusville, our hailing port and our original home on the East coast of Florida (though Sarasota is still our first home in sunny Fla.)  It was a grand trip through Mosquito Lagoon (sounds awful, eh? But it’s actually quite pleasant, if shallow.) The trip was mostly uneventful….no dead people found, no bridge jumpers but we had lots of dolphin to keep us company and they were quite active fishing in the shallows and riding our bow wake.  It is really cool to be watching a pod of dolphin and watch them notice you, divert their activity, and swim your way to check out this interloper.  It did start to rain about ¾ of the way through but it was a light rain and we stayed dry but the 15kt breeze kept us in multiple layers.  We found a nice spot in 8’ of water and dropped the hook and after lunch dropped the dinghy and puttered into shore.  We hadn’t been off the boat since Monday and we were ready top stretch our legs.  The first person we saw was JW, one of the dock guys, and his first words were “Welcome Home.”  We’ve now heard that wonderful greeting in St. Mary’s, GA, Green Cove Springs, FL, and Titusville, FL…it’s nice to have these people scattered about so everywhere becomes both home base and a new adventure.  We’re going to have dinner with an old friend, Paul on Ivanhoe, tonight and on Tuesday we’re going to visit with Sue & (another) Paul from Knot a Clew (fantastic name!)  The anchorage here is bobbly as always but the holding is good and there’s lots of “stuff” within walking distance here.  Mail is coming in by Tuesday so hopefully by Wednesday we’ll be meandering down past Canaveral, Melbourne, Cocoa, and on to Ft. Pierce (not all in one day, mind you) and then we have friends on Light Blue (that we met in Chestertown, MD) in Ft. Pierce that we’re looking forward to seeing (though if they had moved on it would be great news because it would mean their boat issues had been fixed…

Already 1 job aloft has been found and got confirmation that 2 more atricles will be published soon...more on that to follow.

All in all it has been a fantastic week… Tuesday thru Saturday (4 of 5 days underway,) 185 miles past, a quick overnight into a new inlet, and a pleasant stretch ahead of us.

Jan. 14, 2008 - The Road to Hell

Bottom Dave & his newly built tool shed...

No, you perverts, he is not submissive...he is quite talented when it comes to working on boats...he can weild a grinder and 16-grit paper like no one else, his reputation is far-flung as we heard about him years before we actually met this enigma.  This guy invented Jack of All Trades.  But back to the shed...last year it was under construction and a few days ago we walk by and the 'his' & 'hers' graphics were being put on.  What a riot.

I know....I said hopefully the next blog would be from the Bahamas, well...

The road to hell is paved with good intentions... (I already used Stuck Inside Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again for a title last year so...) we're still waiting to leave.  We got up yesterday to fog so thick you couldn't see 200' so we got everything ready so that when the fog broke we would head out.  While we were waiting we installed the new VHF radio...while doing this I look up...

"Was that thunder?"

"I think so." Heather says.

CRASH, BOOM!!!

"Yep."

It commences to fluctuate between sprinkle and monsoon for the next 2 hours.  By the time it quit raining we had soup on the stove for lunch and the tides downtown were turning against us and believe me the St. John's River is no fun to run against a several knot current.  It's much more fun to ride the outgoing current and fly than to go 3 knots (you can walk faster than that)

We got up this morning to a brisk wind and 40-some degrees.  Tonight and tomorrow night are freeze warnings.  Heather and I looked at each other and said "Wanna stay here, stay warm, and find another project to do?"  Last year we left in similar temps and were quite miserable underway.  We've no need to go on that ride again.

At this point we're indifferent wether we run the ICW or a multi-day run outside (I lie, our preference is to run outside but this time of year is tough to get a window so we will relent and run inside if we have to.)

We'll get some paid work done, find another boat project to tear into, maybe I will get some writing done...but for the next couple of days we're going to sit tight, be productive, and when the time is right we'll slip-slide away...

Popeye, EVOO, & the SweetPeas

Jan. 11, 2008 - Redub

"Life's not about what's better than....

The grass may be greener on the other side but just as hard to mow"

John Butler Trio, Better Than

Tuesday was a day out of legend...light breeze blowing us off the pier, sun peeking through the peaks of morning clouds showing perfect powder blue sky behind.  We slid neatly off and back out into the wild blue yonder.  We wandered the yonder for about 2 1/2 hours when a small knocking became more pronounced demanding attention.  Heather took the helm while Brian did a quick investigation and nothing showed its ugly head right away so we made a hard decision...turn back and troubleshoot.  We mulled over the option of dropping the hook and looking at the problem but we were in the middle of nowhere and at least in Green Cove Springs there is a NAPA and several other parts stores close by.  Not to mention where we were was a very unprotected section of river and the winds were suposed to pick up and it was already blowing 20+.  We sailed back, bellied up in our old spot uneventfully, let the engine cool, and began a grand easter egg hunt to locate the problem.

Sockets, screwdrivers, wrenches, and such in hand I began at the engine and worked my way back.  Several hours later, just past the shaft coupling is a bearing & mount...said mount had worked its way loose.  Some tightening and some loctite and everything is good to go.  While we were back we replaced a light that was becoming unreliable and replaced the fuel we burnt and topped off again. 

Heather is doing laundry today.  I am making seaworthy and triple checking plans and waypoints.  Since we have a front moving in today we will wait until tomorrow when winds are in our favor and try this leaving thing again.  Another plus to our return is that two people needed work done aloft so that makes 5 jobs I ran into while here...basically our time in GCS was free when everything is tallied.

Hopefully our next blog will be from the Bahamas.

Jan. 2, 2008 - Tony the Tiger says: 2008...it'll be Grrrrrreat

Heather repairing the mizzen cover...New Years Eve, 2007.  We really know how to party!

The new year is a time for “spection.” Introspection of ourselves for the coming year. Inspection of onboard systems. Retrospect of last year. Expections of the coming year. And of course it is all circumspect.

We begin 2008 with all systems ready. We have a cold front racing across the country and already we have increasing winds and quite gusty from time to time and will have low’s in the low 20’s here in central Florida. Conditions after the front passes look quite nice so this coming weekend we will meander upriver and begin our trek south.

Our plan is to cross to the Bahamas from Lake Worth to West End then south to the Berry’s and Exumas. If we can make it to Martinique then work awaits there. We’ll see. Nothing is ever written in stone.

We’re very happy with what we’ve accomplished in this month of down time:

*The alternator/charging system was still giving us fits so the alternator was tested onboard and passed both field and full field tests. Since a local parts store does free bench tests of alternators we went on a field trip and it came back with a clean bill of health. The next step was to remove the old wiring harness to the voltage regulator and replace it so it was re-wired from end to end. Four hours after deciding to “take a preliminary look” everything was re-assembled and working as it should.

*The spray dodger has been repaired, new zippers installed on the visor/vinyl.

*Lazy jacks on the mizzen have been repaired

*Our stern navigation light had ceased to function so it was removed…a bit of corrosion was found and the fixture was no longer usable…the bulb fixture, at least…the lens and case were fine. Well, at the SSCA flea market in Annapolis, MD I found a Aqua Signal Series 40 tricolor light for cheap and bought it because that morning I had cracked the lens on ours while replacing the bulbs with Dr. LED bulbs. So I pulled out the naked lens-less masthead light, removed one of the bulb fixtures, and engineered the Hella case to accept the Aqua Signal fixture. Re-wired it, waterproofed it as much as possible, and it’s working fine so far. We now have a Hella Signal light.

*Heather has been working miracles provisioning and making sure said provisions have secure homes. She has also been keeping a wonderful inventory and log or everything onboard…quite impressive. Several sewing and repair projects have kept her busy as well. She’s become quite the seamstress.

*Most of our lockers, cabinets, storage areas, lazarettes, drawers, and cubby holes have been re-organized, neatened up, and we have cleared out a good bit of room. However in the food storage areas there is no room…we can fit neither green beans nor fruit cocktail. The food hammocks are full…by process of evolution they have segregated themselves into food groups per hammock (I just noticed this as I am writing so it was not on purpose) One hammock has cereals and breads. Another has fruits and vegetables - a nice contrast of red apples, orange oranges (duh), yellow lemons, green limes (as well as an errant roll of white paper towels.) A third has comfort foods…tortilla chips, munchies, peanuts, only to mention a few of the snacks waiting, no, begging to be opened. Thankfully we’re not big snackers so we have many months worth here.

All is well in our world. 2007 was quite the adventure including cruising the Chesapeake for the first time, pounding through 15 foot seas and 30-40 knot winds for hours upon hours, making new friends…just looking back through our pictures and past blogs is amazing to us. We are both excited about 2008...our first trip to the Bahamas (and beyond?), new horizons with sunrises and sunsets that are better than any imagination or special effects could create, and whatever comes our way we will deal with, making the best of what life sends our way.

Dec. 25, 2007 - Merry Christmas 2007

From L to R: Greg (Southern Cross), Brian & Heather (Holding Pattern), Rob (Sandpiper), Debbie & Randy (Moon Rise)

We choose our path, plan for the worst, hope for the best, and be happy with what we get.

Christmas Day 2007...the log book is stowed.  We will relax, catch up on a good book, have a feast with friends later, and take a good long walk at some point.  We're jingling our bells (gently) and enjoying the Santa-tunes playing in the background.

Soon we'll be underway again (it's been a month!) and headed for some clear, blue water to make some more dreams come to life.  For the myriad sacrifices and inconveniences neither of us can imagine another life because the blessings and rewards are so overwhelming.  As the year draws to a close we're very thankful for where we've been and we're hoping that 2008 takes us to new shores. 

We do not remember days, we remember moments.
Cesare Pavese

Nov. 17, 2007 - The Eagle Has Landed

November 12, sunset about 30 miles offshore...

What a trip!  It just doesn't get any better than this.  The weather window opened up and we took full advantage of it. 

At 0630 we pulled anchor in Charleston, SC and headed straight for open ocean.  We had winds about 10kt and waves of 1 maybe 2 ft. at least 8-10 seconds apart.  It was an amazingly smooth ride.  We had full sail out from the inlet on.  Usually at night we reef down the sails but everything was so nice and conditions weren't supposed to change so we maintained full sail through the night.

Watches were two 3 hour watched and two 2 hour which made for a good night's rest.  By day, we had a virtual Noah's Ark between bottlenose and white-spotted dolphin, sea turtles, jellyfish, birds... a plethora of critters.

30 hours after leaving Charleston we were anchored in Fernandina Beach, FL.  Awoke the next morning and tides were in our favor to make the 67 mile run to Green Cove Springs.  It was another great run.  67 is the second l ongest one-day run for us...beaten only by one 70 mile day.

Promptly after anchoring the wind blew 20-30 for the next 2 days... and when it died down we decided to raft off on the dock so we can pull the alternator, do some re-wiring, and in general tear the boat to hell and put it all back together...

Preparations for the winter cruising season begin in about 2 minutes with the removal of at least 3,000 cubic feet of salt...everything is covered and crusty... we could market Holding Pattern brand sea salt...all natural.

Heather going to do some much needed laundry and I'm going to desalinate us...

cheers for now

Nov. 6, 2007 - Three Days Out, 45 knot wind blues

We can definitely identify with Eileen Quinn's song.  We left New Bern Sunday morning and made the 45 mile run straight out Beaufort, NC inlet.  A nice run with the wind filling the sails...15-20 knots and nice comfy seas and we responded by putting out full sail.  Overnight was quite beautiful with the crescent moon rising about 3am and casting a wonderful reflective glow on the water.  We could see a million stars and the Milky Way was extraordinarily clear.  We had to relay a call for another boat to the Coast Guard, their engine died and the headsail furling unit snapped and in 20 knots of wind it was wreaking havoc.  The USCG was quite nice about the matter, thanked us for relaying as the whole process took about 2 hours.

We split our night watches either in 2 hour segments or 3 hours depending on conditions and how we feel.  Brian usually sleeps in the cockpit and Heather alternates between in the cabin and in the cockpit depending on multiple variables...

Monday morning was calm seas...almost glassy but with a nice breeze that sent us skimming along at 6 knots.  As the evening wore on the breeze picked up and by first light this morning (Tuesday) it was blowing 25-30 and seas were rising quickly and angrily.  The wind was supposed to clock around to the north but stayed west southwest all day.  We had passed Charleston when things just got hairy... to alter course to the east would have taken us farther out to sea where conditions were worse; altering course towards land southward meant going nose-in to the wind and waves and an incredibly slow trip.  After three hours of fighting weather we decided to head back to Charleston, SC which was about 20 miles off. 

Under double reefed main and single reefed mizzen we bumped and bounced to Charleston...seeing many dolphin and a sea turtle along the way...and then the seas decided to get friendly.  Not friendly in the nice sort of way but friendly in that sarcastic schoolyard bully or creepy too-touchy mom's boyfriend called "Uncle" sort of friendly... and one decided to board us.  Talk about an anomaly... the seas were 6-8 foot but this one was 12 at least...it crested OVER the bimini and entered the cockpit as a wall of water not unlike some amusement park rides... the Pirate Ship meets the Log Flume... thankfully the cockpit drains fast and we were nearly to the jetties and calm water.  When we took the boarding wave our youngest cat, Takara (Inspector Gadget) was in the cockpit...we had put her in her carrier since conditions were rough and she didn't want to sit still but wanted to be out with us... when the wave came over she was completely drenched.  Oddly enough she didn't yell, squeal, or meow...she just looked at us with the most suprised look "I was minding my own business and this is what I got in return?"  Heather had also recently gone inside to the head and neglected to put her foul weather gear back on.  She was sitting on the cockpit floor with her eyes closed getting a few minutes of rest when the wave came from behind her...I don't know who looked more drenched, Miss Heather or Miss Kitty.

We got in and crashed...made a ghetto-supper of Mac & Cheese with hot dogs cut up in it, everything is everywhere and we will clean it up tomorrow.  For now we'll watch a dvd, enjoy a cup of hot tea, and sleep it off.

When we get a good 24-hour window we'll head out Chearleston and straight for either Fernandina Beach, FL or Jacksonville/Mayport.

Nov. 3, 2007 - Offshore Preparations

I love the hustle & bustle and scurry that comes with preparations for an offshore passage.  Tomorow morning, if all goes well, we will be leaving New Bern, NC and heading towards Beaufort, NC, making a turn to starboard (right-hand turn for the landlubbers) and going straight to Mayport/Jacksonville, Fla.

There is something about stowing everything, deflating and packing up the dinghy, laying in comfort foods for provisions, pre-cooking meals, and so on that is such wonderful nerve-crunching fun.

We've pre-made spaghetti, popcorn, sliced veggies, sliced cheese, made ginger-ale, and bought some good breads, chips, crackers...we've hard-boiled a weeks worth of hen's work in eggs...

Fluids are checked and topped off, fuel is full, sails are ready...and so are we.

Tomorrow at this time we will be out in the Wild Blue Yonder skimming along, singing a song, and making way on the 400 or so miles back to Florida... back to palm trees, warm winter sun, and onward to new adventures.

Oct. 31, 2007 - The Worst Noel and New Bern Blues

It's been a long month...a month ago Sunday (tomorrow) we left Annapolis and we are in New Bern, NC.  We holed up in Deltaville, VA for a couple of days of wind.  In Elizabeth City, NC a friend's transmission went out and as a singlehander he greatly appreciated us sticking around a couple of days to help him remove and replace the tranny  Contrary weather kept us in EC for another day... due to gale conditions we found a very protected spot in Long Creek, Bonner Bay, NC and stayed there 3 days.  After crossing Pamlico Sound/River in 3-4 foot seas that were about 2 seconds apart which made a rough and rocky ride... but with 25 knot winds and only the headsail we were breaking 9 knots and were flat out flying across the water.

So we planned to go to Beaufort, NC and head offshore back to FL when Tropical Storm Noel pops up...so we decided since we're going to be sitting a few days why not head inland to New Bern, a very charming city, and sit while it blows near the coast.  Well, even the best laid plans...

We had just returned to the boat from a little stroll through town (where by the way 2 business owners want us to send them pictures and info so they can use us in their advertising...) and Wildlife Patrol official knock and tells us that we have to move.  Evidentaly they have declared that no one can anchor in New Bern in any navigable water.  The letter we were given says "...and not obstruct the channel or navigable waters."  The channel is just common sense...and accoridng to the "authority" anywhere a boat can go is considered navigable waters.  We  were threatened with a citation if we did not go by the end of the day.  The wildlife official told us "Now everyone wants to come to New Bern and stake out their spot.  It's dangerous for the locals."

In the words of the Fish & Wildlife Officer (aka Possum Cop) "There's nothing for you here.  You don't need to be out here."

They don't stop those drinking and boating, they don't enforce the no-wake zone, nothing like that...but cruisers who anchor are no longer welcome in New Bern.  So since it was 4:30pm and no where to go tonight we were forced to take a slip in a marina.  2 other boats are going with us to City Hall and the Chamber of Commerce to complain... you see, since we are now forced to put the money out on a dock we won't spend any more in town... instead of the money going to local merchants, a large corporate marina will get our mad money for the city.

By the way...in 3 years we have NEVER been asked/told to vacate and anchoring spot.

They just shot themselves in the foot as far as we're concerned.

The lady who owns the used bookstore in New Bern gave us a book as a "welcome back" gift.  The Swiss lady who does the Swiss Chalet baking at the Farmer's Market remmebered us the moment we walked in...it is amazing how many business owners remember us - and it is a shame that the "authorities" such as they are don't care about the economic influx that cruisers bring...only about politics.

ED NOTE: We have found out that back a year or two the Lt. Governors kids crammed into an anchored boat in the wee hours of the morning.  The court case concluded the week we came to New Bern with the boat owner being found at fault and judgement for the Lt. Governor's family (do you really expect it to be nay other way?)

Good news is we may have a nice window Sunday to head straight back to Florida offshore...not holding our collective breath but hoping... also on the bright side, a guy we met in town (Jack with a cat named Jill) will be taking us to the grocery and we will have unlimited power so we can run the shop-vac which hasn't been run since our last dock, Coinjock, NC in May.  Wow, almost 6 months since we took our last dock.

Forgive any typeos...I'm tired and don't feel like proofing and the fingers may have strayed from the brain's intentions.

ED NOTE:  Here is the sequence of events that made things frustrating:

Wildlife Official (turkey?) came and raised heck

Dinghy outboard engine quit

Wind picked up

Railroad bridge closed as soon as we got the anchor up