Gorma Sailing Adventures

2010-03-13T08:46:00.000-08:00

March 7-13

Enough excuses about weather, tides ...

We left Green Turtle Cay just after noon, at hgh tide, and traveled four miles north to anchor at Manjack Cay with Jim and Danette. They will be returning to Florida while we plan to head south around Whale Cay which will put us in the southern Abacos. The 'Whale' is an almost legendary passage in the ocean to get around the shallow water on the Sea of Abaco.

Once around the Whale, which featured very kind six to eight foot waves, we headed for Marsh Harbour. This is the largest city in the Abacos and a very good place for restocking. It may not be the prettiest spot in the Bahamas, though, and so the next morning we headed over to Hopetown on Elbow Cay.

Hopetown is a very popular cruising and vacation destination. The Hopetown lighthouse is the signature landmark that overlooks the harbour and provides a measure of warning to mariners about the dangerous reefs on the ocean side. It is still in use and open to the public. There are spectacular panoramic views from the walkway around the top, basically unobstructed by the protective netting.

2010-03-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

February 27 – March 6

We have been making a number of excuses for why we are finding it hard to leave Green Turtle Cay. We have milked the weather concerns pretty well, and have also complained that it is difficult to get out of the sound because the tide is always low. Perhaps closer to the truth, though, is that it is actually a fun place to be. More than once we have commented that it is our Hotel California.

When the whim strikes him, Donny will announce a 'party in the backyard'. These impromptu events gather the 'penguins' together for food, music and fun. Conch salad was on the menu and I was more than happy for the cooking lesson.

Rake 'n scrape is a very colourful style of Bahamian music. Along with his other talents, Matt is an accomplished rake 'n scrape musician. The playing involves dragging and scraping a knife along the teeth of a saw which he bends to form different sounds, all the while dancing furiously. It is great fun, and while the stereo is accompanying loudly, quite a show.

We have been hoping to get to Nippers on Great Guana Cay in time for the Barefoot Man concert. Getting there involves a short passage on the ocean around Whale Cay. By far the most difficult part of this is the movement from shallow to deep water and back again on either side of the cay.

To no one's surprise, the weather has not co-operated and so we rented a boat that can make the trip through the shallower water inside the cay. Twelve of us have pooled our resources for the trip – Jim and Danette from mv/Peace, seven lovely ladies from Villa Pascia, Corinne and me and Matt, the driver. Unfortunately, the lovely ladies did not enjoy the trip quite as much as the cruisers.

The Barefoot Man concert is an annual event at Nippers and a real hoot. The drinks are plentiful, the music very good and we have heard that the inhibitions disappear as the day turns to evening.

2010-03-04T12:39:00.000-08:00

February 22-26

The Canadian Olympic team lost!

Hearing that news, not getting into Green Turtle Cay last night does not seem so bad, but we have heard a lot about it and are anxious to give it another try. We took our time getting started in the morning as we wanted to make sure we arrived at high tide. It is so easy when the timing is right.

We called Donny’s Boat Rentals as we approached Black Sound and were lucky enough to get one of the last mooring balls. After getting tied up we went in to register and have a look around. At the small marina dock a friendly group of cruisers told us Donny had just gone into town. They didn’t know when he would be back, but not to worry.

New Plymouth was the original settlement on Green Turtle Cay and remains a thriving community to this day. It is about a ten minute walk from the boat to town and it is impossible to pass anyone or any vehicle without waving hello. The transportation of choice is the golf cart, which works well because the streets are narrow and the pace is relaxed.

After a first walk through town, we came back to the boat thinking ‘H’mm, that was interesting, but is that all there is?’ With each successive visit, though, it has become more engaging. We have talked to so many people who came for a week and have stayed much longer

These two characters were sitting outside the post office trying to get their juice boxes open. I stopped to ask how they were doing. No answer. I asked what they were drinking. With a sparkle in their eyes, both answered simultaneously, ‘Beer’. The ice was broken and they chatted away.

When we first came to the Bahamas I bought a Bahamian sling. This is a spear with a rubber band that you use to spear fish and lobster. All you have to do is find what you are looking for, get within two to three feet of it, impale it on the spear and get it into the dinghy. How hard can that be? I have taken the spear snorkeling with me often and actually saw a lobster once, but have had no luck catching anything. Matt, Donny’s assistant, is an excellent diver and often goes out for lobster. We were quite excited to get some from him, along with a complementary lesson in cleaning them.

2010-03-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

Feb 12-21

We finally found that elusive window to leave Ocean Reef Yacht Club. As part of the final preparations, I thought that it would be a good idea to adjust the ting-em.

A precious few might know it by its other name – the stuffing box. Either way, it sounds a little ominous, doesn’t it? The ting-em is supposed to drip at approximately 3 to 5 drops per minute. The reason for the drip is to keep the prop shaft cool. If it heats up, it will score the shaft, and that apparently may be the least of one’s worries.

Since it hadn’t been looked at in three years, it really did seem a good idea, and I had time on my hands. There is a very fine line between three drops, no drops and a full-on pisser. I actually spent two days adjusting and readjusting the stuffing nut and lock nut and then running the engine to check that the ting-emit wasn’t getting too hot. In spite of dripping water it inevitably heated up.

Totally frustrated, I asked around about a reliable mechanic. After checking with Tom, our neighbour at Ocean Reef, I caught a bus to consult with Charleston. When he could free up a couple of minutes I began to explain the problem and he said, ‘You thought you’d adjust it, didn’t you?’ I had the distinct impression that my reputation had preceded me. In the end he reassured me that as long as it was dripping it must not be too hot and would be ok. After yet another readjustment we were ready to go.

We got a very early start Friday morning and it was a gorgeous day. After an hour, I checked the ting-em and it was pretty warm again. With telephone assistance from Tom, we were able to get in touch with Charleston and make arrangements to take the boat into his yard and have him look at it. After some discussion, he said he could haul the boat and fix it like I wanted, but wouldn’t be able to get at it until tomorrow. We thought that would be ok and asked what it would cost. He said he would have to do some figuring but somewhere around $1500. Ouch.

‘Do you think we should be really worried about it?’

‘No. Like I told you, if it’s dripping and not smoking, you’ll be just fine.’

At some point I need to learn – If it ain’t broke; don’t try to fix it.

We were back on the water by 10:30 and pulled into the marina at West End later in the afternoon. The Bahamas Wahoo fishing tournament was taking place and boats were just coming back to the marina to weigh-in. Wahoo are great sport fish and fantastic eating. We are not likely to catch one from the sailboat though, as you need to troll at depth of 200 to 600 feet at a speed of 17 knots per hour. But the fishing was really good with the largest for the day coming in at 102 pounds.

Tides

Saturday morning was a gorgeous calm morning but we had to wait at the dock until 9:30 am in order to ensure enough water through Indian Cay cut and onto the banks. Once through the cut the wind died completely and we had an eerily beautiful ride to Great Sale Cay. Through much of the day it was almost impossible to distinguish water from sky.

We got an early start Sunday morning, another wonderfully calm morning, and headed for Crab Cay. We made very good time and began to think we might make it all the way to Green Turtle Cay. In an ideal world, we would anchor in Black Sound and find a spot at the bar where we could watch the Canada/US hockey game. We passed by Crab Cay and then, perhaps against the admiral’s better judgment, Manjack Cay and approached the entrance to the sound at Green Turtle. It carries four feet at mean low water and we were not yet at low tide. As we inched our way forward, first Corinne turned her back on the depth sounder, and shortly after I too gave up. We turned around and headed back to Manjack, a delightful spot to spend the night.

2010-02-11T13:51:00.000-08:00

February 11, 2010

Do you recognize this sailboat?. It is the ultra high-tech and ridiculously expensive BMWO, the American representative participating in the America's Cup in Valencia, Spain. And for those of you who may not know, the America's Cup is a 'big deal'. The winner receives the oldest active trophy in international sport.

I was reading a newspaper article today, as we sit contentedly at Ocean Reef, about the scheduled races between Switzerland, the current holder of the cup, and the United States. The first race of their three-race series, scheduled for Monday, was cancelled because of light winds. The second race, scheduled for Wednesday, was cancelled because of too much wind and apparently Friday's race has also been cancelled because the waves will be too large.

So I'm thinking, Bummer! That pretty much describes the sailing for Gorma as well.

To put another spin on it, we were on the bus into Freeport yesterday. In the lull in conversation following the discussion of the Super Bowl I asked the driver, 'So where is all that warm Bahamian weather?'

He replied, 'Ya know, mon, sometimes that good weather just slips away for a few days.'

Isn't that the truth.

We have been keeping very busy though. This is a great place to do some varnishing, make a start on the windlass installation and tend to a couple of little projects that were past due. We have made our regular walks along the beach into Lucaya and not missed any 'authentic Bahamian' Monday suppers or Thursday night movies.

Last week we stopped in at a groundhog day happy hour at one of the condos along the beach and were soon welcomed by a wonderful couple from Toronto. When they found out we were from Winnipeg, they said, 'Would you like to meet another couple from Winnipeg.'

They introduced us to Tom and Wendy, who, as it turns out, have a cabin right across the lake at Hecla. We have shared a few Kaliks with them as well as a couple of dinners. It never ceases to amaze how small the world can be.

This is one of the websites where we check the weather, as well as listening to Chris on the radio.

http://www.windfinder.com/forecast/freeport_grand_bahama

Right now it is saying that on Friday night/Saturday morning the winds will be 26 to 34 knots. Much like BMWO , it may be a few days before we are sailing either.

Oh yes, that is Corinne who fancies a spot in next year's Junkanoo.

2010-01-24T15:03:00.000-08:00

January 15

Corinne and I went into Freeport this evening to watch Junior Junkanoo. We weren’t sure what to expect, but were absolutely ‘blown away’ by the whole evening.

Junior Junkanoo is a parade/performance/extravaganza involving almost all of the schools on Grand Bahama Island. There were 17 participating schools, from pre-primary to high school.

Students make their own costumes according to a selected theme and, in many cases, have their own band. The costumes are spectacular and the music is stunning. Instruments include drums, cowbells, whistles and, with the older kids, a brass section. It is hard to imagine the enthusiasm and skill with which these are played.

We were at the parade by 6:15 and had a curbside seat. While it was scheduled to start at 6:30, it was more like ten to seven before the first group passed by. They were so cute and very much into the dancing and performing. Every so often one of the youngest would head off in their own direction, dancing along completely oblivious to everything else. At this point one of the many adult aides would scurry off and gently lead the performer back to the parade.

There was a ten minute or so pause before the next group came by and that seemed to be rather typical of the whole evening. However, each group would take five to ten minutes to pass by, and so you really had a chance to appreciate each school. While at first this seemed a little disorganized, by the end it seemed a brilliant way to have a parade.

This last picture shows the growing crowds as the evening progressed. It seemed like there were only a few parents at first, but by the end of the evening we had no trouble believing the ten to fifteen thousand reported by the newspaper. Not bad for a school concert!

We were curious about the historical background of Junkanoo and looked it up on Wikipedia. The following is from that source.

The word "Junkanoo" derived from an African slave master and trader named "John Canoe" in the 17th century. These slaves were not allowed much freedom and would hide in the bushes when they had the chance. While in the bushes they would dance and make music while covered in costumes that they made from various paints that they made and leaves that they found. This festival represented the slave's freedom from slavery.

Modern Bahamian Junkanoo is a parade: a showcase for Bahamian Goombay music and new Junkanoo costumes. Junkanoo groups "rush" from midnight until shortly after dawn, to the music of cowbells, goat- skin drums and various horns, in costumes made from cardboard covered in tiny shreds of colourful crepe paper … It is the most visible and continually experimental artistic realm of Bahamian culture.

2010-01-18T16:07:00.000-08:00

January 8-15

Kristi and Brett arrived Friday afternoon and we were very excited. Corinne and I were having a hard time deciding what to show them first. After getting settled in back at the boat, we opted for a walk down the beach to Port Lucaya for an early supper.

The next few days were rather cool and rainy. As such, they were great for reading and relaxing, a couple of refreshing walks on the beach, and Christmas presents.

We rented a car for a couple of days mid-week. On the first day we headed to West End. It was both interesting to get a sense of the other communities on the island, and an adventure, as apparently in Canada we drive on the wrong side of the road.

The next day we headed east to the Lucayan National Park. Along the way we pulled off the main road and headed down a small trail to a deserted beach. The tide was low and the beach was absolutely spectacular.

After hiking through the caves at the park and walking along the boardwalk to the beach, we headed back to Lucaya for a late lunch. We stopped at Garden of the Groves. If a restaurant is all about location, then it is very hard to top this one. The Garden of the Groves was the personal garden and retreat of Wallace Grove, the founder of Freeport.

On Thursday we were invited aboard Exhale, a catamaran owned by John and Joanne, a wonderful couple we have met at Ocean Reef. We motored down to Petersen Cay, about ten miles away, and anchored for a couple of hours for lunch, snorkeling and checking out the beach on the cay.

How quickly a week passes, though. All too quickly it is time to see the kids off and think about where we are headed next .

2010-01-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

December 31 – January 7

New Years Eve.

We planned with fellow cruisers to go to Bikini Bottom, a neat little bar on the beach, for dinner and then to Count Basie Square in Port Lucaya to ring in the New Year.

And who knew Count Basie was Bahamian?

It was a beautiful evening and we watched a gorgeous sunset as walked along the beach to the bar. After a couple of beverages we had a great dinner of pulled pork, peas and rice, mac and cheese and coleslaw. A great band plays at Bikini Bottom every Saturday night, and they were a highlight this evening as well. Their playlist includes a number of rather cheeky songs, including the ever-popular Who Put the Pepper in my Vaseline.

Just before 11:00 pm we flagged down a taxi into Port Lucaya and caught the last part of the stage show. The packed square was charged with excitement and while the Michael Jackson impersonator may have left a little to the imagination, there was a terrific fireworks show at midnight. We then headed back to the boat, celebrating the fact that this was the first time we had been up this late in quite some time.

Since New Years the weather has been rather cool. This just means, among other things, that it is good weather for fishing. John and I headed out a couple of times, and much to my surprise, were rather successful. We caught ten or twelve fish the first time out and five or six the next time. The peculiar thing about this is we basically had no idea what we had caught as there were at least eight different varieties. When we returned home each day, we would get the fish identification books and the underwater chart, a couple of Kaliks and try to figure out what we had. Along with the help of passers-by we determined that we had some porgies, a red hind, a couple of angelfish, some grunts and …

The other highlight of the week was finding the perfect spot on the beach to watch the 49er World Championships. These sailboats are absolute hot rods and the racing was very exciting in brisk winds. As the boats round the mark, which you may be able to see in the picture, there were occasions when one would tip, causing all sorts of commotion. It was not uncommon to see a crewmember catapulted at least ten feet through the air. Definitely a younger man’s boat, although Corinne likes to tell that I sailed a Sunfish in much the same way when we were first dating.

2009-12-30T17:14:00.000-08:00

December 21-30

We passed a Bahamian fellow the other day in a neighbouring resort setting up a table with souvenirs to sell and he says ‘Hey mon, how you doin?’

We replied, ‘Terrific. How are you doing?’

He said, ‘Great, it’s the Bahamas, mon!’

And it really has been a lot of fun. We have been walking the beach almost every day, doing some snorkeling and exploring, and generally beginning to find our way around. Our walks often take us to Port Lucaya for our three Kaliks, and the other day I introduced myself to my second most favorite pirate.

Christmas Eve was a bit of a sad time – we really missed being with family and friends. Christmas day was a beautiful day, though, and we were up pretty early for a long walk on the beach. Christmas dinner was a pot-luck around the pool, not 50 feet from our boat, with 45 to 50 people attending. After dinner we had a monstrous gift exchange. I had at least five different gifts pass through my hands and ended up with a rope puzzle that has no directions. I wonder how our family would feel about the possibility of stealing presents after they have been opened.

We always say that we meet so many interesting people cruising. Seated at our dinner table were Chas and Kat, a couple who travel around the world presenting seminars based on dolphin therapy, and Sara, a retired bobby, who is currently refurbishing a sailboat she bought on Ebay.

Buses seem always to be a source of stories. The other day we were returning from Port Lucaya after visiting friends who had just crossed from Florida. The buses quit running ‘about’ sunset, which it was, so we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to catch one back to Ocean Reef. We wandered over to the bus stop, where another group was also waiting. They were in conversation with Gynger, spelled with a ‘y’, who promptly came over to introduce himself. He was a Bahamian fellow who assured us that a bus would be along shortly, and if not, he would have to go and steal one. Two more groups gathered at the bus stop, and Gynger introduced himself to everyone once again, as if for the first time.

Just when everyone was wondering if there would be another bus, one pulled into the bus stop. Buses are vans, often Toyotas, and twelve of us were more than happy to squeeze into this van with Gynger. Just as we were all settled into our seats, Gynger burst into a raucous stream-of-consciousness Christmas carol for the entire, thankfully short, ride home.

As we neared our stop I said, ‘Gynger, I’ve heard a lot of Christmas carols this past week, and I can’t say that I remember anything like that.’ He replied, ‘Merry Christmas, mon, and began humming.’

Do you recognize this boat? Apparently the second and third sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean were made on Grand Bahama Island. Ghost is, we believe, one of the pirate ships in those movies. It is moored in one of the canals just a short distance from the marina where we stayed when clearing customs.

The Bahamas have two or three national dishes, but my advice is to skip the first two and hold out for a conch salad, and on a really good day, a side of conch fritters. Today was a really good day!

2009-12-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

December 11-20

From Vero Beach it is two pretty full days to Lake Worth, our jumping-off spot for the Bahamas. The weather when we left was windy and squally, which means heavy rain showers with even gustier winds in the showers. We were feeling just a little adventurous for heading out in these conditions when we came across this sight. There were at least 50 Optis, a small dinghy designed specifically for youngsters, spread out over a one to two mile race course. The kids appeared to be having an absolute blast in the windy conditions.

Another two miles further along was another race event with more than 60 small boats, Lasers and 420s, screaming along. The young teens in these boats were very good sailors with more tricks up their sleeves than I will ever know.

Lake Worth has two large anchorages where boats congregate to wait for a ‘window’ to cross to the Bahamas. Waiting entails listening to the weather broadcast early each morning and then rehashing it all day long with other sailors. We passed on the first day of the window because it was still windy with larger seas. We passed on the second day as well, with 10 plus knot headwinds, because the third day (and likely final day for some time) was forecast to be the most benign day of all three.

Such shrewd planners we are! We woke up to pouring rain and fluky winds from the north. The very first admonition about crossing the Gulf Stream is ‘Never, ever, do this when the wind has a northerly component to it.'

After sitting in the cockpit all morning, feeling quite soggy, Corinne informed me that we would never get to the Bahamas before February, and another day in Lake Worth may just drive her crazy. Apparently someone was listening, because shortly after lunch there was a break in the clouds and the winds began to blow lightly from the east. Later in the afternoon, along with with another boat that we had been talking to over the radio, but not met otherwise, we poked our noses out into the ocean.

The seas were not overly lumpy and for the first couple of hours we had a lovely close-reached sail. Then the winds eased as they shifted to ahead of us and it was a fifteen hour motor-sail trip to Port Lucaya. It is just a little disconcerting as the sun sets and it becomes very dark, with only the stars and some cloud-to-cloud lightening in the distance shining through. This is a picture of navigation lights of Nimuë, our partner in crossing.

As we settled into our slip at Port Lucaya, with yellow quarantine flag flying in anticipation of a visit from the Customs and Immigration officials, we sat back to unwind and enjoy a wonderfully warm Bahamian morning. To make the picture perfect, we were being serenaded by that Carribbean classic from the town square – I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.

When we walked into the office of the Immigration officer later in the morning, he stood up to shake our hands and in a hearty voice said, ’Welcome to the Bahamas. We were wondering when you would get here.’

After completing the arrival formalities we wandered through the market square and got directions to the beach. We also made one purchase. You are able to buy three Kaliks – a Bahamian beer – for five dollars. They will open them for you and give you a paper bag so that you can drink them as you are walking along. The beer was freezing cold and couldn’t have tasted better on an absolutely gorgeous beach.

The next morning we were up early to move over to Ocean Reef Yacht Club. We are snuggled into a very comfortable slip where we have weathered the first winter 'norther'. There is a very friendly cruising community here and the resort offers access to all the amenities. We have a feeling we may just like it here! Now we are going to have to find out about ‘ting-em’.

2009-12-11T07:18:00.000-08:00

November 6 - December 10

As we keep telling everyone, winter cruising is a pretty ‘good gig’ and so we are happy to be at it again.

We drove to Green Cove Springs, arriving November 10, and Gormã was moved into the work yard the next day. It always takes much longer than we remember to get her ready to launch, and this year was no exception. There is the waxing, polishing and painting for me, and the washing, washing and washing for Corinne. Florida summers are really hard on boats, and so the first week is sometimes a little discouraging.

In addition, we had a few boat repairs - nothing major - but always a learning curve. Our two week preparation was rather unexpectedly extended to three weeks due to a breakdown with the travel lift, that magical piece of machinery that carries the boat from land to water. While at first a little disappointing, we ended up having to scramble in order to have everything ready for the launch. Where does the time go?

Once in the water, we were a day to get all the last minute things done, and then on our way. One of our last purchases was fresh caught Mayport shrimp. We celebrated our first night cruising with a tasty dinner at Blount Island in the St. John's River.

The next day we travelled to St. Augustine, a favorite spot. As a sidebar, the previous week we had driven down to St. Augustine, a thirty minute jaunt from Green Cove Springs. By boat it has been two full days. Occasionally we have to remind ourselves that it is the journey, and not the destination.

We stayed over at St. Augustine for Saturday. Two years ago, we watched part of the Santa Claus parade and wondered if we had missed Santa Claus, or if he simply didn’t make it as far south as St. Augustine. We are happy to report that he actually does ‘do’ the parade in St. Augustine, and we have the pictures to prove it. This is also the weekend of the British reenactment of the night watch. It is most interesting to see everybody dressed in period dress walking through the streets of the very old Spanish part of town, ensuring that things are safe for the night.

Another four days of travelling down the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway), and we are now on a mooring ball in Vero Beach. This is another great spot to visit – easy shopping, nice access to the ocean beaches, and a place to begin thinking about possible crossings to the Bahamas. We are up early each morning listening to Chris Parker, the weather guru, hoping to find that perfect window for the next leg.

2008-04-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

March 31-

We are on our way to San Mateo, Florida, where we will store the boat at Gibson’s Dry Dock. It is a little sad, but will be fun to be home again too.

This has been a wonderful trip and a great adventure, and we are definitely looking forward to doing it again. We have learned so much about the places we have been, some things about ourselves, and a little bit about what is really ‘important’ to us.

One should never take for granted the comfort of a long warm shower or the bounty of the produce section of a good grocery store. We will always marvel at the stars at night, beautiful blue water and sandy beaches, and family and good friends.

That’s it for now, mon!

2008-04-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

March 26-29

Chris Parker is the weather guru for cruisers, and most everyone wakes up to catch his SSB radio broadcast at 6:30 in the morning, every day except Sunday. There have been a number of cold fronts passing through, but he sees a ‘window’ to make the passage to Florida in the next few days. If we do not capitalize on it, it will be at least a week before there is another opportunity.

With this in mind, we are off to Highbourne Cay on Wednesday and then to West Bay on New Providence Island on Thursday. The forecast still looks good, so early Friday morning it is off to Lake Worth in Florida.

The waves in the Tongue of the Ocean have been quite large over the past week, but have been subsiding in the last couple of days. Thus it was with just a little trepidation that we stuck our noses out there at first light in the morning.

We have been sailing together with Cipango for the last couple of weeks, and this picture shows them just a little off our port side. We were simultaneously in the trough of waves and all we could see were their sails.

The wind was fresh and true all day and we had one of the best sails we have ever had. From the Tongue of the Ocean we passed through the Northwest Channel onto the Banks, which were never more than 12 to 20 feet deep.

At about midnight we passed by an outcropping known as Hens and Chickens and set our sights on Florida. It is always a little unnerving to be sailing at night. The funny thing is, you can’t see all that much. The stars, however, were spectacular, and when you looked down at the wake it appeared to be full of little fireflies called bioluminescence.

It was a beautiful night and an uneventful crossing. As the sun came up in the morning the wind changed slightly and we were able to sail the last four hours to Lake Worth. We travelled for 28.5 hours and in that time covered 174.7 nautical miles.

Is it any wonder that afternoon burgers and beers at the Tiki Hut were a real treat?

2008-04-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

March 13-25

We sailed down to Cambridge Cay on Thursday and picked up a mooring ball in a terrific anchorage. The mooring is nestled between cays and so is protected from winds and waves from all directions. This is one of the few true ‘hidey holes’ in the entire Exumas chain.

Cambridge is also a jumping off spot to a number of interesting spots. In the afternoon we went by dinghy down to the Acquarium, a great snorkeling spot with a wide variety of fish. As we are in the Land and Sea Park we are seeing many more and a greater variety of fish. The tidal currents can be quite strong, though, and you have to pick your snorkeling times accordingly.

On the way back to the boat we stopped at another location where a small plane had crashed. It was rather spooky to dive down and see the wings and fuselage still intact. I could not, however, muster the nerve to swim down and peek into the open cabin door!

The next day we went by dinghy over to Compass Cay. This is a very pretty cay with a nice marina and a number of guest cabins. Guests and visitors can feed the nurse sharks which congregate around the dinghy dock, and on a nice day even go for a swim with them. None of us capitalized on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, though.

We did, however, walk over to the beach on the ocean side of the cay. It is a gorgeous beach overlooking that fabulous aquamarine blue water.

On Sunday we sailed down to Emerald Rock at Warderick Wells and then on Thursday moved over to the North anchorage. We have been thinking we should be moving further north, but windy weather has made it an easy decision to remain until after Easter.

Actually, if the truth be told, we have been away from any opportuntiy to resupply for a while and are pretty much out of fresh produce. That may be the more compelling reason that we are looking forward to the pot luck Easter meal. And what a great afternoon it was.

2008-03-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

March 7-12

The realization is beginning to settle in that our adventure must come to an end at some point, and we have mixed emotions about that. It has been a fabulous experience, every step of the way, but it will be nice to get home as well. On Thursday, we began to retrace our steps, sailing from George Town to Jack’s Bay Cove on Great Guana Cay.

The first thirty-five miles of this leg were on Exuma Sound, which is essentially the ocean. The wind had been blowing briskly the previous few days, and so it was somewhat rolly and wavy trip. We passed through Galliot Cut just south of Big Farmers Cay and sailed the last twenty miles on the Exuma Bank. The Bank is one of the finest cruising grounds in the world (I may have made that up) and we had a wonderful romp to Jack’s Bay Cove.

The next day we sailed to Big Majors Spot, an anchorage we enjoy and that provides pretty good protection from approaching fronts. It is always slightly unnerving to be sitting in the cockpit on a gorgeous evening watching a distant band of clouds approach, knowing that there are winds and squalls of 20 to 40 plus miles per hour associated with it.

On Tuesday we sailed back to Jack’s Bay Cove with Jean-Michel and Ann to explore some coral heads we had seen earlier. Corinne was anxious to try snorkeling, and I have a spear which I have not yet taken off the boat. We had a great afternoon, and saw a large variety of fish, as well as a very large sea turtle, just resting quietly on the bottom. I am beginning to think that the fishing may have to wait until next year, though, because besides not knowing how to use the spear, I can never tell for sure which kind of fish might be good for dinner.

However, we did not leave empty-handed. Jean-Michel found two large conch which we brought back to shore and ‘cleaned’. We were rather skeptical about what came out of the shell, but a couple of nights later Jean-Michel and Ann prepared a fabulous dinner of conch fritters.

We returned to Black Point that evening. It is time for one last dinner at Lorraine’s Café and another morning of laundry and Internet. Black Point is a delightful community and perhaps our favorite stop.

2008-03-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

February 24 – March 6

George Town is essentially a six-mile long harbour situated between islands along a northwest to southeast axis. There are anchorages on both sides of the channel, and boats will sometimes move from one side to the other to seek protection as cold fronts pass through.

We anchored off of Monument Beach, also known as Hamburger Beach, where Dora has been cooking hamburgers for thirty years. She has a picture on the wall of Johnny Depp when he was there filming Pirates of the Caribbean.

No, that’s not Johnny, it’s Kenny and his pirate wench, Amy. Amy has developed a tradition of observing Pirate Friday, usually on Friday, but with Amy you never can be sure! This was also Kenny’s birthday and a fun night. Amy tells us that when Kenny is not privateering he is an exotic dance instructor.

Next along the channel is Volleyball Beach, the hub of the cruiser’s social scene. It is hopping from morning to nightfall, and even later on dance nights. Every afternoon people gather to play volleyball, swap stories with old and new friends and perhaps have a cool drink.

One morning Corinne and I took the dinghy down to Sand Dollar Beach, near the bottom of the Elizabeth Harbour channel. We had hoped to find elusive sand dollars washed up on the beach, but had no luck. This view, though, looking out from the beach, shows some of the 290 boats in the harbour.

The VHF radio net on channel 72 at 8:00 am each morning announces among other things, the activities for the day. Corinne and I attended excellent sessions on forecasting the weather, purchasing marine insurance, sailing through the Far East, sail trim, … We missed the bridge lessons, the yoga classes, trivial pursuit and, yes, the exotic dance. We did get to a couple of the cocktail gatherings on the beach and jam sessions by a number of very talented folks.

From where we were anchored it was a two mile dinghy ride to George Town. It was often a rough and wet ride. In town we were able to get water from the dinghy dock at the grocery store, Exuma Markets, do our grocery tshopping and pick up fuel. We found that the best bread comes from Mom’s Bakery, the purple van in the picture. Mom is in George Town three days a week and includes a large hug with each purchase.

Internet access, and our link to home, is not accessible from the boat, and somewhat erratic from other locations. We discovered J&K Computers which provides excellent access. They charge five dollars a day, which is much cheaper than the two Kaliks we would purchase at the bars with free access. It is also very popular.

The Cruiser's Regatta is upcoming, but we are going to head north when the weather is good and stop in at some of the places we passed by on our way down.

2008-02-26T04:24:00.000-08:00

February 19-23

Along with Joe and Margie on Aquavit, we headed for George Town early Tuesday morning. We passed through Dotham Cut to Exuma Sound and motored the fifty miles to George Town. A cut is the narrow passage from the ‘banks’ side of the island chain through to the ‘Sound’ or ocean side. There is always a current through the cut based on the ebb or flow of the tide. When the wind is blowing the opposite direction from the current, it creates a large set of standing waves. We thought we had timed our transit well, and so were quite surprised by the short rough passage through the cut. Joe and Margie, veteran cruisers, assured us that this had been one of the roughest they had encountered.

George Town is the final destination of many cruisers and will be for us as well. We have travelled 3 254.3 miles and marvel consistently at what a wonderful experience it has been.

There are approximately 225 cruising boats anchored here. The cruisers have developed a vibrant community, facetiously called ‘day camp for seniors’, which is busy from morning to night. At 8:00 am there is a ‘net’ on the VHF radio that announces all of the activities for the day. Today there is yoga in the morning, volleyball in the afternoon, with opportunities to play bridge, bocci and dominoes. Last week we could have written the ham radio test, and this week Chris Parker, the Caribbean weather guru, will be doing a seminar in town.

On the other side of the island, a very short walk from ‘Hamburger Beach’, are miles of sand beach looking out on the sound.

We were anxious to get to George Town so that Corinne could get her cast removed. She has had it for six weeks and is anxious to be done with it. We went in to visit Dr. Fox who confirmed that the cast could be removed and said, ‘I’m sorry I don’t have the cast-cutter here, but you can easily cut it off with a hack saw blade.’

Corinne obviously had a look in her eye which said there was no way in #$% that I was going to be sawing her arm, because Dr. Fox slipped in a minute later and said he had just sent someone out to buy a blade.

We had an interesting conversation as he patiently sawed through the stubborn cast. In the end, there was the doctor, the chiropractor, myself and a nurse all pulling on the cast to get it to come loose. Finally the cast split apart and Corinne’s arm emerged. It is still pretty tender and a little swollen, but is feeling better each day.

When we returned to the boat we called our friends on Mary T to share the news. Corinne was very excited, but I think I was even more so as she was determined to start doing the dishes. Amy retorted, ‘Great, we’ll bring ours over too.’

2008-02-25T04:34:00.000-08:00

February 15-18

Black Point is one of the most talked about destinations in The Exumas - we have heard cruisers singing its praises over the VHS radio for the past couple of weeks. What is it that could generate so much excitement?

Black Point has a new laundromat, and believe us, it is past time to check it out. On Friday morning we weighed anchor and sailed the nine miles down to Black Point. This is one of the larger communities in The Exumas, with a population of approximately 300 people, and a very nice anchorage.

The laundromat was everything that was promised, and very busy. There were 30 to 40 boats in the anchorage each day, and many of those would visit the laundromat, making it the hub of social activity. People share stories and places to visit, as well as catch up on news and gossip.

Speaking of gossip, Corinne is the focus of much of it. Everywhere we have been, she is inevitably greeted by the question, ‘What did you do to your arm?’

This is always followed by, ‘Oh, you’re the one! We heard about you. How are you doing?’

Another highlight of Black Point was the visit to Lorraine’s restaurant. It is popular and one must make reservations for dinner. We stopped by in the afternoon (between loads of laundry) to confirm our reservation and choice of entrée. People also make reservations by radio and we were curious to meet the always bubbly voice from the restaurant.

Our meal of cracked conch and red snapper was fabulous. Most interesting, though, was how the restaurant worked. Lorraine was the only person there, so she was cook, hostess, and bartender. How does she handle this and serve dinner for twenty? With grace and seeming ease. She greets people as they arrive and asks them to help themselves from the cooler or bar, and to mark down at the bar on a piece of paper what they have taken. As the meals were prepared, two or three of the women from cruising sailboats volunteered as servers. Finally, as her eleven-year-old son cleared the tables at the end of the meal Lorraine circulated to chat with her guests and present the bills.

Corinne responded to the call for cruisers who would like to volunteer to tutor for an hour at the end of the school day, and returned with the biggest smile on her face. She spent an hour with Rodnika, a six-year-old sweetheart who was working on phonics and addition facts. As always, the tutor seems to get the most out of this opportunity.

2008-02-23T11:39:00.000-08:00

February 9-14

There is a scene in the movie The Pink Panther in which Inspector Clouseau asks a hotel clerk, ‘Does your dog bite?’

The clerk replies ‘No’ and so Clouseau bends down to pet the dog. The dog barks and bites him on the hand.

Clouseau says, ‘I thought you said your dog did not bite.”

The clerk replies, ‘That is not my dog.’

Corinne had a similar experience catching her flight back from Nassau on Friday afternoon. She was waiting in the departure lounge, and becoming concerned that there was not much activity. She checked twice with the airline clerk to make sure the plane was on schedule and everything was as it should be. The clerk assured her that the pilot had filed his flight plan and that she was on the passenger list. Not to worry.

Becoming increasingly concerned that something was not right, Corinne again approached the clerk to see if everything was in order. The clerk once more phoned to confirm the flight, only to be told that it had just departed from the other gate. And the only thing Corinne could say was, ‘But that was my plane.’

After one more night in Nassau, Corinne arrived safely back to Staniel Cay with a new and smaller cast and the assurance that everything was healing well.

We spent almost three days on the boat due to strong winds. When a cold front comes through, and they do so with some frequency, there can be quite strong winds for a period of time. With winds of 20 gusting to 30 knots, it is very difficult to get into the dinghy with one arm and also a wet ride to get anywhere. However, it was a great time to finish the Tom Clancy novel I started back in November.

The rest of the week has been filled with exploring new beaches in the dinghy and snorkeling. There are gorgeous spots everywhere and it is great fun checking these out.

The mailboat arrived on Wednesday and so the shelves in the grocery stores are stocked again. The captains of these boats are quite remarkable. I have been careful about taking the dinghy up this channel to the store, and here is the mailboat reversing 180 degrees in the channel that is no more than 50 feet wider than its length.

2008-02-09T12:49:00.001-08:00

February 6-8

We sometimes wonder when we are going to just sit back and ‘chill’. There are a lot of things to do in this cruising life, and they all take time.

Thursday is shopping day in Staniel Cay. There are three stores to choose from. You can go to the Blue Store, the Pink Store or Isles General. The Mailboat comes in either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning with supplies. The advice is to be at the store by 11:00 am, just enough time to get things unpacked but not long enough for everything to be sold out.

Our timing was pretty good at Isles General, which was our choice because we could dinghy right up to its dock. We were a little apprehensive, though, as there were at least 20 dinghies already tied up at the dock. When we got up to the entrance we had to wait a bit as people shifted around so that we were able to open the door. Friends from another boat informed us we were actually quite lucky as the crowd was beginning to thin out.

Isles General is about the size of three good-sized bedrooms, and provides produce and frozen goods, a hardware section and dry goods, and the check-out counter. Produce is set out on two or three good-sized bookcases. Amazingly, we were able to get most everything we needed and never had to take more than ten steps from one place to another around the store.

With our basket full, it was one step backwards to the checkout line, where we waited and visited for the next hour. It was fun, though, as we met two other cruising couples with connections to Winnipeg – one even worked for MTS and knew Pops.

On Friday Corinne flew to Nassau to have her cast changed. This too has been an experience. It took essentially two days, five phone calls and two trips to the airport to confirm the ticket. Each of these involved either a quarter-mile walk to the phone booth (the ones outside the yacht club are not currently working), or a half-mile walk to the airport. We finally got everything settled and saw Corinne off this morning. I think the pilot will remember to close that window before taking off, won’t he?

This is the view from the cockpit at Big Major in the evening. Things are good, mon.

2008-02-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

February 3-5

It's Superbowl Sunday, and the Staniel Cay Yacht Club is hosting a buffet and party. They have been making regular announcements on the VHF radio, and we are thinking it might be fun to attend. It means sailing the 30 nautical miles from Warderick Wells, but it is a beautiful morning.

We had another fabulous sail with Mary T down to Big Major Spot, a comfortable anchorage just a mile away from Staniel Cay. There was just enough time for a quick snorkel when we got there before calling the water taxi to get a ride to the yacht club. Dinner was terrific and it was a fun place to watch the game. Unfortunately, thinking we had a longer ride back to the boat, we left at half time and missed the exciting end.

Two ‘must-dos’ in Staniel Cay are feeding the wild pigs on Pig Beach and snorkeling Thunderball Grotto, the cave featured in the James Bond movie of the same name. One of these we would probably not do again, while snorkeling in Thunderball was a highlight.

The other highlight is checking one's email at the Yacht Club. There are between 40 and 60 boats within a two-mile radius, and so there is a lot of activity at the bar. They are wonderfully open about permitting computer usage, and there are frequently 10 to 20 laptops with people ordering drinks and working away. We are only becoming aware that this is a shrewd marketing opportunity, because the more people trying to access the Internet, the slower the connection becomes, and what else is there to do in the bar when waiting for an email to open.

2008-02-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

January 30 – February 2

We woke up this morning and had to pinch ourselves. The view from the cockpit was fabulous – exactly what we had imagined being anchored in The Bahamas would be like. We have thoroughly enjoyed every part of the trip, but this really is something else.

Warderick Wells has a number of hiking trails providing many options to explore the cay. On Wednesday we went for a hike up Boo Boo Hill. The cays are comprised essentially of limestone, formed during the last Ice Age, which has been dramatically eroded and mottled over time. The shores are very rocky with rather tall cliffs interspersed with beautiful beaches.

Boo Boo Hill is the highest point of land on Warderick Wells with a cairn and markers on top of it. The lore is that the boatload of missionaries that wrecked off Warderick Wells are buried there and the cairn was erected years ago in their honour. Boaters have been leaving mementos with the names of their boats on this site for years.

I also have been snorkeling a number of times. There is an amazing variety of fish. Some are bright and vivid while others are so well camouflaged that you don’t notice them unless you look very carefully. It has been fun using my camera with its underwater housing, a great Christmas present from last year.

While snorkeling one afternoon, Corinne and I thought we saw a small reef just off one of the beaches. As we got closer to shore, Corinne said, ‘It’s moving.’ Could that be possible? Sure enough, the black form was moving back and forth along the beach. As we got closer, it began to move towards us. When we stopped the dinghy a black ray, over three feet across, swam up to us and stopped under the dinghy. Corinne said this was much too close for comfort (not in exactly those words) and we slowly motored away. We asked the park attendant about this afterwards, and she said it was likely just happy to find a place in the shade.

On Friday we went on a guided walk with Bill, a volunteer for the park. Many cruisers volunteer for a day or two to support the programs within the park. In this picture he is explaining that the fifty plus foot Sperm whale skeleton behind him was from a whale that had washed up on shore a number of years ago. It had apparently died from ingesting plastic bags that it had swallowed thinking they were squid, a staple of their diet.

On both the micro and macro level, refuse is a major concern. As thoughtful as we have been, we have a full garbage bag accumulated after a week in the Exumas, and there are few options to dispose of it. More disconcerting, though, is the distressing amount of litter, mostly plastic and glass, which washes up on the beaches. Corinne and I are trying to be thoughtful about our impact on the environment.

2008-02-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

January 28-29

Monday was a gorgeous day as we eased out of the marina just after 9:00 am.

Kenny and Amy, aboard Mary T, another Morgan 384, joined us and we were finally off to the Exumas, bound for Allens Cay. Kenny and Amy are great fun and very competent sailors, so it is reassuring to be sailing in their company. Also, since they have the same boat as us, it is great fun sailing side by side, or better yet, slightly ahead of them!

It was 33 nautical miles over the Exuma Bank to Allens Cay. The bank is only 10 to 20 feet deep so is great sailing in that while it may be quite breezy the waves are not large. Midway we passed over the Yellow Bank, approximately a five-mile stretch of coral heads. We were a little apprehensive about this, but the coral heads are clearly visible ominous black heads and we were able to easily negotiate around them.

The anchorage at Allens Cay was somewhat crowded and we did not get settled until later in the afternoon.

On Tuesday we were off to Warderick Wells, headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. It was another fabulous sailing day, perhaps one of the best of our entire trip. After thirty nautical miles we turned eastward to find the entrance to the mooring field at Warderick Wells. As we closed on the cay, the spectacular blues of the water come into view. I have tried repeatedly to capture this, but pictures do not do it justice.

The view of the mooring field and cays beyond from the deck of park headquarters is spectacular. We feel like we have finally made it and are very excited to explore the trails and snorkeling within the park.

2008-02-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

January 22-27

Just as he promised, Albert arrived early Tuesday morning and had the new transmission installed before lunch. Although we had been hoping that a new transmission would not be required, as they are not inexpensive, we are feeling much more at ease now that it has been replaced.

We have managed to keep quite busy in Nassau. We are up early in the morning, but some days it can be 11:00 am before we have finished breakfast and made the long walk along the dock to the showers and back again. We have met a number of wonderful people in the marina and so visiting along the way is part of the fun.

On Wednesday we walked over to Atlantis, a magnificent resort and casino complex on Paradise Island. It is extremely lavish and a little ‘over-the-top’, but fun to walk through. In one of the main foyers there is a huge aquarium around the perimeter that is perhaps one hundred yards long and houses an amazing array of fish.

We were back to the hospital on Friday and Corinne had a new cast put on, actually a fiberglass cast put over the shell of the original cast. I wish I could do glass work on the boat as quickly and easily as Dr. Iferenta put that cast on. He is a bit of a ‘character’ and Corinne is very happy to be in his care. While he was putting the cast on, we asked what the pain of such a break would be like if we had not been able to get to the hospital for a day or so. His response was ‘Astronomical’. With that sobering reply we asked if there was any medication that would be helpful easing the pain in such a situation. Without missing a beat he said, ‘Rum’.

Corinne has an appointment to have a smaller cast put on in two weeks time, so as the weather improves, we are going to head down to The Exumas.

On the weekend we walked down to Montagu Park to watch the Bahamian sailboat races. These are part of a regular schedule of races throughout the islands, and are a popular event, with lots of music, cold beer and great food. And yes, there’s some racing as well.

Corinne and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but had the most fun with Gabriel, who we were thrilled to adopt for the afternoon. Gabriel and his mom were staying in the same marina as us while his father was in Miami on business for the week. We would stop and chat with them most mornings on the way to the shower.

2008-01-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

January 14-21

All dressed up and nowhere to go. That seems to be the story since our arrival in The Bahamas. If you look carefully, you can probably see the black cloud hanging over Corinne’s head as well.

We were all set to leave Nassau last Tuesday morning. In the process of leaving the slip, the transmission would not go from reverse back into forward. Corinne bravely reached out to fend off the boat behind us and in doing so broke her wrist. With assistance from fellow boaters we got back into our slip and walked up the dock to catch a taxi to the hospital. Someone slipped in behind us and said ‘I will give you a ride’ which we were happy to accept.

We spent the morning in the hospital and returned to the marina in the early afternoon to find our boat carefully and neatly secured. Shortly afterwards Claire, from across the way, came by and said ‘Luv, you won’t be cooking tonight so I will bring you over supper.’ Once again we are amazed by the thoughtfulness of the cruising community.

We have spent the past week either back and forth to the hospital, as the cast had to be adjusted twice to ease the pain caused by swelling, or touring around Nassau. So far, the highlights have been making arrangements to have the transmission replaced and finding Internet connections at the Starbucks or On the Run Esso station across the street.

Actually the real highlight was a seafood dinner Claire and David invited us to on Thursday. We went with Claire down to the docks to buy fresh hogfish and lobster from local fishermen and then Dave cooked it in white wine sauce – fabulous!

This week Albert will replace the transmission and Corinne will have a new cast put on. Then, if another cold front does not slow us down, we will be off to The Exumas for a couple of weeks.

2008-01-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

January 12-13

We were up at 4:00 am (who could sleep anyways) in order to be away before first light. Everything went smoothly as we inched our way around the south end of Key Biscayne and out into the ocean, headed for North Rock at the north end of the Bimini Islands, some 56 nautical miles distant. We have heard many stories about how difficult crossing the Gulf Stream can be, but had a wonderful trip.

We were ‘off-soundings for most of this part of the passage, meaning that the depth sounder cannot register the bottom of the ocean. As we approached Bimini, however, the water quickly shoaled to 20 to 30 feet, in the transition becoming the most incredible aquamarine colour imaginable.

The second leg of the trip traversed the Great Bahama Bank, a distance of 59 nautical miles. The average depth of the water across the Banks was 15 to 20 feet, and so this water was also a spectacular blue colour. At regular intervals along the way schools of flying fish would go skittering across the water.

As dusk approached we turned on the barbecue and enjoyed pork chops with a greek salad while watching the sun disappear beyond the horizon.

At that point, the ocean began to loom quite large. We were very happy to be in the company of 15 to 20 other boats that were also making the crossing to Nassau. Every hour one boat led a radio check in which all participating boats checked in with their position. There was also constant radio contact between boats to share conditions and stories, as well as just generally maintain spirits.

By approximately 3:00 am we were approaching the Northwest Shoal, marking the entrance to the Northwest Channel and the Tongue of the Ocean. This was the third and final leg of the trip and was again ‘off-soundings’.

The moon had set by midnight and the stars visible during the night were amazing. It was also intriguing to see the phosphorescence in the wake of boat as we moved along. This looks like hundreds of fireflies flashing for just a second to mark your progress.

After travelling for thirty-one and a half hours and covering 175 nautical miles, we finally arrived at Nassau, very tired and thankful to have had such a wonderful trip. As we approached Nassau we radioed to ask for permission to enter the harbour and raised the yellow quarantine flag which must remain flying until we have cleared Customs and Immigration. They come to the boat to complete the required forms, and you must remain on the boat until this process has been completed. Late in the afternoon we happily raised the Bahamian courtesy flag and are looking forward to confirming that it is indeed ‘Better in The Bahamas’, mon.

2008-01-14T17:07:00.000-08:00

January 10-11

KLUNK!

‘What was that?’

‘I don’t know, but … we’re not moving.’

Oh #@@**

We had departed at noon from the Miami Yacht Club to head down Biscayne Bay to No-Name Harbour, a preferred departure point for The Bahamas. A mile into the trip, we felt a shudder and heard a horrible clunk. We were in the middle of the busy channel leaving Miami and going nowhere.

We quickly set the anchor and ran through all of the possibilities, none of them good, becoming more disheartened with each. Having no idea what to do next, we called TowBoat US to came and get us. When the operator arrived, he patiently reviewed our options, and as he prepared the paperwork, looked from his boat to ours and said, ‘But I think I know what your problem is. Look at your prop.’

A large palm frond had become entangled in the prop and was fluttering behind us. He towed us back to the harbour, to the exact place we had left a couple of hours earlier, and then offered to dive and cut the frond loose. In ten minutes we started the engine and everything was fine. Talk about going from on top of the world to disappointed to excited again!

Although it was getting late in the afternoon, we opted to sail down to No-Name to be ready to go.

Saturday was a busy day, route planning with three other boats and keeping a nervous eye on the weather. After much discussion, we had a plan – and only changed our collective minds three more times through the day as we compared notes with other cruisers.

2008-01-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

January 2-9

We were up early this morning.

In fact, all of us had a restless night, I think, listening to the wind singing in the rigging and wondering how the dinghy ride to shore would be.

The winds of the forecast ‘norther’ began to fill in last evening, almost on cue as Brett and Kristi began to pack up for the next part of their vacation. By morning they were blowing steadily at 25 plus knots. Not only was it windy, but decidedly cool as well.

Since saying good-bye, our week has been preoccupied with trying to figure out how much wine and Kraft dinner we will need for the next three months, and then running around picking things up. Figuring out our needs for our time in the Bahamas has actually been a big undertaking, but the more significant task has turned out to be where to pack everything we have purchased.

We rented a car for the weekend and on Sunday drove down through the keys as far as Islamorada. Along the way we picked up a heavy-duty fishing rod at a flea market and a weight belt at one of the dive shops. Corinne was shaking her head with both of these purchases, but was much happier after lunch at a very nice ocean side restaurant.

Our packing has been going well, and we are waiting for the right ‘window’ to cross over to the Bahamas. Our intent is to cross to Bimini and go on to Nassau as quickly as possible. From there we will take our time sailing down the chain of keys known as The Exumas and end up in Georgetown.

2008-01-08T20:02:00.001-08:00

December 30 – January 1

We anchored just out from the Miami Yacht Club. This was quite a remarkable spot, looking out on the Miami skyline to the west and Miami Beach to the east.

The day was again fabulous, so we set out to explore the beach and shops in the area known as South Beach. This is the popular and trendy area of Miami Beach. One of the highlights was the Lincoln Pedestrian Parkway, approximately an eight-block section of the street closed to traffic and full of great shops and restaurants. Kristi had some good shopping, and we all enjoyed a great supper at Nexxt.

South Beach was so much fun on Sunday, we just had to go back and check it out on New Years Eve day. It appears that this is ‘the’ place to be for New Years Eve, and it was fun to see all the preparations.

We spent some time on the beach, enjoyed an afternoon drink and appetizers at a couple of the bars along Ocean Drive and then returned to the boat for supper. We had no sooner finished the barbecue when we were treated to a spectacular display of fireworks over the Miami skyline.

How quickly a year goes. How quickly this week has gone. We have been having a great time and wish the same for all of you.

Happy New Years

2008-01-08T18:47:00.000-08:00

December 27-29

The weather has been fantastic, and shows no signs of changing. We spent another fabulous day at the beach, and in the evening walked down to Los Olas Boulevard for dinner and gelato.

Brett’s birthday was on the 28th, and the kids made plans to go to the Panthers hockey game in the evening. Ribs were on the menu for dinner, so in the morning we headed out in the dinghy to find a grocery store.

This turned out to be quite an adventure, confronting dragons (well, pretty big iguanas), rescuing damsels in distress (another story) and ended up taking much of the day.

Try as hard as we might, we still had leftovers for another day.

On Saturday we headed down to Miami. It was a beautiful day with a 15 knot wind, but basically ‘on the nose’. This made for a rather bumpy ride motoring into the waves. While not unpleasant, everyone generally has a different idea of what is fun, except for the end of the sail drink, which we all agreed tasted pretty good.

2008-01-08T17:26:00.000-08:00

December 26

I remember having to wait forever for it to be Christmas morning, but this was getting crazy.

Brett and Kristi were to arrive at 11:30 Christmas night, but were again delayed and did not get to the boat until after 3:00 am. It was fun to see the ‘goofy grin’ on their faces that always seems to accompany palm trees and warm temperatures.

After a relaxing start in the morning, and checking out the stockings, we headed down to the beach for the afternoon. Quite a stretch from the cross-country ski trails, and you will notice that Kristi appears to be much happier with this option. She maintains that after we made her ski 10 miles to the cabin, and back again, when she was only three, she has never been that fond of the skiing option.

The motel/apartment complex where we were able to get a slip had a barbecue, and so we returned from the beach in time to grill a turkey breast for dinner. Bill, who took us under his wing, joined us for dinner.

Although Corinne and I had already received our best present the previous night, it was still fun to gather around the Christmas tree.

2007-12-28T17:29:00.000-08:00

December 23-25

It’s been a whirlwind couple of days. When it comes to boating, they say if you can’t find it in Fort Lauderdale, you can’t find it anywhere. We have been putting that to the test, and have probably been way too successful.

Terry and Deb, friends from Bay City, joined us Saturday through Monday morning and were great ‘sports’, chauffeuring us around and exploring the sights. When they left Monday they dropped us at The Galleria, a large shopping mall, where we planned to pick up a few final things. I guess no matter where you are, there are still too many things to do at the last minute, and nobody’s even thought about Christmas baking.

As we were waiting on the bus to get back to the boat, we checked the phone messages only to hear that Kristi and Brett were not going to be arriving Christmas Eve as planned. Their flight had been cancelled. What a disappointment!

On Tuesday we rolled the clock back a day and it was Christmas Eve Day all over - a time for cleaning, getting the last of the presents wrapped, and finishing the baking. Well, that’s all true except for the baking. Corinne stopped at a French bakery yesterday and we are pretty well taken care of.

In the afternoon we walked down to the beach, which was packed.

All in all it was a rather surreal day - no family, no snow and no turkey. We miss you. Merry Christmas!

There is only one way to end a day like that, and that’s with a giant margarita and burger for dinner.

2007-12-28T12:06:00.000-08:00

December 21-22

Earlier in the week there was a promising weather forecast for crossing to the Bahamas, but as the week has progressed, the forecast has deteriorated.

This has shaped our plans as well. Originally we had been thinking to ‘bump out’ into the ocean to sail from Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale. Not only would this have been a great opportunity to get another taste of ocean sailing, but it also would have allowed us to bypass the 18 bridges in between. However, with winds forecast was for 15-20 knots, basically on the nose, we opted for the slow and scenic option along the waterway. This section is particularly noted for the spectacular houses along the shores of the waterway.

We stopped for the night in Lettuce Lake, a little bump in the waterway just short of Fort Lauderdale. Did I mention that the houses are pretty nice? They all have a slip in front of them, and the boats aren’t bad either.

On Saturday morning we were up early and on our way. We have arranged to stay in a slip attached to a small apartment along one of the canals in Fort Lauderdale. The couple that we shared a mooring ball with in Vero Beach put us on to it.

The location has turned out to be spectacular. There is a small pool as well as all the amenities of a marina. Emma keeps an eye on things from her perch at the end of the pool, and has a hankering for the handsome sailors. At the end of the block is Las Olas Boulevard with very trendy shopping and restaurants, and we are less than a mile from the ocean beaches. This is going to be fun!

2007-12-28T11:52:00.000-08:00

December 16-20

It wasn’t until December 18th that we continued on to Stuart, which is about seven miles off of the ICW down the St Lucie River. Stuart is a popular spot to sit and wait for good weather for those planning to continue on to the Bahamas. Like Vero Beach, it is a very comfortable anchorage with mooring balls, ready access to good shopping and a comfortable shore-side facility.

Upon our arrival we made a beeline for the dock where we were able to get a pump out (still the bain of our cruising experience), take on water, and spend a couple of hours washing down the boat. Saltwater is very hard on things and it can be disheartening to see the rust and salt accumulate right before your eyes.

The other boat tied up at the dock was Siggy’s Dancer. They maintained a website of their first trip to the Bahamas seven years ago on a C&C 30, and so showed that this whole thing really was possible on a smaller boat. I used to check their site every morning at work. Towards the end of March there were no more postings, and I always wondered what became of them. We introduced ourselves and had a nice visit.

On the 20th we were off to Lake Worth. This is perhaps the most popular spot from which to head off to the Abacos, the northernmost part of the Bahamas. It was a long day getting there, though, made even more so by the cantankerous bridge in this picture. Through the southern section of Florida we are encountering an increasing number of bridges which open on a schedule, not necessarily aligned with ours.

After waiting for fifteen minutes for the bridge to open, and then carefully timing our approach to coincide with the bascules being fully open, it came as a bit of a surprise to have the tender radio us saying, ‘Cap’n, better slow DOWN, I’m having a bit of a problem with the bridge.’ It seems the arms stuck when only partially opened.

Two and a half hours later they were able to fully raise one arm and we were on our way to Lake Worth.

2007-12-15T08:06:00.001-08:00

December 10-15

Vero Beach is euphemistically known as ‘Velcro Beach’, and we are beginning to understand why. In our last update, we said we would be here for a couple of days, and it is almost a week later. We are still planning to leave in a couple of days, but who knows.

This is a comfortable place to spend time, and interestingly, we are feeling for the first time that we do not need to be mindful about continuing on. We are only 100 miles from Fort Lauderdale.

Vero Beach is a protected harbour, and so a comfortable place to tackle some of the many tasks that we have been putting off. The bus system is convenient and connects us to all of the shopping options we could wish for. Not a day goes by that we don’t hop on the bus to one place or another. There is also a great bar only a short walk away, and we have been known to stop for ‘happy hour’ drink. Last but not least, it is a nice walk to the ocean, and apparently there is a great ice-cream store on the way home.

Another couple of days and it will time to continue on.

2007-12-15T07:22:00.000-08:00

December 2-9

10…9…8…7…Kaput

We have spent the better part of the week waiting for the space shuttle launch, and it isn’t going to happen.

Last Sunday we departed St. Augustine for Daytona and then on to Titusville on Monday. Titusville is one of the best places to view the shuttle launch, and we were very excited about the opportunity to see it. It was scheduled for Thursday the 6th, so we had a couple of days for exploring and odd jobs. Unfortunately, not much to report on either front.

The launch was postponed on Thursday. We agonized about whether to stay another day, but opted to continue on to Cocoa Village, where we could still get a good view. Along the way we passed the Vehicle Assembly Building located at the Kennedy Space Center. Although it doesn’t look very big shrouded in the mist and compared to the sailboats, it was at one time the largest building in the world and still lays claims to having the largest doors. Apparently it takes 6 000 gallons of paint for each stripe of the flag emblazoned on one wall. Leads you to wonder how sloppy the painters were, though!

The launch was scrubbed again for Saturday (we anchored at Indian Harbor Beach at Dragon Point) and then postponed indefinitely on Sunday (we are tied to a mooring ball at Vero Beach with two toher sailboats). We will spend a day or two here as Corinne is anxious to do some Christmas shopping, and then make our way to Fort Lauderdale.

PS We have had a small computer malfunction – one of our keys is no longer working. Which key do you think might be very important? Did you say right arrow key? I didn’t think so.

While this key is important for editing and scrolling through pictures, it turns out the @$&% thing also controls the brightness of the screen, and when you turned it down as low as it will go because you couldn’t remember if the left arrow brightened or dimmed the screen, then you can only see the monitor at night or … in the darkened bathroom at the coffee shop with free wi-fi. How would that look?

2007-12-06T09:03:00.000-08:00

November 29 - December 1

It took seven and one-quarter hours to cover the 46 miles from Fort George River to St Augustine. Although uneventful, we loved the trip simply because we were wearing shorts and a long-sleeved shirt for much of the time.

With roots dating back to 1565, St Augustine lays claim to being the oldest European settlement in the United States. We were reminded time and again of these historical roots during our visit here.

Friday was a shopping day – which means West Marine, Home Depot, and, I am embarrassed to say, that ‘W’ store. There are two interesting parts about this trip which typify the cruising experience. As we were walking down the street, unsure of where to turn, Corinne pulled out the map and instantly two guys stopped and asked if we needed directions. As we began chatting, another couple from Australia stopped as well. It was at least twenty minutes before we were on our way again, and we had a whole bunch more tips about where to stop along the way.

When we finished shopping at West Marine we asked for directions to Home Depot. It was a couple of miles further out, a long walk, but the clerk said, ‘I’m off work in ten minutes so if you want to wait I’d be happy to give you a lift.’ People are incredible!

The second, and not so fun part of the shopping experience is walking back to the boat, usually with a heavy pack and bags in either hand.

On Saturday morning, on the way in to do the laundry, we stopped to chat with a couple from Nova Scotia. As we were chatting, there was a huge explosion. Fort Augustine was re-enacting the defense of an attack from sea by firing its cannons. As the smoke cleared, Howard retorted, ‘Jeez, those Yankees are still firing at us!’

While we were waiting for clothes to dry, we went over to watch the Christmas parade. It certainly wasn’t the same bone-chilling experience we remembered as kids.

In the evening we visited the historical part of St Augustine for the candlelight parade. The tradition involves a re-enactment of the parade through town to ensure that all is safe. A large number of people were dressed in period costume, which lent a surreal atmosphere to the entire evening. The parade returned to the town square where the governor proclaimed all was safe, extended good tidings and led everyone in Christmas carols. Much to Corinne's disappointment, this included only the first verse of each carol.

2007-12-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

November 27-28

One of the very best parts of ‘cruising’ is the conversations and great tips we get from fellow cruisers. Without the suggestion that we stop at Jekyll Island, we would have missed out on one of the highlights of the Georgia waterway.

‘Jekyll Island was the … winter club for the rich and famous. In the 1880s this group, including the Rockefellers, Goodyears, Morgans, Pulitzers … built what they called cottages.’ To help understand the exclusivity of this community, we were told that these families controlled one-sixth of the wealth of the world at this time.

'Each estate was huge, but to promote social interaction none included kitchens. Members were expected to dine together at the club, where a staff from Delmonico’s in New York prepared meals. The restaurant’s 100-page menu included 370 dishes’.

The club still looks pretty nice, but they have shortened the menu somewhat – especially the one they gave us.

We were slow to get started on Thursday, as it had been a windy night and we were a little apprehensive about making our way through St. Andrews Sound. After watching a few other boats head out we decided to give it a shot.

It was a bumpy ride with the biggest waves we have seen, but a great learning experience. The most exciting part was hearing the Admiral yell, ‘Can’t we go any faster?’

Later in the day we passed by the Kings Bay Security Zone, where we had that ‘helicopter thing’ going again. Kings Bay is an active nuclear submarine base and a submarine was heading out to sea as we were in transit. Recreational boats in transit are required to stop and circle while maintaining a distance of 1 000 yards. The circling helicopter and gunboats reinforced the message.

We have passed into Florida and are anchored in the Fort George River. While it is not toasty warm, it certainly ain't snowing. I listened to the last half of the Grey Cup game the other night sitting in the cockpit in shorts and a fleece. I would never have thought of doing that in Winnipeg, at least not sober, I am sure.

2007-12-01T08:54:00.000-08:00

November 25-26

People have said that one ought to think about going out to the ocean to bypass the Georgia section of the ICW, while others say it is not to be missed.

Georgia poses some challenges, but overall has been a fantastic part of our trip. We were up early Sunday morning in order to ensure that we could take advantage of the high tide for the passage through Hell Gate and the Florida Passage, which would have been impossible at low tide.

The tides in Georgia have averaged between eight and ten feet, which is by far the greatest range we have seen. While this can make for a comfortable passage through 'thin' water when you time it right, it also brings with it very strong currents which can make anchoring difficult and your progress either wonderfully quick or painfully slow.

We anchored in the Wahoo River and had a fun evening with folks from three other boats. It was good to see Steve, from LORCHA, who we have not seen since New York City.

On Monday morning the weather forecast said that with the approaching cold front there would be periods of fog until 9:00 am. While we pay close attention to the weather, we don’t always understand how it works, and sometimes wonder if the forecaster does either. It was rather hazy until 9:30 am, and then it really socked in. We actually anchored for an hour on the side of the waterway and sounded a horn whenever we heard a boat approaching.

When we convinced ourselves it was beginning to get better, we joined with a couple of boats that were carefully moving along, and ended up anchored out from Fort Frederica on the Frederica River.

2007-11-24T14:44:00.001-08:00

November 22-24

We discovered that you don’t need to make many sightseeing plans for Thanksgiving Day, because you’re not going anywhere, and nothing is open even if you do get there. That actually worked out pretty well, though, since there are always lots of ‘chores’ to take care of on the boat. It was nice to have a day to just take care of some of these.

On Friday we caught the bus into Savannah and spent the entire day touring about. Downtown Savannah has been very thoughtfully restored to maintain its original architecture. The shops along the riverfront are quaint and interesting

After spending the morning wondering about, we were hungry and headed for the noted restaurant The Lady and Sons run by the apparently very well-known Paula Deen. Our timing was perfect, as we were able to get in without a wait, even at lunchtime. The buffet served, in part, fried chicken (unbelievably good), collard greens, black-eyed peas, sweet potato … the very best of southern home-style cooking.

After lunch we went on a 90 minute bus tour of the historic area of Savannah. This provided an overview and tease of all of the things we need to come back and see.

While waiting for the bus to get back to the boat, we walked through the cemetery alongside. The tour bus driver had told us about this gravestone dating back to the eighteen hundreds. Can you see why it is noteworthy?

Saturday has been cool and windy, a perfect day to get some provisions and blog postings completed in preparation for an early departure, with lots of high tide, for some 'thin' waters on Sunday.

2007-11-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

November 19-21

We have decided that we know it is going to be a good day when we don’t see our breath when we get up in the morning. We have been on a wonderful string of good days, and are thoroughly enjoying it.

On Monday we traveled from Charleston to Bass Creek, a small creek off the Parrot River. The scenery is beautiful through this relatively undeveloped stretch of the waterway, and we had a leisurely trip.

We made the relatively short run to Factory Creek, just outside of Beaufort, on Tuesday. One should be sure to get the pronunciation right. In South Carolina it is pronounced ‘Bew-fort’, as opposed to ‘Bo-fort’ in North Carolina. The story goes that although both towns were named for the Duke of Beaufort, North Carolinians pronounce it with a proper French accent, while in South Carolina they say it however they want, thank-you very much.

Beaufort is a vibrant town with a rich history through the civil war era as well as in terms of pop culture. There are homes and buildings dating to the 1700s, as well as the Beaufort National Cemetery containing 12 000 graves of Confederate soldiers.

On the pop culture side, both of the movies The Big Chill and Forrest Gump were filmed in Beaufort.

Bay Street, the main street along the waterfront, has a number quaint shops and restaurants with decks overlooking the harbour. We had a nice lunch on one of these decks as we took a break from our search for the cooking classic Hoppin’ John’s Lowcountry Cooking. We are assured it contains recipes for shrimp and grits and the other famous Lowcountry classic, Frogmore stew.

On Wednesday we continued on to Turner Creek, a nice anchorage from which we will be able to gain bus access to Savannah, Georgia. Along the way we passed by the Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot and, at the other end of the spectrum, Hilton Head Island. I have always associated Hilton Head with golf courses, of which there are twenty-five. Apparently it also has 250 restaurants.

Nearing the anchorage we passed by Bonaventure Cemetery, which sets the stage for the novel and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Without television, we are really enjoying reading the books with associated different parts of the trip.

2007-11-24T12:57:00.000-08:00

November 16-18

We set off early Friday morning for Charleston. Our intention had been to take a marina slip upon arrival and spend Friday afternoon and Saturday exploring. No slips were available when we arrived so we ended up anchoring out in the river, an excellent spot.

This picture looks back from where we were anchored to the mega dock of the City Marina. There are three large boats in the picture. Grits, the one on the right, was in Solomons when we were there and it looked very big at the time. In this picture it is overshadowed by the other two boats. The grey boat is called Kismet. The URL below describes the boat and makes for interesting viewing.
http://www.moranyachts.com/Article/?ID=54

Charleston is a great town. On Friday afternoon we wandered down King Street, a very trendy shopping area. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any festive dresses or holiday attire that seemed quite right for the boat.

On Saturday we browsed through the ‘market’, a four block long collections of shops and stands. I asked in one of the shops if I could try on one of the ‘southern gentleman’ hats for a picture for our blog, and the owner replied, with a big smile, ‘Nope, you’d look much better in this one.’

The shopping was actually pretty good at the market. We bought a bag of grits – because we are still looking for the perfect recipe for shrimp. We did make the one fella’s version of fried shrimp, minus the hog fat, the olive oil and most of the butter, and they were very good. Our favorite so far, though, has been boiled shrimp with a liberal sprinkling of a southern spice concoction.

There were numerous stalls selling the most beautiful baskets made of sweetgrass. We admired these each time we went by, but settled for a ‘rose’, which this young lad made in just a couple of minutes. They really are a work of art, but unfortunately don’t stay together very long.

On the way back to the boat, I said, ‘Maybe we should stay another day.’

Corinne replied, ‘I think that’s a great idea.’

Sunday morning we went for a long walk around the battery, the harbour edge of town. Charleston is steeped in history, beautiful old homes and gardens.

After our walk we met another cruising couple from England for lunch. Three of us, in a moment of recklessness, ordered the shrimp and grits, which were phenomenal. I have to figure out how they do that.

2007-11-18T05:03:00.000-08:00

November 15

We nosed our way out of the creek early Thursday morning and headed for McClellanville.

The South Carolina shores are often referred to as the Lowcountry and are very marshy and undeveloped. This is in stark contrast to North Carolina, where there is considerable housing development along the shores.

We seem to have fallen out of sync with other cruisers, as we met no other sailboats throughout the day, and only an occasional motorboat. Indeed, the only company along the way seemed to be the birds keeping an eye on things.

McClellanville is a very quaint community built around the shrimp and fishing industry. We were happy to be tied up at the dock, as strong winds and rain had just preceded our arrival.

The two fellas who gave us a hand were working on the boat beside us, and seemed very happy to take a break and chat. We soon got them on to shrimp recipes, telling them that we had barbecued them with shells on last night. The older fella said, ‘You did what!’ As it turns out, you only leave the shells on if you are going to boil them.

The younger fella said, ‘I’m a shrimp and grits kinda guy,’ and explained how we could prepare them in that way.

The older fella said, ‘I like them best fried.’ When pressed, he explained, ‘Well, you heat up some hog fat, add a little olive oil because it’s good for the heart, and of course some butter, and then throw in some onions, anything tastes good with onions, and when that’s smellin’ good, toss in the shrimp.’

And in answer to one final dumb question, ‘Nah, you never worry about taking out the vein.’

2007-11-18T04:51:00.000-08:00

November 14

We are now in South Carolina, and passed through Myrtle Beach Wednesday morning. This is a very populated area with beautiful homes along the waterfront. There is also an abundance of golf courses, which makes we wonder if I shouldn't have snuck on a few golf clubs. One course has holes on both sides of the waterway with a cable car that ferries golfers and their clubs back and forth.

We have noticed two changes this morning. First of all, many of the homes in Myrtle Beach have Christmas decorations up. Secondly, as we pass into less populated areas, the fall colours in the trees have appeared, almost as if overnight.

We anchored in Thoroughfare Creek in mid-afternoon. As the afternoon warmed up wonderfully, we dinghied ashore to do a little exploring. At shore was a 20 to 30 foot high sand cliff, a smaller version of what we used to play on at Wanasing. Just as we pulled up to the beach, a fisherman pulled in as well. We went over to chat with him, and he explained that Sandy Island had been declared a nature preserve. ‘You can see all sorts of wildlife here - raccoons, deer, foxes and wild hogs. You have to be careful of them hogs,’ he said, ‘they’ll git ya.’ That was pretty much the end of the conversation, and definitely the end of the exploring!

Last night we bought a pound of fresh shrimp on the dock at Calabash Creek. A mother and her daughter, a real cutie, weighed them out and before putting them into the bag asked if we wanted the heads off. I said, ‘Sure, but how do you do that?’

The little girl replied, ‘It's easy, just squeeze them just like this’, and so came our first lesson in cleaning shrimp. Fresh shrimp are amazingly good, and we are experimenting with different ways of cooking them.

2007-11-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

November 12-13

Tuesday was a great day traveling along a surprisingly populated part of the waterway. Beautiful homes line the shores, almost all the way to Carolina Beach, where we spent the night.

It has been cool, especially at night, so we are trying to cover at least 40 to 50 miles a day. Although that doesn’t sound like a great distance in land terms, it is typically an eight to nine hour day of traveling.

On Wednesday morning we motored through the Cape Fear River. The guide book says the ‘Cape Fear River is appropriately named; winds always seem to be blowing at the mouth, the current runs to 6 knots, and there is ship traffic day and night … if the wind opposes the current, river conditions here can be treacherous.’ Does it make you wonder who does this stuff, or just who writes about it? We had a wonderfully calm passage while coming to the appreciation that this is a significant body of water.

We also had to pass through Lockwoods Folly inlet and Shallotte Inlet. These are two areas notorious for shoaling and shallow water. Gormã draws five feet, and so when our depth finder registers numbers beginning with four we begin to worry. With good planning we were making these passages during the upper half of the tide change, but imagine our anxiety wending our way through this fishing derby in only five feet of water.

We anchored in Calabash Creek and dinghied into the small town of Calabash with a couple sailing on Wayward Wind for an authentic supper of Calabash cooking.

2007-11-17T14:14:00.000-08:00

November 11

We got an early start Sunday morning, hoping to get as far as Mile Hammock Bay within the boundaries of Camp Lejune. We have begun to see a number of shrimp boats the last few days. They make quite a sight as they are motoring along with their nets spread.

Much of this part of the trip was along Bogue Sound. It is a beautiful stretch of waterway through a channel along the western edge of the sound. This channel is bounded by sand dunes along the seaward edge.

Shoaling, however, is a constant problem along the waterway. By 8:30 am we had encountered a sailboat sitting helplessly on the wrong side of a green marker, just outside of the channel, waiting for the towboat to come and pull them loose.

Now you would know you’re having a bad day if you were driving this jeep, which we encountered along the waterway at Camp Lejeune, or if you had encountered this set of markers in the middle of the channel.

They tell you to make a zig-zag which you find hard to believe. Remember that sailboat from earlier in the day? Apparently he didn’t believe it, and was hung up, waiting impatiently I’m sure, for another tow. The sad thing is his boat blocked the markers for the boat behind him, and before you know it, two boats were hard aground.

I know what you’re thinking. No, it wasn’t us. We were able to sneak past and make our way to Mile Hammock Bay. This is a small man-made harbour that was created during World War ll to provide a place where marines could practice amphibious landings. It was peculiar to look one way upon a rusting relic of a troop ship secured at dock and the other way to a beautiful sunset in a secure anchorage shared with twelve other boats.

2007-11-10T12:19:00.000-08:00

November 6-10

South Lake was a very pretty anchorage, and interestingly, the first time in our entire trip that we have had an anchorage to ourselves.

While we have been suggesting that the first part of the ICW involves many passages through canals and small rivers, this may be a deceiving characterization. Much of this first portion is wide open water passing through the Currituck, Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds and the Alligator and Neuse Rivers.

Wind direction and velocity make a huge difference in the speed and comfort of these passages. On Tuesday we had a very slow and bumpy ride up the Alligator River before heading into the twenty-mile long Alligator River - Pungo River Canal. We were very content to be nestled into Broad Creek off the Pungo River and enjoy a ‘sundowner’.

On Wednesday we crossed parts of Pamlico Sound and headed up the Neuse River to a comfortable spot in Broad Creek. The wind was again brisk, but this time from behind us, and we had a fabulous day sailing downwind under genoa alone. For much of the day we would look out and see nothing but boats, largely sail, stretched out to the horizon both in front of and behind us.

A short jaunt Thursday brought us to Oriental, NC. It was time for some regular maintenance - oil and fuel filter changes as well as laundry and showers. Which of these do you suppose is the most expensive?

When we meet up with people who have made this trip previously, and ask about some of the must-see places along the way, they regularly mention Beaufort, NC. On Friday we had an interesting trip to Taylor Creek, which is waterfront of the town of Beaufort.

Along the way we passed dolphins at a couple of points, I think this will always be a thrill, and a dredge. The Corps of Engineers is constantly monitoring and dredging shallow spots along the ICW. My theory is that working the dredge must be very monotonous, and so to provide some entertainment, the operators leave a pile of sand at the edge of the now constricted channel they are working on. They then bet among themselves whether an approaching boat will pass safely through, or …

Shackleford horses can often be seen grazing on the saltmarsh corngrass that grows on the island area along the south side of Taylor Creek. While their origins are not clear, it is thought these horses may be descendants of early explorers, possibly dating back to the conquistadors. This is Carrot Island, part of the grazing area, just off the stern of the boat.
SHACKLEFORD

2007-11-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

November 4-5

We rather outfoxed ourselves this Sunday morning. We set the alarm to get an early start, but felt a little foolish listening to the weather forecast at 5:45 am when we were sure we had set the alarm for 6:45 am. We totally missed the return to standard time!

We figured out how to get a close-up view of a Navy helicopter, though. You simply depart Hampton Roads at the same time as an aircraft carrier, in this case Warship 69. We were subject to very close scrutiny by the helicopter pictured flying just above the carrier. We sat very still and altered our course wide to starboard.

Shortly after Norfolk/Portsmouth there is a lock which equalizes the water level between Hampton Roads and the Intracoastal Waterway. The lock operates hourly, and so on busy days, a number of boats lock through at once. On Sunday, eleven boats were packed into the lock with us for the 12:30 passage. This makes for quite a flotilla as the lock empties and everyone continues on their way.

The return to standard time has changed our evening schedule as well – mainly there is no evening. We were quite thankful for this after a long day when we tried to make our way into Blackwater Creek, twice, and got hung up on a shoal each time. We ended up anchoring in the mouth of the creek with one other boat, who I’m thinking met the same fate as us. Just before turning in, I went above to check things out, just in time to see a tug and barge pass not far off our bow.

Monday morning we were up to get an early start as well, this time on purpose, and in our haste, and fog, passed the green daymarker on the starboard side. You shouldn’t do that. Drat! Stuck again. Brother Doug says there are only two kinds of sailors, those who have been aground, and liars.

After that ignominious start, we had a great day. We passed through Currituck Sound and then on to Albemarle Sound in the afternoon. It was pretty breezy, which led to a spectacular sail across a sound that has a reputation of being at times rather difficult. Once again, the day passes too quickly, and evening approaches in another beautiful anchorage.

2007-11-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

November 1-3

We spent Halloween evening anchored in the Hampton River, just off the campus of Hampton University. Hampton University is one of the top ten ‘historically black colleges and universities’ in the United States. The area for anchoring is restricted to a single line in which there were seven tightly packed sailboats just outside of the navigable channel. Interestingly, all but one of these boats was Canadian.

On the other side of the river is the Bluewater Yachting Center. This is the starting point for the Caribbean 1500, a race/cruise from Hampton, Virginia to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. They are scheduled to depart November 4th, but current weather may have some impact on that.

Hampton Roads is a very interesting area, steeped in history and commerce. ‘Roads’ is a mariner’s term for anchorage. Hampton Roads is located in the mouth of the James River, at the bottom of Chesapeake Bay, with immediate access to the Atlantic Ocean. Hampton Roads is bound by Hampton and Newport News on the north side and Norfolk and Portsmouth on the south side.

The town of Hampton is the oldest English-speaking settlement in America, founded in 1610. Another interesting piece of folklore is that when the pirate Blackbeard was captured and beheaded, his head was hung on a post in the Hampton River.

Newport News is home to the largest shipyard in the world, owned by Northrop Grumman. Norfolk is the site of the Norfolk Naval Base and a short distance away is Langley Air Force Base.

The weather on Wednesday and Thursday was very nice, with highs in the mid-70s. We wanted to get a picture of us in shorts in November, but as you can see, I couldn’t scramble aboard from the dock before the timer went off.

Friday and Saturday, however, were much windier. Whether due to Noel or just a strong cold front, the winds were 20 to 30 knots, with gusts to 40 knots during the night. We are counting on things settling down on Sunday so that both the Caribbean 1500 and we can get off to a smooth start.

2007-11-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

October 29-31

Monday morning was clear and cool, and that is pretty much how it stayed for the entire day. It was good to be on the move again, and after a full day we were very happy to find a nice spot to anchor in Mill Creek on the Great Wicomico River.

It was again cool and clear on Tuesday, and just to reinforce the point, there has been a frost warning on the marine radio forecast for the past two nights. The broadcast also notes the wind speed and water temperature at a number of coastal locations, and the water temperature has been hovering between 63 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, so we are not in any danger of freezing. The sunrises are always beautiful, and with a cup of hot coffee make a great way to start the day.

We have moved a little quicker than we originally planned, in anticipation of some inclement weather. After spending Tuesday night in Chisman Creek on the Poquoson River, we headed for Hampton Roads. This is a great stopping over spot before moving on to Norfolk and the beginning of the Intracoastal Waterway.

Wednesday was a gorgeous day, marked by the return of warm temperatures and the highlight, to date, of our trip. Corinne was at the helm and I was busy elsewhere when she called, ‘Greg, come quickly.’ Sometimes I am not as quick as I should be, and so there was another call, this time with a decided note of urgency. I looked ahead to see what was causing concern, and we were being escorted by a pod of dolphins - jumping and playing in our bow wave. It was a spectacular sight and a great welcoming party.

2007-10-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

October 22-28

From Oxford we headed to Solomons Island at the mouth of the Patuxent River, on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Solomons was once a vibrant fishing and boat-building centre, but in recent times has become a busy recreational boating area.

Solomons is also very close to the naval air farce and targets are shown in what is labeled a Prohibited Area on the charts approximately 3-4 miles offshore. Fighter planes and other aircraft are an imposing sight as they fly over our anchorage at regular intervals throughout the day.

The weather has been acting suspiciously as if there is a hint of fall in the air. It has been windy and rainy, and as of October 26, seems ill-inclined to change. The marine forecasts talk of winds from 15-20 knots with gusts to 25 and 30 knots. Pretty much everyone in the creek is staying put.

I find that as the wind is whistling in the rigging I am inclined to get up at least a couple of times through the night to make sure everything is secure. (This makes Corinne feel very confident, her reasoning being that if I am up checking on things she can sleep soundly.) Shortly after crawling back into bed after a 3:00 am check, there was a loud blast of air horns very near by. I quickly jumped up to check on things, just in time to see this blue boat tangled up with the boat next to us. While I always have some apprehensions about how well our anchor holds in a strong wind, we clearly need to take into account those around us as well.

PS, we both feel very confident with our new, (very heavy) anchor and chain.

Not only has it been windy, but we had a steady rain Thursday and Friday. Solomons, as well as much of this part of the eastern seaboard, has had a record-breaking period of dry weather, and so the three to four inches of rain was very welcome.

On Saturday evening we were invited for drinks on Overdraught. It was quite funny to pull up to the stern of the boat, a Bavaria 42, and be the eighth dinghy to tie up. The conversation always includes stories of traveling south, and Bill, a liveaboard for the last number of years, seemed to sum up the feelings of most when he commented, ‘Kids, it’s getting cold out there. It's time to head south.’

2007-10-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

October 21

Oxford is on the Tred Avon River, a short sail from St. Michaels, but a step back in time. It is a lovely little town with enough to keep both of us happy – lots of boatyards and a great ice cream store.

The highlight, we agreed, was definitely the Cutts and Case Shipyard, whose office building is shown. Peering into the windows, we lamented that we were not there on a weekday when it was open.

We walked down to the docks of this modest operation and were struck by the pretty boats - both old and new. Cutts and Case builds only wooden boats with a very high standard of craftsmanship. They also do refits of vintage wooden boats.

As we walked past their workshop, shown behind Corinne, the manager came out and soon was taking us on a tour around the yard, talking about the history of many of the boats. As we walked back to the road he said, “Come and see these.’ and took us through the office building. The boats were more beautifully finished than most furniture. He spoke passionately of the art and the science of boat-building, and it was a great afternoon.

And how does one finish a great afternoon? Why, with a free shower and an ice cream cone, of course.

2007-10-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

October 19-20

When the Albacore races were cancelled, we were able to spend an enjoyable afternoon with Captain John discussing our travel plans through the Chesapeake. We joked that we were embarking on the ‘Cece Tour’, and it has been quite a trip.

Our next stop was St. Michaels via the ‘back door’ – San Domingo Creek. Along the way we passed many crab type boats, but they were all anchored closer to shore. At first we wondered if they were taking a break, but as we got closer we discovered that they were 'drudgin’ arsters'.

The Chesapeake Bay is facing ecological challenges in much the same way as Lake Winnipeg. Urban development is claiming large areas of natural habitat. Fertilizers and pollution are flowing into the bay at an alarming rate. This onslaught has killed off thousands of acres of underwater grasses. As a result, the crab population has dropped precipitously.

Even more disastrous, the oyster population has crashed to the point where they are now 1% of their 1950s numbers. They are important to the bay because of their ability to filter impurities from the water. At their peak, oysters were capable of filtering the entire volume of the bay’s waters in less than a week.

St. Michaels is the home of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, a great collection of historical and participatory displays housed in over ten buildings.

Greg trying his hand at drudgin' arsters

Corinne crewing on a skipjack

What Captain John didn’t tell us is that Dick Cheney has a cabin on San Domingo Creek, less than one-half mile from where we were anchored. If you look carefully, you can see the little white guard station on the left side of the grounds.

While this is interesting, what made it spectacular was that George Bush was actually in St. Michaels on Saturday to make an announcement at the Maritime Museum.

Helicopters were flying intermittently over the creek in the morning, so Corinne and I went into town to see if we might see something.

The highway was blocked off early in the afternoon on either side of the museum and a crowd gathered in anticipation of Bush’s departure. There was a large group of state troopers and town police, as well as other official-looking individuals also waiting in anticipation of said departure.

In the picture you can see some of the cars blocking the street just after a convoy of vans and assorted vehicles have roared up to the landing area. Reporters ran out of their vans, had about one minute to take pictures, and then the cavalcade departed as quickly as it had arrived.

Shortly afterwards, the helicopters could be heard warming up before they took off. Someone told us that there are always four identical helicopters which leave one after the other, and one never knows which one is carrying the President. If that is true, there may be one still sitting there, as I am not sure that four departed, but certainly there were a number.

A couple of minutes later, just when everyone thought it was all over, two Blackhawk helicopters arose over the trees and quickly disappeared from sight. All in all, a very exciting day in St. Michaels!

2007-10-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

October 16-18

On Tuesday morning, as we passed by the Naval Academy and City Dock in Annapolis, we found ourselves in the midst of a flotilla of PT training boats coming back towards the academy docks. It kept us on our toes as they weren’t all going in the same direction, which necessitated a couple of quick course changes.

Our destination that day was Galesville, where we hoped to make arrangements to have someone look at our autopilot – which has not been so auto. As it turned out, they were already very busy with boats heading south and unable to accommodate us. They did have a great gas dock with fresh water, though, where we were able to spend the afternoon cleaning and washing the boat.

Galesvile is a very pretty marina, with nice scenery as well. This picture, taken as we were preparing to leave Wednesday morning, hopefully captures both.

Our travels took us across to the Eastern Side of the bay, to a secluded creek off the Wye East River called Dividing Creek.

As we departed Dividing Creek Thursday morning for Dun Cove, we passed a number of smaller boats in the Wye East River harvesting crabs. As we took their picture, these fellas joked, ‘Wait and get a picture of us with a trap with crabs in it!’

Dun Cove was a very nice spot, although for the most part quiet and secluded. That changed dramatically at sunrise and sunset, though, as thousands of Canadian Geese congregate or prepare for departure. The din of the honking is truly remarkable and stirs up many memories of home!

2007-10-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

October 9-15

The boat show was even better than we had imagined, but left us with a long list of things that we absolutely had to have. We spent the next few days shopping, and in our travels discovered a very interesting store called Trader Joes. While many of the things on the boat-show list will still be on next year’s list, the chocolate-covered cherries from Trader Joes will likely be on every list for some time.

On Friday we were fortunate to be able to join Terry and his friend Captain John aboard Captain John’s Whitby 42. They were a support boat for the final day of the Albacore World Championship races hosted by the West River Sailing Club. The wind was blowing a steady 25 knots with gusts over 30 knots. Twenty-eight of the fifty boats set out for the races, but after a number of capsizes and some rig failures the races were cancelled.

This story shows what a small place the world can sometimes be. One of the sailors that we chatted with on the sailing club yard as they were stowing their gear mentioned that he had grown up in Winnipeg and had attended Silver Heights Collegiate. I commented that it was too bad he had not been able to go to St. James Collegiate, and although he did not agree, he said that his mother had grown up on Linwood Street.

We had a little more running around to do on Saturday and Sunday in preparation for our departure on Tuesday. We had been using the buses quite regularly to get around Annapolis. and we realized that it really was time to move on when we began to meet and continue conversations with people we had met previously on the bus.

We had a great day on Monday visiting Washington DC. It is quite amazing to actually be able to walk up to the stairs of the Capitol Building. We went to the top of the Washington Monument where we had an overview of the entire area. The White House is most easily seen from this vantage point. We also walked over to the Lincoln Memorial, which is very cool when viewed in the Reflecting Pool.

There is a large area between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument called the Mall, which contains the many Smithsonian Museums. We visited the Air and Space Museum and the Modern Art and Sculpture Gallery. We had hoped to see the American History Museum but it was closed for renovations. All was not lost, however, as we were able to see R2D2 and friends as part of the one hundred and fifty most popular American History exhibits which were on display in the Air and Space Museum.

2007-10-11T11:08:00.001-07:00

September 29 – October 9

We have found a terrific place to anchor that provides good access to Annapolis. Weems Creek, located in West Annapolis, is a short bus ride or a twenty-five minute walk into the heart of the town.

Annapolis is the capitol of Maryland and is steeped in history. Central Annapolis maintains much of its original architecture and charm and is great fun to explore – both the town and its many bars. There is considerable modern development surrounding Annapolis and Baltimore is not much more than a half hour away.

The Maryland State House, built 1772-1779, was the capitol of the United States from November 26, 1783 to August 13, 1784. This state house, oldest in the nation, is still in legislative use. On January 14, 1784 Congress ratitfied the Treaty of Paris to end the Revolutionary War. It was here on September 14, 1786 that the Annapolis Convention issued the call to the states that led to the Constitutional Convention.

Annapolis is also the home of the United States Naval Academy. The stadium is close to where we are anchored and we were amazed by the activity and excitement as we walked into town Saturday morning. Navy was playing Air Force that afternoon and this is one of two very big games; the other being against Army.

During the week we went on a tour of the Naval Academy. There is a tremendous amount of pride in this institution and it was an interesting tour. The chapel is a beautiful building and also contains the crypt of John Paul Jones.

The highlight of the tour was the gathering for the noon meal. All of the students, and there are over 4 400 of them, gather in the square and are piped into the hall for lunch en masse. They are fed within a half hour and then back at classes a half hour after that.

The Boat Show has been excellent. The first two days were like in-service days where we chose to attend seminars. On Saturday we went to the Seven Seas Cruising Association GAM and then on Sunday spent the entire day at the boat show itself. I think we saw about one half of the things there, at which point we were totally overwhelmed. Of all the things I had on my list, the only thing we purchased was a ‘pop’ machine to make soda pop. You’d almost think the sun did get to us!

2007-10-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

September 27-28

From Chesapeake City at the western end of the C&D canal, we headed out into Chesapeake Bay towards Worton Creek.

Chesapeake Bay is beautiful, but fairly shallow at the northern end, so you want to stay in the shipping channel. We soon discovered that there is another reason to keep to the channel – crab pots. These are marked with what looks like an oversized fishing net float and are on a grid with approximately 20 to 30 yards between floats. The crazy thing is the floats are often black or dark blue and so they can be difficult to pick out. If you do catch one in your prop, you have to get into the water to cut it away, all the while hoping that it has not caused any damage to the engine, drive, etc. You better believe this keeps the Admiral alert! Another very common sight are the crab boats, especially early in the morning.

We had a relaxing afternoon in Worton Creek, refueling and getting water, washing off the boat, and then planning to do a little shopping. When we asked at the marina where we might pick up some supplies, the response was, ‘There’s nothing around here.’ This was a little more serious, because there weren’t any tourist shops either. What we did discover, though, was that there is a place about ¾ mile up the road that prepares crabs, and the marina phoned ahead and placed an order on our behalf. We returned to the boat with a shopping bag full of the most delicious crabs and settled into a feast.

On Friday we set out early for Annapolis, a sailing mecca and home to the largest sailboat show in North America. Sailors from far and wide converge on Annapolis for the boat show Oct 4-8. We have planned to arrive early because places to anchor are at a premium.

We get settled into Mill Creek, a couple of miles from Annapolis, early in the afternoon. After getting settled we dinghied to the landing on shore to check out the shopping. The landing was at a very popular restaurant that specializes in, you guessed it, crabs. They also told us that there was no easy access to shopping, and we have had our fill of crabs. After burgers we returned to the boat to review our options for getting closer to Annapolis.

2007-10-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

September 25-26

Cape Henlopen is a beautiful anchorage, certainly one of our favorites. There are miles of sandy beach surrounding a very secure harbor. It would be fun to spend some time there. This lighthouse marks the entrance to the harbour.

The next morning we were headed up Delaware Bay. The tide is strong in the bay and Skipper Bob has clear directions about timing your departure. We followed his directions closely, but did not have a favourble tide during much of our trip. I still can’t figure out how it can be against you for so long. The guide books also warn about the ‘temper’ of the bay if you are sailing when the wind is blowing one way and the tide is going the other. While it was almost a perfect day for the trip, the wind did pick up for the last twenty miles and it got a little bumpy.

We passed this barge during the latter part of the trip and were impressed by the waves smashing off the hull and spraying around. As is always the case with my stories of big waves, I fear the picture does not do them justice.

It was a full day’s trip up Delaware Bay and we were very happy to get into the anchorage at Reedy Island just as the sun was setting.

Wednesday morning we were headed through the C&D Canal which links Delaware Bay to Chesapeake Bay. We were also hoping to do a little restocking as we passed through either Delaware City or Chesapeake City. We had not done the grocery shopping we had originally intended in New York, and the pantry was getting bare.

Once anchored, we walked through Chesapeake City, another great spot, but found not a single grocery or convenience store. There were some great restaurants and bars, and a number of tourist shops, but …

Back in the harbour that afternoon we reconnected with a couple we had met along the Erie Canal and made plans for dinner. There was a well-known restaurant in town called The Tap Room and their specialty was crabs. Neither Corinne nor I had ever eaten crabs, but Bonnie assured us she would show us the tricks. Our waitress took this picture of us thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

2007-10-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

September 23-24

The next leg took us out for our first trip on the ocean, and we had been giving this quite a bit of thought. Our route took us from New York City along the New Jersey shore, past Atlantic City where we could stop for awhile if weather dictated, and then around to Delaware Bay and Cape May or Cape Henlopen.

Originally we had planned to stay in New York City a while longer, but the weather forecast was very good for the next couple of days, before a stronger cold front was forecast to approach, so we decided to leave early Sunday morning. This decision made our trip a little longer than we might have liked since we left directly from 79th Street instead of staging at Sandy Hook or Great Kills Harbor.

Looking out on the receding skyline of lower Manhatten, gazing over at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty were remarkable sights.

Of Ellis Island, one of the websites says, 'Ellis Island is a symbol of America’s immigrant heritage. From 1892 to 1954, this immigrant depot processed the greatest tide of incoming humanity in the nation’s history. Nearly twelve million landed here in their search of freedom of speech and religion, and for economic opportunity.

'

We had hoped to anchor near the statue for a night, but as our itinerary changed we were happy to settle for this view.

The coastline of New Jersey is beautiful as mile after mile of sandy beach rolls by. Late in the afternoon we were joined by a stowaway, a pretty little bird who flitted around the boat and sails for quite some time – in fact much, much too long if you were to ask Corinne.

All too soon the day had faded and a bright ¾ moon came into view. It was dark, we had a long way to go, we were out in the ocean, and it was remarkably serene and peaceful.

As blackness settled in, we could see the neon glow of Atlantic City in the distance. What amazed me is that it took most of the night to come up to this landmark, pass it and see it recede in the distance. If we looked at the ruffle of our wake it seemed that we are flying along, but to watch our movement past this landmark we were moving unbelievably slowly.

We had some fun sailing, especially through the night, lots of motoring, and were very relieved, and tired, as we dropped anchor in a harbor of refuge at Cape Henlopen. We had been traveling for 28 hours, covered 176 miles and were ready for a nap.

2007-10-02T06:26:00.000-07:00

September 21-22

The guide books talk about how rolly it can be for boats anchored in the 79th Street Boat Basin. Certainly passing boats do create waves, but it was no where near as uncomfortable as we had been led to believe.

We still had to pinch ourselves in the morning to realize we were sitting in the middle of downtown Manhattan. After coffee, we dinghied to the marina where we could tie up and walk a couple of blocks up to Broadway Avenue. We stopped for a breakfast bagel at Zabar’s, a huge and well-known delicatessen. It was very busy as Yom Kippur was only a couple of days away. As we were eating, the manager at the fish counter boomed over the intercom, ‘We’re now serving number 138. If you are not within 25 of this number, go and have something to eat in the deli or visit our mezzanine. Please, move away from the fish counter.’ Of course, we quickly finished our coffee and headed towards the fish counter to see what was going on.

That evening, Darlene, John, and Jorie joined us for appetizers on the boat before heading back into the city for supper. Jorie returned with us to the boat for a sleep-over. We are hoping that we have a fellow sailor in the making.

It was interesting to compare stories the next day. Our mooring ball to anchor for the night in downtown New York was thirty dollars, while Darlene’s parking fee for the evening was forty-six dollars. In the end, though, we thought of it as dinner with family in New York – priceless.

On Saturday, we had company to the boat – lots of company and lots of fun. John, Darlene, and Cody, along with Cassie and four of her friends from school joined us for a cruise along midtown Manhattan. The captain must have been looking pretty good that afternoon, as the dinghy with its crew received much more attention from other boats than it ever has in the past.

2007-09-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

September 20

Today we arrived in New York City - the Big Apple. It is hard to believe that we are here, and even harder to believe how much fun it has been.

The George Washington Bridge is visible from some distance, and it is exciting to watch the New York skyline take shape beneath it.

Even more exciting is tying up to a mooring ball at the 79th Street Boat Basin in the heart of downtown Manhattan. We are now looking forward to exploring New York City in the next few days .

Our travels so far have covered, in statute miles

Bay City to Tonawanda 558.1
Tonawanda to Waterford (Erie Canal) 339.7
Waterford to New York City (Hudson River) 153.6

The total is 1 051.4 miles.

PS Hope you're enjoying the blogs. We are having fun with it, but also really enjoy hearing from you!

2007-09-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

September 19

Today was a great trip from Newburgh to Haverstraw Bay.

Pollepel Island is one of the highlights along the way. Between 1900 and 1918, Bannerman, a munitions dealer, built a replica of a medieval castle as a summer resort and storehouse on Pollepel Island. The castle burned in 1967, but the remaining structure is still quite striking.

Further along the river is West Point, the famed United States Military Academy, which opened in 1802.

We anchored in Haverstraw Bay early in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing in the sun and doing odd jobs. Rather unbelievably, this makes only the second night we have anchored out.

Late in the afternoon, six or seven more boats slip into the bay and the Wednesday evening sailboat races are underway.

2007-09-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

September 17-18

Paul and Delight dropped us off at the boat early Monday morning and it was back to work. I had wanted to check a few more wires and stumbled across a very loose ground wire. I tightened it up and checked the electrical panel and everything was working. With a big smile I told Corinne I had fixed the problem and she said, ‘Are you sure?’

I replied, ‘If you don’t trust me, let’s go ask Mike.’ Remember the electrical guru? I’m not sure he believed me either because he said, ‘I’ll drop by in a few minutes and you can show me what you did.’

Well, it passed the test and things are going great.

The mornings are getting a little cooler and with that comes the mist over the water. This is a picture looking out onto the Hudson River from the boat this morning. We have to wait for a while for it to burn off and then we are on our way to Newburgh.

2007-09-21T09:39:00.000-07:00

September 14-16

Finally, it’s time to get the mast up. The crew at Riverview Marina is excellent, and we have the mast stepped by lunch time. After moving the boat to a slip, where we will leave it for the next couple of days, we begin the task of turning Gormã into a sailboat.

Things were going well when Mike, the marina owner and electrical guru, dropped by. Under his guidance we set to tracing wires and putting the voltmeter on this and that and, after two hours, concluded beyond any doubt that there was no power!

That, however, was as far as we get before Paul and Delight, Corinne’s cousin and his wife, picked us up. We will spend the weekend with them at their cabin in Monterey in the Berkshires.

Our timing could not have been better for spending a weekend off the boat. We woke up to a rainy, cool Saturday morning. After breakfast, we decided to visit the Norman Rockwell Gallery at Stockford. It was a fascinating display, the highlight of which was seeing Rockwell’s actual studio.

The picture shown is from a series of pictures developed to support Roosevelt's four freedoms - this one depicting freedom of speech. Rockwell struggled for a long time to get this just right. What is most interesting is this picture was one of the few hanging in his studio.

In the afternoon we went for a short hike on the ‘cobble’ and then out for a wonderful dinner.

Sunday was again rather cool and cloudy, perfect hiking weather. Delight selected a wonderful hike called the Ice Glen, with a sometimes vigorous climb to the top of a large hill featuring a panoramic view of the Berkshires.

2007-09-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

September 12-13

Where did that day go? We woke up this morning with the best of intentions, and before we knew it the day was gone.

While checking our email at the Visitor Centre we began chatting with Tom and Trudy, who have been cruising the ICW for the past ten or twelve years. They are a wealth of information and we ended up joining them for a late brunch.

We resolved to leave early the next morning.

We did get away in good time. Waterford opens directly to the Hudson River. We passed through yet one more lock, the Troy lock, before reaching Troy. Around the first corner in town, we passed this little cruiser. Things may be getting bigger as we move towards New York City.

Our destination is Riverview Marina on Catskill Creek where we will have our mast stepped. However, we have to stop in Albany to pick up a cruising permit from US Customs and Immigration. If we had entered the US with the boat, we would have picked it up at that time. Since we began our trip in Michigan, this did not happen, and seemed to pose a conundrum for officials.

As we are pulling up to the city dock, we lost power to our instruments and chartplotter – no, on closer inspection we had no electrical power at all. This was unnerving, and we hoped not an omen of our meeting with the Customs officer. However, the meeting was very cordial, and we continued on our way, although without our electrical power. The rest of our trip went very smoothly.

This is a lighthouse quite near our final destination.

2007-09-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

September 10-11

After saying goodbye to Debbie and Wayne, we traveled a full day to guard gate 2, where we stayed for the night.

Much of the eastern section of the Erie Canal passes through the Mohawk River Valley. It is very picturesque with forested hills rising on both sides. It is also becoming more populated and so there is a greater awareness of both traffic and housing.

Of this little place just east of Schenectady, called Llenroc (Cornell spelled backwards) the cruising guide says it has 30 000 square feet with 15 fireplaces, ten bathrooms and an indoor pool bar with two portholes that look underwater into the pool.

This is our last day on the Erie Canal, and we have two miles to cover. The guide book says boaters should allow two hours for this section. There are five locks collectively known as the Waterford Flight which will lower us 169 feet. This is the highest set of locks in the world.

Waterford was quite full and we ended up tying to the lock wall just below the lock.

Thirty-four locks without a scratch! Feeling pretty good about this, and rather confident that we had earned our canalmen’s papers, we settled down to coffee and breakfast when all of a sudden everything started to rock and shake. I scrambled up to the cockpit and looked back at the lock to see this torrent of water leaving the lock for a descending vessel. As soon as things calmed down, we moved the boat to a more secure location and spent the rest of the day doing laundry, grocery shopping and searching out that elusive Internet connection.

One of the things we love about cruising is the people we meet. While doing laundry, we spent a most enjoyable and informative hour talking with Barbara. She and her husband, from Germany, have been cruising for the last seven years throughout North and South America. We have so much to learn, and people are so wonderful about sharing.

2007-09-12T10:44:00.001-07:00

September 8-9

During our exploring yesterday, we discovered that Little Falls would be hosting the annual Garlic and Herb Festival. We decided to spend the morning at the festival before moving on. Debbie found the perfect hat and we enjoyed a tasty lunch.

Immediately upon leaving Little Falls you pass through Lock 17, which has a vertical drop of 40.5 feet. This makes it the largest drop on the Erie Canal. It is also unique in that it is one of only two locks in North America that has a gate that is lifted above the boater. All other locks have doors that swing open as the vessel passes through.

We passed through three more locks before tying up at the west end of lock 13.

The next day we made another short hop from lock 13 to Amsterdam, NY. It has been raining quite steadily through yesterday evening and today, so we spent the afternoon developing our euchre skills. After dinner, the crew of the s/v Gorma hosted the Amsterdam Invitational ‘Goose and Juice’ Euchre Championship. Calling upon all of their resources, mostly legal, Debbie and her partner shocked their opponents with a one-game victory!

2007-09-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

September 6-7

Debbie and Wayne met us in Rome, NY last night. After getting settled aboard, we drove (a luxury) over to the Savoy Hotel for a great dinner. The Savoy will be celebrating its centennial next year. The towns along the canal are usually quite old, with a history dating back to times when they supported this major transportation route.

Today we moved on to Herkimer and tied up to a wall for the night. It seems that through this section of the canal we are either next to a major highway or beside a busy railroad track, or both.

The next day we made a short hop to Little Falls. The weather has been extremely warm the past couple of days, with afternoon highs in the mid-90’s. This made Little Falls a prime destination as it has a visitor’s centre with showers. This is the town of Little Falls as seen from the bridge crossing from the visitor centre to town.

2007-09-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

September 4-5

We departed from Lock 27 early on Tuesday morning. The mist was rising from the water and it was a beautiful morning. It was also particularly memorable, especially for the ‘admiral’, as it marked the first day of official retirement. You be the judge of how difficult this transition appears to be.

We tied up to the canal wall in Brewerton for the night. This was eventful for two reasons for us. There were three boats already tied to the wall, a sailboat and two trawlers. They were all from Canada and following a similar plan to ours. It is nice to know there are others to meet again along the way

The ‘middle’ section of the Erie Canal passes from Lyons to Rome. It follows the Seneca River and traverses Lake Oneida. It is more open and more populated, with many stretches of lovely homes.

There are seven locks along this section. Three of them are lift locks which raise the boat to a higher level. They are somewhat more turbulent and we have to work a little harder to keep the boat where we want it against the lock wall.

Another early start on Wednesday morning so that we can cross Lake Oneida in a calm. As it turns out, it is quite breezy to start, and becomes calmer throughout the trip. Once across the lake we make our way to Rome, where we meet Debbie and Wayne. They are going to join us for the next part of the trip.

We have made one other realization about the middle part of the Erie Canal. While there are many walls to tie up to, very few of them provide water or washroom facilities. It has been a couple of days since our last shower, and we are becoming less enamoured with ourselves, let alone each other. We decide to walk down to a small marina and inquire about the possibility of getting a shower. We track down the owner who says, ‘I don’t usually do this, but I could let you have a quick shower for … $20. Ya know, the price of hot water …’

We thanked him and returned, a little dejected, to the boat. Along the way Corinne asked, ‘Do you think we could fill that plastic shower bag. We did, and it felt great. We took a couple of pictures, thinking it would be interesting to include on the blog. After looking at them, it was unanimous - no one needs to see that!

2007-09-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

September 3

We got a lazy start today, after a longer trip yesterday. Our passage took us from the ‘western’ part of the Erie Canal to the beginning of the ‘middle’ part. We are learning that each section has a personality of its own. We spent the night tied up to the lock wall on the eastern side of Lock 27. This picture is waiting to enter the lock. The lock keeper must either raise or lower the water for your passage.

The western section, from Tonawanda to Lyons, is very much a man-made section of the canal with narrow passages and many potential stopping spots along the canal walls. There is a towpath paralleling the shores of the canal which has been restored to make excellent biking and walking trails.

There is also a vibrant business in canal boats that people rent for a week or two to travel up and down the canal. They are very comfortable boats and the people we saw seemed to be having a great time – for the most part.

Earlier on, one of these boats came in to dock behind us, misjudged the current badly, and started spinning around so as to land on top of us. The cap’n managed to back it out into canal and take another run at it. He came head on to the canal wall and crashed magnificently into the concrete abutment, swung around slowly, and we were able to secure the boat without further incident. A husband and wife came off the boat and thanked us profusely for helping. The cap’n said he wasn’t really worried, because the boat was made of steel, weighed twelve tons, and built as strong as a tank. We can attest to that after seeing the big hunk of concrete it took out of the wall and shudder to think of what it would have done to our boat.

A few minutes later the wife, a real sweetheart, came by with two small bottles of wine and said she was so thankful we were there to help, as she was quite scared.

Shortly after that the third crewmember, the brother came by and said he didn’t know how the cap’n could be so stupid. He himself had years of experience with boats and his brother refused to listen to his advice. He was getting fed up.

The next day they pulled into Bridgeport, right in front of of us, and we were up in a flash to help again. This time the brother was at the helm, and guess what? Crash into the wall, just miss the boat behind them, give it one more try and six people were scrambling to get them safely moored.

The following morning, as we were preparing to cast off, the cap’n dropped by with four tomatoes from his wife’s garden and thanks for helping out.

2007-09-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

September 2

It is Sunday of the long weekend, and being a little impatient, we have decided to move on. We have no particular destination in mind, and there are so many choices.

While in Brockport, we stumbled upon a quite remarkable grocery store called Wegman’s. We talked to the manager, and he told us they had a ‘flagship’ store in Pittsburg – about 30 miles away. As we were motoring along, Corinne said, ‘You don’t think he said the store was in Pittsford?’ Sure enough, when we consulted Skipper Bob, it noted a Wegman’s in Pittsford, another town along the canal. We arrived just after noon and after lunch, walked the two miles to the store.

This is an amazing store with so many tantalizing things to tempt you. It is good to shop with only a pack and a long walk, because it enforces at least a little restraint.

The drawback to this adventure was everything was full through our next couple of potential stops, and we ended up mooring to a lock wall at dusk in Newark, NY.

2007-09-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

August 29 - September 1

Aug 29 was a beautiful day, hot and sunny, just made for relaxing in Middleport. We spent a good part of the afternoon sitting outside of the local library working on the blog and catching up on email, and the rest of the day just …

Our neighbour along the canal was telling us that one of Middleport’s highlights is the wing-dings at the local bar. Not wanting to miss out on a highlight, we went over for a supper of the best wings that we remember eating.

Aug 30 started out overcast and worked into occasional showers – really a perfect day for traveling. We went as far as Bridgeport, the home of SUNY, (State University of New York) and spent a couple of days there, as it is the long weekend and becoming difficult to find dockspace. It is a wonderful little town, with a very nice tourist and visitor facility along the canal. The centre is staffed by a core of over 100 volunteers and is a big tourist draw for the town.

2007-08-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

August 28

Our first day on the Erie Canal, and it is apparent we have a few things to learn before we can consider ourselves canalmen.

The first thing to note is the canal is beautiful. I don’t know what we imagined, but it is much more beautiful and quaint than we pictured.

The canal also has locks and bridges – perhaps hundreds of them. One must radio ahead to request they be opened for you, and there are a few nervous moments as you wait to hear back from the tenders. It is impossible to sit still in the one plus mph current in the canal, and difficult to maneuver in tight quarters.

Our most interesting discovery, though, is related to lift bridges. Did you know a lift bridge lifts up? The bridge itself is about 6 feet above water. When you radio ahead, the tender raises this piece of the bridge straight up so you can pass under. At our first bridge we called, and the tender radioed back, “The bridge will be raised when you get here, Captain.” We confidently edged forward, but could not see the span of the bridge separating or lifting. We radioed again, but received no response. As our concern rose, Corinne finally realized, “Greg, I think the bridge IS up.
And so goes the adventure.

This is Middleport, New York, 29 miles down the Erie Canal. We spent our first night tied to a canal wall here.

2007-08-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

August 27

Wardell’s Boatyard is situated about 50 feet from the first bridge on the Erie Canal, and getting the mast down and stored was the order of the day. Gorma is such a pretty boat with the mast up, and somewhat gangly when it is down. The scary part, as we are coming to understand, is the rather long tail (ten to twelve feet of mast) hanging over the back of the boat. It makes turning and maneuvering in tight quarters a bit of a challenge.

Note the boat beside us. It is a Columbia 30 owned by a lovely young couple from Poland. They are going through the Erie Canal to New York and then to St Pierre and Miquelon before heading to Bermuda and the Bahamas this winter. Next spring their plan is to sail back to Poland.

2007-08-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

August 26

We were up early this morning and away by 7:30 am. It had been quite windy through the night and the water was quite rolly, but the wind had settled into a steady 10-15 knots and we had a great sail as far as Dunkirk. Gorma is a good boat and we become more confident with her all the time.

The wind died down mid-morning, though, and so we motored the rest of the way to Buffalo. The waterway through Buffalo to Tonawanda is heavily traveled, particularly on a sunny afternoon. There were sailboats everywhere in the outer bay, and hundreds of power boats on the river and Black Rock Channel, paralleling the Niagara River.

The river and channel are approximately ten miles, and besides giving us an opportunity to sharpen our aids to navigation skills, it also had a couple of bridge openings and a lock in store for us. Although they shouldn’t have, both of these came as a bit of a surprise, and we have our first lock with ropes under our belts.

Around every corner, a new adventure, and here the sign marks the beginning of the Erie Canal. The canal system is 341 miles long and contains 34 locks. It connects the Great Lakes to Troy NY and then to New York City.

2007-08-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

August 21 – 25

We are trying to make headway to Buffalo as quickly as possible. This morning we set out for Conneault, which is the first harbour that offers the opportunity ot anchor out. Since we were itching to try out our new anchor, this sounded very good.

This was a long day, covering 65.6 nautical miles, and so we were happy to settle in and enjoy the evening.

Hint: We asked people later on how to pronounce this name. It goes like this –
Con ee ought

The next day, with good weather, we moved on to Barcelona. This is a most quaint little harbour and a step back in time. We have enjoyed the company and the beautiful scenery.

When we pulled into the harbour, we were concerned about finding sufficient depth to anchor. In no time two gentlemen had us pulled into a slip, rather literally I’m afraid, and tied up.

The owner of the marina is in his eighties and is as busy as can be. Finally after the third day, and a couple of interesting conversations, we settled on the fee, $10 per day. We’ll not likely find many marinas at that rate.

Keeping in touch has been a little difficult. We purchased a pay as you go phone, but have had trouble with calls to Canada. Feeling a little like ‘Children, where are your parents…’, we were excited to find a payphone just down the street from the marina. No go? Not to be deterred, we purchased phone card and walked up to the Interstate booth, where we were assured there was a working phone. Guess what, stymied again. Enough to make you tear your hair out.

In our travels today we found two great things, a library and a coffee shop with free wi-fi access, and a great roadside stand with the best fresh peaches. Things are going well.

2007-08-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

August 18 - 20

We sailed on to Cleveland. The winds were not favourable, and the waves were rolly, so this seemed like a long and uneventful trip. As always, that drink at the end of the day puts everything is perspective.

The morning was dreary and raining but it was a great day to do some provisioning. Terry and Debbie offered to help us with before heading back home. It was sure helpful to have them help out in the grocery store as many of the brands are not familiar to us.

It was sad to have to say good-bye as we have had a wonderful time with them. They are great crew and we hope they will join us again.

More rain this morning so we stayed put and used the morning to do a lot of organizing and straightening up on board. We donned our rain coats and walked up to an internet café and spent the afternoon catching up on email and setting up our blog. Our walk passed through an interesting area that seems to be in transition between revitalization and somewhat more rough. We both decided that it is best visited during the day. We enjoyed a beer at an Irish pub (part of the revitalization) but decided to pass on the happy hour at the local bar.

2007-08-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

August 17

We woke up to a gorgeous morning and headed down the Detroit River to Lake Erie. The Detroit skyline from the water is quite spectacular.

Once into Lake Erie, we had an awesome sail to Put-In Bay. The winds were waaa..y in our favour and so there was lively discussion about the size of the waves and the wind speed. How was it that Terry seemed to keep missing the big waves?? We moored out at Put-In Bay and spent the rest of the afternoon seeing the sights and climbing the Perry Memorial Tower to get a knock out view of the lake and surrounding area. This memorial is the third highest monument in the US, taller even than the Statue of Liberty.

2007-08-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

August 16

We spent the morning catching up and Corinne also spent time fitting six months of clothes into four small shelves. We then headed over to Windsor to have another visit and a wonderful dinner with Wayne and Debbie. Of course that also included some more great wine from Wayne’s cellar.

2007-08-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

August 15

Terry, Deb and I were up early and away by 7:30 on a beautiful morning down the St. Clair River. This was an interesting trip with lots to see. It was also an interesting lesson in navigation. One has to pay careful attention to charts as well as observe the buoys and surroundings. Since I was enjoying the scenery, it is good that the crew was taking care of the rest. Thanks, Deb.

Once across Lake St Clair, we arrived in Detroit mid-afternoon and had to scout out a few marinas, both to find one with deep enough water for us as well as shallow enough pockets that we could afford. We ended up at a very nice spot, Harbor Hills Marina.

After getting things settled, I called Wayne and Debbie to check on Corinne’s arrival. She was already in Windsor, sipping some of Wayne’s fine wine.

It was pretty exciting to have the full crew together for the rest of the trip.

2007-08-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

August 13, 2007

After a two weeks of working to get the boat ready, and a little bit of procrastinating, the journey began. Friends from Bay City, Terry and Deb, asked if I would like some company for the first part of the trip, and I actually did need to be asked twice, because I wasn’t sure if I had heard right the first time.

We pulled away from Bay Harbor Marina at 2:30 pm Monday afternoon, with a dying breeze and clear skies.

Our progress was good and we had determined that we would keep going as long as we all felt comfortable.

When you’re having fun, there is sometimes no knowing when to quit, and so 27 hours later we passed under the Bluewater Bridge, marking arrival in Port Huron. You have to know that the end of a great sail is celebrated by a cold beer and a bite to eat at the most interesting local pub, and then in this case a good night’s sleep.