Sailing Ritual

Reposted with photos which had disappeared!

Ahoy! In our last mid-August post, we were poised to relaunch Ritual and begin our travels anew, but a new surprise awaited. The weekend before our scheduled launch date, Fred tested positive for Covid, soon followed by Lisa. We had several test kits aboard since they were required for entry into the Bahamas and elsewhere. While we were VERY ready to be back in the water, we certainly did not feel well enough to travel. Fortunately there was a spot for us to hang out in until we were better, AND fortunately we had mild symptoms. We hoisted the Q flag (the yellow flag vessels historically flew to signify they were harboring a disease and needed to be quarantined – nowadays flown before granted entry into a new country/port), eliciting some chuckles from the folks who “got it”. We also had a tele-medicine meeting with our doctor in Traverse City (one positive outcome of the pandemic is that these are now easy to schedule and quite common). As we were counting down our isolation days, several boats/sailing couples appeared in the marina, either prepping to head south for the winter, or just spending vacation time on their boats. We were able to enjoy a couple potlucks on the deck once we were better, and it was energizing to talk “boats” and hear about other’s plans and projects.

It felt SO GOOD to motor out of Rock Creek! With the headsail raised, we drifted up the Patapsco River toward Baltimore. We had a loose plan to head north, and friends spending time in Baltimore had encouraged us to visit. We took a slip for a week at Anchorage Marina, just outside the Inner Harbor, and were happy to meet up with the crews of Shank’s Mare (Niagara 35), Caroline (Catalina 42) and Kedge (Lord Nelson Tug) – all friends/boats from Vero Beach. What a lovely place! The marina hosts a Saturday brunch and evening live music on the dock. The sailor’s holy trinity of a grocery store, liquor store and hardware store are right across the street, as well as a multitude of restaurants. The Baltimore Harborfront Promenade stretches in both directions from the marina – one way to Fells Point and the National Aquarium and Inner Harbor, the other to a park and shopping area. We enjoyed it all! Lisa even found a Brazilian Cafe and Fred bought a new fishing pole. We did not get to visit Fort McHenry, of Francis Scott Key fame, but could see it from the marina, and would gladly return to this metropolitan port for another visit.

Feeling like we were pushing our luck to head for New York in early September, we decided to explore parts of the Chesapeake we had skipped last fall. We sailed south to the Magothy River, just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and joined Shank’s Mare in Broad Creek. Sheldon’s brother keeps his boat there, and we were delighted to discover this small cove, with its tiny sandy spits and protection from all wind directions. The homes are mostly hidden in the woods, and much of the shore is undeveloped. We watched ospreys, eagles and kingfishers, and were amazed by all the sea nettles! Folks had commented that one could actually swim here, but we had seen a few nettles along the way, and they were everywhere in this bay. These small stinging jellyfish have historically been common summer visitors south of the Bay bridge, but for the last few years have been making their way further north. Its a drag when it is 90 degrees and you can’t swim because of the nettles. Locals have neat “net pools” they deploy off their boats so they can hang out in the water without getting stung.

While in the cove we decided that we would run the two miles to Magothy Marina for fuel and a pump-out. As we pulled up to the fuel dock we noticed a small fuel slick forming around Ritual. Apparently our bilge pump had excised the bilge and a bit of fuel had escaped. After some frantic searching we determined we had fuel leaking from at least one of our two diesel tanks. Most of our fellow Slocum owners have replaced their tanks and we had considered ourselves lucky that we had had no issues – until now! While the leak was small (at the moment!), we knew we had another change of plans to deal with.

We had been on the fence about attending the Annapolis Boat Show this year, but the list of needed items has grown and the deals there are worth the visit, so we had already decided to stay in the upper Chesapeake Bay area until the show in mid-October. We would plan on finding a place to make the tank replacement somewhere near Baltimore or Annapolis and hope the work could be completed by the end of October. We started making calls and doing research on this new project, and so far, a few bilge pads were handling the leak.

In the meantime, we took off with Shank’s Mare and had a nice downwind sail to the Rhode River, just 10 miles south of Annapolis. This is another beautiful anchorage in an undeveloped area owned by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and a YMCA camp. It reminded us of a few bays in the North Channel! We visited the SERC Welcome Center exhibits and walked some of the wooded trails. The lab building was huge, but closed to the public. We both think it would be very cool to do research here, and there was a pitch for volunteers!

The morning we departed, Ritual was completely surrounded by sea nettles! It is kind of mesmerizing to watch them slowly drift by. We had dodged a minefield of crab pots coming into this area, and we dodged all the watermen working those traps on the morning we left. Some pot buoys are flagged and easy to see, but others are just small floats of various colors, and can be more difficult to spot. The worst ones are black and white, and we play a game we call “bird or buoy?”, because from a distance they look just like the seagulls floating around.

Following Shank’s Mare, we had a nice sail southeast across the bay to explore the Eastern Shore around the Choptank River. This is the area described in the book “Chesapeake”, by James Michener (definitely worth the read). This is another river with a huge mouth nearly six miles across. We made our way up the Choptank to San Domingo Creek and anchored at the “back door” of the small town of St. Michaels. The actual harbor is 30 miles around the other side of the peninsula. The anchorage was very protected and peaceful and we spent a few days with Jeanne and Sheldon exploring the village. We toured the very fine Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, which explores the crabbing and oyster industry, the boats and tools of the watermen, boat building, the environment and life on the Eastern Shore. St. Michaels reminded us a bit of Harbor Springs, MI with its quaint architecture, many shops, restaurants, big boats and tourists. Until a few years ago it was also the summer home of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, which gives you an idea of the gentrification of the area.

Oxford was our next stop, back through the Choptank and up the Tred Avon River. We found a little spot inside the small harbor to anchor. This is another very quaint place, know for its picket fences. There were small decorated fence pieces all over town, soon to be auctioned off as a fundraiser. Other than a protected harbor, a couple nice restaurants and historic streets and houses, there are not many other services here. We do highly recommended ice cream at the Scottish Highland Creamery! There is a large crabbing fleet, and one boat dropped his trotline right next to our boat every morning – at 5 am.

These crabbers operate differently from the ones on the west shore. Instead of individual crab pots marked with buoys, they use a “trotline” – a line stretched between 2 large floats, that has many little baited lines attached to it and which lays on the bottom. The crabs latch onto the bait (chicken necks). The crabber starts at one end and as the main line is slowly raised, he nets each crab one by one. They fill bushel baskets and when finished, all the lines are removed from the water. It is so much easier navigating around these because the large orange end buoys are clearly visible, and the crab boat stays nearby.

Our last stop on the Choptank was Cambridge. Are you getting a sense for the early settlers based on these names? This is one of the bigger eastern shore towns (pop. 12,300), is less touristy, and has a few more amenities. We pulled into the large marina on a Saturday afternoon and were greeted by throngs of people cheering on competitors of an Ironman race! This is the crazy race where they swim 2.6 miles, bike 110 miles, then run 26.2 miles. The finish line was in the nearby park, and as each person crossed the finish line, the announcer would shout over the loudspeaker in his best WWF voice, – YOU are an Ironman! By the end of the night (11 pm) we thought maybe we had qualified.

Sunday brought quiet, and we enjoyed a walk to the little downtown and the replica screwpile lighthouse at the marina, and had a bite and drinks at the tiki bar on the inner harbor. We found a small grocery and liquor store, did some laundry and boat chores, and walked the neighborhood, admiring the large old homes near the waterfront and speculating on a couple old rundown ones that were for sale (no – we are not!). On Monday we locked down plans for the fuel tank replacement – back at Oak Harbor in Pasadena, where we had been hauled out earlier this summer. Tuesday we said goodbye to Jeanne and Sheldon, who were continuing on south, spent another night back on the Rhode River, and then took a mooring in Annapolis for two days to ride out the gale winds – remnants of Hurricane Fiona. It was such a contrast – the quiet and peacefulness of Rhode River versus the busy inner harbor at Annapolis! We watched the sailboat fleets race, ate dockside at the new Choptank restaurant overlooking Ego Alley (the City dock), and had a few libations in the historic taverns. After scarfing some oysters at McGarvey’s to welcome back the season (months with R in them), we headed north, under the Chesapeake Bay bridge, to Rock Creek and our now familiar spot at Oak Harbor. We begin the tank removal process tomorrow and will let you know how it goes!

Fair winds – Fred and Lisa

Hi everyone!  We are in currently in Pasadena, MD, living 15 feet off the ground while Ritual is hauled out for some maintenance. No hurricanes so far, but we have had some pretty good thunderstorms and lightening shows.

Since our last update, we completed the ICW to Norfolk, where we were so busy watching the fair in the downtown park that we found ourselves smack in the middle of the Gay Pride boat parade! Our only regret was that we didn’t have any decorations.  We spent some time with fellow Slocum owners Tom and Ilse in Hampton, VA.  It was nice to see them again, and this time we stayed in Salt Pond, near their home.  We also took advantage of the marina pool, which has become a great amenity now that it is hot!  Continuing our trek back north, we stopped again in Jackson Creek/Deltaville, and this time the Fishing Bay Yacht Club was open so we were able to use their showers – and pool!  Too bad they do not have regular bar/food hours because the building is lovely and beautifully situated between Fishing Bay and the creek. Then it was on to Reedville, VA.  We had ducked into this area on our way south and this time we went further up the creek to the actual town.  We tried to be strategic about our anchoring spot, to stay out of the wafting smell from the fish processing plant, and were mostly lucky!  There is a really interesting Fisherman’s Museum here, tracing the history of the menhaden fishing industry (think alewives for you Great Lakers) and crab/oyster/clam watermen.  They also have a boat building shop and run skipjack sailing tours from their dock. The Omega Protein Corp. operates the last processing plant in an area that once boasted 18 plants in the early 20^th century.  At that time Reedville was one of the wealthiest cities in the U.S. Today the village (pop. 2100) consists of some large Victorian homes, the museum, a couple restaurants and an ice cream shop, and lovely homes on a couple very well-protected creeks.

Continuing to trace our old tracks, we crossed the mouth of the Potomac River, fighting the current across this 6-mile stretch, which seems even longer!  We spent more time in Solomon’s Island, MD, where we visited the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, which had been closed due to Covid when we were southbound. The visitors center showcased the immense watershed of this bay and many of the research programs and university students’ projects, but the actual lab tours were still closed to the public. We used the marina bikes to get around, which are full-sized compared to our folding bikes with their 16-inch wheels. Lisa took a header with a clumsy dismount, and was grateful that the center had a well-stocked first aid kit to stem her bleeding palm and knees! Unfortunately, they had nothing for her pride. Later a Painkiller at the tiki bar helped sooth all.

We were pushing to get to Annapolis, MD for the 4^th of July. It is a 40-mile passage (isn’t every passage?!) so we left early, and were delighted to pass several schools of rays feeding off Drum Point.  Their little wing tips pop up above the water like mini shark fins to give them away.

What started as a calm morning gave way to a blustering squall, which stirred up some 3-4 foot seas. Chesapeake Bay can be quite reminiscent of the Great Lakes with very choppy water at times.  We were happy to finally enter the Severn River, with its multitude of boats coming from every direction and squeezing into the river entry to Annapolis. We headed up Spa Creek and took a city mooring in the waaay back, off large Truxton park. Heavily wooded on the park side, and neighborhood homes on the other made for a very quiet anchorage, other than the small boat traffic from the park’s boat launch.  The city has provided dinghy docks at each street end on the creek, so it is a very easy walk to downtown.

This Navy town did not disappoint for the 4^th.  A late afternoon parade was followed by the Navy Band playing at the waterfront until it was time for fireworks at 9 pm (much earlier than Traverse City fireworks that never started until well after 10!).

We had made plans to haul the boat out for maintenance on July 11^th in Pasadena, MD, north of Annapolis, so we hung out in Spa Creek for a few days, and then moved to Weems Creek, just north of town, for a change of view.  We anchored in front of Cal Ripkin Jr’s house, which, like the other large homes on this creek, sits high above the water with lots of foliage. There were several other boats anchored here since it is free and well protected, and the city pump-out boat (it sucks out the septic holding tank) services this creek.  We dropped the hook in between the Navy’s mooring balls, which are only used during bad storms.  From the little neighborhood boat ramp we could walk or Uber to stores and restaurants, including Bacon’s, our favorite boat consignment shop.

With thunderstorms predicted for the weekend, on Friday we headed back out into the bay and under the huge Bay Bridge, heading towards Baltimore up the Patapsco River. Rock Creek and Oak Harbor Marina would become our “home” for the next month.  We spent the weekend anchored off the marina, and were lifted out and placed on jack stands on schedule.  

It was fun meeting up with Rob and Liz on True Love, one of our “sister ships” that is based here. (In our minds it is pronounced Twu Wuv – most of you know the reference!)  Back in the 80’s this yard commissioned Slocums imported to the east coast. We are also next to Calypso and Mischief, two Bristol Channel Cutters owned by Nica Waters of The Boat Galley and Fit-2-Sail websites/podcasts. We have enjoyed chatting with her and husband Jeremy about our various projects.  We also had a nice visit with friends Jeanne and Sheldon, aboard Shank’s Mare, who caught up with us last week on their way to Baltimore.

We did take a break for 10 days and drove to Michigan.  There was a family gathering for an aunt who passed away last fall, and it was wonderful to see so many cousins and old friends.  Then it was off to Traverse City for a whirlwind of appointments (vet for the cats; glasses and physicals for the humans; consolidation of storage units).  We managed to squeeze in visits with friends but missed several who were out of town. Thanks for the house Deb and Steve, so sorry we missed you! Traverse City seemed crazy busy to us. Before we returned the rental car we also took a run over to Mount Vernon just south of D.C.. George Washington’s home is only an hour from the boatyard, and well worth the trip. We especially enjoyed the working gristmill and distillery, but they were out of their signature rye whiskey. That’s okay, it is $98.00 bottle and is un-aged, so more like moonshine!

Now we are wrapping up our version of “yard work”.  We had a new data instrument installed (depth/speed/water temp) and an old thru-hull removed and sealed up. We sent our binnacle compass off for repair only to be told it was caput. Fred found an exact replacement on eBay that is actually nicer than the old one!  We bought a wood boarding ladder from True Love, and Lisa has been refinishing it. Ritual and the dinghy are both sporting new coats of bottom paint.  Mail and packages have been received, and Lisa is waiting on new glasses.  We have tried to adjust to early morning work schedules, since it has been 90+ by noon most days. We do not have AC, but really appreciate the six Hella fans on board!

We hope to be back in the water sometime this week, pending return of the yard manager, who is out with Covid right now.  Then hopefully off to a few places further north, with plans written in the sand of course!

Fair winds, Fred and Lisa

Hello to All – As we update this blog, we are sitting out a rainy day in Coinjock, NC. We are 50 miles south of Norfolk, and expect to be in the Chesapeake in a day or two.  We also want to make a correction to our last post…Nathanael Greene and family inhabited Cumberland Island, GA after the Revolutionary War, not the Civil War.  

So – we returned to Palm Coast in mid-May, with a quick stop at Fort Matanzas. This old Spanish outpost, constructed in 1740, lies between St. Augustine and Palm Coast, just inside the Matanzas Inlet from the ocean. It was used to protect the “back door” of the main fort in St. Augustine.  The National Park Service runs a small ferry to the fort, and the park includes a nice sandy beach inside the inlet as well as a large stretch of wild beach on the Atlantic. We anchored near the ferry dock and trusted our Rocna anchor and chain to hold us in the heavy current. It can be disconcerting to lie in bed and hear water rushing along the hull!  Private boats are not allowed on the little island where the fort lies – you must take the pontoon ferry, but it is free.  

We actually enjoyed returning to Palm Coast. We had already befriended a few of the cruisers in this small marina, which lies just off the ICW.  The town has everything in the way of shopping and services, and it was planned as a walkable/bikeable community, with plentiful trails and sidewalks (and the occasional alligator) and parks.  There is also a sizable population of Portuguese and Brazilians, and we were delighted to find their deli/wine shops and cafes.  

The parts we had ordered were waiting for us at the marina, and Edsel got right to work on our engine. He used a hoist hanging from a steel beam laid across two piles of railroad ties, and raised the engine out of the floor. Then Fred “went to school” as they worked together to remove and replace seals, check the oil pump and injectors, and check and seal the transmission. Three days later we dropped the engine back in the floor with high hopes of NOT having to swab oil every day.  And so far, so good!

We lingered a few more days, in part waiting for rain to pass, but in part just spending time. It’s amazing how we find “our tribe” as we move along. Here in Palm Coast is the retired veterinarian and his wife, who live on their catamaran with 5 whippets – and hail from the Seattle area (and you think we are crazy for having two cats onboard!). We met them first in Vero Beach but this is their home base. Then there is Meg and Gus, who live aboard their sailboat Seawinds. They made Palm Coast their land home 20 years ago and when not sailing, ran the kayak rental from the marina, and sold and delivered boats. Gus is Portuguese with roots in the northeast U.S., and it was fun to talk about sailing to Nantucket and even possibly to Portugal. Edsel had just replaced their engine (same one that we have), and when we found one of our fittings had a crack, he gave us his old one to use until we could get a new one.  It is “sailing serendipity”. Gus had scheduled their engine to be replaced after our work (nothing wrong – wanted more power). But a trawler limped in with a thrown rod in their Perkins 4-108, the same engine Gus was removing. Gus was able to sell his Perkins to the trawler, Edsel installed it and then installed the new engine in Seawinds. All this happened just a few days before we returned!

June 1, the start of hurricane season, was looming, and we needed to head north again. We trekked back through St. Augustine and the pretty Tolomato and St. John Rivers to Fernandina Beach and were happy to meet up with Blue Flamingo, our Vero Beach mooring buddies. We pulled the dinghy up on deck – a bit afraid of what was lurking beneath. The last cleaning was back in Vero Beach in March.  It is amazing the amount of biology that accumulates in these southern waters! Within a few days we had a good weather window for an overnight in the Atlantic, so we headed out with the tide and aimed for Hilton Head.  This was our first chance to sail using the monitor steering vane – and it was amazing! The downside is that it only works when the wind blows and the sails are balanced, and as evening fell and the wind died, we were back to hand steering.  It was a lovely night full of stars and no boat traffic, until we neared the Savannah River entrance just before dawn. We could see the glow of Savannah city lights to the west, and there was an additional glow to the east – from all the freighters sitting at anchor in the ocean! This is when we are really grateful for radar, which helped us determine that they were not moving through the channel. We safely crossed the channel and as the sun began to rise we headed up Port Royal Sound to Beaufort (Bewfort) SC.  

We tied to the face dock and topped off fuel, then backed up to our “slip”.  It was a bit rolly with the south wind hitting the dock, and we wish there had been a spot inside where we were on the trip south. But winds tend to lay at night, so it wasn’t too bad. The dinghy engine has been acting up lately, and the dinghy was on the foredeck from our ocean passage; otherwise we would have anchored out or tied to a mooring ball. But we definitely wanted to visit town and this one is worth the price of a slip.

We went to the little marine store to get transmission fluid, and a lady asked Fred what he needed. Thinking she was the “help”, he told her. The store did not have it, but she offered to get it when she went shopping!  Turns out she was a boater, NOT the help, and graciously dropped off 2 quarts at our boat later that afternoon!  We enjoyed the pretty waterfront park and swings, and had a wonderful dinner at the Old Bull Tavern. Don’t miss this one if you are ever visiting!

Charleston was our real destination on this leg. We calculated the tides to get through the shallow channels, and stayed in the ICW, dropping the hook in the Stono River just outside Charleston to ride out a storm and wait for our slip to open. There are not any good anchorages in Charleston Harbor, and all the dock space was full. We lucked out getting a slip for 3 nights at the Maritime Center, which is located close to the historic district on the point, and next door to the National Park Service (NPS) Visitors Center for Fort Sumter. It was a perfect location! We walked the streets and historic city market, oogled at the stately old homes, and admired the old walls and gates and window boxes overflowing with flowers. We took a Ghost Tour in the evening with a good story teller who recounted the history and hauntings of some select locations.  Under construction next to our marina is the International African American museum, which should be worth a visit once it opens next year. We felt that the slave history was well portrayed and definitely acknowledged in the presentations we saw/heard. We visited the NPS Visitors Center, but did not take the ferry to the forts. Fort Sumter (first shots of the Civil War) sits on an island at the entry to Charleston Bay, and Fort Moultrie sits across from it on the north side. Both are national monuments run by the NPS.  

Our friend Carol’s sister lives outside the city, and on our last night Nancy picked us up and gave us a great tour of the city. Then she drove us over the bridge to Shem’s Creek, where the shrimp boats come in and there are several restaurants along the waterway. We had a good visit and lovely meal on the patio as night fell.  We could have easily spent another week here!

Since the ocean weather was not hospitable, we continued north in the ICW. We had not traversed the portion from Winyah Bay, SC to Beaufort (Bowfort) NC. We loved the Waccamaw River with its wild, deeply forested shores. That eventually gave way to the homes and condos lining the inhabited stretch of the ICW inside the popular Myrtle Beach area. We took a slip at the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club for the night, and as we walked up to the office, heard a voice shout “That’s Fred and Lisa!”. It was friends we had made in the Chesapeake on our trip south. They have since bought a bigger boat and a slip here. We extended a day to have enough time to have dinner, swim in the pool, and be driven around on errands!

Our trek continued through Southport, a tempting stop, but we pushed on up the Cape Fear River, and tied to a mooring ball in Carolina Beach, NC, outside Wilmington.  This little harbor is almost completely enclosed, and offers good protection from any weather.  The afternoon thunderstorms have become more frequent so it seemed like a good (and economical) spot. The Atlantic beach is a 2-block walk from the town dinghy dock, and we found a parts store for the dinghy engine. The town was not as charming as we had hoped – it was almost completely wiped out by Hurricane Hazel in 1954. It is now a vacation destination known for its beach and boardwalk.

Just north of here, at Wrightsville Beach, was our last reliable inlet to the ocean, but the wind would have been strong on our nose, so we stayed inside, spending one night at Mile Hammock Bay, literally inside Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base, and then arriving in Beaufort, NC. We found a spot among several other boats across from the town docks and dropped the hook. This is typically a charming waterfront view with a lovely wild beach to the south. This time ALL the area marinas were packed with huge fishing boats for the Big Rock Blue Marlin Festival. The ENTRY fee was $27,500, and 266 boats competed. The top prize was over $3 mill for a 572 lb marlin. The public weigh-ins were across the bridge in Morehead City, so we did not see any of the big fish.

We looked forward to visiting Oriental, the Sailing Capitol of North Carolina. Tides in the North Carolina sounds are wind-driven, and it was too shallow (6’) for us to enter the harbor last December.  This time winds were in our favor (8’), and we spent 2 days at the little Oriental Marina and Inn. The town is small and walkable, and the marina has a cute tiki bar and inviting pool. We were also treated to good music on the deck Saturday night.  Lisa found an old historic house for sale and we briefly imagined rehabbing it – but came to our senses!

Moving on north, we opted for the marina at Dowry Creek, east of Belhaven. We loved our time in Belhaven, but several cruising friends had recommended this place. It had a lovely pool, which is a nice amenity when it is 85-90 degrees, and free laundry!  It is also 6 miles from anything, although they do have a courtesy car.  We swam, did laundry, and left the next morning for an anchorage in the Alligator River. We had a nice downwind slide across the Albemarle Sound, a more pleasant experience than our southerly crossing!  So here we are in Coinjock, poised for our jump to the Chesapeake Bay. We will be hauling out north of Annapolis for a month while we get a few projects completed, and squeeze in a visit to Michigan. Maybe we will see you in Traverse City!

Fair winds, Fred and Lisa

When we left Peck Lake we returned north to Vero Beach and managed to stay only three days!  We made a grocery run, enjoyed jazz brunch, happy-houred with friends, and indulged one more time in the BEST orange/vanilla soft serve ice cream at a favorite beachside taco joint.

With wind blowing ESE, we were able to motor-sail up the ICW and decided to take a detour east to Port Canaveral to visit the Kennedy Space Center.  Passing through the Canaveral Barge Canal requires waiting for 2 lift bridges and a lock. Timing the bridge openings is always fun. The first bridge opens on the hour and half-hour and we were going to miss it by 5-10 minutes, so we slowed way down to avoid sitting in place for 20 minutes.  The canal is narrow, and we were greeted with derelict boats and dolphins along the way. We saw no manatees, despite the posted signs. The lock and 2^nd bridge open on demand, and we only had a short wait for a boat in the lock to exit before we entered.

The Port Canaveral Yacht Club was half the cost of the other marinas – then we found out why! PCYC has metal fixed docks and 10 ft long finger piers. With a 4 to 5 ft tidal range we were glad there was a ladder on the end of the finger! The rest of Ritual’s length was secured between large posts. We don’t like this type of dock (vs. a floating dock the length of our boat), but it was worth it to meet other cruisers, use the nice clubhouse, and enjoy a Friday night dinner here. The marinas are in a basin closest to the lock. The rest of the canal hosts giant cruise ships and some industry and opens to the Atlantic Ocean, and many of the cruisers had great stories and info from the Bahamas and beyond. 

We managed to score a car for a couple days (rentals have been in short supply), and the Kennedy Space Center did not disappoint!  Our favorite things were the events we remember best – the last Space Shuttle Atlantis and the Apollo/Saturn V to the moon exhibits. Changes in the space industry are quite evident when you see the huge Blue Origins (Jeff Bezos) assembly plants and the building and launch area for the NASA/Boeing Artemis rocket project (Return to the Moon).  Two days later we witnessed our closest SpaceEx launch. Their Autonomous Spaceport Droneship on which the booster engine lands is named “Just Read the Instructions”.  That should be the title of several things on our boat!

Weather dictated that we follow our tracks back west to the ICW to continue north. We had hoped to go “outside” in the ocean, but strong winds and 6 to 7 ft seas put us off.  We made our way to an anchorage near New Smyrna Beach and had a quiet night. As we motored north in the morning we noticed a huge drop in oil pressure, and an inordinate amount of oil in the engine pan.  The NSB marina made room for us and we doubled back to take a slip and troubleshoot. After sucking a gallon (!) of oil out the pan, we were afraid this was it for our old engine, but after some calls and closer inspection, Fred found loose bolts on the raw water pump. Once tightened, things were much better!

We hung around to explore this town which we had bypassed earlier. The main street on the west side of the ICW is small and charming and we enjoyed meals and the art gallery exhibit by the local high school, as well as close-up manatee sightings! The east side (ocean beach side) caters more to tourists and is a sandy strip of bars and shops. Their claim to fame is being the “shark bite capital of Fla”. For 20 bucks you can drive your car on the beach, which is very wide and flat with hardpacked sand, and therefore lined with cars, food trucks and lots of people, creating more of a carnival-like atmosphere. Interesting, but we prefer our beaches sans cars.

Spurred by our recent oil incident, we began looking harder for a mechanic closer than Annapolis, and we lucked out in St. Augustine. The yard highly recommended a man named Edsel who actually returned our call and would take on the job.  And the best surprise was when we pulled into Palm Coast Marina to spend a night on our way there, and Edsel helped tie us to the dock!  Upon inspection he thought we could leave the boat in the water and install the new seals, etc. in Palm Coast, saving us a ton of $$ by not hauling the boat out, and cutting out his travel time to St. Augustine. We set a date for May 15, which gave us 2 weeks to kill, so we headed north to meet cruising friends in St. Augustine, then continue north to visit Fernandina Beach, FL and Cumberland Island, GA – an area we had skipped on our first trip south.

After 2 nights in the wild marshlands of the ICW, we took a mooring ball at Fernandina Beach, FL.  Fifty blocks of the town are designated as a National Historic District.  The town is charming, with a beautiful main street and many old Victorian homes.  Unfortunately, the marina sits between two huge paper processing plants, and the mooring field can be noisy and smelly with the right wind.  Just across the St. Mary’s River inlet lies Cumberland Island National Seashore, and after a couple days of good food, Pirate Punch at the Palace Saloon (oldest bar in FL), and hot showers, we headed to the island anchorage.

Cumberland Island was named as a national park in 1972 (our own Sleeping Bear Nat’l Lakeshore was 1970) and is only accessible by boat. It has a fascinating history as the home of natives, then Spanish and English/Scottish troops, post Civil-War settlers including Nathaniel and Caty Greene, and finally as the luxurious yet wild private island of the Thomas Carnegie family (brother of Andrew – Carnegie Steel Co). The competing interests of the Carnegie descendants, private landholders, environmental groups and park service are ongoing.  It boasts 17 miles of unspoiled beach, wild ponies, and several mansions and ruins of the Carnegie era.  Much of the area is designated as wilderness.  We hiked a half mile to the beach, completed the 4.5 mile trail around the south end, and took a van tour north 16 miles to see the Plum Orchard Mansion and Settlement area where the First African Baptist Church is located. John F. Kennedy, Jr was married in this church – but that is another story!

We walked along shaded paths under huge twisted live oaks, lined with saw palmettos, and spied spring wildlife including fawns, baby turkeys and wild foals. We reveled in the solitude of the beach and dunes, and wondered at the opulence of the Carnegie homes carved out of this wild space. We did not see any sea turtles, although this beach is known for them.  We watched the tides rise and fall in the marsh as dolphins swam past the boat. We even saw one alligator – in a northern pond, not near the boat!

We made a quick stop in the town of St Mary’s, GA, an hour up the river and the location of the NPS visitors center, island museum and ferry boats. They have a pretty waterfront park overlooking the marsh, and we could easily see Fernandina Beach, 5 miles across the grasses.  Before we knew it, it was time to head back south to see Edsel and get this engine tightened up!

Fair winds, Lisa and Fred

We ended our last post with battery issues (downer). We were very relieved to learn that our batteries were fine (upper!).  Our house bank consists of 6 dual-post AGM batteries, and several of the small screw-posts had failed.  By buying adaptors and moving all the cables to the lead posts, we were back in business. Whew! This was a huge relief since we were not having much luck sourcing new ones. Ours are still under warranty from Batteries and Bulbs, and there is a store in Vero Beach (thumbs up). However, all stores are franchised, so contacting a national rep was first on the list. Once that was cleared up and the local store was willing to cover them, we were instructed to bring them in for testing, which would take at least 24 hours.  First, these suckers are really heavy, and would require a car to get them across town.  But more important, we would have no power on the boat while they were out – no refrigeration, no toilet flushing (!), no running water, no lights, no phone charging.  And even if they failed testing, that store would have to order the new batteries – with an anticipated 2 week wait time (thumbs down).  So again – whew!

Feeling newly confidant and ready to go, we borrowed Blue Flamingo’s (our mooring ball buddy boat) car, and completed a big provisioning run to the grocery store, pharmacy, auto supply (diesel oil, transmission fluid, engine coolant), and liquor store (up).  And before packing the fridge, we decided to remove the frost buildup on the freezer evaporator. There was one stubborn chunk of ice between the unit and the fridge wall, and for whatever reason, the best removal tool was deemed to be a paring knife. It is amazing how quickly that tiny piercing released all the gas through the (very) thin coolant line on the evaporator!  Had the hole been in the copper lines, the repair would have been relatively easy. But the evaporator is sealed, so it was now kaput (down).  You may recall that we installed a new one last September, so we were well aware of what we had to do (+), and the cost to do it (-).

With memories of the Canadian/Thousand Islands leg of our journey, we tried to keep things fresh with bags of crushed ice (again – no blocks – what’s the deal??). Our neighbors lent us their Yeti cooler, which helped a lot. We talked to two different techs, who both assured us that it would be a week or two to get a new unit, AND they would both be gone the next week with their families for spring break (down). We found a new unit on Defender’s website and received it 3 days later.  The installation went fine, and after ordering a few more tools, Fred was able to recharge the system (up).  After waiting for a daily parade of thunderstorms to clear out, we FINALLY got unstuck from Vero Beach!

On April 3^rd we headed south down the ICW to an anchorage near Ft. Pierce.  As we circled the anchorage and found a good spot, Fred went forward to drop the hook. The windlass (thing on the bow that raises and lowers the anchor) would not work. Granted, it hadn’t been used in 2 months, but it hadn’t occurred to us to check it before we left. We circled the anchorage for a while as Fred checked wiring, possible corrosion, etc. to no avail. We called the closest marina but they were full.  We could move on, or go back to Vero – which we did NOT want to do!  We decided to head further south to Jensen Beach, which has a large mooring field off the ICW, and hook onto a mooring ball, again.

Jensen Beach is a tiny town just north of Stuart, which is an hour away by boat, backtracking up the St. Lucie River.  The mooring field just opened last fall, and has a great new landing dock and bathing/laundry building. It is a pleasant walk to the main street, which has some good restaurants, cute galleries and a shopping center with a large Publix grocery store (the grocery store of choice just about everywhere here), and the nicest and least expensive open-air produce market we have seen anywhere! The sidewalk follows the ICW, and the darting lizards (“Florida squirrels”), flowers, palm trees, exotic plants, and water views make the walk seem shorter. Monday morning we ordered a new reversing solenoid for the windlass (that had failed once before), with 2 day shipping to the Mailboxes Etc. store, since the mooring field does not have a physical street address.

This mooring field is protected from west and north winds, and it was a pleasure to grab the closest ball to the shore and be in calm waters (+).  However, the reservation system is online, and we found ourselves having to move further out the next day since that ball was reserved for Tuesday and beyond.  We explored the village, had lunch and did a little shopping. Tuesday morning the wind switched to east/southeast at 15-25 kts, with a 2 foot chop and whitecaps rolling all day, so we did not leave the boat.  Things calmed on Wednesday, and we were happy with the notion that our part would come in and we could soon be on our way.  The delivery notice said “in by 10 pm”, but the mailbox store closes at 5 pm and sure enough, it did not arrive, even though the owner stayed until 6. The up side on Wednesday was having dinner with Mike and Tiffany, the MT Pockets crew, who now live in Stuart. We had some good cajun food, including boiled crawfish, on the pretty patio at Crawdaddy’s.  On Thursday morning the new delivery notice came with an apology and new window of April 7-9 (-).

We were elated when Jan called later that day (by now we were on a first name basis) and said the part had arrived. We celebrated with $3 happy hour drinks at the Tiki Taco outdoor bar on the way back to the boat. Fred popped the part in place and – nothing. He pulled out the wiring diagram and started troubleshooting again. We called Mike for his suggestions, since he works on a lot of boat issues, and after much checking, Fred pulled the fuse and discovered that the reset button was not working. Once he wired a new fuse in place, we had power – BIG UP! And now we have a backup solenoid in the spare parts box.

Friday morning dawned bright and we headed down the ICW to Peck Lake, south of Stuart. Jupiter Island is a barrier island that protects this anchorage. It is part of the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and only accessible by boat, so there are few people on its wild shore.  We dropped the hook amidst the 7 boats anchored here, and were happy to connect with Jeanne and Sheldon aboard Shank’s Mare from Brooklyn NY. We met at Vero Beach when Lisa and Jeanne were sharing radio net duties. The past several days have been filled with gorgeous beach walks, shell picking, sunshine, and shared sundowners and meals. Shank’s Mare showed us all the best cruising spots on Long Island Sound, and maybe we will get to explore them later this summer. These are the things that make all the “downs” seem less formidable.

After some hard analysis, we bid Shank’s Mare fair seas as they headed south this morning without us.  We have decided that Ritual’s engine needs a serious rebuild before we go further away from the US. After calls to mechanics from Ft. Lauderdale to Georgia and the Carolinas and even to Boston, we are heading back to the Annapolis area for engine work. Andy, the one who helped us last fall, was the only mechanic to say “yes” to our rebuild, and we are grateful!  We hope to visit the Georgian Islands and Charleston, which we skipped on the way down.  And the boat will be laid up during the time we had planned to be in Michigan in July, so – at least for right now – we are happy (enough) to head back north.

Fair seas – Fred and Lisa

Hello from beautiful Vero Beach, Florida! Well – they don’t call it Velcro Beach for nothing.  As it turns out, this has been a great place to be as unplanned events unfolded.  In our last update we mentioned that Lisa’s brother was to join us for our trip to the Bahamas. We were excited to be coaching him on his sailing skills, while he taught us more about fishing and the single sideband radio. Dave was retired Army/Special Forces, with a wealth of diving experience and use of the SSB radio.  Our entire family was shocked and deeply saddened by his sudden death in Colorado on Jan. 26, a week after that last post. He had a seizure and two heart attacks and, despite immediate EMT assistance, didn’t make it to the hospital.  Another harsh reminder to live life to the fullest every day because this ain’t no dress rehearsal. 

Because of our proximity to Orlando, Lisa was able to catch a direct flight to Denver, meet daughter Lauren who flew there from Seattle, and be with her niece and nephew and their children for the memorial service in Colorado Springs.  The service was outdoors with full military honors, and it was so heartwarming to see the turnout from the community.  Thank goodness we had packed some cold weather clothing, since it was 9 degrees in Colorado those first few days. Fred stayed in FL to keep the boat going and tend to the cats, as well as deliver Lisa to and from the airport, 2 hours away.

Fred had also planned a return trip to Michigan the first week of March, and we had prepared for flights from the Bahamas, but it seemed crazy to rush over there just to put him on a plane. Plus, the flight alone from Georgetown to Miami (1 hour) was $500 bucks!  Plan B was to get to Miami, but that would leave Lisa in new surroundings, alone on anchor.  You know the saying – “A bird in hand…”, so once again we opted to stay put, where we are secure on a mooring, know our way around, have access to great services and transportation, and know many of the cruisers around us.

Mid-February brought visits from friends!  Barb and Steve were visiting friends in Stuart, about an hour south of us, and drove up for a day.  And Doug and Sara (our world-cruising mentors) came all the way over from Sarasota.  Our previous buddy boat MT Pockets also spent a day here as they transited to their new permanent boat home in Stuart. It was wonderful to share time with dear friends.  It certainly helped blunt the next bout of sad news as Lisa’s youngest brother, who had been suffering through a very aggressive cancer, died in Virginia on Feb. 23. It was a bit of a sucker punch to lose the two youngest of five siblings within a month. Being “grounded” in a familiar spot was helpful.

At the end of February, Fred flew out of Melbourne, just 45 minutes north of here, into Traverse City to stay with friends while he completed some appointments. There is a great little airport there, similar to TC’s, and so much easier to access than big, busy Orlando. Again, warm clothes came in handy as he adjusted to 20 degrees and snow. Business meetings – check, physical and prescriptions – check, eye doctor – check.  Lisa sadly missed the friends gathering as she stayed to keep the boat going and kitties content.

Life here in the anchorage is great. There are many things to love about this spot. Numerous boats stay here all winter and the weekly dinner and cruisers social makes it easy to meet others. Lima Bravo, a trawler from Harbor Springs, left 2 days ago, and a sailboat from Charlevoix (Sunshine) arrived yesterday. Lisa has been helping with the morning cruiser’s radio net. We enjoy our beach walks and are hoping to see some sea turtles come ashore since their nesting season has begun.  With the warming weather the manatees have returned to the mangroves, and Lisa had her first sighting at the dinghy dock. Public art is everywhere, from the painted sea turtles around town, to sidewalk mosaics, to tiled posts at the park depicting various environments at different times of the day.  We can get just about anywhere on the free bus, and restaurants and services are abundant.  We are, however, wanting to continue our journey!

Since Fred’s return, we have discovered an issue with our charging system.  The electrician has been aboard, and we will know later this week if we are up for a new bank of house batteries. Once that is resolved, we STILL hope to head for the Bahamas.  Cruising friends keep assuring us that April and May are the best months to visit, so we shall see!

Fair winds, Fred and Lisa

PS – we are on the Atlantic Ocean, so that photo is a sunRISE, believe it or not!

We got comfortable in St. Augustine. First, it was warm! We had high temperatures of 75-80 degrees between Christmas and New Years – such a welcome change!  It was so pleasant to ride the bikes, walk the neighborhoods, and even wash the boat.  Second, we easily found our way around to the services we needed.  It may sound silly, but this can be a challenge when every stop is new and one is constantly consulting maps and Google for stores, distances, hours, locations, Uber costs (or is there a bus?), etc.  Yes, we have discovered Instacart, but the substitutions can be frustrating, and actually, the shopping is an outing for us. It allows us to explore a bit and happen across “local” things we would otherwise miss.  Third, it was nice to be somewhere festive over the holidays. The Nights of Lights had the entire old town illuminated, and people seemed genuinely happy to be out and about. We masked indoors, but enjoyed drinks and meals and music on beautiful outdoor patios!  We connected with previously met cruisers, and met new ones.  But with chores and deliveries done, the tug to move on finally set in, and we began heading south once again.

No leg of this journey seems complete without something to fix, and this time it was our head (toilet for you non-boaters). We had a little leak where the bowl meets the base, and it was getting worse. Lisa changed out the rubber seals, but noticed a lot a crazing at the ceramic base.  The leak was better for a day or two, and then got much worse. When we pulled the bowl off to inspect again, the ceramic base was in pieces!  We checked with three supply companies but the bowl is no longer made (like SO many other things on our boat), and a new head costs more than ten boat units (b.o.a.t. – break out another thousand). We finally found a bowl on ebay, and it is being shipped to a location further south for us to pick up. In the meantime, we pieced it back together with JB Weld. It is holding for now, and we are sitting gently!

The ICW along this coast is fairly straight, and since the offshore weather would have had us motoring anyway, we opted to stay “inside”.  South of St. Augustine are several parks and nature preserves, and the shores were wild with many osprey and dolphins.  We spent our first night at Palm Coast Marina since there are few anchorages along this stretch, and we like to keep the trip legs to 30-40 miles. Our second night was near New Smyrna Beach, where we anchored just off the ICW channel near the yacht club (no reciprocity). We lingered over coffee in the morning, watching the dolphins feed.  We also began watching for manatees, for which many caution signs are posted. Apparently we missed them in the Haulover Canal because we were watching all the little fishing boats and kayakers passing right in front of us! It has been a tough year for the manatees, with over 1100 starving to death in 2021. Climate change and pollution have killed the grasses they feed on. There are several efforts underway to feed them, and try to save the emaciated ones they can catch.

 We spent the next couple days at the Titusville marina, riding out some strong winds. As we pulled into the slip, the man on the neighboring boat says “Hi – I’m from where your boat is from”.  Lisa (much too literally) says “Oh – Taiwan!?”.  Duh – no, he was raised on the Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City!  We also visited with the crew of Toloa, whom we had met in North Carolina. They are from Colorado, as was the crew of Carina, so we talked skiing as much as sailing! We don’t usually think of folks from the mountainous west as sailors, but they have struck a nice balance between sea and mountains.

Titusville is adjacent to the Cape Canaveral Peninsula and the Kennedy Space Center.  We were bummed that we had just missed a Space-Ex launch, but elated to find out there would be another while we were transiting south.  We were anchored about 30 miles south of there in Melbourne, with a gloriously clear sky and full moon, and got to see the rocket launch at 9 pm! It started as a huge red glow at the skyline, and then the projectile rose into the sky and flew right over the moon!  The rocket carried 49 satellites for the Starlink broadband internet network. Sure hope we will be able to tap into that soon!

Our next stop was Vero Beach. We had planned to only spend a night here at anchor, but the weather forecast (and SV Toloa) encouraged us to take a mooring ball and stick around for a few days. They call this place “Velcro Beach” for a reason. Talk about a comfortable place for cruisers!  There are docks, but most boats are on moorings in the south or north mooring fields in a very protected lagoon. And most of the 57 moorings have 2 boats rafted up. We haven’t seen this done anywhere else. Moorings are 20 bucks a night vs $80-100 for a slip, so it’s kind of a no brainer.  It is so fun to see all the different hailing ports and hear the stories of folks who are coming, going and staying. One couple dinghied over to say they were from Harbor Springs, MI.  We met two other couples at the grocery store who have Michigan roots and are just a few boats over from us.  And we see one boat from Marquette, Mi but have not met them yet. There is a free bus that goes to the Atlantic Beach one mile east of here, and also west across the bridge to the main town and services. We walked to the beach through a tunnel of live oaks lining the older neighborhood streets, and rode the bus to the grocery store and Irish Pub. We marveled at all the shrubs and flowers in bloom (hibiscus hedges, bougainvillea, azaleas…). Today is windy and rainy, but we are looking forward to a Michigander happy hour tomorrow. There is a weekly Cruisers gathering on Thursday afternoons and a lunch on Mondays, and a radio net every morning. We can see why people stick around here.

We will be here until the wind/rain passes through early this week, then head to Stuart, where we will pick up the new bowl for the head, and hopefully Lisa’s brother, who wants to make the passage to the Bahamas with us. We also hope to have a visit from some TC friends staying in Sarasota. We have a lot of provisioning to do, and need to time a covid test for within 3 days of our arrival in the Bahamas. Tests are hard to find here at the moment, and it will have to be timed with a good weather window for crossing, so we will see how that goes!

Fair winds, Fred and Lisa

We left Beaufort, SC and by early afternoon were anchored in Broad Creek at Hilton Head Island.  With an encouraging weather window, we decided to head offshore for Florida and save Savannah for another time.  We had a lovely evening watching dolphins and birds along the marshy side of the creek, and enjoyed the Christmas lights of the houses on the developed side.  The following morning we were almost to the Atlantic inlet when the engine belched a big black cloud out from the exhaust! The engine started knocking and we shut it down, and Fred dove into the engine compartment under the floor.  The air intake was clogged with oil, and cleaning that out seemed to solve the problem. But now we were concerned about heading into the ocean for an overnight run. Reluctantly, we decided to head for Savannah after all, because we could stay in the ICW and find a TowBoat if necessary.  We crossed Calibogue Sound into the Cooper River, and hadn’t gone too far when the MT Pockets crew texted about our estimated arrival in St. Augustine.  As we described what happened, Mike (a diesel mechanic), confirmed what Fred had suspected about the air intake. The engine was actually running much smoother than it had for days (surprise), and feeling re-assured, we doubled back to the Sound to make our exit to the ocean.  During this two hours, Lisa contacted the two closest marinas about scheduling a mechanic (none available until after the holidays), cancelled the St Augustine marina reservation, tried to reschedule the Savannah reservation, notified our daughter of the change in plans, called off the Savannah reservation, rescheduled the St Augustine marina, and re-notified our daughter that we were, indeed, going offshore to Florida. Guess we are nothing if not flexible!  

As we made the jog from the Calibogue Sound inlet into the Savannah River channel, we were watching for ships, and it seemed quiet enough, until the large horn blast from a huge container ship made us jump!  That sound goes straight to the gut.  It was approaching fast from around the bend, and we were glad we were running just outside the channel markers and could stay out if its way!  We were relieved as we passed its stern and crossed the channel, and could see another ship further out making its entry approach.  Happy to be headed away from any congested areas, and looking forward to warmer weather, we headed south down the Georgian shore.

Following seas again made for a bit of rocking, but the autopilot was working better, and we took shifts for the overnight hours. We had a beautiful moonrise about 9:30 pm, and it stayed with us until dawn.  It makes such a difference when you can see the horizon, versus the blind faith you need when it is pitch black and you must rely on the chart and radar screens only.  We timed our arrival to the St John River channel for first light, and entered after the sun came up. This channel to Jacksonville is wide and deep – a safer bet than the St Augustine inlet, which folks warned us needed to be entered at slack tide and whose channel markers were frequently moved due to shoaling, and therefore not well charted.  From the St John River we entered the ICW once again, for the 30-mile run south to St Augustine.   

We arrived at the St Augustine Municipal Marina on Christmas Eve Day, and WOW, we were glad we had pushed to get here. The marina is in the heart of the downtown historic area, and EVERYTHING was lit up for the holidays. Considered the nation’s oldest city (1565!), it boasts Spanish Colonial architecture, narrow cobblestone streets, and the Castillo de San Marcos – a 17^th century fortress that is a National Monument.  Feeling the need for a little tradition, (and probably against our better covid judgement), we attended Christmas Eve Candlelight service at Trinity Episcopal Church, a 200-year old church on the plaza. The wooded, beam supported ceiling was stunning, the stained glass windows had dates from the 1700’s, and it felt great to sing carols (masks on!) and be with others for a change.  Across the street, the plaza was lit up and people were leading carols from the gazebo. Santa drove by on a horse-drawn carriage, and every restaurant and most businesses were open (on Christmas Eve!). It reminded Lisa of Christmas in Brazil. To top it all off, it was 70 degrees!

We spent a few days at the marina getting acclimated. The flannel sheets and heavy down comforter were tucked away. Laundry was done and packages received. We enjoyed walks around downtown, which, despite the holiday crowds, still allowed for some patio happy hours!  We caught up with MT Pockets, our buddy boat from Jersey, and met several cruisers heading south.  We moved to a mooring ball for a few days, with a view of the lights along the promenade. Every evening the tourist pirate ship, schooner, and “booze cruise” barges would tour around the mooring field and along downtown, each with their own soundtrack and happy people.

The municipal marina slips and moorings were all reserved for the New Year’s weekend, so we found a slip up the San Sebastian River, on the west side of downtown. We stumbled on a sweet spot, near all the services (groceries, marine supplies, hardware, on site restaurant with tiki bar, etc.) and also quiet! It has been a lovely respite from all the hubbub and crowds downtown. We will return to downtown on Thursday for a few more days. We hear it has quieted considerably and we are looking forward to visiting the fort and eating out without the holiday crowds. Then it will be onward to the south.

[from Fred: One of the continuing aspects of this life-style is the constant change over of our “friends”.  When attached to our land-based home our friends (and certainly our neighbors) were fairly constant.  We enjoyed that immensely!  Now, that constancy is not so much.  While we were in Beaufort, SC (Bewfort, not Bowfort) my beautiful wife found a T-shirt which she assured me I had to wear.  It stated to the world, “I like my boat and maybe three other people”.

It made me think about what this life style is evolving to.  We have met many people along the way.  I would probably rate them, some of them, differently than my wife.  But generally, in spite of my reluctance to engage in small talk, I have enjoyed them all (OK, not all, but most).  I, however, find that I look forward to seeing people we have met again.  And I am developing the same attachment to some of them as I have to the “older” friends and family we still miss and keep in touch with.

So, the only thing that seems to change is the growing number of friends and acquaintances we love to follow and keep track of.  And that’s a good thing … right!?]

Fair winds, and Happy New Year! – Fred and Lisa

There was a good chop on the bay as we bounced south across the James River and headed into Norfolk and the beginning of the Virginia Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). On the suggestion of friends who have gone before us, we decided to stay “inside” on the ICW to Beaufort, NC, rather than venture “outside” into the Atlantic Ocean and south around Cape Hatteras. This late in the year, the weather rounding the Cape can be a bit dicey, plus the ICW offers us the occasional dock (think heater) on these still cold nights. One of the limiting factors on the ICW is the bridges. Most have a vertical clearance of 65 ft at low tide, and we are lucky that our mast, at 59 ft, will clear them. There are also several that must be opened – some on demand, and some on a schedule – typically hourly.

As we entered the Elizabeth River our boat suddenly felt very small compared to the ships docked at the Norfolk Naval Station and the Norfolk International Terminals.  The entire left bank was lined with giant aircraft carriers and destroyers, followed by huge container ships.  The industrial feel continued for about 10 miles until we entered the “Virginia Cut” and the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. There is one long lock on this stretch, with a 1 to 2 foot drop to manage the difference in the northern and southern tidal flows. We were delighted to find that one side was entirely padded with huge rubber bumpers! Sure wish the grungy locks on the Erie Canal had something like this, instead of having to use our own fenders – which, even after cleaning, will never be quite the same.

We tied to a dock just the other side of the lock for the night. With several services close by, we made a bike trip to run errands and hit the grocery store. Upon our return, a man from a nearby trawler came over to invite us to dinner – his wife was from Grand Rapids and of course they had noticed our Michigan hailing port.  We already had dinner in the oven, but we chatted about the trip. They were leaving their boat here for the winter, but invited us to visit and use their personal dock on Mobjack Bay off the Chesapeake if we return next Spring!

We left early the next morning to be sure we could make Coinjock, the only dock between us and the Albemarle Sound. We followed the buoys marking the channel down the North Landing River, and into the narrow cut that bisects this small town. The dock stretches along the river bank for 1500 feet, and the dock hands wedged us in, leaving just a foot or two on either end. Even though we were seasonally late for the southern migration, the dock was busy with several sailboats and several more very large power boats. We enjoyed good seafood at the marina restaurant, and chatted with the other boaters about a weather window for crossing the sound. The 14-mile crossing of this shallow bay (20 feet was the deepest we saw) can present a rough ride with high winds against the tides. Given the predicted 15-20 knot north winds, we decided to hang out one more night and wait for the lighter southwesterlies to kick in.  Haha, what started out well in the morning became 15-20 knots on the nose, but we persevered until we got to the anchorage area at the southern end of the Alligator River. It was such a relief to pull into the lee of a marsh bank and sit in quiet water!  The sunset was beautiful, and the good news about the cold evenings is that there were no bugs (reportedly a big deal in warmer weather!).

Our next leg followed another canal cut through the marshes. The Alligator River – Pungo River Canal runs for 12 miles connecting the two rivers.  It was another “African Queen” day as we motored along, taking care to stay in the center of the ditch, which was littered on either side with intimidating tree stumps. We then followed the Pungo River to the small town of Belhaven. We had only intended to spend one night here, but again became captivated with the spot, and the other cruisers we met here. One night turned to two, it warmed to 70 degrees, and when our neighbor Mike offered the swim platform of his Grand Banks trawler for installing our monitor self-steering wind vane, two more days were quickly added!  We had searched from Annapolis through Georgia for a technician who could do this, to no avail.  Now we were able to back Ritual right up to the perfect deck and do it ourselves! It is a bit scary to drill holes in your boat, and we spent a lot of time fitting and marking before finally getting the struts in place.  We had detailed instructions and drawings, and in the end, it came out very well!

Belhaven is small, but there is a fantastic hardware store right across the street, along with a few good restaurants. The marina is also small, but offers a lovely deck, lawn sports (croquet, corn hole, putting green!), large bathrooms, whimsical décor, and 3$ wine and beer! We enjoyed the sunsets and getting to know our fellow cruisers – one which we had met previously, and 2 more we are still in touch with.

With the weather again turning colder, we headed out for Beaufort, NC.  We spent one night at anchor up Broad Creek, then ran with following seas south past Oriental toward Beaufort.  As we neared the entry to Adams Creek, and what was to be the last of the ICW for us, two huge shrimp boats appeared on our stern, moving straight toward the same entrance.  They would not answer on the radio, so we throttled back to let them pass, and it was actually helpful to watch them maneuver through the shoaling entryway and follow their tracks. We took a slip at Town Creek Marina in Beaufort (pronounced Bow-fort) to wait for a weather window to finally head offshore. We dined with the crew of Toloa, and met up with the crews of Simple Pleasures and Licorne (all had been in Belhaven with us).  The harbor area and little downtown were full of boats, shops and restaurants, all decorated for Christmas. The marina offered a courtesy car so we could visit the grocery store, Ace hardware, liquor store and seafood market.  We were sorry not to have time to visit the Rachel Carson Reserve, just across the bay, with its beaches, wildlife and even wild ponies! 

It seemed we finally had a good forecast to head south towards Florida, with plenty of options for plan B if things got uncomfortable.  We headed out the inlet on the ebbing tide, following Licorne, though we lost them within a few hours.  Seas were only a foot, and winds were light as we motorsailed south. It was midnight when we skirted Cape Fear and its infamous shoals, but the large moon helped with vision, and there was only an occasional distant boat on the radar. Unfortunately, our auto-helm steering kept going off track, so we took turns hand steering. (Not only was the monitor windvane not yet rigged to the steering wheel; it only works when we are actually sailing). The moon set around 3 am, turning the world to black.  Waves and wind were both growing (NOT part of the original forecast!), and we were tired. Continuing on would mean another night at sea to safely enter a good inlet. In order to make the ride more pleasant, we raised sails and turned on a reach, heading for Winyah Bay to our west.  It is amazing how much better the boat feels when under sail, even in rough seas!

We entered Winyah Bay and made our way upriver to an anchorage just before the ICW, greeted by dolphins and eagles! We debated about visiting Georgetown – reputed to be a very historic stop, but it was 10 miles out of our way, so we decided to press on. After a gorgeous and quiet night we motored into the ICW once again. The issue on these stretches of rivers/canals is depth.  We entered on a rising tide, but by the time we passed McClellandville, the tide was at dead low.  It was a little creepy looking at the mud banks on either side of us! We continued, watching the depth sounder and charts closely, and managed to make it all the way through to an anchorage near the Isle of Palms, just outside Charleston.  We found a good spot in the marsh, with distant views of the Charleston Bridge and homes on a bluff.  This would have been a good inlet to return out to sea, but the forecast was now for NO wind, and since we would be motoring anyways, we opted to continue on the ICW.  It was a bit sad not to spend time in Charleston, but a day would not have been enough, so we opted to save it for a possible return in the spring. 

We motored on to another marsh anchorage, and then to Beaufort, South Carolina (this one is pronounced Bew-fort).  We managed to time the shallowest cut to the highest tide this time, and arrived at the marina by 3 pm.  We had heard good things about this town and it did not disappoint!  The marina is right downtown, which has nice shops and restaurants, and is fronted along the waterway by a large park.  Homes date from the 1700’s – antebellum, surrounded by huge live oaks dripping with moss. It has warmed up again, and we spent Friday night watching the outdoor movie (Goonies – an old favorite!) in the park.  Many movies were filmed here –including The Big Chill, The Great Santini, and parts of Forrest Gump. We loved the chocolate shop (apparently so did Tom Hanks), and indulged ourselves a bit! We have been debating about spending Christmas in Savannah, but everything will be closed, so we are planning to head for Hilton Head tomorrow, and on from there.  Hopefully we can be in St. Augustine, FL by New Years Eve, where we look forward to spending a little time and catching up with MT Pockets, our buddy boat from back in New Jersey!

We’re finding Christmas with big bits missing; our friends and family. We suppose its one of the payments for the lifestyle we have now chosen. We will focus on the opportunities we will have in the new year for visits from all!

Wishing you all a peaceful holiday!  Merry Christmas and a safe, sane New Years – Lisa and Fred

We got an early morning start out of Back Creek in Annapolis, heading south to Solomons Island, MD.  There was actually a light coat of frost on the deck when we left – brrr!  We had motored about an hour when Fred noticed that the engine had quit charging – again! Really?!?  We had just spent a lot of time and money fixing this very issue, or so we thought. Fred dove into the engine and found the alternator belt completely shredded, laying in the bottom of the engine compartment! He quickly installed our spare belt, then called Andy, our engine repair guy. Everything else seemed okay, and we decided since it was the old belt, it had met its natural end of life. All else seemed correct, so we carried on.

As we got close to Solomons, we passed a huge CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) ship loading from a pipeline off the shore.  Security was evident, and we cautiously passed all the “restricted area” markers. The Solomons Island harbor area is actually about 5 miles inland, up a creek. This is typical of Chesapeake harbors – off the main bay and up a more protected creek.  We motored into Back Creek (yeah – not such an original name!) to an anchorage area, and dropped the hook next to a big catamaran, which was kind of hogging the middle. The wind was projected to build and temps were falling into the 30’s, so we planned to take a slip the next day. When we woke up the next morning, the Cat was gone, but our deck was speckled with mud – probably from them hosing off their anchor!  As the wind veered, we may have been close to their anchor – we assume it was their parting shot. (side bar – we are comfortable that when we set our anchor we have plenty of swing room, after years of very crowded anchorages in Puget Sound, but sh#t happens).

We spent 2 nights at a very nice marina, enjoying heat on 35 degree nights as we were “plugged in” and waiting for another engine part to arrive. (We could run the heater from the generator if we are anchored, but the generator is loud, sucks gasoline, and stinks up the cockpit. With flannel sheets and a down comforter, we do not get cold in bed, but dressing on these frigid mornings is a race to see how many layers one can don very quickly!) The engine part ended up in Traverse City by mistake – a bummer, since it was actually only 90 minutes away by car!  It finally arrived.

There is a wonderful Chesapeake museum here which includes the original screwpile lighthouse from Drum Point (so named because the iron legs were screwed into the ocean bottom), as well as a lot of history of the area, and also featured otters and fish and other sea-dwelling creatures. We met an interesting younger couple on a Catalina 30 who had left Philadelphia and were on their new adventure, heading to Florida. And found a sister ship (Slocum 43) at the docks, but missing from our group database. We moved to the Solomons Island Yacht Club for the next few nights – a bit less expensive, and we were treated as long lost friends. We even found the GTYC burgee hanging in the clubhouse (Kismet?)  We were included in the taco/fish dinner night, and it was a good place to ride out the big winds before finally departing.

Belatedly we headed south toward Deltaville, with an overnight anchorage in Cockrell Creek. We anchored just south of the last menhaden fish processing plant in this area, and its fleet of big boats. Menhaden are a type of herring, integral to the Chesapeake food chain and used for nutritional supplements, food additives and feed for livestock and fish farms. Although not endangered, many of the plants have closed, and this one is owned by a Canadian company. Fortunately, the rumored “smell” was not detected.  The shores of this bay at low tide were littered with oysters – it was tempting to pick them, but not knowing the environment or regulations, we let them be. We also saw our first pelicans here – they really do look like mini pterodactyls as they fly by!

We had been looking forward to visiting the Deltaville Yacht Club, since fellow GTYC members have been here before us. We maneuvered through the shallow channel and anchored in Jackson Creek, but were sorry to find that the club was undergoing a major dock construction project and had no space for us, nor was the building open for services. We were in a great spot for the forecasted 20 kt north winds, but the next day we decided to go around to Fishing Bay Marina for a slip in order to have shore power for the 30 degree night and be out of the winds. It was worth the 5-mile trek around the point to the marina, and we ended up staying 2 nights, especially since they offered a courtesy car to town.  We also picked up one more engine part – for now! We can certainly see how all these spots would be very attractive when the weather is warm – pools, beach access, etc!

From Deltaville we headed to Hampton, VA – our last Chesapeake port before entering the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).  We were excited to spot our first porpoise as we left Fishing Bay, and our first dolphins as we got closer to Hampton. It was a lumpy ride but the following seas slowly laid as the wind died down throughout the day. We headed for Old Point Comfort Marina – it is on the north side of the James River, across from the Norfolk area where we would enter the ICW.  It is also adjacent to Fort Monroe, one of the earliest forts built to protect this area in 1861, right before the Civil War.  Also known as the Freedom Fortress, many southern slaves found sanctuary here. The earliest fort on this site was established in 1609 by Capt. John Smith and the Virginia Company. The fort was deactivated in 2011 and is now a National Monument run by the National Park Service.  It is also the only fort we have seen with a moat!

Fellow Slocum owners Tom and Ilse (Serenata) live here, and we were so happy to have dinner with them, and then spend Thanksgiving Day with them and several of their friends. Again our cruising family extended their incredible hospitality!  They also drove us on several errands, and we visited their boat to see some of the projects they have completed. We were able to walk Fort Monroe and a bit of beach before the sunset on Friday, and were off the dock Saturday morning to cross the James River to Norfolk and enter the ICW.

[At this point in our journey we have been asked by numerous people – how do we find living on a boat?  We have met many couples on many boats and that seems a considered choice depending on the couple.  In the beginning we tried hard to find a boat that would accommodate our “comfort levels”.  Ritual does.  She’s large enough for us to easily move around on and yet compact enough to feel safe, even in big seas.  And life has a habit of flowing into a pace and, yes, ritual that is both comfortable and reinforcing.

While “fixing the boat in exotic places” is not Fred’s most treasured time, it’s not that much different than our home on land – just more immediate.  You can’t afford to let things linger.  Our project list changes daily but seldom grows smaller.  And the down time waiting for weather and/or parts affords more opportunities than we would like to complete the tasks.

What we have come to really appreciate is the ever-present boating community that surrounds us every day wherever we are.  We appreciate and miss our friends and neighbors from home.  And we have found the new “neighbors” to be interesting and generous people.  It enriches us and renews us that all of us, regardless of background and persuasion, just want to be helpful and kind.]

Fair winds, Fred and Lisa