December 12, Wednesday
We are home in Albany now and until the 5th of January. Mandate is in St. Mary's GA where we found a dock for only 7 dollars a foot for the month---a real deal in the marina world. We quickly found out why--sand fleas abound kind of like black flies in the spring up here. So we asked a shopkeeper when they go away, he said "never". Along with the fleas come the black birds that eat berries and then sit on your mast spreaders and defecate all over the boat leaving purple stains and seeds that sound from the inside like someone is hitting you with a bibi gun. We took the cue from boats around us and strung up festive pieces of barrier tape from our rigging in hopes that would discourage the buggers. We tarped as much as we could too.
St Marys is a sweet little southern town nontheless, with live oaks, Spanish moss, and lots of community spirit. Cindy, a local bartender is a 55 year old 200 lb. former porno queen who dresses like one and insults you --in jest all night long.
As with many spots we travel to we encounter people we had met in our brief crusing past; either through friends or at pot luck dinners. With Alli and Chuck on Kairos it was at a dinner in Vero Beach last year we had with Jack, Bill and Laura.
At the local laundramat we met Irene, a Dutch woman who has been singlehanding for the past three years on her 33 foot boat. She is a frisky 60-something who has had four kids and many other lives. Quite a person.
We have made it through some of the toughest of ICW passages in terms of thin water: St. Simon's and Jeckyll Islands are very serpentine as well. The shoaling spots change according to wind and weather so you have to be vigilant; we bumped our way three times, but got off with the serge of the accelerator and lots of determination.
David on Ambling is still travelling with us. He will stay in St. Marys through the holiday. His son's family will join him down there. Wish we could be able to bring all twenty of our family members to us in the south as a Christmas present. Anyway, have a delightful holiday and come join us while we are in the Albany area.
December 5, Wednesday
Had a lovely visit with cousins Phyllis and Nancy and their spouses. Got back on the "road" after Mandate was hauled out and left on slings overnight. We stayed with David that night. Prognosis was that the prop was banged up a little and shaft looked OK. Her vibration is still there but lessened.
We have been to Charlestown SC for a couple of days walking around town and visiting the local Commerce building museum where colonial merchants traded goods and pirates were put in the dungeon. Weather in the 60-70 degree range. We caught up with friends Carla and Rick from Deltaville; they are having some engine and sail work done before getting back on the road. Right now we are navigating through Hell Gate just south of Savannah GA, a really tough area, I should be helping in the cockpit so I will be brief and will fill this in later. Photos of our anchorages will be downloaded when we reach St. Mary's GA; I tried to get some good ones. We are trying to make Ft Lauderdale FL to berth Mandate and catch a flight home, so we are putting in long days.
November 26, Monday
Another mishap. Traveling from Calabash, a lovely town on the NC/SC border to Myrtle Beach SC, we encountered a long stretch of flotsum and consequently hit a "deadhead" (partially sunken tree). The sound was an awful thunk da da thunk and now our prop is sounding the same.
We hobbled into Hague Marina Myrtle Beach for repairs. What a boneyard! Looks as though it has been neglected since the sixties. We are awaiting a diver to come and assess our prop damage. Rob was going to dive himself if it weren't for the stray electrical currents and the resident alligator. He may do it anyway if the guy doesn't show...he's a few hours late already.
Two steps forward and two steps back.
New boating friends, Rodney and Sue on Glenlyon, and Kathleen and Don on Andiamo went out with us in Calabash and we had anticipated traveling together for a while.
My cousins are due to drop in for a visit, take us out for a shop and dinner. All is well and I can't wait to get back on the water!
November 20, Tuesday
Haven't gotten as far down the "ditch" as anticipated. On the 13 th, we traveled to Buck Island and spent the night and then decided the next day not to make our crossing in gale force winds that blew across the open sound we were facing. Rob had bled the high pressure side of our diesel engine and forgot to release the deceleration levers, as a result Mandate was limping, coughing and smoking back to Coinjock Marina, a place about 4 miles upriver so we could regroup and wait out the storm. We picked up another boat for our traveling party, Pegasus with Marty and Charlie on board, two retired DC lawyers on their second voyage to Bahamas.
Awaking to icy docks the next morning with engine fixed, we crossed Albermarle Sound in tamer but still high seas: wind on our aft starboard quarter for about 4 hours 15-20 knots; a bumpy ride but nice because sails were up. That night exhausted, we pulled in to an old favorite anchorage in Alligator River where I had made a quick watercolor sketch as the sun was setting back in June.
The next day we traveled to Bellhaven NC, a new place to us but the cute little town center was rather inaccessible as it was miles from our anchorage with unfavorably high wind making it not condusive to travel in our inflatable. We opted for an evening of dinner with Marty and Charlie, David and Jane on Ambling. Jane jumped ship the next day leaving David as a single hander. Luckily we've had non challenging weather and he has been managing the boat quite well. Traveling in flat seas, we pulled into Adams Creek anchoring in 7 feet of water just in back of a sunken sailboat with mast and rigging sticking out of the water--very spooky for me.
Yesterday we pulled in to Beaufort NC and have been here for the last two days. Good friends from back home, Mark and Chris arrived and took us all over town shopping and cleaning ourselves up. We met up with our Beaufort friends Walt and Constance. Tonight Rob and David are out at an open mike performance in one of the local wine bars where Walt is performing.
Tomorrow we plan to travel either offshore to Wrightsville Beach or travel inside--depends on the weather. I have bought Thanksgiving dinner to cook on Ambling; this time last year we were still in VA so we are at least a state (NC) ahead of ourselves !! A good rule of thumb we figure is that a car averages in one hour what a sailboat averages in a day...think about that...
I will download pictures on to the site the next chance I get on the internet.
November 13
We are hanging on the free town dock across from Atlantic Yacht Basin near Chesapeake VA. We set sail on Sunday, making Willsborough Bay the first evening for anchorage. Woke up to hear Revelie and Star Spangled Banner being played in the nearby Naval Base on Veterans Day.
We motored through Norfolk Harbor past the long lines of Naval hulks that gape into the bay threatening Homeland Security repercussions if you go within 200 yards of them. Not any sailing yet--winds have been doing 360's around us since we started.
About a mile from Atlantic Yacht Basin, David lost his engine due to a clogged fuel filter.
We turned around and towed His boat, Ambling, back from the disaster site, just in front of a bascule bridge that was open. Yeaaa little miss Mandate, she's such a heroine ...
November 8, Thursday
David with Jane, his crew are underway from the Potomic and will join us late today or early tomorrow. We are puttering on the boat in the bay. The place has cleared out and we are anxious to get started. Nights have been in the high 30's and low 40's brrr.. cold when you have no heat.
The other night we spent watching a movie in the cruiser's lounge with ten other people who are staying on their boats.
November 3 Saturday
Sitting on the hard still due to Hurricane Noel, boat yard management will not drop Mandate in till Monday. We can always find more work to do!! Rob is adjusting the timing on the engine and I will work on some epoxy jobs we created by removing the old GPS and RADAR. Our friend David has found crew and anticipates that he will meet us here by Monday. The weather should be clear and we possibly will depart together from D'ville on Tuesday.
Thursday October 11—Wednesday October 24, 2007
(Happy 12th Birthday Heather Rose)
We are in Deltaville Marina on Jackson Creek in VA, just one of our second homes.
It has been almost three weeks of perfect weather getting Mandate ready for sail. We are on the “hard” rewiring, cleaning, varnishing, painting and replacing what did not work. Our friend Doug helped us get started with some systems changes, and then he left last Thursday with the van we borrowed to get down here.
Since rent for the yard space has been paid through the 31st, we are doing as much as we can before launch. This is a great place to work and spend time with many friends, old and new. Rewarding ourselves for working hard all day, we occasionally join sailors from the boat yard and marina at 6:30 in the gazebo and cook our dinners together on the BBQs. New people hail from all over the world share boat ideas, angst and sailing tales over bottles of wine.
We are communicating with David, our friend in the Potomac about possibly boat- buddying down the coast with him until FL. He is looking for crew to help him sail his 46’ Morgan to the Keys. No plans are concrete except that our insurance will not allow us to travel south of Norfolk until after November 1. Like last year, we will stay in the states until after Christmas simply because there are few really secure places to leave the boat in the Bahamas—secure from the weather that is. We have talked of Puerto Rico this winter, but that is still an idea.
(Happy 12th Birthday Heather Rose)
We are in Deltaville Marina on Jackson Creek in VA, just one of our second homes.
It has been almost three weeks of perfect weather getting Mandate ready for sail. We are on the “hard” rewiring, cleaning, varnishing, painting and replacing what did not work. Our friend Doug helped us get started with some systems changes, and then he left last Thursday with the van we borrowed to get down here.
Since rent for the yard space has been paid through the 31st, we are doing as much as we can before launch. This is a great place to work and spend time with many friends, old and new. Rewarding ourselves for working hard all day, we occasionally join sailors from the boat yard and marina at 6:30 in the gazebo and cook our dinners together on the BBQs. New people hail from all over the world share boat ideas, angst and sailing tales over bottles of wine.
We are communicating with David, our friend in the Potomac about possibly boat- buddying down the coast with him until FL. He is looking for crew to help him sail his 46’ Morgan to the Keys. No plans are concrete except that our insurance will not allow us to travel south of Norfolk until after November 1. Like last year, we will stay in the states until after Christmas simply because there are few really secure places to leave the boat in the Bahamas—secure from the weather that is. We have talked of Puerto Rico this winter, but that is still an idea.
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use Neuse River David, singlehands with his autopilot at he helm on a calm day.
