We spent a few days in Oriental. This is a pretty little town and very friendly to cruisers.  We were able to borrow bicycles so we could go to the Piggly Wiggly for groceries.  We spent some time hanging out with SANDFLEA and we treated ourselves to ice cream at the Bean.

When we left Oriental we had a nice surprise, we were able to sail for part of the day.  Sailing on the ICW is rare and special.  Eventually when we were meandering down a creek at 3 knots Bill insisted that we turn on the engine.

On our way into Beaufort, NC we were hoping to find some room in Town Creek. We didn't find any room but we did find a sand bank that provided a very secure place to eat lunch while we were waiting for the tide to come up and float us free.

We anchored, then re-anchored, then re-anchored again in Taylor Creek. The town is great, but the anchorage is lousy.  We went for a nice long walk through beautiful neighborhoods in the afternoon. The next morning I spent doing laundry while Bill was working on boat projects. Once we were done with our chores we dinghied over to the Rachel Carson Reserve to have a picnic. On our search for the herd of horses we found huge groups of Fiddler Crabs (what is the collective noun for crabs?).

Friday we made our way to Mile Hammock Bay.  On the way the radio was very busy with boaters calling towboat because they were aground.  We approached one boat that was hard aground near some very confusing temporary buoys that looked like they were leading to a side channel. The red and green were in line parallel to the starboard shore.  The trick was to honor the markers even if they didn't make any sense. We eventually made our way through this area with only a little bit of a bump on the soft mud.  We had a interesting evening in Mile Hammock Bay watching the marines come in on their boats and helicopters.  Scott and Kitty invited us to their boat for dinner.

Saturday the plan was stop for fuel and water at Swan Point then head for Carolina Beach, just south of Wrightsville Beach.  When we were leaving the fuel dock the shifter cable broke.  Luckily we still had one line ashore and were able to retie to the dock.  While Bill was figuring out a way to jury rig the shifter so we could get off the fuel dock I walked next door to Swan Point Marina.  Evelyn Hobbs at the marina is fantastic!  She called around to see if she could find someone to tow us if needed.  Bill was able to take everything apart so he could shift into forward manually and we limped our way to the end of the Swan Point dock.  Evelyn then called her network of contacts and found Steve the Welder who agreed to try to weld the part for us within an hour.  Evelyn then lent us the courtesy car and gave us very clear directions to the welding shop and suggested that we go grocery shopping since we had the car anyway.  The repair is an all day project so we will spend the night at the dock. 

I feel very fortunate to be traveling with Bill.  Not only is he fun to travel with, but he is amazingly good at fixing things.

Cape May to the Neuse River

Monday, October 17^th we left Cape May after a great visit with family.

 Our last overnight was so pleasant I was not dreading this one.  We were very fortunate to see some very cool things on this part of the trip. In the afternoon we saw a whale breaching in the distance. It spent quite a long time on the surface slapping the water with its tail and flippers.  The evening was very clear so we had a wonderful view of a rocket launch.  The sky started glowing at the horizon, then a bright orange fireball climbed into the sky. 

In the morning when we were approaching Norfolk we saw our first pelicans of the trip. They are my favorite birds.  Going through Norfolk is impressive with all of the Navy ships tied up, including the new Zumwalt. 

The Gilmerton Bridge is restricted (will not open) from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. so we stopped for fuel and water around 3:00, then still had to circle around in front of the bridge for over an hour before it opened.  The bridge tender was very nice on the radio.  We went through the Great Bridge Lock just before sunset and tied up alongside the waterway to some trees just as the sun was going down.  TAMURE was on the other side of the waterway so we called them on the phone.  It was great finally catching up to them, but after being underway for over 30 hours we were too tired to visit.  

Wednesday we decided to spend the day at Great Bridge, run some errands, and do some boat projects while resting up from the previous two days.  The weather made a dramatic change, it was 93 degrees in the afternoon.  Scott and Kitty came over to our boat for dinner.  We are enjoying having a boat big enough to comfortably have guests.

Thursday was a nice sunny warm day and we had a pleasant day of motoring to Broad Creek.  We had a fun time on TAMURE with Dan and Donna from GERTIE. It was a flat calm evening which was a good thing for sleeping.  Luckily we put the screens in because when we looked out there were thousands of bugs on the boat.  In the morning every surface was covered with dead bugs. 

The sunrise on Friday was gorgeous with the sun shining through the mist.  We had another nice day on the waterway.  Off Tuckahoe Point one of the dishtowels fell overboard so we had a chance to do a man overboard drill.  We anchored for the night in the Pungo River.  When we came into the anchorage we circled around where we planned to anchor to make sure there was plenty of swing room.  We went below for a few minutes and when we came up on deck again we were shocked to find we were right next to a small grassy island. We could not believe both of us missed this, then we realized that the “island” was undulating in the waves.  Bill checked it out in the dinghy and found that it was a floating mat of grass.  We dinghied over to TAMURE for dinner. The wind was expected to increase to 15-20 after 8:00.  At exactly 8:00 the wind suddenly when from about 5 knots to 20 knots. We made a hurried goodbye and had a fast downwind dinghy ride back to the boat.

Saturday morning was still windy so we decided to head for the Pungo Creek, about 15 miles south.  Before we could leave Bill had to clear a huge mass of grass from the anchor rode.  Although the wind was 15-20, gusting to 25 it was a beautiful day.  The sun was glinting off the water, the white caps were shining, and there were hundreds of small puffy clouds.  We stopped in Bellhaven for fuel which was challenging due to the wind, then anchored in Pungo Creek near TAMURE.

Sunday the temperature had dropped into the high 40s/low 50s in the morning. We pulled up the anchor and set out for Bear Creek.  The wind came up from a useful direction and we had a FANTASTIC time sailing!  It is rare to be able to sail in the ICW, but we were able to sail for hours.  I love this boat!  It is so much fun to sail.   We were making such good time that we continued on and anchored for the night in Broad Creek off the Neuse River. We had drinks on TAMURE with Ben, Tambi, and Molly from SANDFLEA.

Old Lyme, CT to Cape May, NJ

We had a wonderful time with Rick and Robin. They dropped us off at the dock on Saturday afternoon and we gave them a tour of the boat. Willow came aboard but shared Bailey's doubts about boats and seemed happy to leave!  We were planning to head out Saturday afternoon but it  started raining.  Sunday it rained harder and the wind was gusting to 25 knots so we decided to stay another day at the dock.  In the evening, after a long gray, rainy day, we were treated to a bright orange sunset.

Monday, October 10 the sun was shining and the wind was 10-15 at the dock so we headed out.  It was nice to see the sun!  After about a half an hour underway the wind came up to 15-20 with gusts to 30. This was a little more excitement than we were looking for so after reefing then double reefing and still having the rails in the water and spray coming over the dodger we were not having fun so headed into Duck Island Roads and anchored. 

What a difference a day makes!  Although it was cold, 48 degrees inside the boat, the sun was out and there was no wind.  We motored to Ziegler's Cove and had a nice calm relaxing evening.

Wednesday we sailed over to Port Washington and fueled up then picked up one of the free moorings.  Thursday morning we had planned on starting for Cape May, but there was thick fog so we stayed another day.

Friday we finally had decent weather!  We caught the 9:00 a.m. tide through Hells Gate and had a great ride through New York. 

I always dread overnight trips so I was prepared for a long, cold slog to Cape May.  We ended up having a very pleasant trip. The seas were calm and the winds were light so it turned into a motor boat ride, but it was warm, the sun set was beautiful, the full moon provided plenty of light, and the sunrise was gorgeous. 

Saturday morning we pulled into Cape May just after sunset and fueled up and rented a slip for a few nights at Utsch's Marina.  We had much needed showers then went out to breakfast. Doug picked us up and we had a great day at his house with his family.  Jackie is a fun and generous hostess.  Nick and Kelly are all grown up!  Tom and Jerilyn brought Olivia and Chloe so we had a great day.  Tomorrow Jennifer and Woody will drive down so we will have a family reunion! 

Gloucester to Old Lyme, CT

Sunday, October 2nd we left Gloucester on a foggy rainy morning with the wind out of the NE at 15-20 with gusts to 25 with 5-8 foot seas.  Not the most comfortable day on the water...

We pulled into Scituate in the early afternoon and flagged down the boat club launch to ask about moorings. The mooring fee included launch service, showers (yippee!) and use of their club house with a fireplace and a huge flat screen TV showing the Patriots game.  We went for a walk into town. During our walk the weather could not decide if it wanted to be foggy, or rainy, and settled on drizzly as the best compromise.

One of the most vexing questions at the dinghy dock is whether the outboard should be up or down. The boat club solved this in a very clever fashion.

Monday was sunny and calm. Although we had to motor most of the way it was a treat to have calm seas.  We timed the tide perfectly for the Cape Cod Canal and had a smooth, fast trip. 

This little tug boat that passed us in the canal had a perfect name, Capt. Shorty.

 

We had planned on spending the night in Onset, but we were making such good time we decided to go to Mattapoisett.  We stopped for fuel at the boatyard.  They were starting to decommission for the winter and had moved the diesel tank so the hose no longer reached the fuel dock so we had to go into the Travellift slip where the hose would reach.  The depth in the Travellift slip seemed to be about 5 feet, 10 inches, which was inconvenient for our 6 foot draft.  Luckily it seemed to be a soft bottom and we bumped our way in and back out.

Tuesday we woke up at 5:30 to get ready for an early start.  In case you are wondering it is still dark at this time of the morning.  We wanted to leave early to avoid coming into Mystic in the dark as we have done on previous trips.  We had 15-20 knots of wind with following seas and  were averaging 6.5 knots for the day.  We had planned on 5-6 knots so we got in early enough to check out an anchorage at Mason's Island and then go for a harbor tour through Noank and Mystic.  We were very happy to see one of our favorite boats, GRAYLING.

Wednesday we headed for Old Lyme, CT.  This was a short run of about 20 miles so we had a leisurely breakfast of coconut bread French toast before leaving.  The sun was out and although it was chilly the day was beautiful.  We had a marvelous sail with the current and had a great time.  This was one of the days when sailing was pure joy. 

We docked at Old Lyme Dock Co around lunch time.  Robin drove down to pick us up and we are staying at her house for a few days and being spoiled in her beautiful home eating her delicious food and admiring Rick's progress on his airplane. It amazes me that someone can build their own airplane! Hopefully some day I will get to go for a ride.

Rockland,ME to Gloucester, MA

We left Rockland on Tuesday, September 27th after the stowaways decided they did not want to join us. We spent the first night in Poorhouse Cove in So. Bristol and had a great time with the MacNeil's having dinner and talking about boats. 

Wednesday was cold, overcast, and the seas were short, steep, and uncomfortable.  We remembered that we have no schedule and there is no reason to be unnecessarily miserable so we stopped in Boothbay Harbor. We had a pleasant surprise, Mike Sharratt was at the dock. We had a nice visit and went out to eat at the brew pub.

Thursday was sunny but still cold.  We sailed to Cape Porpoise Harbor.  On the way we saw a flock of sea birds diving to catch fish that dolphins were driving to the surface.

Friday was overcast and cold. We sailed to Gloucester in 5 - 8 foot seas with 15-25 knots of wind.  We only used the jib but were still averaging over 6 knots.  This boat is fun to sail!

Friday night we listened to the rain pattering on the deck all night. Saturday morning we talked about how nice it is to listen to the rain outside while we are inside and came to the conclusion that staying inside would be a good way to spend the day. We are staying at anchor in Gloucester and working on boat projects. 

We have seen quite a few lighthouses so far.  For those of you who like lighthouses, how many can you identify?  Leave your answers in the comments.