When this area needs rain, we show up.  Last fall it rained for almost a week while we were anchored in Mill Creek.  This visit is no different.  I postponed the second coat of bottom paint Sunday because of impending storms.  We weren’t disappointed.  Sunday evening it cooled down and a steady rain followed. Sustained 30 mph winds with gusts to 50 whipped through the trees.  As we watched the Spurs beat up on the Hornets a familiar sound jolted us from our seats.  The unmistakable sound of a giant tree breaking and beginning its fall.  We looked into the darkness but could see no damage. Hmmmm….

The game ending in a Spurs victory, it was time to take Goliath for a walk.  Luckily there was a lull in the rain.  As we walked in the darkness the sky to the south was lit in huge flashes of greens and blues.  The electrical hums and pops identified the source of the flashes as the substation nearby.  Soon all was dark.

Still raining the next morning I explored the area for the source of the sounds from the night before. The tide had risen over the docks and much of the normally dry shoreline was under water.  To the north was the tree responsible for the sounds the night before.  It lay across the neighboring dock.  This was the same tree that was the hunting perch for local osprey and bald eagles.  What a shame.

(sorry about the fuzzy focus, water on the lens)

Overall we got almost 3″ of rain overnight and it’s supposed to rain all day.

Arriving in Solomons mid afternoon, Tom and Lisa dropped the hook while I took a slip at Calvert Marina. Mary had landed in Baltimore earlier and was on her way to the boat.  I went to Captain Smith’s Seafood Market to pick up dinner and upon my return, there she was!  A month and a day after she left to help her sister, she was back.  The next day, Tom and Lisa left for Annapolis.  After spending the last month with them it was difficult to see them go.  

We took it easy for several days and on Tuesday the 6th the boat was hauled at Washburn’s Boatyard for some maintenance.  Mary’s cousin Cheryl was gracious in allowing us to stay with her while the boat was on the hard.

As it seems to be the norm while we are in Solomons, it turns cold and rains.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get the bottom painted and the boat waxed in between showers.  On Friday we will depart “by land” for Wisconsin for a month long trip to visit doctors, family and friends.

The trip up the Chesapeake from Norfolk can be a chore of fighting the wind, waves and crab traps.  On May 1st we had the wind and waves behind us and only the traps to contend with.  With the headsail full and trimmed perfectly (for once) Marylee raced along, surfing the now 5′+ waves.  Our destination was to be the Great Wicomoco River, home to several of Tom and Lisa’s friends from previous trips.  The trip was uneventful and for once Marylee arrived with Symmetry.  Under sail we can keep up with the faster catamaran.  

The wind was blowing at 20 knots plus when we arrived at the marina near Horn Harbor.  Symmetry chose to dock first.  I circled as I waited for my turn.  Wind would be blowing on the beam as I docked and it appeared they wanted me to dock stern to.  No way!  I slipped in bow in with a lot of help.  

We had dinner that night with Tom and Cathy proud owners of an O’day 39 and their neighbor Max, proud owner of an O’Day 40!  Of course, we all had to check out each others boats.  We stayed an extra day as the wind did not let up.

On the 3rd we set out for Solomons, our adopted home away from home.

Tied securely to the town dock we waited for the weather to improve to head north into the Chesapeake. Portsmouth is a beautiful town with plenty of history.  Home to the Norfolk Naval Shipyards, the city is founded on the ship building industry.  Not far from our dock is the site of the Gosport Shipyard, established in 1767.  It is here that the Union in the Civil War, gave up the shipyard to the Confederates. They scuttled the USS Merrimac which would later be rebuilt as the ironclad,  CSS Virginia and would drastically change naval warfare after it took on the USS Monitor in the Battle of Hampton Roads.

We stayed for four nights, visiting museums and taking in the sights of Portsmouth as well as Norfolk. While in Norfolk it seemed appropriate to visit the battleship USS Wisconsin.  What a sight!

The first USS Wisconsin (BB-9) was commissioned in 1901 and served in World War I.  Later it would become a training ship but was scrapped in 1922.  The second Wisconsin (BB-64) was commissioned during the second World War.  It served in the Pacific earning five Battle Stars.  It earned one more in Korea and saw it’s last action in Desert Storm in Iraq, coordinating the first Tomahawk missile attacks.

One of the last of the Iowa class of battleships, it now rests in Norfolk awaiting refit to open as a museum of another era of naval vessels gone by.

Another unique piece of history was berthed just downstream.  The NS Savannah was undergoing it’s final refit.  As I kid I remembered building a model of the first nuclear powered merchant ship.  Follow the link for more details.

To position ourselves for our return to the Chesapeake, we moved to the Old Point Comfort anchorage on the Hampton Roads side of the James River.  As I was taking in the sights of Norfolk, I was approached by an USCG inflatable.  Three young Coasties boarded the Marylee and conducted a safety inspection.  We passed with flying colors but in reflection I realized they never asked for identification.  Go figure!

Getting out of Spooner Creek (near Beaufort, NC) was pretty straight forward … wait for high tide!  This allowed a nice leisurely morning, full breakfast, some cleanup and a chance to read and relax.  High tide was around noon and not knowing exactly how much we draw meant I wasn’t going to take any chances.

Today would be a push to make up for the late start.  An easy run would mean a stop at Cedar Creek just before the Nuese River, but nothing has been easy.  Stopping for fuel earlier meant we could press on as far as light permitted.  Passing Oriental in the distance we headed for Broad Creek.  It didn’t look as protected as it actually was.  I slipped into the anchorage about twenty minutes after Symmetry and managed to hook up in the mud on the second try.  As the sun set, the anchorage became calm and quiet.  I fell asleep to the sounds of whippoorwills in the pine forests.

Dawn on Broad Creek came with a light creeping fog that burned away as the sun rose on another day. Today would be a long trek with our destination being the Little Alligator River, just before Albemarle Sound.

The day would be a motor sail while in open water but over 20 miles would be in the “lovely” Alligator River / Pungo River Canal.  This is essentially a straight shot all the way.  Luckily there was very little traffic going south so basically stick it in the middle and run on autopilot.  I have related several tales in the past of encounters with thoughtless power boaters.  Today would deal up a classic.  About halfway through the canal we met a southbound trawler.  Generally trawlers are considerate and slow down to reduce their wakes.  These folks were clueless!  Motoring at a perfect speed to produce a nice tall and steep wake they closed in on me.  I tried to reach them on the vhf but as usual with these types they must have had the radio off.  Just as I prepared to take on their wake a woman appeared.  She smiled and waved, totally clueless as to the results of their stupidity.  As I turned to climb the wake, I returned her wave less three fingers and a thumb.

The rest of the canal was uneventful and generally boring only punctuated by a sighting of an alligator swimming near the bow.  Pretty cool!  We exited the canal and motor sailed north on the Alligator River to the swing bridge.  Just after the bridge we turned into the Little Alligator River for the night. Desolation would make for a good nights sleep.

The routine has become, I leave first.  Symmetry motors faster than Marylee and to keep them from putting too much distance between us I weigh anchor first.  The sound of the chain rattling in the windlass tells them it’s time to go.  Today we transited another of the twists around shoals in the ICW. No problems and we headed out into the Sound.  The wind picked up to 20 knots and we zipped through the chop with full headsails.  We passed Coinjock and headed into Currituck Sound.  As it always seems to happen, whenever the channel narrows you meet someone going the other way.  As you approach Virginia the Sound tapers to a twisting river or canal, the Virginia ICW.  Here is where I met the first of many barges.  This one was heading south at a very brisk speed for a barge.  There were two southbound sailboats hugging the red side, the barge in the middle and me, hugging the greens.  The depth had been around 12 feet but the further I pushed towards the greens it diminished to 7′.  Outside the channel it was four feet!  I radioed to the barge asking for a little room.  He wasn’t budging from his path so I positioned to take his wake.  He displaced so much water that despite my turn towards him, it pushed me out of the channel.  As the depth dropped to 5′ 6″ I applied full throttle and headed for his stern.  I jumped the wake and headed for deeper water.  My heart rate became normal a half hour later.

Our intentions had been to stop at the town dock in Great Bridge.  When we got there all spaces were taken.  Norfolk wasn’t too far away so we pushed on.  We cleared the lock and headed for the last of the bridges on our route north.  Soon the shipyards of the Norfolk area were visible and our trip through the ICW was finished.  Mile 0 at last.

Avoiding the ditch (ICW) is always best but sometimes it’s unavoidable. The trip out from Georgetown up the Waccamaw River is spectacular; wide and deep and surrounded by trees and wetlands. From there you travel the urbanized canal through the Myrtle Beach area. We stopped at the Barefoot Landing Marina and had a shore side supper of beer, appetizers and more beer. What a life this is! Up early as usual for one of the toughest stretches out there.

The Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge is always a treat. Opening only the hour, this relic will hopefully be replaced soon by a high rise. It is slow and a royal pain! Past this comes the dreaded Shallotte Inlet, sight of one of my groundings last fall. Well this time we made it through with plenty of water. Next comes Lockwood’s Folly Inlet. I wouldn’t get off so easy this time. The current was ripping and I was slowing for another boat. The current pulled me towards the green markers (I wanted to stay close to the reds) and I hit pretty hard in less than five feet of water. I did an about face and hit full power. I plowed a bit but managed to head for deeper (6′) water. My stress level was reaching new highs.About ten miles later we pulled into the docks at the Provision Company, a really good seafood restaurant. The slips are free but they do appreciate you spending some money at the restaurant. I did my best. Steamed shrimp, grilled yellowfin tuna and plenty of cold beer. I aim to be a gracious guest.

This is Otis, the resident Great Egret. Doesn’t everyone have one?

The lovely town of Southport, North Carolina where all this takes place.

The trip up the Cape Fear River the next morning was uneventful as was Snow’s Cut, but this was a day of restricted bridge openings and two more of the most dreaded inlets in North Carolina, Carolina Beach and New River. Our speed was regulated by our arrival times at the bridges. This usually meant all ahead SLOW! Thank goodness tax dollars are starting to flow to the ICW. Both inlets had been dredged and where very deep. I breathed a sigh of relief as I dropped the hook at Mile Hammock Bay near Camp LeJeune. Interesting to note that of the approximately 24 boats anchored there, over half had been in Marathon.Up early again for another restricted bridge opening. Today would be a short one as we planned to do a little provisioning (shopping). We had one more surprise in store for us. Brown’s Inlet had been dredged! This area had so many shoals last fall that it took all of the extra buoys the Corps of Engineers had just to mark passage. Passage, of course if you could figure out where to go. The bridge tender said it best, “you needed a ouija board to figure out how to get through there!” We scooted into the secluded anchorage of Spooner’s Creek around noon, high tide. I showed 6.3′ going in. Hope I can get out. Stay tuned.Got to close with another sunset picture. You haven’t had any lately. This is sunset at Southport looking south down the ICW.

Fourteen of us departed Fernandina Beach early Thursday morning, April 17th. Many of these boats were those we had met along the way last year or who had spent time in Marathon. We were traveling with friends. Our course would take us out St. Mary’s Inlet to the North Atlantic where a straight course would be set for the Charleston ship channel. This course would takes us 25 miles offshore. Seas were relatively calm and there was not much breeze so apparent wind speed would be a tad over zero. It would mean a motor sail. Sorry but there isn’t much to photograph out in the ocean. I’m not quick enough to catch the sights as they appear fleetingly. Hundreds of porpoise would be seen over the next 30 hours as well as one sea turtle and several schools of rays with 24 or so in each school. Since I’m alone on this trip, I spend a lot of time talking to Goliath or chatting with other cruisers via the vhf. I could hear hear people in the ICW over 25 miles away. I chatted briefly with some friends we had met the fall before. A trip like this is tedious. You have plenty of water below the boat so no worries there. Set the autopilot and maintain a relaxed watch. Occasionally a freighter would steam by in the distance but no close calls this time. As night fell it was hard to tell where twilight ended and moonlight started. We had a full moon and it lit up the sky. It made the trip much easier. I would hail Symmetry and chat for awhile then settle back into the tedium. I learned that I could catch little cat naps as we went along. As I dozed off the sound of the engine would fade. When it disappeared it startled me awake.We passed Charleston before dawn the next day. We decided to push on to Winyah Inlet that would take us to Georgetown, South Carolina. Twenty eight hours after leaving Fernandina Beach I arrived at the mouth of the inlet. By now Symmetry was about four miles ahead of me. The current was in full ebb by the time in entered. Boat speed dropped to less than 2 knots. I was being pulled rapidly out of the channel and into the shallows. I increased engine speed to almost 3400 rpm. I had the headsail out and speed increased to 2.9 knots. Enough to keep me barely under control and still make some headway. Tom called from up ahead. Winds were hitting thirty knots so I better reef the headsail. I set the autopilot and cranked the furler with one the winches. I set a small triangle of a sail as some sail helps you maintain steerage in situations like this. With just this amount of sail and the windage of the boat, it would put the rail in the water with each gust. Three hours of this crap and I finally made it to The Boat Shed Marina, the friendliest bunch of folks you could ever meet.

The little town of Georgetown. I plan on spending more time there this fall.

The crisp morning air was refreshing as we departed St. Augustine. Blue skies and calm seas stayed with us as we continued our journey north. Many miles slipped by as we motored along the back country of northern Florida. Smoke in the distance gave credit to the red flag warnings we had seen. The air was crisp and very dry. The wind was beginning to pick up. Perfect conditions for brush fires. After a quick check of the charts it became obvious we couldn’t avoid the smoke. The big question was how close was the fire.

Well, the fire was spreading fast but you might think; hey you’re on the water, what’s the big deal? Well the big deal was, there was ashes in the air and there could be embers. Flames were shooting into the air. Symmetry had already passed by but as I was passing it started to get close.

It was quite spectacular. I caught the brunt of the smoke and ash. I glanced at the wake and was shocked to see it appear to be reflecting fire! I thought that maybe the bimini was on fire, but it was only the sun glowing through the smoke. I emerged shortly, none the worse.

The rest of the trip to Fernandina Beach was pretty straight forward. We anchored off the channel and planned for our offshore adventure.

Gale warnings and cold temperatures have forced Marylee and Symmetry into slips in St. Augustine for several days. It’s a far cry from what we were experiencing just several days ago in Vero.

Vero Beach, Florida

Oyster Creek Marina, St. Augustine, Florida

It’s been four months since we were last connected to the grid. We produce all our own electricity and have hauled water to the boat from shore when needed. The boat hasn’t received a proper washdown in all that time (not counting very welcome rain showers). So here I sit cleaning everything thoroughly and enjoying what most of you take for granted. I have …

Unlimited hot water. I can wash dishes without worrying about running out of hot water.

Water! It comes out of a hose! What a concept. No worries there.

Electricity, I’m hooked up to shore power, which means I can use 110 volt for heating water, lights etc. I can leave them on if I want to. When I have 110 I defrost the freezer (bet you haven’t done that in awhile). I vacuum! Wow I am having some fun. This is a time to “equalize” the battery bank. While on shore power I can charge (actually cook) the lead sulfate of the plates so they retain a better charge.

I can’t complain too much since I do have help.

Goliath sets an example of what I get to do when my chores are done.

TTFN

After four nights we slipped our mooring at Vero Beach and are heading north. When I say “we” that is Goliath and I. Brisk winds from the west allowed us to motor sail most of the way with the headsail. It’s difficult to sail with the main since you generally don’t have a lot water to head up in case you have to drop it fast.

It would be a ten hour day to get from Vero to Titusville where we planned to drop the hook. About two hours from Titusville, Goliath kept getting up and staring down below. He’d turn to me like “can’t you read my mind?” I thought he was thirsty so I set the autopilot and prepared to go below to get his water dish. I got water all right. A hose had come loose from the water heater and the bilge was filling with water. The cabin sole was all wet and it was draining down into the bilge around the boards. I quickly shut off the water pressure pump and closed the ball valves that allow water to flow from our storage tanks. After dropping the hook I have been cleaning and drying out everything. I reattached the hose but will have to find and address the real problem soon.

Goliath will get an extra treat tonight!