Back to boat projects for now.

Fast forward twenty one years. I am in Eleuthra, Bahamas. Not exactly around the corner from Walgreens. I have a small medical problem. Now I don’t mean to gross anyone out but old people talk about this kind of stuff so you kids can tune out now. I had passed some blood clots in my urine. My doctor didn’t seem concerned so why should I. We sailed on.

Summer is medical time for us so we had our physicals in Madison. No problems. Not long after seeing the doctor I passed more clots. Not cool. This time everyone is concerned so off to the lab for a CT scan. The doctor called several days later. Not good news. Seems I have a tumor, about 27 mm in my bladder. Urinalysis showed no cancer cells but bladder tumors are generally cancerous. We did not have a fun weekend. The Internet is a dangerous place to get information and by the weekend I was very depressed. An appointment with an Urologist was scheduled for the following Tuesday.

With a great deal of anticipation we waited for the doctor to come in. We had so many questions, so many concerns. She entered with a flourish and introduced herself. She looked at the patient information sheet I had filled out and asked, “so you’ve never smoked?” Thinking this a little strange I replied, “I smoked as a teenager, some forty five years ago!” “Well that’s what caused it!” she proudly declared. Mary, with thirty years as a research manager in cancer research, immediately questioned her. Not a good thing as Mary was quickly reminded who the doctor in the room was. Things didn’t really go much better after that as she stated, “it’s a tumor, of course it’s cancer,” and “you’ll have to plan on having a cystoscopy every three months for an indefinite period of time.” My head was reeling. My whole way of life was disappearing before my eyes. I wanted to get out of there but if I hadn’t been assaulted enough they wanted to do a cystoscopy to double check the CT scan. I should have said no but we’re taught that we do what the doctor wants. I’ll spare you the details. Not fun.

Mary and I were in shock as we slowly walked to the car. Cancer was bad enough but having to see this doctor every three months for the rest of my life? No way! We decided we needed another doctor. By Friday we were now sitting in another doctors office. Would this be another replay of doctor number 1? No, everything was totally opposite. We were warmly greeted and given all the information we needed. The doctor walked us through the CT scan (which also showed I had an old cyst on one kidney and diverticulitis in my colon), explained what kind of tumor I had, the surgery and possible recovery scenarios. We felt a whole lot better. Surgery was planned and all that remained was a pre-op physical. Just a standard precaution, I thought. They did additional blood work, another urinalysis and an EKG. Well, to add to my feeling of mortality, I was informed that somewhere in my past I had had a heart attack! I’m afraid to ask, what else can they find?

A stress test and appointment with the cardiologist was set for that Friday but my body had one more surprise in store for me. The day after the pre-op appointment we had taken Mary’s sister to UW Hospital for an appointment. On the way out I had a sudden urgency to pee. I stepped into the restroom and passed a chunk of tissue the size of my thumbnail. Well I got to say I was a little surprised. I stepped back in amazement which triggered the automatic urinal flush. I urgently grabbed the the tissue and wrapped it in a hand towel and rammed it in my pocket. Yes girls, I then washed my hands!

We drove it over to the clinic for analysis. They said it was “just” a clot with some tissue attached. Hmmm …

Well Friday arrives and we’re off to the Cardiologist. He says the EKG was an anomaly but I did the stress test anyway. I passed and was cleared for surgery. Apparently NO heart attack had been suffered.

Surgery was a snap. In and out in about three hours. The only inconvenience, a catheter was still in place. This was taken out two days later. I’m really getting tired of people messing with my privates!

We now wait for another week for the results.

Drum roll please …

Our friends Art and Jean aboard their ketch “Samana” emailed us to let us know they would be anchored nearby and would love to get together. We called them after we arrived and planned to get together the next day. They dinghied over and we took care of some very important business. Art cranked me up the mast and I removed the branch we had “trimmed” from the Dismal Swamp. Having accomplished our “task du jour” we loaded everyone into the car and went shopping for dinner. Cousin Cheryl had invited everyone over for dinner where we had homemade crab cakes, steamed spicy shrimp and sweet corn. We even had some Kalik beer we found at the local liquor store.

For the first part of the following week, we boxed, sorted and hauled stuff to storage. We would haul one load and another would take its place on the boat. The sails were removed and anything loose on deck was either stored below or taken to storage. The yard wanted us to haul on Wednesday. The approach and the travel lift well are shallow and we needed high tide which unfortunately was either too early or too late. Wednesday’s high was at 1730 and they wanted us there several hours early. We shot for that. The boat wasn’t quite ready but we planned to move it anyway, until the weather intervened! Forecasts were for light winds, we got 20 mph plus from the north. First one anchored boat dragged and we assisted and tied him to the dock nearby, then a second slowly inched its way closer and closer. Art and I along with the dock hands moved a power boat around the dock and behind us. I then boarded the dragging Hunter 41 (no keys to start the engine) and rigged a line from the winch to a piling and began to pull it towards the dock. As it got close I let out anchor rode to swing the bow to the dock. We docked it like pros. The look on the owners when they finally returned was priceless. We off course were now completely blocked in and so cancelled our haul out. Now with nothing to do the Hunter owner graciously offered to buy us all a late lunch in return for saving his boat. We accepted and off we went.

The haul out was rescheduled for 0600 Friday morning. Thursday, final preparations were made and then later that evening I took the boat for its last night at anchor. I dropped anchor near Samana. Art would join me in the morning to give me a ride back to the car. The evening was nice and it was good to sleep one last night, rocking in the wakes and having a gentle cool breeze blow through the hatches.

Dawn always come too early but we had to get moving. We motored past the marinas and headed slowly towards the storage facility. Water was plenty deep and soon we were docked and waiting for yard personnel to show up to do their part.

By 0830 the boat was sitting in the lift getting all the gunk power washed off the bottom. I went home to take a nap. Later I returned to button things up and make sure we had not forgotten anything. Driving away with the boat in stands was very hard. I will visit often to work on projects but it won’t be the same.

One last outing, this time for Ledo’s Pizza, with everyone and then to bed. Sunday afternoon and we were back in Madison.

We certainly will miss our winters in the Bahamas and don’t look forward to seeing snow again, but the time will be put to good use. It will give us a chance to catch up on some much needed boat maintenance as well as make some upgrades and plan for voyages further down island.

I plan to post my third year review of the products and systems we have installed so far as well as some “things we have learned”. I will also post details of projects as they develop.

Stay tuned and be patient.

As we have found in the last three years, the cruising community is a small close knit group. Many times we have been in these “small world” moments. Mike and I wandered over to the grill for some breakfast before heading towards the Diz. A fellow was sitting at a table. Mike thought he looked familiar. The man walked over to our table to ask about the shallow water ahead at the mouth of the Alligator River. He introduced himself as Dan from Madison, Wisconsin. “No way” we shouted. “We’re from Madison”! Turns out that Dan is from McFarland, operated the Blue Barge on Lake Waubesa and is non other than the Rev. Dippermouth. He now resides in the New Bern area but his boat “Seabreeze” carries the Madison homeport.

After clearing the shallows with no problems we headed northwest for Elizabeth City. The skies closed in and we motorsailed in almost constant rain. Today was a day of leisure as we were aiming for a 1530 bridge and lock opening in the Dismal Swamp Canal. We had plenty of time. As we neared Elizabeth City we spotted our long lost buddy boat. They had made it safely.

The Diz has its own distinctive beauty. I love it. It is quiet, there are no speeding power boats, no barges, no hurry and no stress. The trees crowd the waterway and sometimes create a canopy overhead. The water is so still it mirrors all around it.

By 1730 we idled up to the boats tied to the wall at the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center. We tied up next to “Our Dream” another small world moment, friends from the past three Thanksgivings at St. Mary’s, Georgia. Severe storms shortened our happy hour and soon we hit the sack. Tomorrow our last day on the ICW!

The mist parted gently as we eased away from our friends. Water dropped gently from the overhanging trees. A sachet of roses drifted in the stillness. This is why you put up with the slow, narrow and shallow Diz.

After dodging a few surface logs, we struck a submerged one. No damage but disturbing. Up ahead the overhanging branches appeared pretty low. There was no escape as the tip of the mast brushed through the branches, littering the deck with leaves and collected raindrops. One larger branch splashed nearby. I figured everything was fine until I looked up.

Unfortunately I still had a souvenir and would retain it through the rest of the trip. I am so glad I was able to offer so much entertainment to those of you who saw us.

At mile zero in Norfolk we said goodbye to the ICW and headed for the Chesapeake. We passed “battleship” row and saw this cool naval vessel.

We anchored in Fishing Bay near Deltaville, Virginia and then moved on our final stop for the season at Solomons, Maryland the next day.

After giving the “Marylee” a thorough rinsing and securing everything below decks we hopped into the Jetta and made Madison the next day.

Time to chill (maybe literally)!

The forecast did not give us the wind we had expected but as the day passed the wind picked up and we were able to motor sail effectively into the night. The entire passage was quite uneventful and we arrived outside the channel several hours ahead of schedule. We had planned to arrive near slack tide but went ahead and motored in pushing against an ebbing current of about two knots. Charleston is a busy port and can be quite busy with ship traffic. I generally listen for VHF traffic with the pilot boats that ferry the pilots out to the ships to give me a little advanced noticed about impending ship traffic. Not much going on this morning except for one container ship. I decided it was a race to see who could get in first. I almost won!

With about a mile to go before getting to the marina I pulled out of the channel as the ship drew closer. I gave him a quick call on the radio and soon he was alongside with absolutely NO wake. What a guy. There is nothing like being right next to one of these giant ships to experience just how large they are.

Gently turning into the basin at the Charleston Maritime Center, we were directed to our slip. I knew that end of the marina was shallow but as I slid through water that was 3.9′ deep I knew we were in for a treat. Our boat draws 5′ and the bottom was soft mud. We settled in 4.3′ at the slip and waited for the water to rise in order to pull the boat closer to the dock so we could get off.

Charleston is always a great stop. We did a little grocery shopping, some laundry (gotta wash that swimsuit and a few shirts every once in awhile), nice hot showers and then a trip to Fleet Landing for hushpuppies and ice cold beer! While there I called my friends, the Turks, and got an invite to dinner. They do a lot of fishing and I felt it was my duty to eat up as much fresh mahi as possible. Dinner was wonderful and it was great seeing Betsy and the kids again.

The decision had been made to do the rest of the trip inside, in the ICW. Winds were forecast from the north and I did not need a 48 hour beat into the wind to make Beaufort, all to save a day. The next morning we staged to set off to make the first opening of the Ben Sawyer Bridge. We were on the wrong side of the tides and would be transiting some shallow areas at or near low tide but had no choice. Three boats were waiting when we got there. In the ICW it can be nice to have a few folks lead the way. If they bump, you don’t go there. These three were clueless. They all went on the wrong side of the swing bridge. Good thing it was high tide as they would have all been aground. It is very surprising that people transit this waterway with so little knowledge. We passed as quickly as we could.

Some shallow spots were seen but nothing serious. We made Winah Bay near Georgetown, SC by 1700. After an unsuccessful try at anchoring nearby we decided to push a little further. Several hours later we were tucked into a nice spot near Butler Island. Frogs and gators were singing from the shore while lightning from a far off storm traced all over the sky. Beautiful, right up to the invasion of the skeeters.

The Waccamaw River is a beautiful stretch of the waterway. It is a natural river system with intersecting streams that offer secluded anchorages. Its natural beauty can be breathtaking. We motored along and slowly left the remoteness for the developed section entering the Myrtle Beach area where we stopped at the Barefoot Landing docks. The upside of this stop is the proximity to the cold beer and appetizers at T-Bonz, the downside is that the wall blocks the wind and it was HOT!

At dawn the following morning we were off. Shallows to clear and miles north to make.

This day was “hurry and then wait”. Two notoriously shallow sections, Lockwoods Folly and Shalotte Inlets lay ahead. They had been dredged but I was taking no chances. If we hurried we would make both near high tide. We cleared both in time and with lots of water. Now it was time to slow down. If we got to the Cape Fear River before 1600 we would have the ebbing current against us. This current can be strong at times and we didn’t need to put undue stress on the engine.

We slowed to a crawl. It was hard maintaining such a slow pace but we pulled into the river a little before 1600. By keeping just outside the channel we minimized the current and soon we were into Snows Cut leading to Carolina Beach. The cut was tricky as usually and required a lot of attention. The current here can also be quite strong but in spurts as it races over a bottom that goes from very deep to very shallow. What fun we have. After what seemed like an eternity we finally dropped anchor near Masonboro Inlet just south of Wrightsville Beach.

Up early, again, this day would be a day of scheduled bridge openings and timed passages through some more possibly shallow sections. As we idled slowly to approach the Wrightsville Beach Bridge, a boat tied to a dock nearby called to us. They couldn’t hail the bridge and wanted to know if we had. I said we had and instincts told me that they were using VHF channel 09 instead of 13, the channel the Carolinas use. I recommended they try 13 and to their surprise it worked. The bridge open promptly on the hour and we slowly headed north, the next bridge opening being just far enough away to be unreachable at normal cruising speeds. The boat behind us wanted to know why we were going so slowly. I explained the schedule. They asked if they could follow us the rest of the day.

Darkness started to overtake us. It was morning! Storms were rolling in and soon we caught the tail end of one storm. Visibility diminished and then returned. We missed the brunt of it and made the next opening. Continuing on now to our third bridge we played follow the leader. With fifteen minutes to spare we idled and circled while waiting for the third bridge at Surf City. A dredge called in, heading south, and the bridge tender opened a little early. We let the dredge pass and then headed through. Our new buddy was firmly aground having run out of the channel and would miss the opening. I relayed his calls to TowBoatUS. I found out later he was a regular!

We passed through New River just fine and coasted through Camp LeJuene towards Swansboro. The wind picked up to about 20 knots about 15 miles before Swansboro. I feared a rough docking at Dudley’s Marina since the wind would be abeam at their docks. They put me in the railway slip instead. All I had to do was stop the boat with all that wind behind us. No sweat as they had about six people catching lines.

Mike and I went off for pizza. After supper and just before dark our “buddy” boat showed up. They were frazzled. We soon found out they had bought the boat in Myrtle Beach two days ago and had run aground three times since. They were clueless about the ICW. Could they follow us to Elizabeth City? Sure, why not.

Dawn again and we were off. By noon we were sailing in Pamlico Sound. They had been behind us all this time and now they were gone. I hailed on the VHF, no answer. Hmmmmm ….

We had intended to make Dowry Creek our destination but daylight was running out so we slipped off the course line and anchored just south of Bellhaven. An hour or so later our buddies passed us.

A stop at Dowry Creek for fuel the next morning put us behind our buddies for sure. A long haul through the Pungo River/Alligator River Canal awaited us. This stretch can be boring or terrifying if you happen to meet a barge. We chose boring and after about five hours we were through. The canal is totally sheltered and it can be quite a surprise, as it was this day, to pop out into very stiff winds. Today those winds were right on the nose. I tire quickly of this and soon decided to slip into the Alligator River Marina for the remainder of the day. We would tackle the Albemarle tomorrow.

We motored and motor sailed all day. Our goal was Cocoa where we would anchor before heading out to sea. As we approached the Melbourne area we were hailed by Angel Louise. They were anchored and would meet us later at Cocoa. We waved as we passed by.

SpaceX had a Falcon 9 rocket launch planned and we watched to the northeast as we monitored the countdown on the computer. At close to launch time the launch area went “red” and the countdown had been halted. It seems a sailboat had sailed into the safety zone and now had to be cleared out by the Coast Guard. When it was cleared and the countdown resumed we were soon rewarded with a rocket launch. Not spectacular but pretty cool regardless.

Sorry, this is the best I could do from a moving, rocking platform, with the camera at full zoom.

Summer in the Florida peninsula is storm season. As the land mass heats the moisture laden air it begins to build into towering cumulus clouds. At around 3 o’clock the sea breeze starts to blow in and meets the air masses. Presto, you have instant thunderstorms that can get pretty severe. We anchored as the clouds turned dark.

Soon we were inundated with rain. The wind hit 30 knots so it wasn’t too bad. All we could think about was Angel Louise, stuck out there in the storm. As it cleared and we settled down to dinner (tacos with homemade pico de gallo) they motored in and set the hook. Soon they came over and we talked till way past dark. Sure was good to see them again. They were having some mechanical issues and would not be joining us on the trip outside. We parted company that next morning.

After a leisurely breakfast and internet infusion we set off for Port Canaveral. By 1000 we cleared the Christa McAuliffe Bridge and headed towards the locks. The Canaveral Locks would be Mike’s first locking experience. He did “ok” considering we had some cross winds and the boat didn’t want to cooperate. Lost but recovered one boat hook. Locking through was quick and soon we were heading out to sea. As we cleared the Cape we were able to unfurl the headsail (the main was up) and we motor-sailed along in 5-8 knots of southwest wind. Our heading of 045 took us steadily offshore and soon we picked up the western edge of the gulf stream where we picked up an additional knot of speed and continued our way north.

As the 3 o’clock witching hour approached the storms began to build and move offshore. We watched apprehensively as one storm after another would build and then pass miles away. We can track the storm as soon as it starts to yield rain. Radar picks it up nicely as a big red blob. This storm would intersect our path. Our course is the magenta line. We were traveling east of the course line (the dotted line or bread crumbs). Our course deviation to miss the storm is clearly evident. We got little rain and no wind.

A mahi decided we needed fresh fish for dinner so it decided to join us. It wasn’t huge but it fed two hungry boys.

As darkness began to set in we were startled by what sounded like something very large falling off the boat. I had seen a huge shape up over the bow rail and then a giant splash and sound similar to a first class belly flop. Then it happened again and again. We were being harassed by a very large dolphin. Mary has had similar experiences at night while offshore and we’ve been told that this behavior is indicative of a territorial dolphin who thinks the boat is a threat. Whatever the case it was pretty amazing.

After dark, lightning became visible all around us. Pretty spooky. Just as one system would drift off another would take its place. The ones astern were not a worry. The ones directly ahead were.

The night passed without any problems. Mike got some sleep early and then stood watch from 0030 to almost 0500 while I slept. As dawn broke we slowly turned and headed towards St. Mary’s Inlet. We were about 60 miles offshore. By midmorning we lost the push from the stream but continued on. A fun pod of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins joined us for a bit. They are very energetic and playful.

The trip in seemed to last forever. We hit the inlet at about 1330. The wind began to build. The clouds began to build. My stress level began to build. We’re still an hour from the fuel dock. We need fuel since the barnacles have increased our fuel consumption by about 40%.

The horizon to the west was almost black with a rolling gray squall line preceding the darkness as I called in to the fuel dock. We were advised to have plenty of fenders and lines ready to deploy as the storm was approaching fast. We never made it. About 100′ from the dock the first gusts hit. I steered back to the channel and headed up to meet the wind. The first gusts were 30 knots plus with rain that made visibility less than 50′. Then the gusts reached 40 knots and above. That’s approaching 50 mph in land lubber terms. Visibility was now almost zero and I’m out moving around with moored and anchored boats. Several times the wind would shift slightly and turn us completely around. What fun. I’m totally soaked by now but receiving all kinds of encouragement from Mike who is down below and dry. I took a downwind trip to the ship turning basin that is large and deep. I circled there until the storm passed. After taking on fuel we decided to stay the night at the dock.

We will head this morning for Cumberland Island where we’ll stay until Tuesday morning and then head north to Charleston. As I write this Angel Louise passes by and we exchange greetings via the vhf.

More to come …

We hope to rendezvous with Ed and Sue aboard Angel Louise, who I haven’t seen for almost two years, near Port Canaveral. They have been in the Caribbean and I am dieing to hear all their stories. From there we plan to head offshore and travel to Charleston, South Carolina and beyond.

More as the story develops. Stay tuned.

Vero is a crossroads of sorts and everyone usually stops. We’ve seen a lot of friends already. While here we received our first mail since February but we also got some bad news. Mary’s sister hasn’t been doing well and Mary needs to go back to Wisconsin. We were fortunate we were back. We leave Friday for Wisconsin where I’ll drop off Mary and pick up some crew to bring the boat up to Maryland.

No posts for awhile since Mary’s taking the computer.